Younique Healing

03/31/2022

Don't forget...
It's time to move on.

Today is the final post here on this page. I'm feeling quite nostalgic about it. 😥 What a success you have made our time together here! We've all learned so much and you are always so engaged, asking smart questions, very appreciative of what I share and constantly challenging me to learn, grow and serve you better. Thank you! 😊

It's now time to move on to my C2P group that is providing what this page has been and even more!

The bulk of the information and posts from this page will be slowly moved over to the Canary2Phoenix group. I'm using the guides, files and topics sections to accumulate what will essentially become a guide to dealing with mast cell issues. This will be a slow process as I'll be reviewing and updating along the way.

Meanwhile I'm still posting the same health news and mast cell pertinent posts I always have. I am the only one posting in this group so it's unlike most groups However I'm hoping to use the C2P group to engage more in the near future as well. First with Q&A's and other events as time and my sloth like rural internet allows. 😂

This page will be removed at the end of the year and posts will become unavailable throughout that time. So be sure to retrieve (copy & paste! - links won't continue to work) if you feel the need. Better yet follow on over to Canary2Phoenix where you'll get to see some of your favorite content refreshed and reposted.

Follow the link below to my new group and don't forget to answer the 3 required join questions. https://www.facebook.com/groups/canary2phoenix/?ref=share

It's been a pleasure serving you all here. I sure hope to see you in my group so I can continue to do so in an even more impactful way! 💚

03/27/2022

Be sure to join my new group if you want to keep seeing my Sunday inspiration posts. 😊 I won't be posting them here much longer. Follow the link below to my new group. Don't forget to answer the 3 required join questions.

https://www.facebook.com/1600371106892116/posts/3030022603926952/

03/20/2022

Be sure to join my new group if you want to keep seeing my Sunday inspiration posts. 😊 I won't be posting them here much longer.

https://www.facebook.com/1600371106892116/posts/3030022603926952/

03/17/2022

Don't forget...

It's time to move on to my group that will be providing what this page has been and even more! This page will only have a rare post through the end of March so be sure to join my new group. 🥰

https://www.facebook.com/groups/canary2phoenix/?ref=share

03/09/2022

Updated repost from 2017.

This is a great but intense article. Suffice it to say that our myofascial tissue should be treated like an organ just like fat pads that congregate around the middle. Both are capable of secreting and changing neurotransmitter and hormone levels and are intimately wrapped up with our autonomic nervous systems.

Is it any wonder then that these issues are so prevalent in our collective and overlapping communities? (MCAS, EDS, POTS, ME/CFS)

It collects and retains pathogens, trauma, emotions and more. It requires good ionic balance to function properly. Basically it's a bit of a living entity in and of itself and should be treated as such.

There are reasons gentle therapies such as acupuncture, energy work and craniosacral therapy can be so highly effective in relieving physical pain. It also explains why it's so common to feel overwhelmed, cry or have other responses to those therapies. It's a direct manifestation of the releasing of what's trapped. Example. Decades ago an acupuncturist told me I carried "the weight of the world and all the caring I do for others" in my back. He directed me to bend at the middle from my seated position with arms dropped heavily while deep breathing. Which elicited deep sobbing.

Some people get good relief from myofascial pain with "fascia busters", while others swear those make them worse. I believe those can stimulate a good physical response. Yet I believe releasing of emotions and stagnant energy in our tissues is just as important. I'm not convinced, nor seen evidence of, fascia blasters doing that. (Please let me know in comments if you've had an emotional response to fascia busting devices.)

I've found myself wondering what makes the difference then in these powerful and often emotional releases. Hands on work? No, energy work can be effective virtually. Intention of the healer? Possibly. Lots to learn still!

http://www.doctorschierling.com/blog/fascia-as-an-endocrine-neuroendocrine-organ

To understand why increasing numbers of doctors and scientists are touting fascia as the basis of pain and disease, you must first understand fascia as an endocrine / neuroendocrine organ.

