Fall Fruit Ideas – Oh My!

Oct 16, 2022

Fall Fruit Ideas – Oh My!

by dphealer Nutrition

Two of the most popular superfood fruits to enjoy in the fall are apples and pears. They are both loaded with vitamins and nutrients, have a sweet flavor for healthier desserts,
and even go great in more savory dishes. Here are some a few ways to incorporate them into your fall diet.

Add to a Smoothie

This is perhaps one of the easiest ways to use apples and pears in your fall foods. Add one or both sweetening’s and any type of [green] vegetable smoothie to reduce the tart, sour or bitter taste. But don’t stop with apples and pears, throw in a banana, a cup of yogurt, and your preferred milk of choice.

Make a Fruit Salad

If you enjoy salads as a way to add in more superfoods and eat healthier at the same time, don’t be afraid to add some fruit to it. It gives it a light, crisp flavor that is great during this time of year. When adding fruit, a vinaigrette is usually the best type of dressing, or you can just make your own by combining olive oil with a little lemon juice and honey if you want to sweeten it up. Another superfood you can consider is kale, nuts, and cranberries, right alongside your sliced pears and apples.

Sautéed Fruit

This turns your chosen superfood into a type of dessert that is light and sugar-free, aside from the natural sugars within the fruit itself. You can go with just apples and pears or mix and match with other fall fruits as well. If desired, you can use coconut butter or cashew butter instead of regular butter, for a nuttier flavor. Sautee on low heat some coconut oil with a little sea salt and cinnamon.

Apple and Pear Butter

Apple butter is a very popular choice in the fall, as it is perfect for topping your cookies, muffins, scones, or even toast. You might even consider going one step further adding in pears. It can be made using a slow cooker. If you want, you can also mix in some pumpkin, maple syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon, and other fall spices like ginger and cloves.

Oct 16, 2022

Why Anxiety and Depression Can Get Worse in the Fall

by dphealer Emotional Well-Being,Health Conditions,Yoga/Meditation

While fall is the favorite season among many people, others struggle with it because of how it affects their mental health. You might be one of the unlucky people who have a hard time with your emotional state in the fall, dealing with worsened anxiety and depression. Here is more information about why this might happen and what you can do about it.

What is Autumn Anxiety?

The first mental health change you might notice in the fall season is your anxiety. Many people have noticed that their anxiety seems to peak around the start of the season; others after “falling back an hour” – but why? This is sometimes referred to as autumn anxiety, a type of anxiety that is triggered by the fall season. This is because the change between summer and fall can often feel like a drastic one. Your days get shorter, the weather changes, your routine is different, holidays are coming up, and it just feels like everything is different and more stressful.

Dealing with Seasonal Depression

You might also be someone who has worsened depression in the fall, which can happen for a number of different reasons. However, the most common cause is from seasonal affective disorder, (or SAD). SAD is often the result of the changing seasons, particularly with the gloomier, darker, colder, and rainy weather common during the fall and winter, then you are likely to get it this time of year. Unfortunately, it can give you all the same symptoms as other forms of depression, including mood changes, low energy, lack of motivation, lethargy, and simply feeling blue.

What You Can Do About It

While it can be difficult getting through the fall season with anxiety and/or depression, you are not alone, and there IS help available to you. Here are some ways to get relief from your anxiety and depression this season:

Light therapy for SAD – If you suffer from SAD, one of the best options for you is light therapy.  Naturally, light therapy, called phototherapy, is the way to go. There are a host of “light boxes” you can use indoors to provide a bright light during the day to reduce your symptoms.

Writing in a Journal

Journaling is a simple daily practice that can help with minor forms of anxiety and depression.

Practicing your breathing (or meditation) exercises – Breathing exercises are quite helpful when dealing with anxiety. Being consciously aware of your breathing allows you to be mindful for a few minutes, toward focusing your attention on intentionally relaxing your mind and body. This method is a fantastic option for getting through a panic attack.

Seeking professional help – If your symptoms become unbearable especially if you fear leaving your home, please do not hesitate to reach out to your licensed medical professional – family doctor, or psychologist if in need of medication or talk therapy. There is so much they can help you with when your anxiety or depression becomes too much to handle. If your symptoms are more of a nuisance, then consider us for your spiritual life or holistic wellness coaching, or even private yoga sessions to help you hold it together until Spring. 😉

Jul 31, 2022

Living with Tinnitus

by dphealer Health Conditions,Metaphysics,Self-Reflections

My Story
Although tinnitus is common among older people (60 or higher), I have suffered from it since my early teens. Year after year, day after day, it’s there as a loud-pitch ringing in both ears. Sometimes the pitches are different frequencies between the two ears, which just magnifies the noise even more.

Over the years, it has gotten worse, especially since I worked in the field of technology for nearly three decades. For about a third of that time, I oftentimes worked in close proximity to high-powered machinery that has since made matters worse. I did listen to loud music as a child often times via wearing headphones but discouraged me from doing so.

For nearly two decades, I have had to see a specialist just to have my ears cleaned out. During that time, I struggled to find a doctor who would offer something other than ear drops. Unfortunately, most doctors were far more ecstatic about having a repeat patient than helping me find out why I suffered from this condition and what I could do about it. Every three to four months like clockwork, I headed to the doctor’s office for another cleaning. Then one day, I stumbled upon a doctor who took my complaints seriously.

