Monthly Archives: July 2020

Our Pets Improve Our Health

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While it may be difficult to get Americans to collectively agree on the many issues, it seems that when it comes to pets and the value we place on them, there is little disagreement. The 2015-2016 American Pet Products Association survey reported that an astounding 65% of all American households have a pet. An identified 79.7 households have dogs–over 100 million of them in all. Cat owner households total 42.9 million. Fresh water fish, birds, reptiles and horses, along with small animals such as rabbits, hamsters, and others make up another 25-27 million pets.

Americans, it seems, have also come to view and treat their pets in human terms. No longer satisfied with relegating the family pet to its own domain, today’s pet lovers are demanding the highest quality products and services for those they love. The idea of buying a simple dog chew or catnip toy now takes a back seat to designer sweaters and jewelry for our beloved companions. The current trend of dog hotels instead of kennels, indoor animal toilets, perfume, a hugely popular service “doggie dates” and exotic animal sitting services have found their way into today’s pet economy.

For the most passionate pet lover, faux mink coats, lumberjack vests, designer jackets, matching jeweled leather collar and leash sets, Halloween costumes, and holiday outfits are becoming part of the new “pet fashion.” Safety seats for transporting pets in vehicles are also becoming popular. One of the larger pet expenditures is pet food. These days the pet food aisle looks strikingly similar to the rest of the “human food” aisles in chain grocery stores. Specialized, balanced gourmet meals are readily available in the refrigerator section as well as a plethora of animal treats, vitamins, and supplements. Special diet foods for the senior pet population offer life extension and prolonged health.

The country’s household expenditures on pets for 2015-16 was in excess of 62.75 billion dollars. It is easy to imagine that this number must be a mistake as this is more money being spent on pets in the United State than the gross national product numbers for all but 64 countries around the world. This 62.75 billion dollar figure also represents almost double the approximately $35 billion dollars Americans spend on going to movies, playing video games, or for listening to recorded music.

The approximate 20% of non-pet households are for the most part made up of individuals with allergies, or who live in apartments or other environments that do not welcome pets, and those who have no time left in their over-scheduled lives to care for a pet. It seems people of all ages, ranging from infants to very elderly, enjoy and welcome the company of pets. The presence of pets is so popular today that some nursing facilities now have therapy pets at the facility on a regular basis. The one down side to this practice is that sometimes the residents start arguing and competing over who gets to keep the cat, dog, or bird with them for the day.

What fuels our passion for pets? It is really quite simple. Our pets love us unconditionally. They listen to us when we speak, provide companionship without politics or the agenda of most relationships. They accept our love and affection the way we chose to give it, without complaint, and they provide us in return with affection and loyalty. They are the ultimate loving family member, and we are now treating them as such. Can anyone blame us?

Social networking has become the way we communicate and “do” relationships. These days it is often over e-mail and texting messages that we are starting relationships or ending them, sharing major life events–even proposing marriage. The intimate contact of human connections we had even 15 years ago before the dominance of the internet and cell phones is now being replaced by our pets.

Pets are not only beloved companions, but they are also taking on the role of healers. Dogs have been long known for their service as seeing eye dogs, but the use of dogs and other pets in many areas of healing and health monitoring are becoming more widespread. Dogs who alert their companions for seizures or “sniff out” cancer or horses that assist with helping autistic children to interact with others are easily found on the news or internet.

A recent study by researcher Dr. Karen Allen at the State University of New York at Buffalo identified that individuals suffering from hypertension when adopting a dog or cat had lower blood pressure readings in stressful situations than their counterparts who did not have a pet companion. The National Institute of Technology Assessment Workshop, Health Benefits of Pets, identified that pets provide greater psychological stability, which us protects not only from heart disease and other stress related conditions but also reduces depression. In the same study, pets have been shown to lower the cost of health care as individuals with pets make fewer doctor visits, especially “for non-serious medical conditions.”

A Perdue University study demonstrated that when seniors face traumas or other forms of adversity, the affection received by their pets and the bond between them helps prevent depress and loneliness. As a means of enhancing our psychological and physical well-being, pets have the power to love us, heal us, and help us to live longer. If only we could get other humans to do so with the same honesty and loyalty that our pet companions provide us.

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For more whole health discussions, listen to my weekly radio show Living Above The Drama. Also available on iHeartRadio.

The Life-Enriching Benefits Of Becoming A Holistic Nurse

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Graduating as a Whole Health nurse opens up a world of fulfilling work opportunities in the realm of healthcare, which combines conventional treatments with effective alternative methods. Whichever area of nursing you choose to enter, training as a Whole Health nurse is bound to benefit you, your colleagues, and patients alike.

There’s never been a better time to enter holistic nursing — it’s a profession that’s expected to experience the same growth as conventional registered nurses and expand in number by 16% by 2024, which is a faster rate than many other occupations, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals. As a Whole Health nurse, you’ll focus on recognizing each individual patient as a whole —  mind, body, and spirit — to help patients and families of all ages to live healthier lifestyles. Whichever area you specialize in, it’s a rewarding profession that helps both patients and nurses thrive.

