My daughter is a college freshman with insomnia. The lack of sleep created more problems for her with stress, concentration and performance. She was sleeping through some classes and her exam-taking suffered as well.  Her mood was affected.  She lost interest in her social life. There was an overall snowballing effect that had my wife and I quite concerned.  

We got so many inspiring emails from the people answering our request for information about their cancer experiences.  This stage 4 lung cancer patient didn’t preach to her oncologist – she just won him over by her dazzling example.  I’ve always believed in this method of persuasion – simply become a walking commercial for what you believe in!  It can’t be beat!  (Credit also goes to her doc, who proved himself to be flexible, open and wise – wise enough to let himself learn from this remarkable woman!)
Please read on – This is Jean:

My oncologist had no idea of, nor was interested in hearing about anything complementary or alternative. He poo-pooed everthing I brought up about mind/body, alternative and complementary medicine and diet. As soon as I got my diagnosis of stage 4 lung cancer (never smoked), I started searching. I set up my acupuncture visits for before each chemo. I bought as many books as I could find about surviving cancer.

Boulder, Colorado, that fulminating hotbed of mind-body-spirit activity and nexus of holistic healing is the third American city (after Portland, OR and Davis, CA) to achieve Platinum Bike Status.

For the past 10 years, I have been a closet binge eater.  Instead of dealing with my sadness, anger, disappointment, and stress, I have shoveled in calories by the thousands.  This coping mechanism has done little except to medicate, cause some serious self-loathing, and propagate a pattern of self-destruction.

Oh, and let’s not forget, catapulting me to a high weight of 353 pounds.

After experiencing some kind of hurt, I would go to the store with the intention of self-medicating.  Food was my drug.  My binge of choice was a large bag of mini chocolate bars, a quart of mocha fudge ice cream, tortilla chips, white cheese dip, and a 2-liter of Coke.  Generally, every last bite of it was gone in less than an hour. 
 

We found this witty January 2nd blog entry here.

January 2, 2009 – 7:30 pm

My best friend borrowed some CDs from her mother-in-law to relax her fears about taking a plane ride. She told me about them in passing - and I expressed interest, because she said they were kind of nice. The CDs were ”Guided Imagery” by Belleruth Naparstek.  Each CD deals with different areas where you can supposedly use imagery and your imagination to help you accomplish or conquer. The CDs included guided imagery to help with “General Wellness,” ”Anxiety,” “Stress,” and what I was most interested in,  ”Sleep.”

We got this from Dinah, back in the days when we sold guided imagery on tape:

I am a large, Goddess-like woman, about 5’9” and maybe 285 pounds. I love to eat and so do my adult boys, who are also of generous proportions.  Let me be clear: I like the way I look, and so does my boyfriend.  But I started listening to guided imagery for Weight Loss for my health. I wanted to lose around 50 pounds for my blood pressure and my knees.

I kept one tape in my car so I could listen as I drove around (even though I know you are not supposed to) and one at home by my bed, to listen to before falling asleep. It was definitely having an effect on me, because I wasn’t as hungry. I was mellow. The fried foods that I normally adore were starting to feel greasy and unpleasant on my tongue.  Even though I was not getting on the scale (I think that is a bad idea), I could tell from my clothes that I was losing weight.  I had more energy too.  But that is not what this tale is about.

Dear Belleruth and Health Journeys,

My 5 year old son, a very active little boy, tripped while running around the living room and fell against a coffee table with sharp corners.  He suffered a deep cut on his forehead.  I took him to the E.R. to get him stitched up, and of course he started squirming and protesting the minute he realized what was about to go down.  The more the nurse and I tried to hold him still, the more upset he became.  Things went from bad to worse.

I am 59. I have had a migraine since I was in my mid-twenties (poetic license!). Seventeen years ago I was diagnosed with the prelude to what has now evolved into Lupus. I have had this condition for 5 years - suffering stuff that I wrongly attributed to God knows what - until a major flare-up this year resulted in the diagnosis.
 
This year I have had one flare-up after another. I control one with steroids - get over it - another comes. I have been working with all kinds of techniques/therapies on my own (have a background in psychology) and then I hit the jackpot:  relaxation, emotional protection, visualization.

This note came from a woman who used our Pregnancy and Childbirth imagery to get her labor going again.  We hear a lot about how imagery can modulate the discomfort of labor, but this was the first time we heard about how it could be used to kick-start a lackadaisical labor back into gear again – wow!