Medicalised Menopause – what is the real effect on women and their lives?

by Kate Greenaway, Physiotherapist, Goonellabah

In my younger years I saw my mother going through a phase of anxiety, agitation and unrest and eventually she started taking hormone replacement therapy. Hearing the doctors around me (I had a lot of doctors in my family) give their medical opinion as to what was occurring didn’t really support me to understand what was going on and what was actually happening to her.

What was happening to her?

It was simply menopause. But the way it was discussed was as if it was an ill health condition that needed to be managed medically, rather than something normal and natural that can actually be a very beautiful process in a woman’s life. 

There are many instances when medical intervention can be necessary during menopause and this is not a criticism of medicine, or anyone that needs medical support during menopause. Nor is it a criticism of doctors – I work closely with many medical practitioners for the greatest support of our mutual clients.

The problem is that menopause, is often by default viewed as ‘an issue’ for women, in both medicine and the general population. It is often seen as something that has to be braced for, something women have to ‘get through’.

Discussing this topic with a group of women recently, I realised the extent of the harm that is done to both women and men when we are fed and swallow lies about this time in a woman’s life. Continue reading “Medicalised Menopause – what is the real effect on women and their lives?” →

How hardness can play out in a woman’s body and affect her health

by Anon, UK

I have come to realise over the past few years the hardness I carry in my body as a protection; I would say I learnt this as a little girl when my tenderness, light, and delicateness was abused, not in a sexual way, but simply the reflection of the world, my home, the education system telling me it wasn’t safe or okay to show this and live like this. I grew up learning to harden and be tough, to do everything by myself; showing I don’t need any support as a way to get through the world. This is the complete opposite of everything I now feel and know myself to be.

By no means have I let all my hardness and protection go; I still carry hardness and protection, not like I used to, but I can still feel it, in my face, my jaw, my body, when I open my eyes to go out into the world I harden, when I anticipate feeling things I don’t want to feel, like the state other people are in and how they feel about me. But the thing is this hardness doesn’t protect me, it makes me ill.

For one it makes me exhausted, my muscles tight and tense, my jaw sore. It keeps people at bay, as I don’t let them in fully, which means I don’t let all their love in and I don’t let all my love out. It stops me from feeling everything I feel, and I know now that is what will truly support me, letting myself just feel all that I feel. Continue reading “How hardness can play out in a woman’s body and affect her health” →

Confused. By. Deception. (CBD) – A Modern-Day Snake Oil

by Michael Goodhart, Aircraft Technician, B.A. Psychology, North Carolina, USA

The compound CBD (Cannabidiol) is derived from the marijuana or hemp plant and is currently the newest rage and being touted as the latest ‘cure-all’ in the health and wellbeing industry. The claims made by its proponents cover a broad spectrum of supposed benefits, ranging from a reversal of depression, halting of psychosis and healing PTSD to curing cancer. (1)

In fact, here is a more comprehensive list of claimed benefits now coming from the myriad of companies that are touting CBD as a multi-pronged solution for literally dozens of mental, emotional and physical ailments, including the abilities to: slow Parkinson’s disease, curb anger, prevent anxiety, relieve menstrual cramps, lessen arthritis pain, treat Crohn’s disease, lower blood sugar, rejuvenate skin, heal brain injury, cure insomnia, speed recovery from workouts, calm dogs and stop epilepsy.

Of that entire list, only the limiting of seizures as experienced by people with two rare forms of epilepsy has been medically proven to be somewhat alleviated with the use of CBD oil. (2)

CBD oil is being marketed and sold inside products as far ranging as hamburgers and shampoo to gummy bears in a way to capitalize on a form of created ‘normalcy’ by the companies selling these products, when in fact there are many questions about its legality and efficacy.

Continue reading “Confused. By. Deception. (CBD) – A Modern-Day Snake Oil” →

I was a vampire

By Steve Matson, UK

Being a guy and having been sent a letter from my doctor years ago, enquiring if I was still alive because they had not seen me for 15 years, speaks volumes with regard to my previous aversion to medical care. My journey of becoming a vampire and becoming allergic to the sun progressed for two years before I made an appointment to ask a doctor what was happening.

I enrolled in a year-long course when I was in my early 50s to learn Kinesiology, a healing modality. Midway through the course I started developing small painful blisters on the back of both of my hands. They were not too dissimilar to a Fire Ant bite or a welding splatter of small molten metal, when it hits unprotected skin. But, they took a long time to heal and were a bit unsightly. I dropped out of the course, for I felt it was based too much in the head and not enough in the body, and my hands were now not that appealing to look at or touch anyone.

‘Fragility of skin’ is an interesting expression, unless it refers to your own skin when exposed to sunlight and then it’s not so interesting. It means, that any skin exposed to the sun breaks down and becomes a scab. If bumped or scratched, the top layer of skin would peel off and cause exudate, which is essentially blood from which the blood cells have been filtered out, leaving a clear fluid to fill the area. You look like a zombie movie extra! Continue reading “I was a vampire” →

How I am with doctors has changed.

By Jen Smith, RN, Australia  

I was reflecting and appreciating recently on the fact that how I work with doctors has changed over the last few years. I have nursed for over 25 years and I had never until recently really given myself the opportunity to appreciate what doctors offer and the level of care they have for their patients. I basically viewed them from the perspective of providing a function to patients and I carried out whatever it was that they prescribed.

