Categoría: Sin categoría

Early in my grief process, people would commend me for how well I seemed to be coping, alluding to the fact that I was able to continue to function or not dissolve into a puddle when talking about Max.  

At the time, I took it as a compliment, but I have come to realize that it might not actually be a positive trait, but my strong ability to disassociate and not feel my painful feelings helped me cope.

This ability to emotionally numb and check out enabled me to survive stressful and difficult situations in my childhood and avoid intense negative emotions and traumatic memories.

While this ability to shut down emotions, thoughts, feelings, and memories has helped me survive difficult and intense situations, it has also kept my nervous system locked in a state of hyperarousal.

In other words, an adaptive behavior that was helpful in the past was now keeping me stuck and unable to feel and release the trauma to heal.  Everything about myself that I want to change is connected to a part of me that is disassociating – perhaps in an effort to protect myself. 

What is Dissociation?

Dissociation is an adaptive response to threat and is a form of “freezing” and disconnecting from your senses, thoughts, feelings, emotions, or memories.  You shut down to remove yourself from a situation, in your own mind, when physical escape is not possible.

When faced with danger, your sympathetic nervous system kicks into gear, allocating resources to fight or flee.  When you are unable to fight or flee, you freeze – your body remains internally prepared for fight or flight, while externally holding still, waiting for an opportunity.  For example, an animal under attack may initially stay very still until it sees an opportunity to flee. Escape would not be possible without having the mobilization response at the ready.

The dissociative freeze response keeps you stuck in the sympathetic branch of the nervous system – revved and ready to fight or flight but also paralyzed by immobility.  This is how I experience overwhelm – feeling the need to act and emotionally shut down at the same time.  My brain cannot process an overload of stimuli, so I dissociate and shut down.

In nature, animals physically shake to discharge the stress.  Sadly, humans do not discharge or mobilize the energy of the freeze response.  Instead, it stays locked in your body contributing to chronic and prolonged stress and over-activation of the sympathetic nervous system as you oscillate between being hyper-aroused (fight or flight) and dissociating (freeze). Both experiences stem from the same part of the brain (limbic system) that is not settled and perceives current experiences through a distorted lens of past trauma.

When you are able to discharge that energy, you can release posttraumatic stress symptoms.  

But in order to release your emotions, you need to feel your emotions – which requires you to stop dissociating and actually feel your feelings.

By freezing, you avoid both the physical sensations and the emotional effects that might have been so uncomfortable at the time of the trauma that it was too difficult to process.

Symptoms of Dissociation

As with all of the stress responses, the freeze response – also known as numbing and disassociation – is trying to keep us safe and avoid feeling painful emotions that we may not be able to tolerate. 

Dissociating is something that many of us do without realizing. It can happen when you go into autopilot – worrying, daydreaming, getting engrossed in a book or film so much so that you are not aware of your surroundings anymore, zoning out while you drive a familiar route and arrive at your destination without any memory of how you got there or other situations where you might “lose time”.

Symptoms and signs of dissociation may include:

• Problems handling intense emotions
• Sudden and unexpected shifts in mood – like feeling very sad for no reason
• Depression or anxiety 
• Memory lapses such as forgetting important personal information
• Spacing out, staring
• Minimizing (“It’s not a big deal”)
• Difficulty concentrating 
• Unexplained vision challenges
• Forgetting events or periods of time
• Daydreaming
• Feeling disconnected from your body
• High tolerance for pain
• Inability to name or describe your emotions
• Feeling detached from yourself or others
• Derealization (denial) 
• Feeling compelled to behave in a certain way
• Feeling detached from your life, thoughts, and feelings. 
• Changing yourself depending on the situation or people, like a chameleon
• Feeling disconnected
• Dulled senses
• Gaps in memory where you can’t remember certain events
• Feeling ‘spacey’ or out of control. 
• Time may slow down.
• Engage in prolonged bouts of sleep, daydreaming, wishing, and right brain-dominant activities like TV, computer, and video games. 
• Change the internal channel whenever the inner experience becomes uncomfortable. 

When an Adaptive Response becomes a Maladaptive Response: Dissociation and Sympathetic Dominance

Dissociation and the freeze response can be a healthy way to navigate physically or emotionally dangerous situations – including trauma, abuse, death or abandonment, neglect, bullying, fights in the home, or any kind of physical or emotional violence – when too much stress overwhelms your nervous system.

Physical or emotional danger activates the sympathetic “fight or flight” branch of your nervous system.  However, if you can neither defeat a dangerous opponent or situation nor safely flee from it, your body drops into the self-paralyzing freeze response, also known as dissociation.

In these situations, your body does not release the hormones to help you fight or flee, but instead causes you to “freeze up” or “numb out”.   Your body releases chemicals that function as an analgesic, dulling the intensity and the pain of any mental, physical, or emotional injury.  This allows you to survive the enormity of what’s happening to you and survive the trauma.  If you can’t make a dangerous individual or situation disappear, you’re much better off “disappearing” yourself, by blocking out what’s much too scary to take in.

In other words, your sense of safety requires you to mentally check out of stressful situations.  It’s almost like a shield going up – your brain protects you from experiencing negative feelings, trauma, and traumatic experiences.”

While a dissociative response may enable you to survive difficult situations, you may end up over-using that coping mechanism chronically – out of habit and without awareness. 

This adaptive measure can create maladaptive problems, especially when avoiding dealing with and releasing the underlying trauma.

Activation of the sympathetic nervous system – which drives the fight, flight, and freeze response – requires your nervous system to shift into a highly energized state.  The acts of fighting and fleeing allow your nervous system to discharge this energy and move back into a state of normal function.

The freeze state does not allow us to naturally discharge this energy and that trapped energy, along with the corresponding thoughts and emotions of fear or panic, can stay trapped in your body, contributing to a perpetual state of high alert in the brain and nervous system.

In nature, animals often shake or experience rhythmic waves of muscle contractions when they come out of a freeze response.    As humans, we often override or avoid the trembling or shaking that would help drain off the energy of the freeze response, leading to ongoing activation of the sympathetic nervous system.  When your body is stuck in the freeze response, it can present “paralyzing” symptoms like panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive behaviors, avoidance behaviors or other phobias, spaciness, numbing out, and other anxiety states.