03/01/2022

Another glimpse into why I love Thiamine. A great place to start for many are small doses of ParaSym Plus, Benfotiamine or Garlic if tolerated. Then we increase Benfotiamine dosage and move to Garlic Oil or Allithiamine.

It can cause some kick back as it's so effective at killing off fungi like mycotoxins and candida, typically a big issue for anyone with mast cell issues. Low and very slow is essential, as are ensuring getting plenty of other B's.

https://www.facebook.com/100063029211700/posts/288880533222918/

Can SIBO, IBS & GERD be caused by a deficiency in thiamine (vitamin B1)? The answer is YES. Almost every function of the gut requires input from the autonomi...

02/22/2022

REMAINING CALM IN THE STORM
Part 4 of 4

Last time I posted about the FFF (fight, flight, freeze) response. Again, as I’m always looking at the body’s workings from a holistic point of view it’s important to discuss how the FFF response interacts with the limbic and autonomic nervous systems. (Which you may hear some people refer to as the vagus nerve only.) For those of you who may not be familiar with all of this yet, here’s a brief breakdown of some of the most important areas/systems to pay attention to.

THE VAGUS NERVE
The vagus nerve is part of the autonomic nervous system and more specifically the parasympathetic nervous system.

Here’s a short (under 2 min) primer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-NCs1lOU5w Understanding how the vagus nerve functions and how it’s TONE (ability to respond appropriately to the world) can have systemic effects on our parasympathetic vs sympathetic balance.

THE POLYVAGAL THEORY
Dr Porges first suggested the polyvagal theory and discusses it in this brief (under 5 min) video. https://youtu.be/ec3AUMDjtKQ My favorite somewhat short video on the polyvagal theory is this one (30 mins). It goes into more depth and I really like how he brings neuroception into the conversation. He’s fun to listen to so the video goes quickly. https://youtu.be/br8-qebjIgs When people want to learn even more I suggest that they begin searching YouTube and Google for the following. “Sympathetic Dominance”, “Polyvagal Theory '', “Vagus Nerve”, “Autonomic Nervous System”, etc. Stephen Porge’s book, The Polyvagal Theory, and Stanley Rosenberg’s book, Accessing the Healing Power of the Vagus Nerve, can greatly expand one’s understanding of the vagus nerve’s role in the body as well.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
For many of us we have physical characteristics, and/or physical traumas, that are effecting the vagus nerve. It requires extra effort and sometimes resolution of the body’s structural limitations to get some relief and gain some control over the vagus nerve and ANS (autonomic nervous system). For example I am suspected to have a vagus nerve injury(ies) from multiple abdominal surgeries. As well I have deterioration of the discs in my neck that can then activate my vagus nerve. This, yes, puts me at a disadvantage but does not mean I can’t gain some control from non invasive interventions. This video talks about the cervical instability that EDSers, but many in spite of a lack of an EDS diagnosis, experience. As well as how it can contribute to vagus nerve impingement and the cascade of symptoms that can arise from that. (Video is under 5 mins) https://youtu.be/sIUBBCtl6aU

INCREASING VAGAL TONE
There are some rather simple practical things that people can do to help their vagus nerve recover/improve. Hot/cold therapy is one of my favorites. Very slowly and gently changing the temperature in the shower will start retraining the vagus nerve. Because mast cells and an excited system are sensitive to hot/cold it’s important to start with very minute changes. I was fainting after hot showers and could only take lukewarm ones. Slowly, little by little, I increased both heat and cold, off and on, throughout my showers. My vagus nerve was very thankful and started responding to the outside world better again too. Here are some other ways to increase vagal tone.
~ Socializing. This doesn’t have to be in person. Even a Skype call will do.
~ Humming, chanting or singing.
~ The breathing exercises covered in part 1.
~ Massage, craniosacral therapy and acupuncture.
~ Address demyelination if that’s an issue.
~ Address digestive health if needed. Gut-brain axis signaling goes both ways!
~ Work on sending better safety cues to your body.
~ Various ANS/vagus monitoring devices.

