WOTD: Propaganda

Word of the Day: Propaganda
From Merriam - Webster:
1: a congregation of the Roman curia having jurisdiction over missionary territories and related institutions
2 : the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person
3 : ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one's cause or to damage an opposing cause; also : a public action having such an effect

I would like to focus on definitions 2 and 3 for a moment. The spread of ideas, information or rumors and or ideas, facts or allegations that are spread to help or hinder a cause. E and I were talking on the phone this morning about vaccines and about how propaganda is used to further the cause of such. A noticed that many of the people with whom he had previously spoken about flu vaccines were now sick, despite getting vaccinated and speaking vehemently in favor of them and that he himself, not having been vaccinated and using natural options, has not been sick all season. It bothers me that so many people who ARE NOT MEDICAL PROVIDERS (!) have been giving my partner, their friends and family, and potentially the world medical advice - i.e., get vaccinated - when they are both uneducated and unqualified to offer it.

Basically, it's a great example of propaganda. The companies that manufacture vaccines and the machine that is our news media have provided a one sided account in favor of vaccination that the public has adopted and repeats. It's ridiculous - people, if you want medical advise, ask your doctor!

Ack, My Back

Haven't been able to sit down and catch up my thoughts for the past week, because I haven't been able to sit down. I herniated a disk in my back a week ago and have been in a world of hurt since then.

I find myself remembering when my dad did this in his 40's. My mom told me that was the only time she'd ever seen him cry and it wasn't about the pain - it was about not being able to take care of his family. Well, my dad ended up having surgery and was fine not long after. I'm going to be fine, too, sans surgery.

It's great having chiropractic, naturopathic and acupuncture at my fingertips. I'm taking fish oil and enzymes to fight the inflammation and am having soft tissue work, adjustments and physical therapy to recover. While I've been down, I've been watching all kinds of raw food videos and wishing that's what I was eating, but instead, I've made do with take out since I didn't want to be more of a burden on A. I do think raw food would have helped speed my recovery along, though, if for no other reason than that I wouldn't have been consuming so many pro-inflammatory foods.

I've been out for a week, hoping that workman's compensation is going to cover this time off, but needing to be off regardless, because sitting hurts and standing for too long also increases my pain. I'm bored, a little cranky, also hopeful and glad that I have a personal vacation scheduled next week.

The Low Point

I think I hit the low point yesterday. I was so frustrated and down that I had a big crying jag - my Chinese professors were always saying that is the best way to get feeling better quickly. It releases the pent up emotions so that you are able to look at things another way. That certainly proved true for me.

I was frustrated that :

• I'd let my boundaries go several times with the same people (not that it would be better if they were different people, but especially frustrating when it's the same people)
• I didn't feel like I was accomplishing much even though I was working really hard
• Feeling unappreciated
• Exhausted
• Dirty house
• No clothes (that fit my body or my job)
• Feeling pressured
• Feeling like a bad dog mom
• Eating crap despite a fridge full of veggies and overdrawing my acct to buy groceries
• Etc., etc., etc.

After the crying jag in which A provided exactly the support I needed ('yeah, that guy's a jerk' and 'it'll be okay'), E provided some valuable mirroring. She reminded me that:

People spend their health trying to accumulate wealth and

then spend their wealth trying to attain health.

(And then it's often too late.)

I'm not doing myself, my patients or my partners (not to mention my family and friends for whom I also want to be the happiest and healthiest me I can be) any favors by letting myself go and being constantly stressed out and overworked. In addition, it's all about attitude - when I dropped my emotional attachment to saying 'yes' to every work task that is put before me (only possible after the crying jag), I was able to look at things more objectively and just think to myself, 'no, I'm not able to do that' and 'yes, I can do that for 1 hour.' Now I just have to speak those words aloud and carry this attitude shift with me.

Today's a new day, though, and even though I said yes, I put limits on it. And I'm taking the time to make myself a healthy and delicious lunch. And I am keeping my friend-date to celebrate my buddy's birthday. And then I'm coming home and sleeping early, because 4am is an unhealthy time to have been awake today!

Cancer is THE Dirty Word

I've returned to the classroom a couple time in the last month and it feels good. Graduating in June felt great and I don't wish myself back into a full time education scenario, but I have enjoyed being in an active learning environment again. One of the lectures I attended was all about women's health and hormonal imbalance - the jist is that we interact with our environment and our current environment is full of chemicals that cause hormonal imbalance. This was not just fluffy talk, but backed up by hard science that shows that these chemicals actually interact with our bodies "stronger than expected" including stronger than natural plant lignans and pharmaceutical drugs. This is why we need to do our best to avoid chemical exposure, but also why that's not enough. Detoxification is also vitally important. Without strong detoxification programs, our bodies simply are not able to process the amount of chemicals that we come in contact with.

Now, part of the interest I had in her lecture is that she pointed out that most of the chemicals she was speaking about are NOT carcinogens. Nope, they are not known or even suspected of causing Cancer. That said, they still have major health impact. They cause hormonal imbalance which could be seen is such symptoms as fatigue, PMS, major menopausal symptoms, skin disorders, digestive disturbance and the list goes on and on. Somehow the public doesn't get excited or upset about chemicals until we attach the label "known carcinogen." And even then, at the whim of the FDA, we may not really get to hear that information. But that's a whole other part of the puzzle that needs to be addressed.

