mindfulness – Books, Life and Everything Nice

Conquering Stress and Fears: A Treatment Guide for Anxiety and Trauma-Related Disorders by Gustavo Kinrys M.D.

Published: August 10, 2018

Publisher: Boston Press Group

Pages: 240

Genres: non fiction, psychology, medicine

Rating: 3 stars

Recommend to fans of: natural and alternative methods to cope with stress and anxiety, learning to better cope with life

Foodie Vibes: healthy foods and chamomile tea to relax

Synopsis:

When you realize that anxiety, stress and even fear permeate every aspect of your life, you begin to wonder how you can eliminate these all-encompassing feelings. How can you reclaim those precious minutes of your life and become truly at peace with your mind? Conquering Your Stress and Fears by Dr. Gustavo Kinrys, M.D. quickly and easily guides you through the various options for tackling these feelings naturally, before you turn to conventional medications and treatments. From the nuances of supplemental approaches such as herbs or vitamins, mindfulness meditation and even emergent technologies, Dr. Kinrys

Review:

Thank you to NetGalley, Boston Press Group and Gustavo Kinrys M.D. for an ARC ebook copy to review. As always, an honest review from me.

Like:

Comprehensive overview of the topics discussed with more details for each
Easy to read and access the information: broken down into small segments with the chapters and a summary chart at the end of each chapter as well
Herbal remedies to help reduce anxiety – common, generally safe herbs to try such as chamomile, lemon balm, valerian, lavender
Easy to go back and review information at a later date
Meditation and mindfulness: different types of each are introduced and discussed

Love: —

Dislike:

Chamomile is suggested to help with IBS — Not really true. Only if it’s in an oil form, because chamomile tea is high FODMAP which is know to trigger symptoms in many people with IBS

Wish that:

The information is more well rounded, not mainly focused on more medical based options for anxiety
More focus on therapy and behavioral techniques to first treat anxiety
Some of the wording was changed, as it read strangely.

Overall, the book is a good comprehensive overview of many topics. It’s great for learning but you will probably need more information and research before implementing some of the techniques. If you’re looking for more food and herbal remedy based solutions for stress and anxiety, the book will be helpful.

Question:

What types of alternative remedies have you used to deal with stress? I.e.: essential oils, mediation, herbal supplements, etc.

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When Life Hits the Fan: A Mindful Guide to Caring for Yourself While Caring For Others by Janet Fouts

Published: August 15, 2018

Publisher: Tatu Digital Media

Pages: 162

Genres: non fiction, self help, mental health, medical

Rating: 5 stars

Recommend to fans of: resources to help with caregiving, all types of caregivers, learning to cope with the demands of caregiving – sanely

Foodie Vibes: quick nutritious cheap meals to fuel you for all the demands of the day

Synopsis:

More than 44 million Americans provide care for family members and friends with chronic illness or conditions that require day to day assistance.

In general, caregivers do this out of real compassion and love, or a sense of duty for the person they are caring for.

Often they find themselves thrown into roles that are unfamiliar and sometimes scary; like managing through the medical and insurance system to gain the best possible care for their loved one or understanding the options in the middle of a medical emergency. Stress levels can go through the roof, and over time stress wreaks havoc on the caregiver as well as their loved one.

If the caregiver also has a family, a job, and other responsibilities and caring for their loved one is added to their current roles. While it is a labor of love, it can be exhausting over time, and things start to fall through the cracks, including caring for their own health.

When Life Hits the Fan shares the experiences of a number of caregivers and activities that they can do to take care of themselves, body and soul. The practices in the book come from the author’s training in mindfulness, emotional intelligence and positive psychology as well as her own caregiving journey.

With a practical approach to stress reduction and easy to follow exercises, When Life Hits the Fan helps us understand what’s going on inside our minds and our bodies and ways to create resilience and care for ourselves.

Review:

Thank you to NetGalley, Tatu Digital Media and Janet Fouts for an ebook copy to review. As always, an honest review from me.

The book is exactly what I needed to read, as a caregiver. Seriously, if you’re a caregiver in any form, then you need to read the book. The information was so relatable, honest and helpful that I’m going to check out the author’s website for even more caregiving resources.

Maybe you’ve heard the phrase “care for the caregiver.” It is absolutely true. We can’t take care of everyone else without first taking care of ourselves. It’s simply not sustainable in the long run. And most of us are caregivers, in some capacity, for the long term. The author teaches that your compassion needs to extend to yourself or it’s incomplete. So true!

The book is short but packed with helpful information and compassion. The author truly gets what it’s like to be a caregiver. The self care suggested is practical, affordable, generally short in duration, and can be done almost anywhere. I’ve heard some of these suggestions before, but it’s nice to have it all in one book.

When Life Hits the Fan would be great for reading while waiting for your loved one’s appointments, during a few minutes of downtime, etc. The book is accessible, helpful and comes from a compassionate place. I highly highly recommend it if you’re a caregiver in any capacity.

How many of you are caregivers?

What do you do for self care?

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Twitter: @BooksAndLife1

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