Prior to finding him, I took myself to a hearing clinic and they said I had a substantial amount of hearing loss uncommon for my age. They immediately recommended hearing aids but also that to find a doctor who would run additional tests. That was disheartening as I had yet to find a doctor who was willing to run tests.

However, at the recommendation of a coworker, I was led to an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) doctor, who took my concerns seriously enough to run multiple hearing tests and a CT scan – something that no other doctor has ever done. He explained why previous doctors had a double take whenever they examined my ears – they couldn’t “see” my eardrums. They were covered up due to abnormal skin growth, which had closed off one ear. That explained why when I go for regular cleaning, I’d still have trouble hearing. My doctor went on to share that I likely suffered from an excessive amount of untreated infections. Add to that, I had a family history of allergies. I commonly suffered from sinusitis on a semi-annual basis for many decades. However, a few years prior to meeting him, I had already been diagnosed as a year-round allergy sufferer – anything that moved outside, I was probably allergic to it.

He concluded from the hearing tests that I wasn’t going deaf but instead had a number of contributing factors that made tinnitus such a horrifying experience. Aside from those tests, he also conducted a CT scan, which aimed to take a snapshot of my skull to see if there was behind my eardrum – in the middle or inner ear. Oddly enough, there wasn’t.

Again, my doctor was upfront with me, he drew pictures and show my x-rays explaining every step of the way and he outline what might work and why it might not. There was the potential for a surgery that would at least reopen my ear canal; however, he was hesitant to do both ears since he didn’t know if I had any other underlying conditions.

Luckily, I heard Spirit and was led to ask my doctor if we could switch ears – to the one that was the worse – right before, I was rolled back. What I didn’t realize but Spirit did is that COVID was right around the corner and any attempt at doing the other ear would be significantly delayed.

“Tinnitus Aurium, or ‘ringing of the ears,’ consists of a variety of subjective sounds due to nervous disease, anemia, catarrhal conditions, and various other causes. Generally speaking, the dull, throbbing or buzzing noises are due to obstructed circulation in the ear, especially in the fine capillary network spread upon the drum. This commonly results from colds and catarrhal affections …
On the other hand, ringing, screeching, or whistling noises commonly denote some affection the nerves of the auditory apparatus, as is sometimes seen resulting from lagrippe [influenza].” (Charles Hazzard via The Practice and Applied Therapeutics of Osteopathy, pp. 34 – 35)

Aside from allergies, another contributing factor was I suffered from a narrow ear canal, clogged Eustachian tubes, and TMJ. Furthermore, my earwax would build up so bad that it molded to the shape of my canal, mixed with dead skin cells, then hardened like toffee. Neither over-the-counter nor prescription drops helped since they only kept my ear canal wet/moist, which only contributed to ear infections.

The only thing that semi-helped was putting a few drops of hydrogen peroxide (HP). (I’ve also tried sweet oil too.) However, when HP comes in contact with earwax, it starts to bubble and over time makes it softer. However, I’d later learn you can’t leave that in overnight. Again, the risk for ear infections but it would also cause the earwax to sour and smell horrible. It also took a while before it loosing up the wax enough for me to pull some of it out so my journey for a holistic solution continues.

The Spiritual Meaning of Tinnitus:
In mystical circles, tinnitus (or ringing in the ears) is a sign of spiritual awakening or ascension. Meanwhile, others say it means a person is stubborn and is unwilling to hear the side of another. But it can also be linked to sensitive or empathetic people who sense energy so strong that hearing upsetting news, receiving requests for help, or hearing excessive harsh words serve as emotional triggers. Furthermore, such triggers are oftentimes rooted in verbal abuse experienced either in early childhood at the “mouth” of a parent/guardian or another authority figure or later as an adult at the “hands” of a spouse, boss, etc. The empath may also be someone that’s thoroughly intuned with the spiritual realm, that they’ve created their own inner “meditation sounds” to offset the aloneness or separation they feel in being in the Earth Realm versus being with their Soul Family in 5D.

Per Michael Brill, Numerology for Healing: “Illnesses and diseases beginning with the letter T involve intense emotions related to interacting or communicating with others.” Esoterically speaking, via Edgar Cayce reading on tinnitus, sufferers could journal to explore:

  1. “Is there something that I don’t want to hear?”
  2. “Am I blocking messages from within?”
  3. “How would I live differently if I were healed?” 

LEARN MORE:

Aug 1, 2021

Being Authentically You

by dphealer Heart 2 Heart Vlog,Yoga/Meditation

“Don’t allow the eyes of others to cause you to see your own self as less then.” ~Jaketha, The Divinely Preserved Healer (#dphealer)

There is a big difference between acting gracious and humble while in the presence of someone of higher esteem versus cowering down or allowing them to demean or demoralize you. In this video blog, I share what’s like to feel left out, to not fit the stereotypical mold (mainly as a yoga teacher).

Now the question for you, beloved, is what happens when you don’t fit the mold and are too self-conscious to carry on? Do you give up or try again? If the former, do you allow your self-worth to be out of alignment to suit the “viewpoints” of others? Or, do you accept that some people, places, and things, aren’t a part of your story? Maybe because the timing is off or maybe it’s because it’s not for your Highest Good and we have to learn to be okay with that.