Maladaptive Dissociation Response

In the context of severe chronic abuse, the reliance on disassociation is adaptive, as it succeeds as an avoidance or coping strategy to help reduce unbearable distress and ward off the threat of psychological annihilation.

Unlike active avoidance or the flight option in the fight-or-flight response, there is no release of stress. The mind simply pulls away in order to avoid feelings of fear, anxiety, or pain.  But the issues stay in the tissues and contribute to mental and physical health concerns, including:

Emotional Disconnection: The longer you disconnect from your feelings and your emotions to separate you from your pain, the harder it is to actually experience them.

Sympathetic Dominance:  The freeze reaction to a threat coincides with a blunted autonomic response, which constitutes the dissociative subtype of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),” according to research on Trauma-related dissociation and the autonomic nervous system. The unresolved activation of your sympathetic nervous system keeps that fight or flight system running in the background and draining your energy.

Cognitive Decline: Dissociation is one way the mind copes with too much stress.  It helps relieve the pain of hyperarousal but compromises the effective use of your executive functions, such as emotional regulation and socialization. Research found that emotional processing is reduced in those presenting with dissociation and an increase in amygdala activity, where anxiety and fear responses persist.

Maladaptive emotional response: Dissociation indicates that you are too overwhelmed to tolerate new learning can occur.  Elements that would normally be connected as thoughts, feelings, sensations, memories, and beliefs become disconnected.

Pain and Inflammation: Dissociation from the body can also lead to chronic pain and inflammation in the areas you feel cut off from. 

Essential Oils for Dissociation

Dissociation pulls you out of your body and shuts down your access to your physical senses, including your sense of smell.

That said, accessing your sense of smell through the inhalation of essential oils is one of the easiest ways to help “ground” your body and bring awareness back to your body. 

When you are “grounded” you are present in the world here and now when you feel out of control or disconnected from your surroundings, your mind, your body, or all three.  Smelling or diffusing essential oils can help to “shock” your senses to help you come back when you dissociate. 

Your sense of smell is also linked to survival and is the most sensitive of the senses. People can remember smells with 65% accuracy after a year, while visual recall is about 50% after three months.  It is interesting to note that a  woman’s sense of smell is much stronger than a man’s and is heightened even more during the first half of the menstrual cycle and pregnancy.

Your sense of smell also connects directly to the part of your brain that regulates the release of hormones that impact your mood and emotional state. 

Essential oils travel through the nasal passageways to the brain where they bind to olfactory receptors. From there they reach the emotional center of the brain – known as the limbic system – where they can stimulate the release of neurotransmitters, like serotonin, which can influence your neurochemistry, helping to enhance mood and reduce anxiety. 

Research validates this, noting that “inhalation of essential oils can communicate signals to the olfactory system and stimulate the brain to exert neurotransmitters (e.g. serotonin and dopamine) thereby further regulating mood.”  Additional research shows that essential oils can significantly impact the brain, calming emotional states and decreasing blood pressure, heart rate, and skin temperature, which indicates a decrease in autonomic arousal.

 4 Essential Oils for Dissociation

Some of my favorite essential oils to help me shift out of dissociation and into my body include”

1.  Attention™ for Grounding

Grounding helps you shift your focus and awareness back to your immediate surroundings and pull them out of whatever mental state has caused a disconnection so you can stay in the present moment and better connect with your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, so you are able to rely less on dissociation.

Grounding is a technique that helps you connect to the healing energy of nature and the Earth.  Grounding brings us into a state of balance, both mentally and physically. It is in this balanced state that our body can rest, repair, and heal on the physical, emotional, and spiritual levels.

When you connect with the Earth or plants that have grown from the Earth, you allow your bodies to align with the natural rhythm of the planet. When we lose this connection to nature, it interferes with our internal rhythm and balance, impeding our ability to return to balance so we can relax, sleep, detoxify, digest, repair, and heal.  When we ground ourselves, these natural processes flow easily without interference.

Essential oils, especially those derived from grounded plants like trees are intrinsically grounded through their root structure into the Earth.  Essential oils comprised of barks, roots, grasses, needles, and resin of plants also help you pull your energy centers down into the Earth.

Plants that grow under the earth are entrained with the earth’s energies.  This is why stones, root vegetables, or essential oils from root plants that share space with the Earth, match the frequency of the Earth and can be used for grounding.  Rock, crystals, and minerals, in particular, are able to hold a solid vibration so when you hold one in your hand or place it near your body, you have to change your frequency to match that of the rock or mineral. This is one reason that crystals are so popular for grounding.

Attention™ blend was designed to support children with ADD/ADHD and it works because it helps ground these kids into their bodies and when they are grounded, they are less distracted, impulsive, and more focused.   Attention™ contains Vetiver, a perennial bunchgrass with very deep roots that help ground it to the Earth.  Vetiver essential oil is extracted from these deep roots and is known to ground you mentally, physically, and emotionally, often helping you explore the root of your emotional issues.  Attention™ also contains Frankincense™ – a resin extracted from trees that grow in the challenging climates of northeastern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.  These challenging climates make Frankincense™ uniquely resilient and supportive to help with grounding.  Apply 2- 3 drops of Attention™ on the bottom of the feet and back of the neck to help with grounding.

2. Parasympathetic™ to Calm the Nervous System

Parasympathetic™ calms your nervous system and helps you be present in the moment, to both your own body and to your mental, emotional, and physical needs.

This blend of clove and lime essential oils helps energize your physical body and mental capacity, helping to support the brain to embrace optimism and hope.

Your sympathetic “fight or flight” state turns on when survival and safety are threatened.  When you are stuck in a cycle of sympathetic dominance – and not activating your parasympathetic nervous system –  your body’s alert mechanism for survival remains on high and you can become trapped in a perception that you are not safe, which lays the groundwork for pessimism and negative thinking.

The parasympathetic system restores a sense of safety and balance which calms the brain and the body by activating your parasympathetic nervous system to help you identify and support your own needs.  The research found that – when stimulated, your vagus nerve releases anti-anxiety chemicals that help you focus on positive emotions, decrease mental distress, and improve mental well-being. 

