Category Archives: Wellbeing

Banish those winter blues!

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If you were listening to the show yesterday, you’ll have heard Fiona passing on some hints and tips for banishing the winter blues and keeping calm over Christmas. Here’s a reminder of some of the suggestions she shared…

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is estimated to affect up to 6 per cent of us, making life very difficult indeed for those who suffer from it.

If the lack of light affects your mood substantially,  using a lightbox for up to an hour a day can helpful – find out more about light therapy here or check out the NHS and Mind websites for more helpful advice.

Even if we don’t suffer from SAD, for many of us the ‘winter blues’ leave us feeling more lethargic, less keen to stick to exercise we usually enjoy and eating too much stodge. And this dip in energy coincides with Christmas preparations – what a double whammy!

One of the key things about staying calm up to Christmas is to realise that panicky feelings may be due to low light levels. Try out these simple suggestions to adjust your regime…

Use your energy well. Decide what your goals are for the day and crack on so they can be progressed by about 2.30pm, leaving the afternoon for more routine tasks.

Get out in the sun – even if it’s just for 10 minutes, the sun on your face will stimulate your pineal gland, which helps regulate melatonin levels.  The action of the sun helps to make you feel alert and interested, less like hibernating!

Don’t eat too much comfort food – have hearty soups but not too much bread. Make time to eat and really enjoy your meals – mindful eating means tasting every mouthful and stops you from eating more than you need. This is a useful habit to get into pre-Christmas when it can feel as if there is too much of everything!

And if you do over-indulge – not that you would do such a thing! – here’s just the thing from Fiona’s blue box of homeopathic remedies…

  • Pre-Christmas, Nux vom 30 is great if you’re jangled from having too many deadlines and irritated from drinking too much coffee in order to meet them! You are short tempered and snappy, and may feel pretty rubbish inside, as you are not digesting your hastily-eaten meals very well.
  • And after the Christmas parties and celebrations, Nux vom 30 helps to restore you if you’ve had too much of everything, whether food or drink. You know that hungover feeling when everything is too loud and too bright? Nux vom will help sort that out. And it doesn’t have to be alcohol – if you go to a lot of Christmas dos and you end up feeling sluggish and irritable from lots of party food, take Nux vom.
  • December’s a busy time for children too, with all the excitement about presents, school plays and performances combined with tiredness towards the end of the long school term – while for teenagers there are mock GCSEs and A levels. If your kids are a bit more sensitive now, Pulsatilla 30 is excellent for helping when nerves about a school event mean some extra tears or tummyaches.
  • And then there’s the family get together – we know that can bring its share of hassle too. There’s something about the certain combination of relatives that makes the sparks fly. It may start with a familiar gripe, a throw-away remark that opens old wounds or leads to a bigger row. For emotional upsets that can leave you feeling rattled afterwards, try Ignatia 30.
  • Unfortunately bad news doesn’t stop for Christmas. A sudden bereavement, relationship break-up or death of a family pet – these big events can and do happen at any time. Again Ignatia 30 is a remedy for dealing with the shock that bad news brings.

You’ll find these and other homeopathic remedies in health shops and high street pharmacies – to use them, take one pill every 15 minutes for three doses. You shouldn’tt need to repeat but if symptoms return use another batch of three.

For more information about using homeopathic remedies at home, Fiona runs regular workshops. The first date in 2017 is Friday 27 January – email fiona@fionatheokritoff.co.uk for details and bookings.

Also on yesterday’s show, wellness coach Tina Mason joined the Girls Around Town to talk about the new science of mBIT and how to use your three brains instead of just one.

Listen to Fiona’s interview with Tina here and find out more about her practice on her website…

The change for the better

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Why do women go through the menopause, when does it happen and what can you do if you’re experiencing symptoms that stop you enjoying life to the full?

Is HRT safe, is it good for you and how do you separate the facts from the myths?

If these are questions you’ve been pondering, this event from Henpicked will go a long way to answering them for you…

From 7.30pm to 9.30pm on Thursday 13 October, it’s open to all and everyone attending will be sent a free copy of the book Menopause: The Change For The Better before its launch on Tuesday 18 October.

Join Henpicked at The Beeches Hotel, Wilford Lane, Nottingham NG2 7RN to hear what Dr Louise Newson of My Menopause Doctor has to say.

A GP in Solihull, Dr Newson runs a private menopause clinic at the town’s Spire Parkway Hospital. She’s also a medical writer for numerous companies, writes healthcare articles for doctors and patients on a whole range of different topics and you may well have seen her on the BBC or read her articles in the Daily Mail, Telegraph, Good Housekeeping and Prima.

She has a particular interest in managing the menopause and feels passionately that women should be offered the correct information about treatment options so they can make an informed choice regarding management of their menopause.

Places at the event are £12 each, including tea/coffee and cakes and of course your FREE copy of Menopause: The Change For The Better. Profits from this event will go to The Daisy Network, a  registered UK charity supporting those affected by premature menopause…

Book your place here and don’t forget to share the information about the events with friends who may also wish to attend.

Autumn advice

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A reminder of Fiona’s hints, tips and treats for autumn from this morning’s show…

Rainbow eating

Eating the rainbow is based on eating as widely as possible from the coloured fruits and veg we have to choose from – apply that seasonally as new fruits come into season.

So add in blackberries (rich in B vitamins as well as the anthocyanins that give them their glorious purple colour), pears (rich in potassium and vit C) and vibrant orange pumpkins and squash as well as zinc-packed  pumpkin seeds.  Use fresh carrots and other roots to make healthy soups.

Eating in harmony with the seasons is a part of many health and spiritual practices, including yoga. A yoga perspective encourages eating with the seasons, adding more warming and stimulating foods in autumn such as spices, garlic and ginger (carrot soup is wonderful with ginger added for some extra zing).

At the same time yoga advises cutting down on cooling foods such as leafy greens and cucumber. So move away from the salads as the weather gets chillier and focus on warming foods with small numbers of ingredients cooked slowly, especially stews and soups.

You may find it helpful to add in more protein from nuts, seeds, cheese and eggs (useful to substitute this for some meat so you can reduce your intake) to help balance the unpredictable weather at this time of year. Consider adding in more protein at breakfast – see below.

Back to school

The summer holidays are over, school days start this week and that means getting back into a routine.

One key aspect of routine vital for children at school is getting enough sleep (six to 12 year-olds are reckoned to need 10 hours a night). After holidays and lie-ins, you’ll need to take charge of this important aspect and re-establish times for bed and getting up.

Talk about how important it is to have a good night’s sleep. Encourage them to take part by creating a night routine they enjoy, such as that special book time or a five-minute cuddle before turning in. Restrict screen time to at least 30 minutes before bedtime so they don’t go to bed over-stimulated and don’t give sugary drinks and juices at teatime. Encourage your children to be comfortable in the dark if at all possible.

After a refreshing night’s sleep, what we need is a nutritious breakfast. Although cereals have long been a favourite, protein helps us stay feeling fuller for longer.

An old-fashioned boiled egg with soldiers makes a great breakfast – and if you make the kids a boiled egg, remember to have one yourself!

Feet treats

Our feet do an amazing job but wearing shoes often cramps the toes and stops them being as flexible as they should be. Look after your feet and toes – your legs and back will thank you for it.

Go barefoot whenever you can, especially after a day at work. And give your feet a workout – you can do this in front of the TV or when you’re relaxing.

  • With both feet flat on the floor, lift and spread your toes as wide as you can. If you do this every day, you’ll notice a big difference in how much space you can see between your toes! One foot may need a bit more help than the other – you can always separate the toes with your fingers to start with.
  • Put your feet on the floor with your toes splayed out. Try to lift your big toes only away from the floor. Do this every day to wake up your feet.
  • Then put your big toes down, lift the other toes and give them a good wiggle!
  • Use a tennis ball to massage the bottom of your feet – put the ball on the floor and roll your feet on it one at a time. You need to do it quite firmly and you may experience a little discomfort but, done regularly, this is good for keeping your feet responsive and supple.

Face Time

Here’s how to do a simple face massage.

  • Have a bath so you’re nice and relaxed.
  • Lie down and put a pillow beneath your head.
  • Relax your face – try to imagine that your skin sliding off your face it’s so relaxed. Then say the vowel sounds to stretch your face: AEIOU. Repeat slowly three times.
  • If you can, bend your head back for a count of 10 while opening your eyes as wide as you can and lifting your eyebrows. If bending is not advised, just open your eyes and lift your eyebrows.
  • Place two fingertips on each ear lobe and press gently with your thumb for a count of five, then slide fingers up to your temples and press gently for a count of five.
  • Finish by making gentle circles over your temples. Then have a nice glass of water.

If you want to find out about using remedies to look after the family, why not go along to Fiona’s next Homeopathy at Home between 10am and 12 noon on Friday 23 September? For more information, just give her a call on 01636 679290 or visit her Facebook page…