In this episode, learn about Earthing, keeping a timeline for health, and anxiety.
Join Bri and I in our next class HERE
Homeopathy Crash Course Mentorship Program coming this year!
Earthing - WIN the book for free by rating and commenting on this podcast by January 31 when I'll randomly choose a winner. Get an extra entry by sharing this podcast and tagging ME in the post on Facebook or Instagram.
Facebook: @MMCHomeopathy
Instagram: @mmc_homeopathy
The Anxiety and Depression Association of America
20:21 Begins the homeopathic section on anxiety.
26:02 What does the Bible say about anxiety and fear?
31:52 The timeline
38:02 Rhus Tox
42:58 Arsenicum album
44:20 Ignatia
45:30 Lycopodium
46:09 Anticipatory anxiety, Gelsemium, and the triple A combo
47:57 Homeopathy Crash Course Mentorship Program coming 2021
In this episode, learn about Earthing, keeping a timeline for health, and anxiety.
Join Bri and I in our next class HERE
Homeopathy Crash Course Mentorship Program coming this year!
Earthing - WIN the book for free by rating and commenting on this podcast by January 31 when I'll randomly choose a winner. Get an extra entry by sharing this podcast and tagging ME in the post on Facebook or Instagram.
Facebook: @MMCHomeopathy
Instagram: @mmc_homeopathy
The Anxiety and Depression Association of America
20:21 Begins the homeopathic section on anxiety.
26:02 What does the Bible say about anxiety and fear?
31:52 The timeline
38:02 Rhus Tox
42:58 Arsenicum album
44:20 Ignatia
45:30 Lycopodium
46:09 Anticipatory anxiety, Gelsemium, and the triple A combo
47:57 Homeopathy Crash Course Mentorship Program coming 2021
Melissa Crenshaw 0:00
Hello and welcome to Homeopathy At Home with Melissa. If you're ready to be independent in helping your family with acute and chronic conditions in a more natural way, if you're interested in learning how to use homeopathy at home, and if you enjoy positive encouraging messages, then this is the podcast for you. Click subscribe, grab some coffee or tea, a pen and a notebook and get ready to learn how to use homeopathy at home in your family. The information in this podcast and its transcription is to be used for education only. The suggestions here should not replace the advice of your medical doctor and you should never stop any prescription medications without the advice and direction of your doctor. I am not a physician, I am not prescribing and I am not making healthcare decisions for you. It is your choice to use the information provided here in and in any future communications with me regarding homeopathy, and natural health care.
Bri Hurlburt 1:12
I am Bri! Hey, everybody. I'm joining Melissa today and will hopefully be joining in future conversations every now and then. So as usual, we like to start the podcast with one baby step you can take to transition into a more natural, healthy lifestyle. So what's your tip for us today, Melissa?
Melissa Crenshaw 1:34
Hey, Bri! I'm so glad that you're here with me today. It's going to be fun and I do definitely look forward to many more podcasts with you. So since the remedy focus this week is on anxiety and depression I would like to touch on the importance of earthing or grounding, which can reduce both.
Bri Hurlburt 1:57
Okay, so the only thing I have heard about earthing or grounding is in some new age way, talking about connecting our bodies with the earth or finding our inner Mother Earth, you know, not anything that I would attribute to something we can walk in as believers. So I am really interested in this. So what is earthing?
Melissa Crenshaw 2:25
That is such a great question, especially for us believers since we definitely don't ever want to walk into or be doing anything that's not glorifying the Lord, right? So earthing is the act of connecting with the earth to receive its energy and natural electricity. So that might sound like New Age stuff. It might sound like energy healing and really, God made the earth and the earth is energy, the earth is full of energy and He made our bodies and our bodies are energy. So we can benefit hugely from the energy of the earth.
Bri Hurlburt 3:05
God made these things and we can use them in a way that doesn't contradict the Bible.
Melissa Crenshaw 3:10
So there's nothing new age or weird about gaining electricity from the earth, which God made.
Bri Hurlburt 3:20
That's really interesting because I feel like the more I've learned about natural living, things that I used to think were contradictory to the teachings of the Bible are actually useful when used in the correct manner. So God making all of those things and learning to use them the way God intended to help our bodies function, the way God intended, is something I'm learning a lot more about and I can totally see how earthing can be one of those things.