Apply Parasympathetic™ over the vagus nerve (behind the earlobe on the mastoid bone) to activate the vagus nerve.  This helps discharge energy and shift out of the frozen state into the healing parasympathetic.

As you restore the integration between the body and the brain following chronic and traumatic stress, your nervous system becomes more flexible and adaptable, further retraining your system to stay in the body and not revert to old habits of dissociation.

3. Fascia Release™ to Release Trauma from Your Tissues

Your issues are in your tissues. Releasing dissociation requires you to feel your feelings, not only in your mind but in your heart and body as well.

Your emotional experiences and memories are stored in the tissues of your body.  When you experience stress, part of you is resistant, which triggers you to physically contract,  constrict, or pull away from physical danger, a negative thought, or an emotional aversion.  

This triggers your fight or flight response where you constrict and restrict your breath and your energy in preparation for attack.  When you feel you can’t flee or fight your way out of a bad situation, you hold your breath or breathe minimally and freeze, hoping the threat will pass you unscathed. Instead, you internalize the fear without release or recovery.

In short, energy doesn’t flow and your body constricts – which locks the stress in your body.

After stress passes, the emotions should be discharged and released.

Animals in the wild will pant and then breathe more slowly to recover the oxygen it lost from fast breathing and reset their metabolism. Animals intuitively know it is dangerous to face another threat before it has recovered from the last one and it takes time to replenish and rebalance its body. This entire sequence—fight or flight plus recovery—serves to maximize an animal’s chances for healthy survival.

Sadly, most of us (myself included) do not take the time to rest and recover from stressful experiences. We get accustomed to the fearful contraction and it stays locked into our tissues.

Our hard-wired defenses are meant to protect us from harm, but when we don’t allow the cycle to complete itself by letting go of the energy and resting, we wind up accumulating the stress in our bodies and they begin to break down because of it.

We release the issues in the tissues through the fascia – a system of connective tissue beneath the skin that surrounds and encases your body’s tissues and binds them together, providing shape for organs, muscles, tendons, bones, and joints.

Your fascia system is the tissue in the body that your emotions – or energy in motion –travel through and are released. When your fascia is tight and constricted, emotions do not flow and are not released, but instead become trapped in your tissue.

To release the trapped energy in the tissue and negative emotions, you need to release the fascia.  Essential oils offer a safe and simple way to release negative emotions from the tissue and create an ease of flow for healthy fascia.

The essential oils in the Fascia Release™ blend are uniquely formulated to unravel deeply held tensions, constrictions, and energetic blockages in your tissues to reduce pain, improve blood and lymphatic circulation, and release fear, repressed emotions, and tension held in the body (organs, muscles, tendons, bones, and joints) or the mind.

Featured Oils:

Ready to get started? Click the link below to order today:

References:

I was told that I had periodontal disease and that there was nothing I could do about it expect get a skin graph for my gums.

Both my parents had this procedure when I was a kid and I remember it being exceptional painful for them and that they actually sewed their mouth shut to heal.  My mom would drink those little protein shakes through a straw for months. 

While I have been told that the surgery has made some advancements in the last decade, it was not something I was looking forward to. 

So I upped my cleanings to 4 times per year.

But the crime scene bleeding and inflammatory damage continued.

I started using laughing gas during the appointments to help me deal with the pain.  I could still taste the blood and  feel the intense pain of the dental tools, so I just did my best to tolerate it.

Because I was told there was nothing I could do to reverse gum disease and inflammation in the mouth.

Except it turns out that was not true.

Yesterday, I had my best teeth cleaning in decades.

• Reduced inflammation of the Gums.

What was I doing differently the dentist and the hygienist asked me.

The only dramatic change I had made in the last year was an obsessive focus on lymphatic drainage, especially around the neck to support healthy toxin drainage from the brain, as your neck is the highway in and out of your brain.   

Lymph Drainage to Reverse Gum Disease

It turns that one small change had a dramatic impact to the point of naturally reversing gum disease.

Here’s Why:

Toxins and waste in the mouth which trigger the immune system and cause inflammation in the mouth are supposed to drain down the neck via your lymphatic system.  

Each of your teeth drains waste and toxins that can contribute to inflammation from your mouth via your lymphatic system.  Your head and neck have an extensive network of lymphatic vessels which help drain the teeth and the gums and maintain a healthy mouth through:

• Fluid Balance: Lymph retrieves excess fluid and proteins from tissues that can’t be returned through the blood vessels. It collects fluids and waste products from the spaces between cells, then filters and cleanses them, reducing inflammation.
• Immunity: Your lymphatic system helps defend the body against diseases. Lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell in the lymph, counter foreign substances and infectious microorganisms.

Your lymphatic system helps to keep your mouth healthy by clearing the things your body has no use for, including pathogens like bacteria, metals, or fungi that can cause infections and your teeth, tongue, and mouth.

In fact, the lymphatic system is correlated with every tooth and different parts of the tongue to help flush toxins out of mouth and the body. It also carries immune cells throughout the body to help defend against infections. 

Your periodontal tissues that support the teeth – including the gums – also contain lymphatic vessels. These lymphatic vessels play an essential role in maintaining oral health by assisting in removing bacterial toxins, dead cells, and other waste products from the periodontal tissues, aiding in preventing periodontal disease and other oral health issues.

Research also reveals that lymphatic-like system may exist within the dental pulp, the innermost layer of a tooth. This system could contribute to fluid balance and tissue homeostasis within the dental pulp, functioning similarly to the general lymphatic system.  Studies have found that “tooth movement during chewing acts as an additional external stimulator of lymph flow in lymphatic vessels” of the teeth and gums.

If your lymphatic system is congested around the neck, lymphatic circulation slows or stagnates.  This means that the toxins do not drain, but instead linger in your mouth contributing the inflammation and immune cells won’t be delivered to the areas of the body where they’re needed.  This contributes to swelling and inflammation of the gums.

What is Gum Disease?