Early in my nursing career, I struggled with what I perceived was a hierarchy in terms of whose input was valued with patients and I had opinions about what was offered in terms of treatments. As a result I reacted to most of what I saw and decided that I was going to focus my efforts on building a career in natural therapies so that I could leave nursing behind and therefore have very little to do with doctors and what I thought was a limited way of working. I also saw nursing as lesser, with no independence and subservient to medicine.

I saw natural therapies as a way out, a way to being an independent practitioner and independent regarding how I worked with people and a way to seek recognition for the work that “I” was doing. Continue reading “How I am with doctors has changed.” →

A walking vagina? We are so much more.

by Jane Torvaney, Physiotherapist, Scotland 

Within my work as a physiotherapist, I assess and treat women who have what is termed ‘urinary dysfunction’. Most often this means that the women have either stress incontinence (leakage of urine when the body is under stress e.g. coughing, sneezing or running), urge incontinence (a sudden and strong need to urinate) or a mixture of both.

As part of the training to more fully support women who have urinary dysfunction, physiotherapists can attend a course to be taught how to perform a vaginal examination. This allows us to measure the strength, tone, laxity, coordination and connective tissues of the pelvic floor muscles and gives women a reference point to feel the contraction of their pelvic floor muscles from within.

Knowing that on this course I would be trained in vaginal examination and then taking it back to carry out with women, sent me in a spin and raised the following questions for me to consider. Continue reading “A walking vagina? We are so much more.” →

Heart Attack – A stop moment in life and a chance for a fresh start.

The website is dedicated to sharing stories of people who have utilised both Western Medicine and Esoteric Medicine to address their health conditions.

This interview tells of the experience of Business Owner, Michael Nicholson, when he had a heart attack and how he utilised both Western Medicine and Esoteric Medicine to help him recover and heal and find a new way of living and working.

 

Continue reading “Heart Attack – A stop moment in life and a chance for a fresh start.” →

KNEE-CAPPED… or… CAPPED BY FEAR

By Roberta Himing, Student of Life, Gold Coast, Australia.  

From the title “Knee-capped” one would perhaps think I am speaking of a past era just prior to my birth – perhaps of the time of “Prohibition”, the fabled Elliot Ness and the street gangs of Chicago, where sporadically a form of malicious wounding/torture occasioned to the knees was meted out as a punishment to prevent the assailed from easily moving forward. However, this is not the case. It appears it may be more to do with a karmic story and the deepening awareness around my ‘new knee’ experience. 

Was I in fact being brought to my knees?

In the 3rd month of 2018 an excruciating and locking pain saw me with X-rays under my arm visiting an orthopaedic surgeon who showed me a model of how a regular and healthy knee would appear.  He marvelled at the fact that I was still able to walk after viewing the X-ray I presented to him.  Shockingly (to me) I found I was advised to have a knee-replacement surgery.  How could this be? I had not been a rugby player or sportsperson of any ilk, though I had worked in a male energy during my adult life, choosing to shut down, toughen up and be hard, rather than staying open, delicate and vulnerable.  This male-style energy saw me behaving in an independent or stubborn fashion when a heavy lifting, pushing/pulling or digging job was to be carried out and there was no one else present to offer support, I would expect/demand that my body obey the desire and determination of my will. On reflection not very self-loving at all and certainly not connected to the innate preciousness and sacredness of being a woman.

May Day! May Day! May Day!    May 1st – surgery day fast approaching.

Continue reading “KNEE-CAPPED… or… CAPPED BY FEAR” →

The ripple effect of speaking honestly in nursing. (Inspired by a nursing colleague)

By Anonymous

Throughout my 20 plus years of experience in nursing, I have been inspired every day by the colleagues I work with – the skills and the care they demonstrate and the thoughtful way my nursing colleagues are with our patients, families and each other has always been clear…

Recently, I learnt so much from witnessing a colleague who didn’t hold back as they advocated for a patient: they significantly changed the outcome and treatment plan for that patient.

Whilst outcomes for our patients are important, what I really observed and appreciated was how this simple action created a ripple effect within the broader local nursing community.

Continue reading “The ripple effect of speaking honestly in nursing. (Inspired by a nursing colleague)” →

We see what we want to see … Part 2

by Gabriele Conrad, Goonellabah, NSW. 

A few days after  the incident with the rogue ‘r’ that didn’t exist and had me running around in circles, as described in https://medicineandsergebenhayon.com/2018/08/05/we-see-what-we-want-to-see/ I was on an early morning walk with a friend on a wall by a river that leads to the ocean.

On the way we had been pointing out the birds and other creatures that graced our way – Willy Wagtails, Bluetongue Lizards, Magpies, even a Kookaburra. When walking back from the very tip of the wall which overlooks the ocean, my friend and I were again aware of the wildlife around us. A beautiful cormorant caught my eye and I pointed him out to her. He was well below us, at the water’s edge, preening himself and taking his time, giving us ample opportunity to admire the sleek lines, the long beak and his settled and sanguine demeanour.

We continued on our walk back to the cars, chatting at times and silent other times, until my friend said, “There’s another one!” Continue reading “We see what we want to see … Part 2” →