Starting where we left off last week. Adaptiv makes a huge difference. My friend has been using Adaptiv capsules and he finds there is a definite change in his base stress level. He however is dealing with other stressful situations in his life and has yet to start changing his smoking habit, but finds Adaptiv helpful.
We have talked again about the usefulness of carrying a roller for all those moments where you can catch stress as it starts, before it becomes overwhelming.
Here is a bit of science about brain chemistry. Emotional and mental well-being starts in the brain. Gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a neurotransmitter, a chemical that facilitates communication within the cells in the brain. GABA is naturally produced in the brain and is used to transfer information to other systems of the body, specifically the central nervous system (The central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord. This body system is responsible for integrating and coordinating the activities of the entire body. Through these physical structures, thought, emotion, and sensation are experienced, and body movements are coordinated.).
GABA is considered an inhibitory neurotransmitter (in fact, the body’s most inhibitory neurotransmitter) because it works by blocking certain brain signals and decreasing nervous system activation. The primary function of GABA is to regulate (inhibit) activity of cells in the brain and central nervous system that are responsible for a wide spectrum of effects in the brain and the body: managing behavior, influencing cognition, and modulating our responses to stress. There is also evidence that healthy GABA levels are important for proper immune and endocrine system function, and regulation of appetite and metabolism.
If you are having issues with managing stress, relaxing, sleeping, or even issues managing your weight, you may have lower levels of GABA. Because GABA plays such an integral role in mood modulation, GABA-mimicking compounds are popular for addressing various emotional and psychological concerns. There is also scientific evidence that supplementation with GABA may improve biomarkers of calmness and overall health.
There are some whole food sources of GABA, such as varieties of tea and fermented foods (tempeh, kimchi, and miso), and it is believed that consumption of some foods such as beans and nuts may boost internal production, but overall the dietary sources have minimal concentrations. As a result, the use of naturally derived GABA as a dietary supplement is becoming increasingly widespread and various foodstuffs are now GABA fortified. Adaptiv Calming Blend Capsules offer an effective alternative as they contain 100mg of naturally sourced GABA per one capsule serving.
General Tips and Tricks
When you are using essential oils for stress find the ones that work best for you by trial and error. You may find your best oils/s quickly but do not give up if you do not. Any progress is an improvement.
Create a roller bottle to carry your stress blend with you everywhere you go. You can create one of your own containing the oils we talk about in this and last weeks blog, or you can use the premade rollers like Adaptiv, Balance, Peace or even Motivate. Keeping your oils handy is your best, quick solution.
To make your own roller: Put 10-30 drops of essential oil into a roller bottle and top off with carrier oil of your choice. (coconut, olive, grapeseed, jahoba, etc)
Here is a blend that can be used both in the roller bottle and in the diffuser. Note do not use 20 drops of each in the diffuser. This recipe calls for 80 drops off essential oil. That is a very strong roller bottle. You may want to try 10 of each in the roller to start and then add more if you do not see your desired effect. If you have sensitive skin you will want to start with less as well, even as low as 5 drops of each to start.
Keep a diffuser going. When you get up in the morning put your favorite blend in your diffuser so you start your day off with a smile. Using citrus oils with/or calming oils like cedarwood, Serenity blend, copaiba, lavender and/or whatever ones are your favorite will help influence your mood. You can keep your diffuser going 24 hours a day. Change-up the blend as the day and mood progress. Finish with a single oil or a combo of oils intended for sleep time and increase your ability to get a good nights' sleep.
You can also diffuse/smell directly from the bottle, from your hands, or a piece of diffuser jewelry that will make taking your oils with you easier. Check out the
Store to choose a diffuser piece for yourself.
Here are some diffuser blends that you may be interested in trying as they are uplifting as well as calming. They feature Frankincense essential oil. You can adapt these by upping the number of drops for use in a roller bottle as well.
Frankincense is one of my favorite essential oils. It has been a huge asset on my road to renewal. Frankincense contains alpha-Pinene, Limonene, alpha-Thujene and beta-Pinene. This complex chemistry contributes to its renewing effects. Frankincense essential oil is great at supporting diverse types of cells in the body, and create effectively a relaxing atmosphere. Frankincense also helps with focusing the mind. The use of Frankincense has helped me greatly in that respect.
When you try these, please let me know which of these diffuser blends worked best for you. Please share any other favorite combos as well. You can use the comments section below or contact me directly from the link above.
