Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is quite common and involves unwanted recurring thoughts and behaviors. OCD may, for example, take the form of an obsession with germs (the “O” part), perhaps resulting in compulsive hand-washing (the “D” part). Or it may take the form of having to have things in your space organized symmetrically.
We all get angry from time to time. Memes abound on social media, pushing the idea that we should always be happy and avoid negativity at all costs. This is cr*p. A balanced emotional life entails experiencing a range of feelings. Frankly, it’s not healthy to think that life is supposed to be all unicorns and rainbows.
I once lived on a magical little farm and had a fairy godmother landlord. It was a great place to be an herbalist. But…the house I lived in also housed a small country’s worth of moths. Some of them hitchhiked with me to my new place, as evidenced by the occasional moth fluttering around the bedroom and holes I sometimes find in my shirts.
When I’m sad and at a loss for what to do, I’ll often head to the high country outside of Durango, Colorado. If my energy is too low to wander in the woods, I may simply park in a pull-off to sit and “check in” with Twilight Peak or Engineer Mountain. Nothing like a giant rock that’s been there for tens of millions of years for a bit of perspective and support.
Here are some great oils and a few ideas for blends to get into the seasonal mode and lighten up the dark days. Essential oils are fun and useful to use any time of the year, but especially to spice life up in these (for some of us) colder and darker months.
Your lymphatic system is a network of vessels, glands and lymph fluid and is a critical part of immunity, the transport of hormones and other bioactive molecules, and detox (think “vacuum cleaner”). Herbalists have traditionally turned to “lymphatic herbs” to assist the body during
We’ve got one more sense to work with when balancing dosha disharmonies in the Mind. Each of our senses are potent in their own right but, scientifically speaking, we’ve saved the most powerful for last.
On my left shoulder I have a tattoo of what I call my “herbal medicine chest.” It is an image of several different herbs and plant medicines which I consider to be essential for keeping a healthy body-mind-spirit complex.