Immune Dysfunction by Judith Lopez

I want to introduce you to my friend Judith Lopez, the author of Immune Dysfunction. For those of you who have never been impacted by immune system health issues, I'd like to say that with the way our country is going it might be only a matter of time. Every year thousands of untested and unregulated toxic chemicals get added to food, water, air, and products without you realizing it. Maybe you are already sick and don't suspect that it could be from toxins. Approximately 65% of the population is currently sick and reactive to toxic molds and chemicals. There are 249,000 types of mold which can make you sick and kill you. Between prevalent mold and toxic chemicals you need to read about Judith's story.

Immune Dysfunction was recommended to me by a world-renown toxicologist when I became acutely ill from three of the top disabling molds in 2001. At first I thought this was a book leading to information about an immune system. But I was not only pleasantly surprised, but inspired, supported, instructed, and renewed by this fabulous book that turned out to be Judith Lopez's personal story of how mold and chemicals impacted her immune system. At the time I didn't know mold toxicity could develop into multiple chemical sensitivity and other environmental illnesses. I had seen five M.D.'s that told me I was their sickest patient but they didn't know what to do for me. My life felt like I hit a brick wall. Then I read Immune Dysfunction cover to cover, staying up all night having lost my home to toxic mold, living in a small rented room, sleeping on hardwood, and not being able to be in the presence of any product, piece of furniture, clothing, or anything else, confused, disoriented, acutely ill, and watched as my life became stripped of everything. It was Judith's book Immune Dysfunction that gave me the first piece of help on the journey I was facing.

If you are sick, you need Immune Dysfunction. If you aren't sick, you need to read about Judith's courage, fortitude, and struggle to survive because the statistics of those with immune dysfunction are increasing, not decreasing. Get Immune Dysfunction and take mold, yeast, and the power of toxic chemicals seriously.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Judith Lopez's book, Immune Dysfunction, email me at jan_marquart@yahoo.com and I will pass your order information on to Judith Lopez for your copy of Immune Dysfunction and a personal inscription.
$14.95 + $3.50 for shipping + $18.45.

The Regret in Grieving

Grief is a complicated emotion. It isn't just feelings of sadness and loss. It involves the mind's ability to process sadness and loss. Regret is one of the stages of the mind in the grief process. It can be regret for the choices of the deceased or regret for the choices of the suffering for all the things that should or could have been. And there is usually a good reason for what might have been that did not happen. What might have been could only have happened if things were different to begin with. We do not normally think "this person might die so I'd better . . ." because we are usually too busy dealing with life in the moment. Families who suffered the loss of loved ones in the 911 tragedy parted in the morning the way they did each morning. No one had a reason to think: I'd better do something different this morning.
This is a difficult part of the grieving process, that is, to wrap the mind around accepting what happened. But who wants to accept such enormous grief? In order to accept what happened means the grieving have to endure another loss: the loss of the chance they could have avoided their grief. Most times, that is clearly not so. When the suffering are caught in the thinking of the maybe ifs, the experience can feel irrational and crazy. Grief in general feels irrational and crazy. Emotions take over and the mind races to make sense of it all. Ironically, the regretting stage of struggling with acceptance of what actually happened is quite rational given the nature of the grieving process.

There will always be the what ifs when we loose someone. Remember: if matters could have been different  they would have been different. Acceptance is one of the stages of Kublor-Ross's five stages of grief. It will happen to anyone grieving. Continue through the process; it is the only way to heal the depth of grief.

What Do You Think?

I had one of those moments the other day where I slipped into wondering about the inner workings of the process of life. Of course it would have been more fun to think about designing dresses or planning dinner parties but the older I get the deeper my thinking about purpose, meaning, manifesting, God, love, and such preoccupy my thoughts. It seems the concepts I studied when I majored in philosophy in the 70's are now re-entering my mind to come full circle. Now, at 64, these concepts mean something more then simply the exploration of metaphysical concepts. I seem to have more questions than answers these days:

Law of Attraction: I've heard it all. Become what you want to attract. What you get is what you attracted. The declarations of how the law of attraction works can make you crazy because it seems to slap the person with full responsibility for events like accidents, traumas, disasters and such. I remember going through several health and home disasters ten years ago and the arrogance and self-righteousness of people when they asked me why I was attracting those disasters. I wanted to take  their heads off. I was suffering. For thirty years I had planned and set my attention and stayed single-minded and in the process accomplished what I wanted and then all hell broke loose. Attract disaster? Are you kidding? Go to any other part of the world and ask people this question, then run for your lives because people experience all kinds of disasters they did not want nor create. Right? I lived in Ca. and was affected by the Loma Prieta earthquake. If we believe the Law of Attraction then I created that right? Seriously? I think the 'secret' to the Law of Attraction is that it got millions of people to believe it without further investigation.