Melissa Crenshaw 3:53
So yeah, this is a conversation I have kind of often with believers; that they're really worried about the word energy and energy healing because the world has turned the word energy into something that God didn't intend for it to be. So we can receive energy from the earth by walking, standing, sitting or lying on the grass or dirt with our skin directly touching it without wood, plastic, rubber, concrete, tile, or carpet or anything else in between us and the earth because those things block the electricity from the earth. Traditionally, remember, we didn't used to have all of these non-conductive barriers between us and the earth. We used to sleep on the earth. We used to walk on the earth barefoot like Jesus. They had sandals, but what were they made of? They weren't made of plastic and rubber and these things that don't allow us to connect with the earth and so they were always walking, sleeping, and sitting on the earth, so they were receiving its energy. We know today that the health benefits of receiving the earth energy are huge.
Bri Hurlburt 5:12
My brain is working here thinking through electricity and how it produces light or power and thinking about my body being a conductor. It's not the same thing as a wire but just the same way that a wire conducts light or whatever other electricity we use in our homes. Thinking about the energy that our bodies take in and what they produce, because of it, is really getting my wheels turning, I like this.
Melissa Crenshaw 5:43
Yeah, and it's the most natural energy. You know, it's not the manmade energy that would turn our lights on and run our washing machines.
Bri Hurlburt 5:54
Or this energy that we manufacture somehow, which is, I think, what New Age energy would be, that we manifest something because of this energy we say that we create, but it's really something that we have taken upon ourselves and kind of made up, spoken into life, but not necessarily God-made.
Melissa Crenshaw 6:17
Yeah, so the other religions or other things that we're talking about, they're talking about, or they're looking within. So they're trying to heal their own bodies. They're wanting to heal themselves and we know that Jesus is our Healer and our Provider. So most people never connect with the earth because of shoes and concrete everywhere and connecting with the earth in this way is the most natural grounding method that everybody needs daily. Think about people who live in inner cities who never connect with the earth, but grounding can also be achieved through tools for people to use inside their homes to gain energy from the earth. That's not the free way or the most natural way, but it is a way we can we can gain it inside of our homes with with grounding products, but both earthing and grounding, are grounding us. Earthing is walking outside barefoot being on the earth and that is grounding us. A grounding product is something that we use inside of our homes, so essentially, it's two different methods to achieve the same thing. We also gain energy from the sun so we need to be outside barefoot, face to the sun, as much of each day as we possibly can without chemical sunscreen. So if you're wearing sunscreen outside, you're not getting what you need from the sun. When we get enough sunlight during the morning hours, our bodies produce a hormone called cortisol. Especially as women, we've heard of cortisol, we think of it as bad because it's what puts lots of fat around the belly, right? We don't want cortisol but cortisol is our get-up-and-go hormone, and we need it. The stress that people are under now mimics the stress that our ancestors experienced when they were fighting for their lives. Our ancestors produced cortisol but they were hunting, fishing, fighting, moving constantly, and now we're sitting for the most part, most people. We're still producing cortisol because of all the stress that we're under but we're not moving and that's what produces the fat around the belly.
Bri Hurlburt 8:55
That is really interesting, because the only way I've ever heard cortisol used is in relation to stress, not actually as fat so I actually did not know that. That's a new fact for me. But it's funny that's the only way I do know it, is in the context of stress.
Melissa Crenshaw 9:14
Yeah, because that's all that's ever talked about and you're young and you're not fat, so you don't have to worry about it.
Bri Hurlburt 9:26
Not yet.
Melissa Crenshaw 9:29
So when you get up in the morning, the best thing to do is to get outside with your face to the sun and your bare feet in the grass. you're gaining energy from both and you're producing cortisol at the right time of day. We don't want to be producing cortisol at night, because we need to be going to sleep at night. The cortisol helps to give us energy for the day and then when evening comes, we should be lowering the lights inside the house slowly and eliminating as much artificial light as possible so that our bodies can begin to make melatonin. That will produce healthy sleep. So I'm probably going to do a whole other podcast on sleep, I don't want to get too much into sleep now, but those two hormones need to be produced at the right time of day.
Bri Hurlburt 10:18
This might be really basic, but as you're talking, I'm getting the picture that we, in our inside life, in our homes, are really trying to mimic, or should be trying to mimic what would happen if we were outside?
Melissa Crenshaw 10:35
That's right. So I think of -- okay, what old shows do you like to watch? I used to love to watch a Little House on the Prairie. So when the sun went down, they started getting ready for bed. They had candlelight and then they went to bed. When the sun rose, they got up.