THE LIMBIC SYSTEM
The vagus nerve and entire autonomic nervous system sends and receives signals from the limbic system. This short video (under 2 mins) explains what comprises the limbic system. https://youtu.be/LNs9ruzoTmI It’s within this region that mast cells receive signals to degranulate. Which is why neural training, which focuses on changing the signals in this region, has been found to be so effective for mast cell issues.

NEURAL RETRAINING
EFT and Faster EFT as mentioned yesterday are two forms of neural retraining. There are quite a few other programs available now. Some of the better known ones are DNRS, The Gupta Programme, Joe Dispenza, Irene Lyons and the Christian based 21 day Detox. DNRS has quite a few success stories on YouTube. This woman had a health journey with mold exposure, lyme, MCS, MCAS and POTS. (video under 12 mins) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLs-Km5mxKY I find that people are drawn to different programs. I recommend joining the Facebook group Neural Retraining Friends to learn more about various programs and which is right for you. Be sure and read their rules before posting as there are special requirements because people in that group are actively using neural retraining for healing.

We covered a lot in these posts. Feel free to copy & paste my posts to a note or document, or use some other method to reread and view videos on your own timeline. Just remember links toy page will not work at some point this year as I transition over to my C2P group.

What's been provided is just a sampling and starting point. There is so much to be learned! Even after nearly a decade of pretty intensive research on all of this, I still learn new things all the time. That’s in part because it’s so diverse, but also because there’s more and more attention being given to these systems and how they operate. I guarantee that even if you don’t do anything else, take no supplements or medications, but choose to put into practice some of the things discussed in this series, you will gain some ground and be more stable.

Happy healing! 💚

02/17/2022

Don't forget.

It's time to move on to my group that will be providing what this page has been and even more! This page will only have a rare post through the end of March so be sure to join my new group! 🥰

https://www.facebook.com/groups/canary2phoenix/?ref=share

02/15/2022

REMAINING CALM IN THE STORM
Part 3 of 4

UNDERSTANDING THE FFF RESPONSE
Here’s a quick video that discusses the FFF, Fight, Flight, Freeze response in case you're unfamiliar. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEHwB1PG_-Q Although originally termed the fight or flight response, there was an expansion to include the freeze response. Which I think is very valid. In some cases it’s been called the FFFF response. I myself have called it that. The fourth F includes Fawning. I’ve backed away from use of that as most people aren’t Fawning in everyday life. Although it’s definitely a trauma response and can pop up for people in various situations.

With the huge issues we’re dealing with in our current society this response is really being initiated in people. Over the last 2 years (it’s early 2022 now), I see this across general society and not just a factor for my clients and followers. Clients that were formerly extremely stable have been more unstable. I’m noticing people withdrawing, shutting down, being in denial or on the flip side becoming combative, authoritative, rigid, overly excited, agitated etc. I myself have cycled through many of these symptoms. These are all indicators of a stress response and we all seem to be in various degrees of a stress response and some are having more difficulty getting on top of theirs! I truly haven’t talked to anyone yet that doesn’t feel stressed by current affairs in some way and are reacting to it in some manner. Current events have changed our lifestyles, introduced more separation and most importantly affected our feelings of safety. I’ve mentioned before just how important it is to help our body feel safe again. Even without societal pressures, mast cell issues made that a daunting task. Now added to the mix is all of the societal stressors. What makes a person feel fear is different for everyone. For one it may be the virus for the other loss of medical freedoms. For one primarily their health, for another primarily their finances. For still others their physical safety. Unfortunately I could go on and on with this list. They’re all valid and they all have an effect. Just recognizing that is where we’re at can be deeply healing and helpful. We need to grieve that life isn’t as it should be. Just as we grieved, (or maybe you’re still working on this), being chronically ill. Acknowledgement is so important. Processing is so important. Grieving is so important. Letting go is so important. Finding a way to proceed forward is so important.