Gum disease  is characterized by tissue destruction and bone loss mainly due to inflammatory responses in the soft tissue around teeth, known as your gums.  The gums supply nutrients to the bone via the circulatory system and the lymphatic system which also serves to drain interstitial fluid and transport immune cells to the mouth.

There are two main types of gum disease: gingivitis and periodontitis. 

Gingivitis is when your gums become inflamed and possibly infected. This is believed to happen as a result of a buildup of plaque and tartar on your teeth, which allows bacteria to thrive on your teeth and gums. It may also result from certain viruses, bacteria, fungi, and genetic factors.

Periodontitis: Over time, if you allow bacteria in the mouth to feed on the plaque and tartar on your teeth, their population can grow exponentially, contributing to inflammation in the gums which can destroy your gums and your teeth.  For example, your gums can start to recede, meaning that your gum tissue pulls away from your teeth, exposing more of the tooth and the roots underneath.  Left untreated, gum recession can lead to other serious oral health problems, such as bone loss, tooth mobility or feeling “wiggly” or even tooth loss.  This is because gum health is directly linked to our tooth health.

Symptoms of Gum Disease

Healthy gums are light pink in color and fit firmly and snugly around teeth. Symptoms of unhealthy gums may include:

• Gums that bleed easily.
• Swollen or puffy gums.
• Gums that feel tender when touched.
• Gum recession that makes your teeth look longer (because gums that pull away from your teeth)
• Spitting out blood when brushing or flossing your teeth.
• Loose teeth or loss of teeth.
• Painful chewing.
• Tenderness when chewing
• Change in your bite
• Bad taste in your mouth or bad breath
• Pain or discomfort near your gum line.
• Sensitivity to heat, cold and sweets.
• Sensitivity when brushing and flossing your teeth.
• Sensitivity during dental cleanings.

How Does Lymphatic Drainage Heal Gum Disease?

Inspired by my personal experience, I began researching how lymphatic drainage may protect against and heal gum disease.

Lymphatic drainage is believed to protect against gum disease by clearing bacteria and bacterial products and by promoting a healthy immune response with calms inflammation.  Research on Lymphatic function and responses in periodontal disease note that “lymphatic vessels (of the gums) drain interstitial fluid and transport immune cells to lymph nodes”.  The study found a correlation between periodontal disease and “reduced lymphatic flow, meaning the invasive bacteria is not being cleared out as it should” contributing to the conclusion that “patients with periodontal disease have an impaired lymphatic function exaggerating the disease progress”. Another study found that mice lacking gum lymphatics experienced greater bone loss in periodontitis than mice with functional lymphatic systems.”

A similar study on Lymphatic function and responses in periodontal disease found that “lack of gingival lymphatics (lymph drainage within the gums) has been shown to increase the interstitial fluid pressure and fluid volume, thus showing that lymphatics are important for fluid drainage also in this tissue. 

How Lymphatic Drainage Can Reverse Gum Disease

Your lymphatic system carries toxins out of the mouth down the neck channel. If there is congestion in the lymphatic system in the neck or downstream in the body, it will impair drainage from the mouth, teeth and gums. If you think of the body like a hydraulics system where congested tissue downstream prevents optimal flow upstream, congested lymphatic vessels in the neck will impede drainage of toxins from the brain.

As you may know, your lymphatic system permeates every part of the body, serving as a complementary system to our circulatory system. It draws fluid from the cells and carries it through a series of lymphatic ducts and nodes back to the circulatory system, establishing the link between the smallest blood vessels – the capillaries – and the cells. As such, it helps remove toxins and infections and other waste from every cell in your body. It works as the body’s septic system, removing the by-products and wastes created from metabolizing our nutrients. Just like the drains in your home, the lymphatic system can get congested and stagnant and toxins can build up.

Your lymphatic system relies on our body’s movement by the muscles and fascia to squeeze the lymphatic vessels and push the lymph through the system like a low-pressure hose.  Improving lymph flow helps the body move fluid and release toxins. 

Essential Oils for Lymphatic Drainage

Essential oils can help move lymph and alleviate congestion and stagnation.  Essential oils possess stimulatory and anti-inflammatory properties that can help support healthy circulation and lymphatic drainage.

Lymphatic drainage can be enhanced with the application of stimulatory essential oils that can be topically applied to congested lymph nodes around the face and neck. If you think of the body like a hydraulics system where congested tissue downstream prevents optimal flow upstream, congested lymphatic vessels in the neck will impede drainage of toxins from the gums, teeth, mouth and jaw.

To enhance lymphatic flow and drainage, generously apply Lymph™ around the sides of the neck to relieve congestion, improve drainage and reduce brain inflammation.

Large groups of lymph nodes can be found under your jaw or neck.  You can help decongest these lymph nodes and move any unwanted toxins towards these lymph nodes through a series of gentle and rhythmical movements that help clear congested fluid and support drainage from the mouth and face.  Specifically, the following three main lymph nodes in the face and neck benefit from gentle massage:

Subauricular gland lymph nodes: Located behind the earlobe, this is considered the lymphatic outlet of the face. The lymph nodes in the subauricular glands connect the chin and neck. By massaging the chin to the position behind the ear, it can help alleviate lymph congestion from the mouth and gums.

Neck lymph nodes: As a lymphatic channel, it is located in the neck and is the most important lymphatic system connecting the head and body. Through massage, it can drain the dental lymph waste fluid downward. Massage the lymph in the neck frequently to return the facial skin to normal metabolic state.

Clavicle lymph nodes: Located on the slightly depressed area above the collarbone.  Near the left clavicle is where the veins are connected. Eventually all the lymph is collected here, and then flows from the veins to the kidneys and is excreted from the body. Since lymph follows gravity, it’s important to open up the lymph nodes along the neck and collarbone first before the lymph in the face can properly drain.

How To Drain Lymph

Facial lymphatic drainage is done manually, using very gentle massage (with hands or tools like a gua sha) and essential oils or moisturizer to reduce friction and pulling of the skin.

Most of the lymph nodes in the face and neck are located directly under the skin, so gently and lightly massaging specific points can help drain fluid and calm inflammation in that area.