Bri Hurlburt 10:53
What a life! Now I turn on all the lights when it's dark outside so I can look at my phone, read a book, all those things. I always think about what I would do back then - knit and sew and go to bed.
Melissa Crenshaw 11:07
Yeah. What else did they have to do but talk to each other?
Bri Hurlburt 11:13
They were probably so much more productive than I am.
Melissa Crenshaw 11:16
Yeah, of course, because there were no other distractions. So when we're inside at night with all the lights on your body is not making melatonin until the lights go down and go out. I mean, I don't know if I can say 100% it's not making ANY but it really is not meant to start making melatonin until the sun goes down.
Bri Hurlburt 11:41
I can see how this is going to be a whole other podcast because I have so many questions and tangents already.
Melissa Crenshaw 11:47
Yes, let's do it. We'll plan a sleep one next. There's a book called Earthing and you should definitely get it. I'll link it in the show notes but I also am planning to do a giveaway going along with this podcast. I'm going to give the book away to somebody and I'll post the details in the show notes. I don't have the details worked out yet so the book, Earthing goes into great detail but for this podcast, I'm just going to say that we all know the buzzword inflammation, right? It's been a word with a negative connotation for years now and I want to first say that inflammation has a job in the body so all inflammation isn't bad. Too much inflammation is where earthing can be helpful and here's a quote from the book, "Inflammation is the complex biological response of the body to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. It is a protective attempt by the system to remove injurious or threatening agents as well as start the healing process for the affected tissue. In the absence of inflammation, wounds and infections would never heal, and progressive destruction of the tissue would compromise survival." Here are some familiar signs and symptoms of inflammation that are listed in the book, "Swelling, redness, heat and pain, and depending on where the site is, decreased range of motion." So chronic inflammation points to a deficiency of electrons in the body, isn't that neat?!
Bri Hurlburt 13:30
Okay, so electrons, like the little things in atoms, is that what we're talking about? Okay, so what you're saying is electrons -- if chronic inflammation is a deficiency, that having enough of them battles inflammation, the bad kind of inflammation?
Melissa Crenshaw 13:51
That's right.
Bri Hurlburt 13:52
Okay, so where does earthing come into this electron deficiency and how can we replenish those in a natural way?
Melissa Crenshaw 14:01
So earthing seems to be the way to replenish electrons naturally. We need to walk, sit, stand or lie on the earth every day to be recharged. If you've never heard of this, it might sound weird, but let me assure you that it's really normal, like we've already talked about, we've already established that it is normal. So you can dig really deep into this by reading the book linked in the show notes but for now, let me just cover the very basics and hopefully pique your interest to try it. The author of the book states, "The earth provides the body with a huge influx of electrons and reduces or shuts down the inflammatory destruction attributed to excess free radicals."
Bri Hurlburt 14:48
So if I'm understanding correctly, our body is the conductor of this energy that the earth provides. Electrons then flow into our body and can be used to combat free radicals and other inflammation in our body. So that's what you're saying?
Melissa Crenshaw 15:09
Yes! God made the earth perfect in the beginning, right?
Bri Hurlburt 15:13
Why do we ever think we can trust manmade electrical devices over what God already designed perfectly?
Melissa Crenshaw 15:21
Right? I don't know. I mean, this is my thing; just trusting men over God. We trust the EKG and EKG so why don't we trust the energy from the earth? Why do we trust everything that the doctors and scientists make?
Bri Hurlburt 15:43
We do! We so easily trust things that we can understand when God literally says do not trust and do not lean on your own understanding, and we do.
Melissa Crenshaw 15:55
Yep. It's easy to do, I guess. So, I always say, "Man cannot recreate what God made perfect in the beginning." If we believe that doctors can use EKGs and EEGs, among other electrical devices to measure body systems, then how can we not believe that that what God made to provide for us is not good? That it's not enough. He is enough. He's more than enough! Water, free electrons, all these things He made and earthing has a major, rapid impact on inflammation and pain.
Bri Hurlburt 16:38
Okay, so what kind of conditions can be helped with earthing?
Melissa Crenshaw 16:44
So that's a good question. Let's think about all the things that inflammation causes. Anything that inflammation causes; pain, sleeplessness, disease? Well, do you think, anxiety and depression is...