Since I'm speaking/writing puzzles, let me add another piece: The Story of Stuff. This video is all about the state of current economic activity. I think it has wide appeal and is appropriate for adults of all ... political persuasions. This video is much more about consumerism and its effect on our happiness, environment, fellow man and more, but it also touches on the existence of toxins in our world. Toxic chemicals into our factories = toxic products into our homes + toxic byproducts into our environment. And the environment, our world, is a CLOSED SYSTEM - we live in a terrarium and the atmosphere is our lid. Cutting a hole in the ozone does NOT have the effect of letting the toxins out.

The good news is, there is something you can do. There are FOODS we can eat to strengthen our body's natural detoxification processes and there are herbs if you need an extra boost. Interestingly, one of the great liver and kidney enhancing herbs (these are major organs of detoxification) is the common dandelion weed. Our bodies and our world needs detoxification and nature is showing us the answer all the time. And we apply more toxic chemicals to our lawns to kill it. Sorry, this was supposed to be the good news. Yes, we can strengthen our body's defenses. And, we can make choices about how we intereract with the consumer system. Buying organic isn't just about getting "better" food, but it's about changing the system. Demand creates supply - as more people are buying organic, farmers and farming industry are changing and responding. And yes, they charge more for it, until there is enough demand that supply increases so there is competition!

So I'm going to get off my soap box now and get on with my day, but the take home message is this: buy or grow organic broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, brussel sprouts and herbs and eat them.

Tired of Being Tired

I'm 30 years old and I've been in school for 26 years, excepting summer vacations (for most of that time) and 1 year after undergrad when I didn't know what to do. I've been tired for at least the last three years, although I remember getting sent home during undergrad because of "acute fatigue" where I was almost falling down after walking across campus to school. (I fell asleep in all my classes then. Incidentally, all the mono tests came back negative, but I'm not sure they ever tested me for anemia or thyroid problems.)


I haven't been sleeping well...maybe the heat, maybe wanting A beside me, maybe just being jazzed up from getting off work at 11...and I've been tired most of the day every day...maybe the heat, maybe boredom, maybe procrastination. And I'm tired of feeling tired.


I do all this stuff to make myself more healthy, but I still don't feel strong because I'm always tired. I get up at 6:30 to take the dog out and often don't go back to bed. This week (and the next two) I won't be going back to bed, because I'm taking a 7am Taiji (yes, that's Tai Chi - see How to Read Chinese) class.


Today and Thursday I also see my personal trainer. Since it's been awhile since I trained or took measurements, I got weighed and measured today and low-and-behold I'm up in almost all areas (except my neck, which is two inches smaller than when I started - how's that for interesting?). When I mentioned that I might not buy another training package ($619 for 10 sessions!), he gave me an assignment to write down the top 5 advantages I get from training. I can see where this is going, but I also feel like doing an hour and half of Taiji in the tranquil park setting was more beneficial to my energy than spending an hour pumping iron until my back and legs are screaming for mercy. I don't need a trainer breathing down my two-inch thinner neck to keep me on my cardio, either, especially in summer with options such as kayaking, hiking, rollerblading and cycling. My chiropractor recommends resistance training 6 months a year only, so maybe I'll take the rest of the summer off and re-evaluate then.


And my job - I asked for this wacky schedule where I get off at 10:30-11pm every evening. I thought having my days free would help me study, but unfortunately I'm still not getting anything done, because I spend most of my morning working out, eating then recovering from both of the above. Not sure if this is serving me. Finally, I have been offered a residency for the fall. It's about 50 hours per week and not very well compensated. It's a return to the school environment and a delay in starting my private practice. And I feel like it's going to make and keep me...ding, ding...tired!


I think I need to reinstate my priorities - health, happy home, financial stability and professional success - in that order.

Sick...and not happy about it.

I hate being sick.

I don't like taking medicine.

I really don't like changing my diet to accommodate my illness.

I like staying in bed all day, but prefer it to be by choice rather than my body's rebellion. It's no fun staying in bed when books and movies are not options because my eyes water when I try to look at anything and when my partner is safer in the next room.

I like taking time off work, but would prefer to do so for a vacation. I can't wait to take a vacation.

I hate being sick and feeling like I'm whiny. I want to complain, cry and moan and have someone just hold me, put a washcloth on my head and haul away the mountain of tissues next to my bed. I want someone to cook for me, bring me hot healing fluids and tell me what's good for me. I want someone to tell me that it's going to get better and that the past nine months of recurrent illness aren't the sign of something worse. I want to turn off my doctor's brain and not think about my own health for 5 minutes.

I want my mom.

Bloody anemic

I'm trying not to start every post with "I love," and I suppose I've succeeded at that with just this prelude, so it's safe now to say: I love when authors utilize the word "anemic," often spelled with an extra o or a thrown in for a nice British touch, to describe something as uninteresting or uninspiring. Except that today I learned that I am anemic - not in the authorial 'uninspired' way, but in the medical 'not enough of blood' way. This explains my extreme fatigue, exercise intolerance and mental fogginess of late, but what remains unexplained is how this developed, since the only blood loss I've sustained of late was getting my blood drawn for these tests and a few paper cuts.