Integrative Health Blog

8 Unusual Methods to Boost Your Mental Well-Being

Posted by on Fri, Jan 27, 2023

If your mental health isn’t 100%, you must take action to improve it now. The first thing to remember is that you’re never alone; many people are struggling like you. One in five young American adults said the pandemic had a significant impact on their mental health, 3.8 million young Americans have had deep suicidal thoughts, and one in six young people has suffered a major depressive episode. Read on for eight unusual ways to address common mental health issues. 

 

1. Make Social Connections with Others 

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Tags: natural options, mental health, holistic health, emotional wellbeing

Mindfulness and Healing: Forgiveness & Letting Go of Anger

Posted by on Tue, May 12, 2020

Join us for a Mindfulness and Healing Webinar as we focus on an important topic:

Title: Mindfulness and Healing: Forgiveness & Letting Go of Anger

Date: Sunday, MAY 17, 2020

Time: 7:00 - 8:00 pm

Presenter: Dr. Charles Gant, functional medicine physician

 

This event is over but Mindfulness Sessions are now offered every Sunday night.

Join a free mindfulness group every Sunday night, at 7 PM, by simply calling 712-770-4340 and when prompted enter the code 566853# (pound).

Would you like to quiet your mind and take refuge from the worries and emotional disturbances of the world?

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Tags: mindfulness, emotional wellbeing

The Art of Staying Sane in a World in Upheaval

Posted by on Mon, Mar 30, 2020

"The Art of Staying Sane in a World in Upheaval"

Using a Time of Crisis as a Chance for Mind-Body Healing and Personal Transformation

Webinar Date: April 2, 2020

Time: 8:00-9:00 PM

Presenter: Kuno Bachbauer, LMF

This webinar has ended. A recording can be found HERE.

A little more than two weeks ago we all felt safe! (More or less).

Suddenly, and seemingly, out of nowhere, “unseen forces” have threatened not only our physical health but also our economic foundation. Almost from one day to the next, our world got taken hostage by an invisible enemy.  People sequestered, jobs lost, stocks crashed.

Unfortunately, this enemy has two sides.

“Public Enemy #1”: THE VIRUS

We all were forced to discover quickly how incredibly difficult and complex it is to protect yourselves and our community from this deadly virus! We have learned that “it takes a village” of concerted and coordinated effort to stay safe and to protect each other.

Besides mostly mechanical means such as using alcohol sprays, Clorox wipes, gloves, and “social distancing” we must use very specific medical support when necessary. I am certain that my physician-colleagues at NIHA with their many tools from Integrative and Functional medicine have the COVID-19 medical and preventive aspects covered beautifully. They are the experts! Therefore, I will move on to a specific topic that I am an expert in: How to handle the emotional side of illness.  

Because there is a lot of evidence that mind and body are totally inter-connected, I will show you how we can balance our mind and our emotions in very practical ways so that our immune system can work optimally and without extra stress.

“Public Enemy #2”:  OUR OWN TRAUMA REACTION TO STRESS

As a “holistic” psychotherapist, I see this other aspect of our novel public enemy as much more dangerous and intrinsic. It concerns the part in our psyche that deals with handling stress coming from difficult and overwhelming situations.

In this article I will attempt to give you helpful hints for mastering the “emotional brain.”  I want to offer guidance on how to MASTER THE EMOTIONAL FALLOUT and SPIRITUAL CONSEQUENCES of this collective battle against the unseen enemy of the state: COVID-19. For  more in-depth information please consider attending the webinar on April 2. 

My hope is that this information will help you be as strong and resilient in the face of this “unseen enemy” as possible! I hope it will help strengthen your immune system by learning to face fear properly, and by teaching you to be more able to handle the “tsunami” of overwhelming feelings and conflicting situations that we may have to face in the next few weeks!

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Tags: integrative medicine, emotional wellbeing

Surviving the Holidays Unscathed! Maintaining Inner Peace by Letting Go of Expectations

Posted by on Wed, Dec 11, 2019

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.

~Albert Einstein

Expectations can cause emotional disturbances, especially when, as Einstein suggests, nothing is done to change them.  The old saying, “Expect the worst and hope for the best” is also a famous bit of good advice, because it scales down expectations, perhaps a bit too pessimistically, to counter our demands that life must happen in a way that we expect it to.  In my recent released book, Awaken Your Godly Brain, I devote a whole chapter (Chapter 9) to dealing with expectations.  Everyone, that I have ever known, wants inner peace and no one wakes up in the morning and says to themselves, “I wonder how many nutty expectations I can impose on the world today so that I can suffer from emotional turmoil!”  However, that is precisely what we do to ourselves when we generate emotional disturbances.