Bri Hurlburt 17:00
Yeah! I was just going to say, because we are going to talk about that. I do think anxiety. I also think gut issues? Did you say that one already?
Melissa Crenshaw 17:08
No, I didn't.
Bri Hurlburt 17:10
I think anxiety, depression, definitely gut issues, at least for people in my life.
Melissa Crenshaw 17:18
Yeah, that's good because all those things are inflammation.
Bri Hurlburt 17:22
Yeah, and honestly, I feel like it could maybe be linked to way too many things for us to list, right.
Melissa Crenshaw 17:31
So just get outside! That's what I say!
Bri Hurlburt 17:35
Interesting, too, because intuitively, we want to be outside barefoot. I even think of myself as a child and even now there is this intuitive side in me that wants to be outside, touching the ground, and I see it in my little boys. They want to go outside and they don't want shoes on. They want to be eating the dirt half the time. So it is cool to think about the connection we naturally have or are drawn toward the earth.
Melissa Crenshaw 17:41
I love that and we can always look at kids. What does the Bible say? We can always look at kids and whatever they're doing. That's probably what we're supposed to be doing. It's because of what we're taught and indoctrinated with that we change from what we do as kids. Kids want to run around barefoot, they want to dig in the dirt, and they want to eat it! All these things are good for us! Adults don't do it because they were taught that's dirty, and you shouldn't do that,
Bri Hurlburt 18:38
That's so true.
Melissa Crenshaw 18:39
So specifically, the bottoms of our feet and the palms of our hands can absorb the earth's energy the best and I really love to do this. I do this as often as I can. Now, we live in a warm climate. We're in North Carolina where we don't get much snow so this isn't as hard for us to do as it is for somebody up north that maybe gets a lot of snow or where it's really cold.
Bri Hurlburt 19:06
Like me and Michigan.
Melissa Crenshaw 19:08
Yeah, so what in the world?! You can't do this in the winter! I really love to do this after it rains because when the earth is wet, the conductivity is higher so if it's really dry out, hot and dry, you really should consider wetting the ground where you're going to stand or spend time. Use your hose or whatever and wet it before you do that. I often will sit in a chair with my feet in the grass while I read a book or work on something and they say that doing this for 30 to 45 minutes every day is optimal and this is such an easy and free way to improve your health.
Bri Hurlburt 19:46
I'm so glad you brought this particular topic up because I think sometimes the natural lifestyle can feel really overwhelming and like a black hole and this is something I have not researched in a lot of years of healthy living and natural living. But it also feels like a really easy thing for people to add into their life that doesn't require buying anything. You don't have to change a lot and it's free, but makes a huge difference, so perfect baby step.
Melissa Crenshaw 20:19
Yes. I love it. I love baby steps.
Bri Hurlburt 20:21
So now, Melissa, are you ready to move on to the homeopathic portion of this podcast?
Melissa Crenshaw 20:27
Yeah, let's do it. I wanted to talk about anxiety and depression because it's on the rise, you know, 2020.
Unknown Speaker 20:47
Man, especially this year, everybody has heightened anxiety this year.
Melissa Crenshaw 20:53
I mean, it even tried to creep in on me a little bit and I haven't had anxiety in forever.
Bri Hurlburt 20:58
Yeah. I believe it.
Melissa Crenshaw 21:00
So I wanted to give some remedies that can really help with anxiety, and of course, anxiety and depression are chronic conditions that may need a chronic consult but I still want to give you a few things that you can try on your own. You can try it safely. I first want to just say a little bit about anxiety and I'll link this in the show notes. The anxiety and depression Association of America estimates that 40 million adults struggle with anxiety. FORTY million! Isn't that crazy?!
Bri Hurlburt 21:01
So sad.
Melissa Crenshaw 21:08
That's just see adults. I know plenty of kids with anxiety. In fact, they say that 25.1% of teenagers suffer from anxiety. They also say that people with anxiety are three to five times more likely to go to the doctor, and six times more likely to be hospitalized for psychiatric disorders than those who don't suffer from anxiety. It's a well known fact that anxiety and depression go hand in hand, right? Usually one follows the other and there are many different kinds of anxiety disorders and homeopathy can reduce or eliminate them completely.
Bri Hurlburt 22:13
I already know this is going to be really helpful for families, especially with kids. I mean, you see a lot of kids right now, with all the changes really having a lot more anxiety than before.