ARE YOU OPERATING OUT OF A FEAR STATE?

I’m in the habit of checking in with myself to see if there’s fear involved in my reactions, interactions and decision making. That’s because I know if I’m sitting in fear I’m not going to be making sound decisions from my prefrontal cortex, but instead from my amygdala, the fear center of my brain. Amygdala decision making tends to be rash, spontaneous, illogical and fear and emotion based. Making an active choice to what I call “settle”, before I make important decisions, really helps. Sometimes we’re wound up tight and our mast cells are firing, adrenaline (and other mediators) are coursing, and we’re just not a good place to make any decision from what to make for dinner or pack for a trip, much less any weighty decisions. I often think of this time when I was packing for a trip to my aunt’s funeral. I’d had a CT Scan with radiation that day that I was reacting to. I literally walked around in circles in my room and bathroom unable to even figure out what I needed for the short trip. Someone had to help me pack! Also, think masto rage. If you aren’t sure what that is, felt it’s effects yourself or seen it play out in groups, it’s a state where it’s clear that someone has been triggered and isn’t thinking clearly. Those triggers can be anything that causes mast cells to degranulate. Smells, sensations, emotions, food, toxins, environment, etc. Those are just not the places to be interacting or making decisions from if at all possible. Recognition of where you’re at is the first step. I often had difficulty recognizing when I was slipping into masto rage and/or confusion. I worked out a deal with my two teenage sons to offer for me to “take a break”. This had to be done kindly and lovingly or it would have made things worse. They would gently say “it looks like you’re having a hard time Mom, go rest, I’ll finish dinner” or something similar. These experiences were invaluable to me and helped me begin to send safe signals to my body again. I was loved and cared for in those times my body felt threatened. Even in the midst of still full blown mast cell reactivity I would begin to feel my body and nervous system relax. Give some thought to what slipping out of your safe zone looks and feels like for you. Create a plan with your trusted loved ones on how to navigate those situations more easily. For some people this fear state is fairly perpetual. If that resonates with you I encourage you to take a hard look at that and work on it. What can you do to create more safety in your immediate imperfect situation? Because sometimes we just are where we are at the moment and need to find our way through the best we can.

WHAT DO YOU ACTUALLY HAVE CONTROL OVER?

Some of that safety needs to be built from a place of maintaining some control where it’s possible. You won’t have control over everything and that’s okay. You can’t control every aspect of every day, every interaction, every smell. Brainstorm ways to mitigate and gain some control where you can. That may involve difficult conversations with people. Understand that your needs are important and lobby for your needs. Yet be prepared for that to not always work. Some people won’t see it like you do. Do you need to resolve that situation or can you let it go? Also check your expectations. Are your expectations setting you up to not feel safety? If you expect your neighbor not to use RoundUp, in my world view, that’s unrealistic. Would it be amazing. Should everyone stop using it? Of course! However constantly battling unrealistic expectations also puts us in a position of continually being disappointed and let down. It can effect our ability to trust, feel important and valued. I prefer not to hand the reins of those things over to my neighbors who have no skin in the game to want to help me feel safe. So how do I create safety for myself in the current situation? Can I wear a mask outdoors and maybe even indoors? Can I purchase air filters for my home? Tighten up the ability of air to enter my home? Again, I could go on and on. There may be many situations to my dilemma but if I choose to focus on what someone is not doing for me, I’ll get stuck. I always think of things in terms of what my ASD spectrum kiddo’s counselor taught me. Is it worth the fight? What is to be gained? Do I have any control? Each person’s line in the sand is different from another’s. Where are yours and what do you do to protect them? Then, most importantly, let the rest go! Find solutions within your control. The anxiety, anger and fearfulness over what can’t be controlled is often far more dangerous than what isn’t controllable. Please reread that last sentence. Not letting go is so much worse! You can do your nervous system, adrenals, immune system and microbiomes a huge disservice when remaining in a state of negative emotion and energy. Unfortunately it isn’t as simple as just willing those responses away of course. The limbic system and autonomic nervous systems are firing away and producing more of what isn’t helpful, while thinking they’re protecting you. I’m discussing those aspects in the next part of the series. For now here are some great simple tools I have personal experience with and most of my clients have used.