Cause and Effect: We all know this one. For ever action there is a reaction. Can you argue with this? Isn't this behind every lesson parents and teachers impart to children? This one makes sense too, doesn't it? But this one implies that it is a conscious law, right? Karma, the Buddhists speak to karma which is cause and effect.

Free Will vs. Destiny: Okay, we can make our choices, right? So what does that mean in reference to destiny? Are we really preordained to make the choices we do because our souls have lessons we are here to learn? If it isn't destiny then we have free will, right? Could these two aspects live side by side so we experience free will only in the confines of our destinies?

Do events randomly occur or is everything in motion due to a defined plan by God or the universal energies. And what about astrology? Didn't the Mayans make predictions that are still worthy of study in the 21st Century? When you read the astrology for your birth sign, doesn't much of what you read ring true?

I'm getting a headache from thinking so hard. I'll do some yoga, set my intention, hope to manifest the winning lottery ticket, put my free will into motion, then check my astrological reading for today.

Until next time,
Jan

Don't Believe It!

In personal relationships women expect to be loved, cared for, and supported.But often they are not. Too many times women date or are married to men who tell them that their feelings don't count, that they don't know what they are talking about, that they have no right to an equal opinion. They get blamed and forced to see the men as the ones in the 'right' while they are in the 'wrong.'This treatment incites great personal harm to women. The situation can  feel hopeless especially if their are children involved. Women often state feeling powerless, frightened, and hopeless that things will ever change. But, there is help.

Every community has a safe house, mental health counselors and services to support women and their children. When women believe they are bad wives for not putting up with their husband's humiliation, belittlement, and judgments, they get mentally and often physically sick. Husbands who love their wives, who have healthy self-esteem, do not treat their wives in such manner.

When men tell women that the woman is responsible for how they feel, please do not believe it. Women might hear that they are responsible for their husbands having no friends, or his unhappiness, or the reason he lost a promotion. Instinctively women know there is a disconnect in this line of thinking, emotionally they buy it. I've worked with women who have chosen to drink, take the frustration out on their children, go on antidepressants, and even have a nervous breakdown rather than stand up to their abusive husbands. They don't see their husband's treatment as 'abuse' even though emotionally they are suffering. Instead, they take on the blame and shame and believe that if only they gave their husbands more sex, agreed with them more, cooked their favorite foods, or some other way of meeting his demands then matters will change. I promise you, it won't. Men like this constantly raise the ante so that no matter what women do they are always unhappy and women are always their emotional punching pillow.

If this is you, please get professional help. There is no shame in getting help. It takes courage and strength to reach out when someone is beating you down inside yourself. Don't let the men you love bully you into believing everything that is going wrong with their lives is your fault. It isn't.

Jan Marquart LCSW
www.JanMarquartLCSW.wordpress.com

The Many Relationships of a Relationship

If you need your romantic relationship to always be a romantic relationship, chances are you will have many arguments. No romantic relationship can ever be romantic all the time. Such expectation isn't realistic no matter how much you love, adore, or cherish the person. Here are some levels that couples share in an effective relationship.

Romantic
This is a heart-thumping, blushing, sexually inspiring level that joins two people into a mutual belief that one has met his/her soul-mate. Everything feels 'right.' Your world looks and feels brighter. Your life takes on a higher purpose and meaning when you feel 'in love,' small hassles seem like nothing worth spending time over, and you have more energy than you ever thought possible. Your mind will be preoccupied with the other person and everything in life suddenly feels good and wonderful. Unfortunately the romantic stage can be temperamental and any sign that the romance is falling into reality can threaten the belief that one is truly loved.