Your lymph moves slowly. The valves in lymph vessels open and close about six to twelve times per minute moving that fluid. We want to be slow, light, and intentional. Not hard and fast. Lymph strokes use the palm of your hands as much as possible—or the soft pads of your fingers. This is how you’ll achieve the nurturing and comforting response associated with lymph massage. You want to massage the fluid in one direction: toward the lymph nodes, not in circles.

When it comes to the face in particular, everything connects to lymph nodes around the ears and then flushes down the neck. That means: always start lymph drainage by opening up along the collarbones and neck first.

Step 1: Apply essential oils like Fascia Release™ blend and Lymph™ blend on your neck and clavicle area to help enhance circulation and promote the movement of lymph fluid. Essential oils in carrier oil, like Vibrant Blue Oils blends, give your skin a little bit of slip so that your hands can glide more easily.

Step 2: Place the flats of your index and middle fingertips on top of the clavicle bone on either side of your neck just above your collarbone and let your fingers fall into the ridge. Keep your hands soft and relaxed. Use a light pressure on your skin – just enough to gently stretch the skin. Begin lightly pumping downward in gentle butterfly like strokes toward your collarbone. This motion helps lymph fluid drain back to your heart. You can massage one side at a time or both sides at the same time. You may find it easier to cross your hands if you are doing both at the same time.

Step 3: Start to massage sternocleidomastoid muscle, located on the area of your neck that is close to your shoulder where your clavicle bone connects with the sides of your neck.  Begin gently massaging with strokes that look like 2 letter “J”s facing one another. This massage helps stimulate (pump) the vessels  at the side of your neck.  Once you’ve stimulated the lymph nodes, you can start to clear the fluid by  gently massaging the neck in a downward motion.

Step 4: Place the tips of your index and middle fingers on one side of your neck behind the ear lobes (on the mastoid bone), right below your jawline, and move downward toward your collarbone while making small backward J motions (toward the center of your neck). These rhythmic, smooth and circular movements help activate the lymphatic circulatory system and support healthy drainage.

Facial lymphatic drainage begins from the neck, because the submaxillary and internal jugular chain nodes are located there. Also in the neck are the jugular veins that receive the lymph so that it is drained through the deep cervical lymph nodes; in conjunction with the submental lymph nodes, anterior cervical lymph nodes and superficial cervical lymph nodes.

Repeat on the other side of your neck. This helps open lymphatic pathways and drive the fluid toward the lymph nodes so that it can better drain.

Step 5: Glide the same two fingers sideways along your jaw, moving outward along your jawline toward your hairline, then down your neck toward your collarbone. Repeat the same motion (sideways, then downward) as you move up your face, gliding your hands along your cheek. Continue this until you reach your forehead. Repeat on the other side.

One final note, laser dentistry is believed to help preserve your gum tissue and help build your bone back through the stimulation of the stem cells there. I am looking into this and will share more if helpful.

Featured Oils:

Ready to get started? Click the link below to order today:

References:

La rama parasimpática de su sistema nervioso que “descansa y digiere” promueve la salud intestinal y se ha descubierto que reduce la permeabilidad intestinal o la permeabilidad intestinal.

Específicamente, su nervio vago, el componente principal de su sistema nervioso parasimpático, detecta su microbioma intestinal y responde suprimiendo la inflamación, lo que reduce la permeabilidad intestinal (es decir, intestino permeable), según una investigación sobre el nervio vago en la interfaz de la microbiota (intestino). Eje cerebral.

Como sabrás, tu cuerpo prioriza la supervivencia. Esto significa que cuando percibe cualquier tipo de amenaza mental, física o emocional, la rama simpática de «lucha o huida» de su sistema nervioso autónomo, que controla todas las funciones automáticas de su cuerpo, incluida la digestión, asigna recursos para la supervivencia: el flujo sanguíneo. se dirige lejos de los órganos digestivos y hacia las extremidades y músculos para que puedas escapar rápidamente del peligro.

No puede mantener adecuadamente la motilidad ni absorber los nutrientes cuando el flujo sanguíneo se dirige fuera del sistema digestivo. Cuando la motilidad y asimilación de nutrientes se ven comprometidas, las uniones estrechas del revestimiento epitelial intestinal pierden su integridad. Esto permite que los patógenos, las toxinas, los alimentos no digeridos y las bacterias se muevan a través del torrente sanguíneo, activando el sistema inmunológico y provocando una respuesta inflamatoria (es decir, intestino permeable).

Un estudio similar sobre la estimulación del nervio vago que protege contra la disfunción de la barrera intestinal inducida por el estrés encontró que la activación del sistema nervioso parasimpático implica la capacidad de digerir, absorber y digerir los nutrientes y «reduce permanentemente la permeabilidad paracelular del intestino delgado».

En otras palabras, se ha descubierto que activar el sistema nervioso parasimpático mejora la función de la barrera intestinal (es decir, reduce la permeabilidad intestinal) y reduce la inflamación al aumentar la expresión de proteínas de unión estrecha en la membrana celular de las células intestinales.

Cómo el sistema nervioso parasimpático apoya la salud intestinal

El nervio vago, o nervio craneal n.º 10, es la principal línea de comunicación entre el cerebro y el intestino, también conocido como eje intestino-cerebro. También es el interruptor entre las ramas simpática y parasimpática del sistema nervioso.

Su nervio vago es lo que ayuda a su cerebro a comunicarse con su intestino, y su intestino se comunica con su cerebro, enviando señales en ambos sentidos para ayudar a su cuerpo a realizar acciones involuntarias como digerir los alimentos.

En relación con la salud intestinal, el nervio vago reconoce los cambios en el microbioma intestinal y envía este mensaje al cerebro. Cuando su sistema nervioso parasimpático está activo, su nervio vago puede concentrarse en la reparación y el mantenimiento, lo que permite que el cerebro responda inmediatamente con una señal digestiva adecuada. Esto se conoce como «vía antiinflamatoria colinérgica», que recorre las fibras del nervio vago y es «capaz de amortiguar la inflamación periférica y reducir la permeabilidad intestinal, modulando así muy probablemente la composición de la microbiota». Por ejemplo, si comes un alimento inflamatorio como gluten o lácteos, tu nervio vago reconoce esa inflamación y alerta a tu cerebro. Luego, su cerebro alerta a su sistema inmunológico para facilitar una respuesta inflamatoria.