Ok let's move on to some other essential oils that can help reduce your stress and help you quit smoking by helping you be calm and get some sleep. Calming oils can be used at any time of the day when needed however we are going to talk about sleep as getting enough sleep is really important to mental health. When you are breaking an addiction, sleep in proper quantities and quality will help you stay strong with your decision and determination. Sleep is imperative to quiet your mind. Here is a
previous blog where I talked about my favorite oils for sleeping. The hibernation roller above is also a great combo that can help settle and bring sleep easier.
Oils to help you sleep
Copaiba, Lavender, Serenity blend, Vetiver, Petitgrain (a guys lavender), Cedarwood, and there are more but that that should give you a good place to start. If you are having bad dreams or nightmares add Wild Orange to what you decide to use.
Those oils can be used in the diffuser or in a roller that you can roll onto your feet, pulse points and/or over your heart. There is no wrong way to use them, so long as you are getting them out of the bottle.
Remember last week how we talked about the brain being conditioned to repeat an action that makes it feel good. The reward in the brain is dopamine. Definition: Dopamine is known as the feel-good neurotransmitter—a chemical that ferries information between neurons. The brain releases it when we eat food that we crave or while we do the thing we are addicted, contributing to feelings of pleasure and satisfaction as part of the reward system. This important neurochemical boosts mood, motivation, and attention, and helps regulate movement, learning, and emotional responses.
So do you think if you could increase dopamine naturally, in a positive way, it may help you kick that addiction? Here is a blend that you can use. Take 1 drop Patchouli, 1 drop Bergamot and 1 drop Copaiba internally in a capsule with a glass of water.
For Addiction Emotional Recover you can support yourself with this blend.
Combine 10 drops each of; Adaptiv, Copaiba, melissa and Roman Chamomile in a 10ml roller bottle. Top off with carrier oil. Apply over heart, on forehead, pulse points and or on bottom of feet as often as desired.
There is one more very important thing we need to touch on and that is Nutrition. Proper nutrition not only fuels your body, it fuels your brain. You can not expect to sleep well, be active, or think well without the proper fuel. When moving to a smoke free life you want all the support you can get to make things as easy as possible.
Good quality food makes a huge difference. Fruit and vegetables are invaluable for the body. One thing we all need to remember is our food today is not as packed with as much nutrition as it once was. Synthetic fertilizers, crops not being rotated and other things. So we can not get what we need without supplementation. Quality supplementation.
You may be saying; "I get vitamins at the grocery store, I am good" Did you know, you only get about 20% of your moneys worth from those? Unfortunately our bodies are not able to process those hard pills.
More than once I have had the opportunity to talk to different men whose job it is to clear septic tanks. They all have said they can tell what vitamin pills the families use. Not sure what a septic tank is? No problem, most people do not know. A septic tank is where the contents of a toilet goes when you flush the toilet. In farm or other country situations there is no sewer plumbing
When looking for a good vitamin you want to keep two things in mind. First you want to make sure you choose food sourced vitamins. When you have one with food sources your body knows what to do with them and you get more than 90% value out of your money spent. (I thought the supplemental calcium I used to take was a good thing. It was a good quality, recommended brand. Then I saw a video on vitamins, they talked about why sourcing was so important.) The calcium I used to take was from a rock, not food sourced. Our bodies do not know how to digest rocks so we do not get value for money spent on that either.
The other thing you want to keep in mind is to use powdered vitamins as they are easily digested. Hard pressed pills do not break down, as the above example shows.
Life Long Vitality answers all the must haves. Food sourced and powdered, encapsulated in a vegetable capsule. Personally, I noticed a huge difference taking them for only three days. There is a 30 day money-back guarantee. You can take the whole box and if you do not notice a change then you can get your money back. Want to try them now?
Click here. One more thing about LLV is they do have health claims supported by Health Canada. For more information about LLV you can check out some previous blogs (
Blog 1,
Blog 2) or go
Here to read the information pages
(after you have clicked on "Here to read" go to the bottom of the new page and click on "PIP"). That will give you all the details about Life Long Vitality.
There are so many more things to talk about when it comes to stress and all the causes. Quitting smoking is just one very stress filled situation. If you are interested in learning more about natural solutions to support yourself when moving forward to a smoke free life, let me know. You can comment below or fill out the form to have a personal meeting with me.
Remember I am here to help you on your road to renew you. May God bless the road you travel on.