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Culture

Spiritual Counselor: Illness often comes with deeply felt stress

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Illness From Stress
Sometimes, not knowing the truth about something of immediate importance can create some of the most intense stress, says former chronic pain sufferer Janet Komanchuk.

“The families of victims who’ve been missing for years or decades – identifying the body of their loved one, for example, can bring closure. For me, being diagnosed with fibromyalgia was also a relief – it meant that I had a name for my chronic pain,” says Komanchuk, whose pain was so intense over a period of several years that she had to retire as a schoolteacher.

Studies of Monkey's may help solve causes of stress in humans- http://wabe.org/post/study-monkeys-may-help-solve-stress-humans
Studies of Monkey’s may help solve causes of stress in humans- http://wabe.org/post/study-monkeys-may-help-solve-stress-humans

“My diagnosis meant I wasn’t crazy, that the pain wasn’t ‘all in my head,’ as some had suggested. It meant that my flu-like symptoms,
accompanied by intense waves of pain, finally had form and dimension. I understood I was just one of many suffering with chronic pain that at last had a name.”

Fibromyalgia syndrome is a complex, chronic condition of widespread muscular pain and fatigue. It often includes sleep disturbances, impaired memory and concentration, depression and other debilitating symptoms. The syndrome is one of the most common chronic pain disorders, affecting nearly one in every 60 North Americans.

When medical leave, morphine patches, codeine and myriad pharmaceuticals brought no relief, I tried a different approach in combination
says Komanchuk, (www.jkomanchuk.com), who has since enjoyed more than 13 years of pain-free and prescription-free living after finding an alternative healing therapy that works for her. She now works as an educational writer and public relations assistant with Joy of Healing, the alternative healing modality that she says brought about her remission.

Is Yoga a 'healing therapy'? Forbes thinks it is and more- see Supplemental below CP
Is Yoga a ‘healing therapy’? Forbes thinks it is and more- see Supplemental below CP

“Through the years, I’ve learned a thing or two about dealing with the psychological trauma of illness.” Komanchuk shares tips to keep in mind for those suffering from an indeterminate condition.

•  Trust in yourself. “At times, the pain was so intense that I was certain my flesh was tearing away from my bones,” says Komanchuk, who was just like the more than 100 million Americans who suffer from chronic pain, which costs nearly $600 billion annually in medical treatments and lost productivity, according to the Institute of Medicine. Despite her unmistakable pain, the critical doubt from others as to what she was experiencing was disheartening, at times causing her to doubt herself.

“Trust in yourself, for you know what you’re feeling,” she says. “Don’t fall victim to the judgment and criticism of others who doubt your illness and the limitations it places on you or your activities.”

•  Don’t quit! Despite the immense scope of chronic pain, very little is spent on research to find better ways to manage pain. Komanchuk was faced with the prospect of spending the rest of her life in a nursing home.

“Yes, the pain was excruciating, debilitating and fatiguing, yet I still felt as though my life had the potential for vitality,” she says. “The idea of going to a nursing home – reasonable for some – felt like a kind of death to me.”

Convinced that there was hope for her in overcoming fibromyalgia, she persisted in her search for wellness answers.

•  Seriously consider alternatives. She was able to achieve what she thought was impossible – not just temporary relief, but permanent, lasting mind-body-spirit wellness. She had been to orthopedic surgeons, neurologists, rheumatologists, psychologists, underwent MRIs and took all manner of medications for her unbearable pain. In a narrow sense, it would seem as though she exhausted her options – until she looked beyond traditional Western medicine. Alternative treatment guided her to recognize the layers of stress throughout her life that she believes were a primary driver of her chronic pain.

“Every day, I am filled with gratitude for the fact that I am free of the torment from fibromyalgia that had plagued me throughout my
life,” she says. “I just wish I could give others a piece of the relief that I’ve found. All I can say is keep your eyes open, keep the hope alive and don’t give up!” For the Silo, Ginny Grimsley

Janet Komanchuk, www.jkomanchuk.com, is a retired schoolteacher who has experienced the miraculous remission of chronic, debilitating fibromyalgia, which was the result of many overlapping stressors and unresolved issues throughout her life. While weathering extreme fatigue and pain, she’d tried everything from traditional Western medicine to alcohol consumption and various holistic treatments. It wasn’t until she experienced the healing work of medium and healer Andrew Overlee, and his wife, Tamara, a dedicated spiritual counselor and author, that she was able to regain her life. She is now pain-free without any use of prescription medication. She is an educational writer and public relations assistant with Joy of Healing, Inc., in Valrico, Fla. USA
Janet Komanchuk, 

Supplemental- The Science of Yoga http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2011/06/16/penetrating-postures-the-science-of-yoga/

Earth

Evaluation Of Practices Is Key For Lyme Disease Strategy

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Another year has ticked by and Lyme disease remains a problem across much of North America.

Over the years I have met with so many people – farmers, outdoor activists, friends, neighbours – who have come down with Lyme – so many, often young people, afflicted in the prime of their life.

Time and time again I am told our health care system seems unaware and unprepared to deal with what remains essentially a new and emerging infectious disease – a disease that mimics other ailments and all too often has flummoxed those not expert in tropical diseases or public health.

Compounding the problem is the confusing and somewhat dubious advice prevalent on social media.

We have government for a reason and to that end in 2015, I introduced legislation – a Private Member’s Bill – to mandate the Ontario Minister of Health to develop ‘A Provincial Framework and Action Plan Concerning Emerging Vector-Borne Diseases,’ to quote the title of the bill.

The bill passed second reading with all-party support and became the law of the land.

Given my previous background in both research and health, I felt bound to take a purely objective evidence and science-based approach to creating this legislation. I called for a provincial framework and an action plan through our Ministry of Health – a plan that, primarily, encompasses surveillance, education materials and guidelines – guidelines for prevention, identification, diagnosis, treatment and management, including emergency preparedness – and calls for the sharing of best practices provincially and across our country. It instructs the Minister of Health to bolster research collaboration among all concerned, particularly those in the public.

One of my goals is to facilitate an efficient, more effective allocation; essentially, of what I consider scarce health resources. Going back to prevention, it is much more cost-effective to prevent than to treat. We know that the worldwide cost of SARS, for example, was $40 billion, and the bill in Canada came in at $2 billion, so prevention is key. Prevention is certainly key when there is no vaccine or little in the way of effective treatment. When you are dealing with a particular affliction like Lyme, prevention is the only option.

A committee was struck because of my legislation, and three years after my bill passed, released recommendations in April 2018.

Their advice included a call for reviews of current tick surveillance activities; of current testing methodologies for diagnosing Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses; and a review of current clinical practice guidelines focussing on assessment, prevention and treatment.

The committee also, as in my legislation, calls for research, education and public awareness. It calls for improved communications to regulated health professionals regarding standards of practice for diagnosis and treatment, as well as, the provision of professional education, and a coordinated care model for patients at all stages of these diseases.

The spread of Lyme disease in Ontario is an important issue for the Ministry of Health.

Health Quality Ontario (HQO), in partnership with Public Health Ontario (PHO) and in collaboration with clinical experts, patients and caregivers across the province has developed a clinical guidance document for early-localized Lyme disease. HQO continues to review the evidence and has committed to making any necessary changes to the guidance document as the evidence warrants.

In my view, the Ministry of Health is making progress.

For the Silo, Toby Barrett -MPP for Haldimand-Norfolk.