Topic: Health & Healing

It’s often been said that the eyes are the window to the soul. At a very early age we learn that we can observe people’s inward processes by watching the way they look back at us. As children we are taught that it’s impossible to tell an untruth and “look someone directly in the eye.” Even when we speak we say things about people by describing their eyes, calling someone who is distrustful “shifty eyed” or someone intelligent and truthful “clear eyed.”

As I walked out of the Bikram Yoga studio toward my car after my first class, I found myself declaring, "If I can actually do this yoga, it will totally change my whole life." I had only been able to attempt half the postures, with the rest of the time lying down, just dealing with the heated, humid room. But it was a revelation as to the sorry state of my body's condition, and the pathetic condition of my mind-body connection.

Healthy Alternatives by Susie Cooper, ND Board Certified Doctor of Naturopathy

Let’s take a break from the usual health-related topics, and explore an area which I feel is vitally important to healing, balancing and a sense of wellness . . . the use of music and tone in healing.

Healthy Alternatives by Susie Cooper, ND Board Certified Doctor of Naturopathy

Last month we covered some of the basics of healthy weight loss. We also explored the difference between healthy and unhealthy weight loss. There is a huge difference between how your body responds to dietary changes that make nutritional sense along with taking high quality, safe supplements that will work with your body, instead of taking low-quality formulas which don’t work with your body and force it into sudden metabolic and functional changes harshly.

Healthy Alternatives by Susie Cooper, ND Board Certified Doctor of Naturopathy

Q: I have been struggling with weight loss for many years and have been on everything you can think of, Fen Phen being the most dangerous, but I still am very overweight. Is there anything strong enough to help curb my appetite?

Although I risk dissension by doing so, I must say something that I think many of us in the mental health community have acknowledged for quite some time: every single diagnosis of a mental disorder is fallible.

Before I proceed, I should note the value of diagnoses. They are immensely useful categorical tools. The human being cannot productively navigate the uncertain tides of reality without the use of symbols and structures. Symbols and structures allow us to determine where our glasses end and our tables begin. Accordingly, when Patient A is compulsively cleaning her apartment and Patient B is speaking to invisible demons, it is important to have the words "Obsessive- Compulsive Disorder" to describe the former and the word "Schizophrenia" to describe the latter. Categorizations such as these not only help us to distinguish between ailments, they also assist us in making reliable behavioral predictions and selecting appropriate modes of treatment. I have no intention of ignoring these facts.

Testosterone is the major hormone responsible for our sex drives. Women produce small amounts of testosterone in their ovaries and adrenal glands and experience a drop in both estrogen and testosterone levels with the onset of menopause or from menopause caused from chemotherapy or the removal of the ovaries. For many women, a loss of libido is connected to this dramatic loss of hormones.

Many women also report that lower testosterone levels lesson the intensity and frequency of sexual fantasies. They just don't have the urge anymore, which affects their intimate relationships with their mates, which can cause much distress as the sexual bond diminishes. Between the ages of 20-40 our testosterone levels drop by 50%. When we hit menopause we lose another 30-50%. Many of us who rely on medications such as certain antidepressants, birth control pills, and some drugs that lower blood pressure are under double jeopardy, as these can lower testosterone levels also.

When I was 6 months pregnant with my second baby, I met some wonderful women at a birthing support group. I was having a difficult time making ends meet and was not working due to complications in my first pregnancy. My man and I had decided that it was best for me to stay home and take care of myself and our baby that was growing inside of me.

At the meetings, I met a wonderful woman who turned out to be a midwife and whose heart went out to every single woman in the group. I mentioned how wonderful it would be to have her as a care provider as I was not entirely happy with my OB/GYN. I felt like I was being run through on an assembly line. It was hurry up with the urine sample, hurry up with the feet in the stirrups, a few general questions, and my check-up was over. I left dizzy, with some rather general instructions in a pamphlet. My nutritional guidance came from a bottle of little red, prenatal vitamins.

Carlos Santana is my brother. We are not related by blood, nor are we likely to ever meet, but he is my brother just the same. I discovered this while reading the March 16th, 2000 edition of "Rolling Stone," where he told writer Chris Heath about his painful experiences as a victim of a child molester. Since I am also a victim of childhood sexual abuse, we belong to a brotherhood, a strange kinship defined by a shared experience. With due respect to Santana, I would be just as happy if he was not my brother, if I were an orphan in the family of abuse victims. No child should have to suffer sexual abuse.

Healthy Alternatives

by Susie Cooper, ND
Board Certified Doctor of Naturopathy

I receive so many questions pertaining to many of the same topics on a regular basis, such as: sinus & allergy problems with chronic mucous buildup, asthma, food allergies, recurring headaches, digestive problems, constipation or diarrhea, acid indigestion or acid reflux, arthritis pain, fatigue and hormonal imbalances. If you have sent a question in to me relating to any of these conditions, please consider the information in this month's column. All of these conditions have something in common from the perspective of natural medicine...