TOOLS FOR DEALING WITH THE FFF RESPONSE

This article is great for quickly identifying when you, or someone you love, is experiencing fight, flight or freeze. https://trauma-recovery.ca/impact-effects-of-trauma/fight-flight-freeze-responses/

This video discusses how you can ground yourself to help you feel calmer. You’ll notice bits and pieces of all the things we’ve discussed thus far. I really love Therapy in a Nutshell. If you like her style there are a lot more helpful videos to be found. https://youtu.be/agdpFsKGdOE

EFT and Faster EFT, a slightly different form of EFT, can be helpful when experiencing fear and/or anxiety. The feedback I get is that Faster EFT is simpler and more effective. It’s the one I started with and continue to use. Here’s a video from the creator of Faster EFT. https://youtu.be/UnTwiQY2hcM

Amygdala (alternate nostril) breathing helps to rebalance the left and right sides of the brain which are in an imbalanced state when in a state of fear/anxiety. Amygdala Breathing https://youtu.be/D1-gEgpo8Os

Additionally I loved all of the quick and simple left/right brain balancing exercises in this video. https://youtu.be/F0_FQHsLQrk I used them frequently and especially loved rubbing my hands together quickly for a quick reset and still do it often today.

These are just a quick few options. The goal is to find what works best for you. YouTube is a treasure trove of tools that can help. Everything takes some time to become habit forming but if you find yourself really turned off by certain things and attracted to others do the ones that resonate most for you at first so you’ll follow through. There really is no “right” way of addressing all of this. Doing nothing will not move you forward while doing something, anything, will!

02/11/2022

The various ways pain can be addressed that don't involve taking substances or physically altering anything speaks to the innate power we all hold within us to change our trajectory and find healing.

"And new technology could also help us find our way out of pain. A virtual reality (VR) interactive snowscape helps burns sufferers manage their notoriously painful wound care. A team in France has combined one of the world’s oldest therapies – hypnosis – with one of our newest technologies – VR – to give children recovering from surgery the opportunity to experience hypnotherapy in a relaxing VR environment of their choice, from a tropical beach to a mountaintop. Children given a 20-minute “hypnoVR” session within 72 hours of surgery required half the amount of post-operative morphine compared with those who received standard care. It will be fascinating to see whether VR can also help the brain rewire itself out of persistent pain.

"My hypnotherapist treats many clients for phobias, and I wondered whether a similar process was at work with my pain. I used to visualise it like a threatening-looking spider. But now, instead of fleeing into another room or trying to thwack it with a newspaper, I could gently pick it up and rehome it in the garden. After a few weeks of practising self-hypnosis, the pain began to wane, and after a couple of months it completely stopped. To this day, no IBS symptoms have returned."
.."to rewire your brain out of long-term pain, you need to persistently provide it with evidence of safety and reduce evidence of threat. It’s a matter of gradually calming down an overprotective brain, letting it know that the body is safe."

This is the exact same concept, safety, that I've found to be helpful in calming cell danger responses, the nervous and limbic systems and HPTA Axis. (They're all intertwined.) So important because those systems and bodily responses are at the heart of what drives mast cell degranulation and keeps histamine levels up.

As the author states. This is never a matter of, "it's all in your head". Rather it's these various systems I mentioned triggering a very physical response based on the brain/limbic system's perceptions of both what's going on in the body and interpretation of outward environmental signals. We can become highly sensitive and over respond to minor threats or things that shouldn't be threatening at all.