Si su vago prioriza la supervivencia (atascado en el dominio simpático), la señal no tiene prioridad y el cerebro puede perder información importante, lo que permite que la inflamación se vuelva crónica, lo que contribuye al intestino permeable y a enfermedades autoinmunes.

El nervio vago desencadena la digestión.

Las señales del cerebro enviadas a través del nervio vago ayudan a regular diversas funciones digestivas, incluida la motilidad gástrica, la secreción de ácido y la actividad de los esfínteres.

Para absorber adecuadamente los nutrientes, es necesario comer en un estado parasimpático de «descansar, digerir y curar». Estimular su nervio vago con aceite Parasympathetic™ desencadena su respuesta parasimpática, que incluye su proceso digestivo:

Estimula la secreción de saliva.: El nervio vago inerva las glándulas salivales de la boca y estimula la liberación de enzimas salivales que ayudan a descomponer los alimentos antes de que ingresen al esófago.

Libera ácido del estómago: El nervio vago regula y mantiene una producción y secreción óptimas de fluidos gástricos, como el ácido clorhídrico (HCL) y la pepsina, que ayudan a descomponer las partículas complejas de los alimentos que ingiere, especialmente las proteínas, en formas más simples que pueden absorberse en las últimas etapas. de la digestión.

Motilidad del estómago: Su estómago funciona a través de una serie de eventos coordinados conocidos como motilidad y secreción gástrica. Cuando tragas alimentos, tu estómago inicia procesos mecánicos y químicos para facilitar la digestión. Las paredes del estómago contienen capas de músculo liso que se contraen y relajan de forma coordinada, descomponiendo los alimentos y mezclándolos con los jugos digestivos. El nervio vago estimula los músculos lisos de la pared del estómago. Esta estimulación es fundamental para iniciar ondas peristálticas, que son contracciones y relajaciones rítmicas de los músculos. La peristalsis mueve los alimentos parcialmente digeridos, conocidos como quimo, a la parte inferior del estómago y, finalmente, al intestino delgado.

Estimula la liberación de enzimas digestivas.: El páncreas produce y libera enzimas digestivas en el tracto digestivo a través de un conducto en el duodeno para ayudar en la absorción de nutrientes y ayudar a neutralizar los ácidos del estómago. Estas enzimas pancreáticas trabajan en conjunto con la bilis de la vesícula biliar para ayudar a descomponer los alimentos para una digestión y absorción adecuadas. Las enzimas producidas por el páncreas para la digestión incluyen:

• lipasa para digerir la grasa
• Amilasa para digerir carbohidratos
• quimotripsina y tripsina para la digestión de proteínas

Estimula la secreción de bilis.: La vesícula biliar almacena y concentra la bilis, un líquido de color verde amarillento que se produce en el hígado. Cuando ingiere alimentos que contienen grasa, la vesícula biliar libera bilis para ayudar a emulsionar la grasa para la digestión.

Motilidad intestinal y absorción de nutrientes: La motilidad intestinal, o las contracciones rítmicas de su sistema digestivo, es facilitada por el nervio vago, que orquesta la estimulación de las contracciones del músculo liso en el tracto gastrointestinal, facilitando el movimiento de los alimentos ingeridos al abrir y cerrar los esfínteres, incluido el esfínter pilórico, que regula el movimiento de los alimentos parcialmente digeridos desde el estómago al intestino delgado, permitiendo que los nutrientes y los desechos se muevan a través del sistema digestivo y se absorban o eliminen adecuadamente. El nervio vago crea una acción ondulatoria en el intestino delgado para ayudar a que los alimentos lleguen al intestino grueso. Este efecto estimulante está mediado por la liberación de acetilcolina, un neurotransmisor que provoca contracciones musculares vitales para una digestión eficiente.

Densidad de intersección: El nervio vago sirve como conducto sensorial y transmite información sobre el estado del intestino al cerebro mediante el seguimiento de las condiciones en los órganos digestivos. Proporciona al cerebro información esencial sobre el estado del tracto digestivo y la salud de los microbios intestinales, lo que permite cambios adaptativos para mantener la integridad o la permeabilidad normal de la mucosa intestinal. Esto asegura que la interfaz intestinal esté herméticamente sellada y que solo los nutrientes entren a la sangre, mientras que las sustancias inflamatorias y los insectos se mantienen alejados. Cuando el sistema nervioso simpático está más activo, el intestino se vuelve más permeable, lo que permite que sustancias inflamatorias entren al torrente sanguíneo.

Cuando intentas comer bajo estrés, en un estado simpático, comprometes tu capacidad de absorber tus nutrientes y eliminar los desechos. Para mantener una función cerebral óptima y mejorar la digestión, aplique Parasimpático™ detrás de la aurícula en el hueso mastoideo antes de alimentar. Al aplicarlo, respire profundamente varias veces, exhalando más tiempo que inhalando, para relajarse por completo y activar la digestión antes de comer.

Aceite recomendado:

Referencias:

Hace tiempo que me doy cuenta (y lo he experimentado personalmente) de que cuando estoy estresado, ansioso o abrumado, literalmente no puedo conectarme de manera centrada en el corazón, resolver problemas o pensar con claridad.

Sólo veo los problemas o amenazas y no veo opciones de solución ni veo la perspectiva de los demás.

Así que ni siquiera lo intento.

En cambio, me concentro en activar mi sistema nervioso parasimpático.

En el momento en que calmo mi impulso de luchar o huir y empiezo a sentirme seguro, puedo calmarme y resolver el problema de manera efectiva.

He pasado años tratando de encontrar la ciencia que explique lo que experimento personalmente y finalmente creo que la encontré, justo a tiempo para el Día de San Valentín, la máxima celebración del amor, la compasión y la conexión.

Cómo luchar o huir bloquea la conexión

Tu capacidad para conectarte con los demás, mostrar compasión y practicar la empatía está vinculada a tu sistema nervioso parasimpático.

