My name is Janie.  My 6-year-old daughter is currently being seen by clinical psychologist.  My daughter has been diagnosed with social anxiety and possible ADHD [attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder].  These things bring out some negative behaviors on a daily basis that can be very stressful for me to experience.  My therapist thought that some of your audio imagery might be very useful to me.  
 
As a full-time mom I am with my daughter most of the time. Therefore the stress can be prolonged on bad days.  I have tried psychotherapy to help cope with feelings of impatience, frustration, and sometimes anger.  The psychotherapy helped up to a point. Then I took up yoga and found it also helped, particularly the attention to breathing techniques.  I love yoga but cannot often attend.  
 
I viewed your CD selections on healthjourneys.com and was unsure which to begin with.  Basically I am seeking help to cope with the frustration and stress I experience before they build up into anger, yelling, and so on.  I adore my daughter, and naturally I want to not only restrain myself from getting angry and yelling at her, but also to be a good role model.

Question:

Hi Belleruth, I love your CDs and use them personally and in my clinical practice. I would like to suggest that there is a great need for a guided imagery CD specifically designed for law enforcement personnel, to help them deal with trauma that they experience on the job on a regular basis.

I use EMDR with them to resolve trauma, but sometimes I would like to send them home with a more portable form of help for Critical Incident Stress outside of therapy sessions.
 
Although I use the Healing Trauma, Relieve Stress and Healthful Sleep CDs with my cop clients, sometimes they are just too "warm and fuzzy" for this population.
 
Please let me know what you think. I would be very glad to help with this if it becomes a reality. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

C. W., LMFT

Question:  
I heard about your amazing CD`s. Five years ago I had thyroid cancer and now I have a lots of anxiety and fear from cancer.  Every exam that I need to have makes me to worry more and more and I can’t sleep and focus for months.  I worry all the time for different health problems.  If you have in mind one of your CDs that might help, please let me know. Thank you in advance.  
Olga

Researchers from The University of Tokyo in Japan conducted a meta-analysis of the effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on the mental and physical health status of patients with various types of cancer.
 
Ten studies (randomized-controlled trials and observational studies) were determined to be eligible for meta-analysis.  Study results were categorized into mental and physical variables and Cohen's effect size d was computed for each category.

This is a shoutout for your materials, especially the Relieve Stress, Confidence and Affirmations - I use one of them every day and have been for the past month.  

After our posting the study about how the practice of mindfulness meditation can improve working memory, we got this charming  inquiry from someone who felt her brain was turning to mush at her stressful job:

Researchers from the Department of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, investigated the impact of mindfulness training (MT) on working memory capacity (WMC) and affective experience of reservists during their high-stress, pre-deployment phase.  They hypothesized that MT may bolster working memory and mitigate the deleterious effects of high stress.  (Working memory capacity is used in managing cognitive demands and regulating emotions.  High levels of stress may deplete it, leading to cognitive failures and emotional disturbances.)

The study recruited 2 military cohorts during the high-stress pre-deployment interval, and provided MT to 1 group (MT, n = 31) but not the other group (military control group, MC, n = 17). Additionally, the study used another control group of civilians (n = 12) for comparison.

Researchers from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California at Davis in Sacramento, California, investigated if and how meditation might preserve cognition and prevent dementia.
 
Previous studies have indicated that meditation affects multiple pathways that play a role in brain aging and mental fitness. For example, meditation may reduce stress-induced cortisol secretion and this could have neuro-protective effects by elevating levels of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).
 
Meditation may also potentially have beneficial effects on lipid profiles and lower oxidative stress, either of which could reduce the risk for cerebro-vascular disease and age-related neuro-degeneration.

Researchers from University Hospital Basel in Switzerland compared the immediate effects of brief guided imagery and relaxation exercises - two active and one passive 10-min relaxation technique - on prenatal stress in a randomized, controlled trial with 39 healthy pregnant women.

Subjects were assigned to one of two active relaxation techniques, progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) or guided imagery (GI), or a passive relaxation control condition. 

Measures were self-reported relaxation on a visual analogue scale (VAS); the State Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S); scores on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis (cortisol and ACTH); and sympathetic-adrenal-medullary (SAM) system activity (norepinephrine and epinephrine). Additionally, measures were taken of cardiovascular responses, such as heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure.  Scores were measured at four points before and after the relaxation exercise.