Plenty of options

After graduating from a Whole Health nursing program, you’ll find there’s a number of different exciting fields you have the opportunity to enter afterwards and hone your knowledge. Reading the thoughts and experiences of people currently working in medicine can help you get a feel for the different areas and decide which one is the best fit for you. In particular, a family nurse practitioner is trained to provide health care services to people of all ages. Typical duties include diagnosing and treating illness, conducting physical exams, and prescribing treatment.

Alternatively, graduates interested in helping patients improve their mental and emotional health should consider becoming a mental health nurse. This role involves diagnosing and treating psychological disorders, as well as providing counseling services to help address the root of the problem. Whole Health graduates also have the opportunity to work in various institutions, including hospitals, doctor’s offices, private practices, hospices, universities, and holistic health centers. Additionally, some Whole Health nurses may choose to become health and wellness coaches to help clients set, achieve, and maintain individual health goals.

Deliver better patient care

Whole Health nurses are qualified to deliver superior patient care, which in turns creates greater job satisfaction. This is essentially because patients are provided with personalized care tailored to their unique conditions, which is carefully designed to lower the risk of injury or illness developing and increase the chances of positive health outcomes. As a Whole Health nurse, you’ll also be informed on each patient’s individual struggles and strengths, which enables you to better support patient progress and recovery.

Additionally, holistic nurses have the unique opportunity to combine modern Western medicine and holistic nursing; knowledge of illness and disease is paired with an understanding of the physical, emotional, and spiritual ramifications a condition has on a patient. Whole Health nurses therefore have a greater ability to provide personalized care and the best treatment possible for every patient. 

Emphasis on self-care

Although patient care is a top priority for holistic nurses, it’s equally important to take proper care of your own mental, physical, and spiritual health. Nursing is a demanding role, which can be both physically and mentally draining. If you’re not in good health, you won’t be able to support your patients. Fortunately, holistic nursing places an emphasis on good health for nurses, which includes the importance of self-care, spirituality, self-responsibility, and personal reflection. This focus on self-care provides holistic nurses with greater support and encouragement to maintain awareness of their own needs while working. You’ll be better able to stay in holistic health and thrive in your job.

Graduating as a Whole Health nurse opens up a world of fulfilling work opportunities in the realm of healthcare, which combines conventional treatments with effective alternative methods. Whichever area of nursing you choose to enter, training as a Whole Health nurse is bound to benefit you, your colleagues, and patients alike. 

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Nurture The Thymus To Empower The Immune System

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The Thymus, in yoga and energy circles is often referred to as “the heart” chakra. In an integrative whole health approach to patient care, the Thymus is considered a primary source of all immune cells being formed through the stimulation of “T” (thymus) cells and “B” (bird – because they were first discovered in birds) cells. In encouraging behavior that nurtures the thymus, a whole health nurse coach can assist in empowering the immune system.

From the very early stages of our embryology the Thymus is the primary mover in the development of our immune systems. It shrinks after early childhood but still plays a roll in communicating with the early T and B cells it populated back when we were still in our mother’s uterus.

The Thymus is the self-esteem component of Maslow’s Hierarchy. This is evident in as much as our immune function is an expression of how we care for and think about ourselves. To see this at work, the observation of HIV positive patients, who have a high self-esteem and self worth, rarely manifest AIDS; sometimes never does it manifest, or only when the individual is confronted with profound stress such as loss or grief which lowers the immune system function. Less than 50% of HIV positive patients ever develop AIDS and much of this is contributed to the individual’s self-esteem level. Physically the Thymus is intimately connected to our Immune System and Neurotransmitters.

Regarding Selye’s Stress Model, the Thymus can express Infections/Compromised Immunity – which is a loss of self protection. The Thymus is the environmental (internal and response to the external) component of the Whole Health Five Aspects.

So far we have gone over FIVE (5) of the SEVEN (7) aspects. The last three, as we saw with the reproductive glands, the adrenals and pancreas, clarify the emotional and behavioral aspects of each specific endocrine gland.

The VIRTUE of the Thymus is HOPE – the individual who sees the world as good and holding promise for the future has hope and feels positive about life and what is to come. This also creates a positive sense of self and self-esteem. Hope fills our life with thinking about the future and that we can fulfill our dreams and goals, rather than directing our attention to what others have and we don’t have. With hope comes the belief that we can be valued, loved and belong in this world – which is an important component to being healthy and having a strong immune system.  

The DEADLY SIN of the Thymus is very opposite of the virtue of the Thymus – hope and belief in the future, seeing the world as good and abundant; the sin of the Thymus is that of ENVY – resentment towards what others have; feeling diminished and less valued because another may be perceived as having more than us. Envy, jealously and resentment are poison to the heart, the mind and the body. Envious thoughts send messages to the cell membranes of our immune system that are toxic to the body’s health and function.

Once again we can see the value and importance in understanding how the body works a whole integrated being. The Thymus is a major player in the endocrine system, disabling or empowering the immune system to keep us healthy or make us sick.

The outcome of our Thymus function is up to us – our thoughts, behaviors, virtues and negative actions all play a role in this amazing gland’s function.J


For more whole health discussions like this, listen to my weekly radio show Living Above The Drama. Also available on iHeartRadio.