Avoiding the “Hot Spots” of the Holidays

As Einstein suggests, we can do something different to avoid upsets.  If a certain person or situation is likely to push your buttons, move your body to a different location so that you have no contact with that person or that situation. 

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Tags: emotional wellbeing

Meditation, Calming the Brain for Optimal Health

Posted by on Wed, Oct 09, 2019

Please join us for the Mind/Body Connection Series Talk:

Title: "Meditation, Calming the Brain for Optimal Health"

Date: Tuesday, October 22 

Time: 6:30 – 7:45 pm

Place: National Integrated Health Associates (NIHA)

           5225 Wisconsin Ave. NW, #402

           Washington, D.C. 20015

Speaker: Kuno Bachbauer, LMFT

REGISTER

I invite you to come enjoy an evening of meditation!

Learn how meditation works as a powerful tool to balance the emotional brain and how you can develop the "Meditation Lifestyle."

I learned about meditation over 40 years ago. It has changed my life from the first day that I tried it. In fact, the principles of meditation have become my lifestyle. It has become my preferred way of life. A way of being fully present in the world - as often and as deeply as possible.

I must confess, this path is not easy or natural for me. I have never been an “ideal meditator.”  Not even close! I can’t sit still. I fidget. I have a hard time with the routine. I often fall asleep, and when I am awake, my mind wanders all over the place.

So why bother with meditation? And why would I offer an evening of meditation?

The answer may be surprising, but, my experience is exactly what a lot of people experience when they begin to meditate! The struggle. The defeat. The failure at something that appears so simple.

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Tags: mind-body, emotional wellbeing, meditation

How the Body Speaks its Mind: Are You Listening?

Posted by on Sat, Sep 07, 2019

Please join us for an enlightening mini-workshop on understanding the connection between the mind and body to emotional and physical health.

The Mind-Body Connection Lecture Series new talk:

"How the Body Speaks its Mind: Are You Listening?"              

Date: September 24, 2019

Time: 6:30- 7:45 p.m.

Place: National Integrated Health Associates

           5225 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Suite 402

           Washington, D.C. 20015

Speaker: Kuno Bachbauer, LMFT

REGISTER

If you feel you have done everything “right”- and you are still not getting well…

You may benefit from a deeper understanding of the “LANGUAGE OF ILLNESS.”

If you are still not feeling better after doing all the right things, then maybe your health status is not because you missed the latest and greatest treatment, or have not taken enough supplements, but just maybe….

Your Body/Mind is trying to tell you something - and you don’t know how to listen.

As a holistic therapist, I have seen this in so many patients. They come to me with “the list” and yet, do not progress.

  • You did a perfect integrative medical work-up. ✅

  • You have searched for and destroyed those hidden viruses, bacteria, mold, Lyme. ✅

  • You have suffered through the “right” diet- maybe it is the starchy McDougall diet, or it’s the exact opposite, foregoing all carbs with Keto. ✅

  • You did your colonics, sauna, or another detoxification cleanse. ✅

  • You had your dental check-up and maybe even a vitamin I.V. drip. ✅ 

And you are still not getting well. So, what is the body trying to tell you?

The following is a small attempt of a TRANSLATION of the “LANGUAGE OF ILLNESS:" 

1. Illness may tell you: “PLEASE STOP!”

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Tags: mind-body, emotional wellbeing

Rerouting the Brain- The Power of Changing Your Mind

Posted by on Mon, Jul 15, 2019

Please join us for an enlightening Mini-Workshop on Understanding the Connection between the Mind, Body and Emotions.

The Mind-Body Connection Lecture Series new talk:

"Rerouting the Brain-The Power of Changing Your Mind" 

Date:  Tuesday, July 30, 2019                  

Time:  6:30-7:45 pm

Place: National Integrated Health Associates

            5225 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Suite 402

            Washington, DC 20015

Presenter: Kuno Bachbauer, LMFT, CCEP, Dr. med. (Austria)

This lecture and mini-workshop will expound on what we have learned in the Mind-Body Connection series, but you do not have to have attended previous lectures to participate.

