From the Blog

Setting Health Boundaries for Self Care

The silly season is often a time when women are stretched thin to keep everyone happy. We can experience greater stress, self care and good nutrition is harder to achieve and relationships are tested! 

Setting boundaries to take care of ourselves is something that many of us find difficult. You might resonate if you are a ‘people pleaser’ and like everyone to think the best of you. 

But when you start to stand up for yourself and put yourself first, you can experience less stress and anxiety and your confidence can grow. 

Setting boundaries can be best explained as communicating your needs for healthy interaction with others. Not everyone may like or understand your boundaries or your reasons for setting them. But if you don’t communicate your boundaries, other people don’t realise they are imposing on them!

How do you know you need to set a boundary? Look for the times you feel uncomfortable or resentful.

Does your workmate hug you and it makes you uncomfortable? 

Is your friend always really late to meet you and disrespects your time? 

Does your mother gossip with you about other members of the family?

Have a think about what you need in those situations and then express them in a calm, firm manner without the need for overexplaining or apologising. 

Flower Essences:

I know setting boundaries can be very difficult and emotional, so with this in mind, I have created a brand new flower essence blend for you… called Boundaries <LINK> ! I think it will be really supportive to a lot of you over the next couple of months while dealing with the extra pressures of the silly season.

This flower essence supports the gentle souls of this world who find so much pleasure in giving and looking after others, even though it comes at a cost to themselves. These beautiful beings are happy to make sacrifices and go without, but as they give time and time again, it inevitably takes a toll on their own health. They find it difficult to set boundaries and stick to them, concerned they will appear direct or selfish. 

It is also a great essence for those who struggle to maintain focus and self-discipline in achieving their goals. 

Shake It Off  - This flower essence blend can assist you with believing in yourself, courage, calmness, clarity and having the strength to leave unpleasant situations. 

Confidence Charge - If you struggle with self love and accepting yourself, this is a great flower essence blend to try. It can assist with celebrating your beauty, reaching your potential and self approval and love. 

Homeopathy:

Sepia - This is a great remedy for women who are emotionally worn down, irritable and indifferent with aversion to consolation and a desire to be left alone.

Cocculus -  Use this remedy when you are exhausted by worry and lack of sleep. You may be nursing loved ones or getting up to sleepless children. 

Stress Complex - This is a combination of homeopathic remedies that may offer support for symptoms associated with everyday general stresses. 

Graphites - This remedy helps to improve self-esteem and reduces self-doubt and the tendency to vacillate over every decision. It can give you a sense that what they are and who they are is good. 

Other Thoughts:

Many of you will be familiar with the brilliant work of The Holistic Psychologist. Here are her tips for setting boundaries:

1. Understand people’s feelings are not your responsibility. The underlying belief when we do things to make others “feel” better is that we are responsible for how people feel. Some people don’t like hearing no. Other people may think you are “selfish” or “rude.” How people feel about your actions is based on their own previous experiences in the world. They have little or nothing to do with you. You are not responsible for the feelings created from them.
2. Say NO then step away. The reason people can’t keep boundaries is because of how the person they’re trying to set the boundary with reacts. It is incredibly important to say “no” and then remove yourself from that person. It may mean turning off your phone or going into your bedroom and closing the door. The beginning of boundary setting is all about getting you OK with saying no. In order to do that, you need to block out all responses.
3. Let words be second to action. Humans are verbal creatures. We are used to expressing ourselves mainly through words. Boundaries are challenging because they involve follow up action. Not only do we have to do something different, we have to avoid the desire to over-explain, apologise, or rationalise our choices to another. We need to commit to our decided action (or inaction depending on the situation) and avoid the tendency to talk our way out of doing so. Sometimes this means communicating non-verbally through our actions.

You might also like to consider working with a holistic counsellor or therapist to help you establish boundaries. 

I hope these tips have helped and you have a calm, relaxed festive season with your family and friends!

Sources:

Owen Homeopathics

We all know stress is not great but did you know that long term stress is really harmful to your physical and mental health?

“Diseases whose development has been linked to both stress and inflammation include cardiovascular dysfunctions, diabetes, cancer, autoimmune syndromes and mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety disorders.” PubMed

Getting on top of our stress levels and finding peace and calm is vital to our wellbeing! This can be a challenge in today’s modern world when we are busy with working, parenting and daily life.

But with some natural remedies to support and some lifestyle changes, it is possible!

Flower Essences

Vibrational therapies such as flower essences address emotions to release stress from our psyche to encourage harmony and balance within the body.

Stress Free. A brand new essence formulation to diffuse feelings of pressure and anxiety related to stressful situations. This essence will help you stay grounded and focused while tackling the big issues in your day.

Calm your Farm. This one is good for those people who have a lot going on and juggle many balls at once. Great for finding calm in chaotic situations and helping you find calmness and grounding. 

Sweet Dreams. If you struggle to relax and have restful sleep at night, Sweet Dreams can help. It can assist with repetitive thoughts and reducing fear and worry. 

Emergency Essence. This is a powerful combination of flower essences to support the body in times of shock, trauma, pain, fear and stress. Good for all emergency situations. 

Stress Less Pet. I haven’t forgotten your furry friends! This remedy is great for all pets to help calm and soothe and encourage positive behaviour. Perfect for whenever they are anxious or unsettled. 

Homeopathy

Stress Complex. This homeopathic remedy is a powerful combination that may offer support for symptoms associated with everyday stresses. It includes the following remedies: Cocculus 6c, Ginseng 5x, Kali Phos 6x, Phos Acid 6c.

You can repeat this a few times daily and may need to be continued for a few days before the problem is fully resolved.

Cocculus. This remedy is useful when stressed and exhausted by worry and lack of sleep, nursing loved ones and getting up to sleepless children. There may be a dizzy, empty hollow feeling.

Ignatia. When there is emotional stress, grief, guilt and mental strain, Ignatia is a useful remedy.

Nux Vomica. If work is stressful, Nux Vom is a great remedy to assist with when you feel you are becoming stressed, critical and oversensitive with sleep problems and a craving for stimulants.

Kali Phos. This is great tissue salt for when you are under pressure! Use twice a day to support the nervous system when you are overworked or worried.

More Remedies

Good lifestyle habits like a nutritious diet, movement and lots of quality sleep will all help support you in times of stress. This can be difficult to achieve when things are hard, but it is really important to take time to practice radical self care.

Any activity that slows you down and requires slow, deep breathing is great for stress relief. Try meditation, breathwork, yoga, qi gong or tai chi. Go to classes or just find some free videos online to get you started.

Essential oils are also a great tool for supporting you in stressful times. Try lavender, frankincense, cedarwood, ylang-ylang and bergamot. 

Calming herbal teas like chamomile, valerian and lemon balm can all help with stress. Dark chocolate can also be good for stress, so have a few squares a day.

Find calming activities that bring you joy and do them more often. It might be walking in nature, listening to music or painting. Anything that brings you into the present moment and provides mindfulness.  

For long term stress, you may need to make some big lifestyle changes. Changing jobs, changing location, moving on from relationships or working with a therapist may all improve your stress. 

Your wellbeing is important and it’s hard to live a fulfilling, happy life when you are stressed all the time. So, do what ever you need to do to get on top of that stress. 

Sources:

Australian Bush Flower Essences

Owen Homeopathics