Help needed please :(

[huredriel]

Not sure if this is the right place to post or not ...... mods please move accordingly.......

My mum has just been official diagnosed as having COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) which we have suspected for a while ....... (and no-one else knows about) ..... she is having help from the hospital etc ....... and I have managed to get her to cut down smoking from tomorrow ..... (she absolutely feels she can't quit at the moment due to certain ongoing stresses *sigh*) ...... and I am going to cut down (and quit) alongside her to help her which is the absolute best thing she can do to help herself.

Anyways..... I was wondering if anyone here had any suggestions ..... that would help her (i) to permanently quit smoking (ii) to reduce her stress levels (she's going to start gentle exercise tomorrow and then build up ...... and am nagging her to start meditation) (iii) to help her breathing (which gets extremely bad and scary when stressed and not smoking - for a 54 year old woman she has the lungs of a 90 year old apparently) .... I have no knowledge of herbs or anything homeopathic ........ oh and when she visits I'm also going to give her some reiki (cos I'll have my reiki 1 by then). I really can't think of anything else to suggest to her at the moment ........ so all and any suggestions will be very gratefully accepted.

Many thanks
x Huredriel

 

[bladeraven]

*Hugs* I'm so sorry to hear about your mum...*sending energy and blessings both your ways*

 

[Sienna]

Oh how frightening for you and your mum. Sending you both loads of positive energy and light!!

I am so sorry but I can't suggest anything helpful to you, as I have no experience of this, except of course she must stop smoking!.

So sorry... hope you manage to convince her to quit soon.

BIG HUG!
Sx

 

[einhverfr]

Reiki is good. I am not sure I am familiar enough with your mother's condition to suggest herbs.

Meditation is extremely important, especially those that focus on breath control. You may not be able to reverse the disease but you may be able to help reverse the disability from it.

Stress is another thing to look at. Nice relaxing tisanes might help. Certainly smoking will make things worse (nicotine is both a nerve poison and a stimulant). Skullcap might be indicated, as might stronger sedatives such as lavendar and valerian (caution: Use the last two only occasionally).

 

[raeanne]

Hello Huredriel,
Yes, reiki is a good idea. I'm glad you are getting your level I. One other thing you might want to look into is brainwave generator CDs. These are incredible! I used to try and meditate and I would itch, and I would twitch, and I just couldn't slow my mind down enough to reach any kind of meditative state. The first time I use a brainwave CD I didn't itch, I didn't twitch, I just laid there and went to the most peaceful place! This technology works by using two similar but different tones, one in your left ear and the other in the right. It sounds like nice soothing music. You need to use stereo headphones and don't try to drive while listening! The difference in the tones creates a resonance beat that your mind picks up on. It's kind of like being in a room with music playing and then noticing that you are tapping your foot to the music. Your brain will just follow along with the beat. By varying the tones, it is possible to get the brain to produce the different brainwave patterns that go with being relaxed, being very alert, sleeping, and healing. I am the most familiar with the CDs that are put out by a company called BrainSync (www.brainsync.com). I have most of their brainwave CDs. They also sell subliminal tapes but I prefer the brainwave CDs. They have one called 'Healing Meditation' that is very good. It has two tracks. The first track is a guided meditation by Kelly Howell. She talks you through a meditation session. It's very good! The second track just uses the musical tones. If you want to learn more about this, check out BrainSync's web site or goggle 'binaural beats' or 'brainwave generator'. I really think this type of CD will help your mom relax and handle the stress much better as well and calming her breathing. These CDs usually aren't very expensive and certainly won't hurt. Peace and healing to you and your mom.

 

[wizzle]

You can try download software for brainwave entrainment from

http://www.bwgen.com/theory.htm

They have a 30 trial period so that your mum can see if she likes it before you committ to purchasing. I tried it myself and found it OK but I already meditate. It's a good way to learn, I think.

I'm 59 myself and recently started tai chi via DVD's and I really really like that. It's far more gentle than yoga and seems to be helping my arthritis a lot. It's excelent both for the exercise and the mental exercises that are part of tai chi, which are very similar to meditation, rather like an active meditation. I think the combination might be very effective for her stress, in particular.

Love and light

 

[Ludivine]

Sorry for your mother. I think she would like to act herself and if I'm right she could try to practice Qi Gong. It's very smooth moves which help to recover health, at any age or physical condition.
I started a few months ago to loose weight and it's really nice and effective.

 

[Grigori]

Aventa Sativa (oats) are often recommended herbally to reduce cravings for tobacco. Also important to get something to keep your fingers busy, and replacement nicotine of course.

There are lots of homeopathics to help with tobacco withdrawal. Its best to ask a practitioner for some advice, they'd need to know a little about your mum (and you for your own quitting) to select what would be best. If you can't find one in your area I know someone you could ask

There are acupunture solutions also that can be excellent. Regular treatment can be expensive though. There is a program called NADA that is ear acupunture for addiction/withdrawal. Its simple, virtually painless and takes about 5 minutes a treatment. Many places worldwide offer periods of free/very low cost treatments. Usually they round up a room of people and do them all at once at a set time each day. If she's mobile (or accompanied by someone) and you can find one in your area that would be ideal.

There are of course lots of supplements you could consider also, but its likely worse than a waste of money to try them without guidance so again good to speak to someone who knows what they are doing in that regard.

I hope things go very well for your mum, and your family.

 

[firecatpickles]

This may sound like a commercial... I smoked for over 20 years and recently quit using the patch. I combined the program with welbutrin the doctor prescribed. I am off both cigaretttes and my "mamma's little helpers." My "new" sobriety date in now January 23-- the date I was officially on no meds and no patch.

My parter still smokes. He has cut down quite a bit, but I am hoping my staying quit will help him in the long run. He is already slowing down.

 

[firecatpickles]

And, remember that tobacco is an herb-- just highly addicitive!