Cuando siente peligro o teme que su seguridad esté en riesgo, su sistema nervioso entra en modo de supervivencia de lucha o huida (rama simpática del sistema nervioso), que asigna recursos para sobrevivir.

Esto significa que su cuerpo se está preparando para la acción inmediata: su ritmo cardíaco y su respiración aumentan, el flujo sanguíneo se dirige a sus extremidades para ayudarlo a defenderse o huir, sus músculos se tensan y su visión se estrecha, lo que le permite limitar su enfoque y prestar atención. atención a las señales de peligro en el mundo físico externo. Sus pupilas se dilatan y su visión periférica se estrecha para centrarse únicamente en la amenaza potencial.

Esta respuesta de visión de túnel bloquea tu capacidad de concentrarte en cualquier cosa que no sea necesaria para resolver el problema en cuestión, incluidas las relaciones íntimas, la empatía y la compasión por ti mismo y los demás.

Así como el sistema nervioso simpático desactiva todas las funciones que no son críticas para la supervivencia, incluida la capacidad de digerir los alimentos, también desactiva la capacidad de acceder a habilidades de relación y resolución de problemas al desactivar la capacidad de concentrarse en algo fuera de lo inminente. peligro para que no te abrume con opciones y comprometa tu capacidad para concentrarte, hiperconcentrarte y luchar o huir del peligro.

En una situación peligrosa, esta visión de túnel puede ayudarle a concentrarse y sobrevivir a una amenaza percibida. Sin embargo, cuando el peligro sólo se percibe pero no está realmente presente, esta visión de túnel le impide gastar tiempo o energía en cualquier cosa que no sea crítica para la supervivencia inmediata, incluido el amor, la conexión y las relaciones.

Personalmente, experimento esto como si me sintiera tan ansioso en ciertos momentos que no me doy cuenta de cómo estoy interactuando o estoy tan concentrado en el peligro potencial que no puedo relajarme en el momento y concentrarme en el ser amado. uno.

Esto tiene que ver con el hecho de que estás constantemente bombardeado con información sensorial. Si centras tu atención en todo lo que sucede a tu alrededor, sufrirás una sobrecarga sensorial y no podrás mantener tu atención en la seguridad.

Desafortunadamente, cuando el estado comprensivo te encierra en un estado de escaneo constante de amenazas, cierra tu capacidad de sentir compasión, empatía o conectarte con los demás, lo que puede distraerte y sentirte como una amenaza a tu seguridad.

El estrés supera la empatía

La empatía, o la capacidad de comprender y compartir los sentimientos de los demás, le ayuda a fomentar y mantener conexiones sociales y emocionales.

Sin embargo, su respuesta empática se ve afectada por su concentración. En situaciones de estrés, se asignan recursos para lidiar con los factores estresantes, lo que resulta en una reducción de la atención, en la que uno se concentra en los peligros potenciales en su entorno en lugar de en los sentimientos o experiencias de los demás.

Investigación de La relación entre el estrés agudo y la empatía descubrió que el estrés agudo puede bloquear la empatía afectiva/el contagio emocional.

“Además de esta reducción de la atención, se cree que el estrés agudo induce un cambio desde un procesamiento de información más exigente desde el punto de vista cognitivo hacia patrones de respuesta más habituales. Este cambio debería permitir un procesamiento de información más rápido y, por lo tanto, puede ser útil para afrontar factores estresantes (y, en última instancia, para sobrevivir), especialmente cuando se necesitan decisiones rápidas. Sin embargo, este cambio también puede tener un precio, ya que la flexibilidad mental se reduce. Este cambio puede tener implicaciones importantes para el procesamiento de la información social en general y la empatía en particular.

El parasimpático activa la seguridad para apoyar la empatía y la conexión.

Activar la rama parasimpática de tu sistema nervioso puede ayudarte a mejorar tu relación.

Cuando su sistema nervioso simpático está activo, libera sustancias químicas del estrés como el cortisol y la adrenalina que reducen su concentración y disminuyen la conexión para mantenerlo en alerta máxima y listo para una actividad física intensa.

Su sistema nervioso parasimpático hace lo contrario: lo ayuda a sentirse seguro e incluye su capacidad de pensar racionalmente, razonar y conectarse con empatía.

El estado parasimpático te ayuda a sentirte seguro, permitiéndote activar las conexiones neuronales necesarias para una regulación cognitiva y emocional saludable. Cuando eres capaz de salir del estado de alerta máxima a un espacio mental y emocional de seguridad, tu mente puede relajarse, lo que te permite calmar tu estado emocional, expandir tu enfoque y conectarte desde un lugar de amor y compasión.

De hecho, una investigación de la Universidad de Oregon encontró que «una mayor actividad parasimpática es un marcador de mayor atención selectiva y función neurocognitiva».

En otras palabras, puedes aumentar tu atención selectiva y tu capacidad para comprender y compartir los sentimientos de tus seres queridos activando tu estado parasimpático. Tu sistema nervioso parasimpático activa un estado físico y mental relajado que te permite considerar e integrar nuevas ideas.

En el estado parasimpático, el nervio vago libera el neurotransmisor acetilcolina para ayudar a mejorar la atención y el aprendizaje. En su cerebro, la acetilcolina activa e inhibe la comunicación entre diferentes áreas del cerebro para almacenar información adecuadamente acelerando o desacelerando las señales nerviosas. En su cerebro, la acetilcolina es principalmente excitadora, lo que permite que sus neuronas se comuniquen para que pueda pensar con claridad, aprender nueva información y conectarse con sus seres queridos.

Es extremadamente importante salir de la rama simpática, del modo de supervivencia, de su sistema nervioso, ya que no favorece la creación de conexiones reflexivas, centradas en el corazón y empáticas. La forma más sencilla de hacerlo es, literalmente, obligarse a detenerse nerviosamente y activar su sistema parasimpático. Inhalación o aplicación tópica. Parasimpático™ Detrás del pabellón auricular del hueso mastoideo, donde el nervio vago está más cerca de la superficie de su cuerpo, ayuda a estimular su nervio vago para activar el estado parasimpático y calmar su respuesta de lucha o huida para mejorar el amor y la conexión.