Please join us at any time- we never stop learning!

REGISTER

First, a Short Story

When I was in medical school in Vienna, Austria, our professors told us that the brain stops growing after 24 years of age. Whatever you have by then- that was what you would have for the rest of your life. I remember that this seemed very depressing and not quite acceptable to me. But what was I going to say in the face of my “God-in-the-white-coat” professors?

That particular limiting belief was held until only maybe 20 years ago, partly due to the findings of another Austrian, namely Nobel prize winner Eric Kandel, MD. He discovered how the brain learns. He and other neuroscientists developed an understanding of how Neuroplasticity works.

They created a truly amazing sea change in psychotherapy, bodywork, trauma science, memory, neurology and related fields that revolutionized what we are doing as practitioners! Please come to my free class to learn more about how this will benefit you.

PLEASE NOTE: My talks are highly “experiential” and that is why they are done live with those attending!  We will do exercises and experiences. Because we learn better when the whole body and emotions are involved, my aim is that you can sense and feel the concepts I will teach. No prior experience is necessary.  

A Quick Review- Starting with Resiliency

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Tags: mind-body, emotional wellbeing

Resilience- The Art of Calming the Emotional Brain and Overcoming Trauma & Illness

Posted by on Thu, Jun 13, 2019

Please join us for an enlightening Mini-Workshop on Understanding the Connection between the Mind, Body and Emotions.

TITLE: The Art of Calming the Emotional Brain and Overcoming Trauma & Illness

DATE:  June 25, 2019

TIME:  6:30-7:45 pm

PLACE:  National Integrated Health Associates

COST: Free

PRESENTER:  Kuno Bachbauer, LMFT, Dr. med.

REGISTER

This event has ended.

Wouldn’t you like to be able to calm your emotional brain?

This upcoming workshop will explain WHAT YOU CAN DO TO PREVENT FUTURE ILLNESS and how YOU CAN INFLUENCE THE HEALING PROCESS by understanding and correctly processing your childhood story and overcoming current life conflicts.

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Tags: mind-body, emotional wellbeing

Chronic Illness and the Hidden Costs of Childhood Stress

Posted by on Tue, May 07, 2019

Join us for the talk series on Understanding the Connection between Mind, Body and Emotions

TITLE: "Chronic Illness and the Hidden Costs of Childhood Stress"

DATE:  TUESDAY May 28, 2019                                                               

TIME:  6:30 - 7:30

PRESENTER: Kuno Bachbauer, LMFT, Dr.med. (Austria)

REGISTER

It is now firmly established that any illness is a systemic, multi-factorial process.

What does this mean?

We know now that illness requires a “perfect storm” of many factors in order to manifest a disease process.  Some of the factors coming together in order to cause such a systemic imbalance to activate in the body are genetics, ancestral influences, environment, lifestyle, general stress levels, toxic load, and adult trauma, among many others.

There is one more very important contributor to chronic disease: your childhood experiences.

A ground-breaking study was conducted by the CDC and Kaiser Permanente in the early 1990s.  It correlates early childhood trauma with an occurrence of physical and mental illness later in adulthood. It is called the “ACE Study”, short for “Adverse Childhood Experiences Study”.

It studies what happens when bad things happen to good children.

The Connection Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Illness Later in Life

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Tags: emotional wellbeing

Emotional Healing and Cancer

Posted by on Wed, May 30, 2018

How Prolonged Stress and Inner Conflicts Contribute to the Illness Process

As part of the Integrative Cancer program at NIHA, we look for any inner conflict and any prolonged stress a person may have because we know it may result in profound changes in the physical body of the person. 

You may have heard about the new science of “Epigenetics" which studies how our environment and our beliefs modulate what our body cells “print out." The now popular ACEs Study (Adverse Childhood Experiences) describes the deep influences childhood trauma can have on the later development of adult illness and wellness of a person.

Emotional trauma usually happens in relationship. Someone has hurt you, was neglectful, abused or abandoned you. (It is not the car that hurt you in an accident but the distracted driver.) Internal conflicts can derive from trauma from childhood (“developmental trauma", often called “childhood wounds”) or they can come from unresolved conflicts that are coming from current life situations such as your job, family, relationships, money, loss, loneliness, chronic illness, accidents, and even inherited conflict from our ancestors.

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Tags: cancer, emotional wellbeing