If you want to learn more about how to harness these principles for your best health please join my C2P - Canary2Phoenix group!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/canary2phoenix/?ref=share

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/01/doctor-hypnotherapy-ibs-changed-belief-pain

Science is revealing that pain is a protector, not a detector. Understanding this is the first step towards managing it, says doctor and author Monty Lyman

02/08/2022

NEUROINFLAMMATION

For those struggling with mast cell and/or long C virus neuroinflammation, this may help you better understand what's going on and how pathogens can start an unhelpful inflammatory cascade resulting in neuroinflammation. This is a short 10 min video. Notice how he ties a few factors together that we've been learning more about.

•DAMPS/PAMPS
•Mitochondrial Dysfunction
•OS - Oxidative Stress
•Tryptophan Dysregulation

All pieces of the CDR (Cell Danger Response) and repeat offenders that come up in post and long C viral illnesses, CFS/ME, lyme, mold toxicity, POTS, autism, MCAS and more.

I've discussed in the past how Quercetin and Baicalin have both been found to inhibit DAMP's/ PAMP's. Some doctors have suggested Curcumin and Luteolin to be helpful for this type of neuroinflammation being discussed, which make sense as well, and that I've certainly seen to beneficial for my clients. All are powerful antioxidants, mast cell stabilizers and have antihistamine properties. So we see a theme here.

He also mentioned the brain's mitochondria not using Glutathione to withstand oxidative stress. And I think the real nugget in this video is the last 1 1/2 minutes. Where he discusses the change in tryptophan metabolism and how that sets off a cascade of increased glutamate and excitotoxicity. So increased histamine as well. The effects of which would lower inhibitory neurotransmitters such as serotonin and GABA and deplete melatonin which is at the very end of the tryptophan pathway.

I think one of the real winners for relief of this terrible neuroinflammation cycle may be what Dr Klinghardt's been focusing pretty heavily on the last few years. Melatonin. It's a powerful antioxidant that mitochondria rely on and we've seen evidence it's helpful for C illness. We know it detoxes the g/lymphatics. Which takes a heavy hit when there's a lot of neuroinflammation and debris to be flushed out. It's also used heavily by the mitochondria to reduce oxidation and provide ATP among other things. Glutathione is just the wrong antioxidant to be discussing in this case imo. Recently Dr Berg suggested in a YouTube video that Melatonin is actually the body's master antioxidant. Dr Doris Loh has been bringing lots of light to melatonin as well. (You can find her on Facebook)

Dr Klinghardt has used incredibly high doses, often 100mg or more. Yet even small doses like 1mg can be beneficial. 10mg seems to be a sweet spot that most can comfortably handle getting to over time.

Just as other supplements that boost ATP might not be tolerated while in a severe CDR, the same could be true for Melatonin. Open drainage pathways are always important with detoxification. Melatonin has a propensity to cause lots of neuro detoxing so staying on top of lymph flow, so as not to congest occipital, jaw and neck lymph nodes is important for both comfort and toxin removal.

Liposomal forms of Melatonin are superior to other forms and Quicksilver's does not need to be refrigerated making bedtime dosing easier. Although most brands and forms seem to work and my clients have used many varied ones. If money is tight, this may be one of those supplements that you can skimp on quality more.

This is another area where I love LifeWave patching too as the Alavida and Silent Night patches boost Melatonin. I've even been wondering if they're correcting the tryptophan pathway further up? (Strictly observational.)

This information was provided for educational purposes only. Be sure to discuss any treatments, protocol changes, supplement dosages, etc with your medical care providers. Everyone's individual scenarios differ!

https://youtu.be/TobQ0wMgkZs

Dr. Sanil Rege’s talk on Neuroinflammation. In this talk, he explains the link between the immune system and the brain and how the brain can be ‘attacked by ...