Aceite recomendado:

Referencias:

Solía ​​tener infecciones de oído todo el tiempo cuando era niño: infecciones de oído dolorosas y penetrantes que afectaban todos los aspectos de mi vida diaria.

Sufrí este malestar durante años hasta que finalmente me extirparon las amígdalas, lo que pareció detener el ciclo.

Hasta ese día.

Me palpitaba el oido derecho

Y los ganglios linfáticos del lado derecho de mi cuello me dolían.

Decidí hacer un experimento.

Apliqué generosamente aceite linfático tópico en el lado derecho de mi cuello, luego me recosté con la oreja izquierda sobre la almohada durante unos minutos para permitir que drenara el lado derecho.

Cuando me levanto, el dolor ha desaparecido.

¿Qué es una infección de oído?

Una infección de oído es una infección dentro o alrededor del oído.

Con mayor frecuencia, las infecciones de oído ocurren en el oído medio, el espacio vacío y lleno de aire detrás del tímpano que contiene los pequeños «huesecillos» vibrantes que transmiten las vibraciones del sonido al oído interno.

Síntomas de infección de oído

• dolor de oído
• Obstruido o difícil de abrir
• Sensación de que se escapa líquido del oído.
• problema de audición
• Palpitaciones o latidos en los oídos.
• Picazón en el oído
• Dolor que se irradia alrededor de la oreja o hacia el cuello.
• exceso de cera
• Vértigo
• mareo
• Enrojecimiento cerca de la oreja u otros signos de inflamación.

Cómo el drenaje linfático alivia el dolor de oído

La sensación de dolor en el oído puede ser el resultado de una acumulación de presión de líquido que no puede drenar del canal auditivo. Verá, el líquido del oído medio drena hacia la garganta y baja por el cuello a través de tubos estrechos que van desde el oído medio hasta un área en la parte posterior de la garganta conocida como trompa de Eustaquio.

Los virus, las bacterias, el resfriado, la gripe, las infecciones o las alergias pueden causar inflamación, congestión e hinchazón que bloquea la trompa de Eustaquio, lo que contribuye a la acumulación de líquido, moco y presión que luego se experimenta como dolor de oído. El líquido estancado y la mucosidad también pueden infectarse, inflamando aún más el oído medio e interno y afectando los nervios que conectan el oído interno con el cerebro.

Luego, la hinchazón puede bloquear el canal auditivo, impidiendo que el líquido drene adecuadamente, provocando dolor y afectando la salud inmunológica.

Ayudar al drenaje del líquido linfático cerca del oído puede aliviar la inflamación, la presión y el dolor causado por la acumulación de líquido en el oído.

Aceites esenciales para las infecciones de oído.

Los aceites esenciales ofrecen propiedades antiinflamatorias, antimicrobianas, antibacterianas, antivirales y antiparasitarias que pueden ayudar a aliviar los gérmenes que pueden causar infección, inflamación y dolor en el oído.

Si bien NO recomiendo poner aceites esenciales en el canal auditivo, he descubierto que los aceites esenciales se pueden aplicar tópicamente en la piel detrás de la oreja y en el cuello para ayudar al drenaje, reducir la inflamación y aliviar naturalmente el dolor de oído.

De hecho, algunos estudios han encontrado que el aceite de árbol de té, el aceite de ajo y el aceite de albahaca pueden actuar contra las bacterias que causan infecciones de oído. Cuando mis hijos eran pequeños, les aplicaba una solución de ajo prensado y aceite de oliva en los oídos para aliviar el dolor de oído. Parece funcionar, y las investigaciones lo respaldan, al identificar dos derivados específicos del ajo, la alicina y la s-alil cisteína (SAC), que son prometedores contra los microorganismos que causan infecciones en el oído medio y el canal auditivo.

Los aceites esenciales aplicados tópicamente pueden ayudar a mantener un drenaje saludable del oído y, con él, de los órganos que se encuentran por encima del cuello (incluidos los oídos, la nariz, la garganta, la boca, la mandíbula, las encías, las amígdalas y el hueso mastoideo) y todos los órganos que se encuentran debajo.

Aceites esenciales sugeridos para reducir el dolor de las infecciones de oído.

Linfa™

Los ganglios linfáticos se agrupan detrás de la oreja y en el cuello para drenar el líquido del oído. Los ganglios del cuello y detrás de la oreja están cerca de la piel, lo que los hace fácilmente accesibles para los medicamentos con aceites esenciales aplicados tópicamente.

La congestión o inflamación de cualquier parte del cuello (incluidas las venas, el tejido linfático o el nervio vago) puede comprometer el drenaje del oído. Su sistema linfático no tiene bomba y el líquido linfático puede acumularse y estancarse.

Para mejorar el flujo y drenaje linfático, aplicar generosamente 2-3 gotas de Linfa™ en la piel detrás de la oreja y alrededor del cuello a los lados para mejorar el drenaje del oído y aliviar la congestión. Linfa™ la mezcla está destinada a un uso liberal. También puedes aplicar Parasimpático™ del nervio vago y Circulación en el cuello para apoyar el nervio vago y la salud vascular.

Recuperación nerviosa™

Cuando mis hijos eran pequeños, apliqué Nerve Repair™ en la piel detrás de sus orejas para el dolor de oídos y durante los vuelos en avión. Nerve Repair™ está formulado para aliviar el dolor, combatir infecciones, estimular la circulación, aliviar la inflamación y la hinchazón. Nerve Repair™ contiene una mezcla de aceites esenciales de albahaca, menta, helicriso y mejorana.

Las investigaciones muestran que el aceite de albahaca tiene propiedades curativas que pueden ser útiles en el tratamiento de infecciones de oído. El aceite de albahaca tiene un alto contenido de propiedades antiinflamatorias, antioxidantes y antibacterianas, incluidos los compuestos metileugenol y metilchavicol, que son importantes para combatir infecciones, incluidas las de oído.

Para aliviar el dolor de oído, aplique tópicamente 2 o 3 gotas detrás de la oreja y bajando por el cuello.

Aceites destacados:

Referencias: