How to Navigate Holiday Depression

Post-holiday blues usually refer to the short-lived mental distress, anxiety and sadness that arises after the holidays. It’s common after all of the hoopla for people to experience a letdown or what some call the "post-holiday blues." Usually not long-lasting, most people swing “back to normal” after a short while.

While it may be an exciting stretch for many people, it can also be a prolonged period of loneliness and sadness for others. Throughout this time, emotions are heightened, and sometimes difficult to regulate. Here is what you need to know about this down period. This article will discuss the Christmas effect on mental health, signs of post-holiday blues, emotions you might feel after the frantic holidays, and tips on how to feel better.

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How to Cope with the Summer Heat

Summer is here, bringing sunshine, longer days, and plenty of opportunities to enjoy the outdoors. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), summer is associated with the Fire element, representing warmth, energy, and vitality. However, it’s also a season when we need to maintain balance to avoid overheating, exhaustion, and emotional imbalances.

Here’s how TCM views summer and some tips to help you thrive during the hottest months.

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More than Water: The Art of Deep Hydration

Staying hydrated during a Brisbane summer is crucial to prevent heat-related illnesses like heat cramps, exhaustion, or heatstroke. Hot weather increases sweat production, and without sufficient fluid intake, you risk dehydration, which can lead to symptoms like headaches, fatigue, dizziness, and muscle cramps. Maintaining hydration is also essential for basic bodily functions, as water regulates body temperature, aids digestion, and transports nutrients.  But is there more you can do as well as drinking a lot of water …

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Foods That Reduce Inflammation

What is inflammation?  Your immune system becomes activated when your body recognises anything that is foreign—such as an invading microbe, plant pollen, or chemical. This often triggers a process called inflammation that, in this situation, protect your health.

However, sometimes inflammation persists, day in and day out, even when you are not threatened by a foreign invader. That's when inflammation becomes a chronic problem. Many major diseases that plague us—including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, depression, and Alzheimer's—have been linked to chronic inflammation.

One of the most powerful tools to combat inflammation comes not from the pharmacy, but from the grocery store. Many studies, including one recent one by Harvard University, have shown that components of foods or beverages have anti-inflammatory effects.

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How Chinese Medicine Sees Anxiety

Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress. It helps one deal with a tense situation in the office, study harder for an exam, focus on an important speech. In general, it helps one cope. But when anxiety becomes an excessive, irrational dread of everyday situations, it has become a disabling disorder.

If you’re looking for natural ways to reduce anxiety and improve your mental well-being—or want to complement your current treatment—Chinese Medicine might offer the relief you need.

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Natural ways to deal with menstrual pain

Although period pain is common, it’s most definitely not “normal”, and shouldn’t ever occur in an otherwise healthy woman. The presence of pain indicates to a Chinese medicine practitioner that the usual flow of the menstrual cycle is not occurring as it should, which means some other factor is getting in the way. These factors can include a hormonal imbalance (from contraceptives or an unhealthy diet), stress and other lifestyle factors, nutrient imbalances, or an undiagnosed and untreated underlying condition. So what can you do about it?

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