Friendship
This is a bond that cannot be broken. No matter what you do you always make sure the other person is considered and cared for. If you are left alone for a day it doesn't matter because you want the other person to be happy. Not being with your significant other every minute is not a personal assault on whether you are important in their life or not. You don't need to do everything they do and they don't need to join you in everything you do. This is a solid foundation upon which to build a true love relationship. If, however, you are only friends without romance the relationship can feel dull.

Spiritual
This is a belief system that keeps two people working on the bigger picture of their relationship together. There is faith in the other person, perhaps a higher power also, be it God or some other philosophical system, and this system pervades why you do everything with and for the other person. Every relationship involves a belief system to keep it going. Problem comes into play when the belief systems differ for each person, especially when raising children or spending money.

Partner
It is amazing how many couples do not realize that a long-term relationship involves a partnership. Partners need to trust each other, count on each other, be there for the other person. Partners need to make the important decisions with the other person and hold themselves fully accountable for their 100% of the commitment because there is a commitment. Anyone who is not willing to make a 100% commitment should never be considered a partner.

Emotional
This level brings the deepest part of intimacy no matter what the nature of the relationship. To have trust enough to share emotions and know that you are safe is a remarkable and powerful way to evince love and kindness. Unfortunately, this level can take decades to build or re-build depending on what pain and experiences one brings to the relationship.

Sexual
Personal relationships need a healthy sex life to help bring intimacy, trust, caring, and a uniqueness to the relationship.A long-lasting relationship needs far more than this level alone or couples burn out and become uninterested. Good sex is only that: good sex.

What percentage of these levels does your relationship have?
Jan Marquart LCSW
counseling couples and families since 1979

How to Not Let Chronic Illness Control You!

Anyone suffering repeated and persistent symptoms of chronic illness knows how much control you can lose over your days. No one truly understands the consuming nature of a chronic illness unless you suffer it yourself. Imagine a bad case of the flu repeating every ten days for the rest of your life or migraine headaches haunting you three times a month. Just the thought of it can be overwhelming, right?

Here are some tips to help with the negative effects these symptoms can have on your moods, relationships, and desire to keep living well:
1. write for 20 minutes a day about how you feel,
2. eat at least one meal of nothing but vegetables to supply the vitamins you need,
3. take Vitamin C to replenish this vital vitamin as it gets eaten up from the stress of illness,
4. have an affirmation that speaks to the well part of your body such as, I am well, I am well, I am well,
5. watch your thoughts because 87% of our self-talk is negative and chronic illness tends to increase these,
6. talk to a therapist about your stress, and
7. sit in nature once a day even if it means you sit near a plant for an hour each morning.

Chronic illness can close in on your thoughts and create havoc with your moods. Our bodies are designed to heal but they need our help. Start with your thoughts then work into your diet, environment, exercise, and making your bedroom uncluttered and comfortable. Get at least eight hours a night of sleep because our bodies heal most when we are resting.

Jan Marquart LCSW, www.janmarquartlcsw.wordpress.com
author of Write to Heal and other books that can be found on www.JanMarquart.com

Is Your Spouse Having an Affair?

Affairs are a destructive force in a marriage. When a spouse has an affair it usually has nothing to do with loving the person outside the marriage. Cheating is a symptom that something is wrong in the marriage or in the person's individual life and although an affair might seem a good way to resolve it, it isn't. Affairs don't fix anything!

Stopping the affair is critical to start the healing process both for the injured spouse as well as for the marriage. This process can take years to heal, with therapy. The wound of betrayal cuts deep, and the spouse who cheated must remember that just because he/she has stopped the affair, it does not mean that the pain is over for the injured spouse. In fact, the pain might get worst for a while. The injured spouse will not be able to simply trust again that, 1. the affair is actually over, 2. if his/her spouse will not cheat again, or 3. if the marriage can be repaired. It only takes one minute to break trust but years to heal it.

If you feel attracted to a person other than your spouse, get help. Call a therapist and talk about the underlying issues for wanting to step outside your commitment. An affair is like suicide: it is a long term painful solution to a short term solvable problem.

Jan Marquart LCSW
www.janmarquartlcsw.wordpress.com