Melissa Crenshaw 22:27
Yeah, these poor kids having to do all these different things, for school and everything and not getting to be with their friends. So let me just define anxiety. I always like to define my terms. Anxiety is a feeling of intense worry or fear that something bad is about to happen. So you have a constant torturous uneasiness about the outcome of most events or situations. Sometimes you feel anxious, even when you're not sure why. Sometimes anxiety leads to panic attacks, which can grip you so strongly that you feel as though you're going to have a heart attack, stop breathing and die. So in my early 20s, I worked as a director of a large childcare center in Charlotte, North Carolina, where I had 20 employees and over 100 children in my center. I was also a single mom of a toddler and I was living on my own. I had the joy of raising my son, and at the same time, the fear of not doing it well enough. This was such a hard time in my life and I was constantly worried that something bad was going to happen to him. So that's a key thing right there. I also had to be sure that the bills were paid and food was on the table and that he got everything that he needed and I began to have severe anxiety and depression along with panic attacks. One day while I was at work at this childcare center, so many things seem to be falling apart all at the same time and I became overwhelmed. I started hyperventilating, so of course, I think my friend Lisa was working there with me and she called my mom, who came to pick me up and take me to the doctor. Of course he prescribed me with an antidepressant because I could not stop crying in the doctor's office. He was like, "Melissa, why are you crying?" I said, "I don't know!"
Bri Hurlburt 24:23
I feel so sad for your young little self. I wish I could just hug you and I know there are a lot of women, especially young women, who are in the same place that you were.
Melissa Crenshaw 24:36
Yeah, absolutely. At that point, I was raising Chandler in church. I mean, we were always in church, but I just didn't have a relationship with the Lord. I was in church, so I thought that was all I needed to do. I would cry out to Him and ask Him to help me. I mean, just all the time. I would be like, "Lord, please, I can't do this! I need your help!" I didn't realize at that time the fullness of what God could really do and that I was merely asking for relief in the moment. So once relief came, I would go on about my business as usual and I'm not even sure that I recognized His hand on me during that time, but it definitely was
Bri Hurlburt 25:19
Man, that really speaks to me! The the part about not realizing the fullness of what God can do and just asking for relief in the moment. I think that can also relate to a lot of areas in our life, even as believers.
Melissa Crenshaw 25:33
Yeah, absolutely. But a lot of times, I'll look back and be like, man, He was all over that I didn't even realize it at the time.
Bri Hurlburt 25:40
And I think in the moment, it feels so overwhelming, you can't imagine not feeling that way especially with something like anxiety and depression. It's all-consuming and so I think unless you have other people speaking into your life, like you're doing right now to other people, you really don't always believe it will ever go away.
Melissa Crenshaw 26:02
So that's what I feel called to do. I feel called to encourage women and I enjoy it so much. I really, really love encouraging women. So anxiety, like what I was experiencing, is usually unwarranted or greatly overblown, in the face of Truth. When you're chronically uneasy, because you think something bad is going to happen, you have no peace and life is too hard. In Luke 12:29, Jesus said not to have an anxious mind. Proverbs 12:25 says, "Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression but a good Word makes it glad." The good Word from God is that you don't have to be anxious about anything that you can pray about! Fear is not something that comes from God. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and a sound mind and that's in 2Timothy 1:7. If we lay claim to the love that God has for us, and the sound mind He has for us, there'll be no room for a spirit of fear. We don't invite a spirit of fear every time we're afraid. That really only happens when fear becomes a controlling factor in our lives. It's good to be afraid of danger when it's warranted. It's what will keep you from walking out into traffic or alone in a deserted place but it's not good to have fear as a way of life. That's what we're talking about here. The only fear God wants us to have is fear is to fear Him and that's 1Peter 2:17. That doesn't mean that we're afraid of Him, but that we're afraid of what life would be like without Him and the fear He desires is one of deep reverence for Him and who He is. So don't live with fear when God says He has love, power, and a sound mind for you. Instead, claim what God has for you and keep your eyes on Jesus.
Bri Hurlburt 28:02
I love what you said, about us not inviting a spirit of fear every time we're afraid but that only happening when it becomes a controlling factor. That's been a big part of my journey as a mom, learning how to make decisions that are not based on a fear. When it came to vaccinations, do I vaccinate out of fear or not vaccinate out of fear? I didn't want to do either of those and it can become really controlling. So that was a really good point and something that just really spoke to me when you were talking. I know the Bible has plenty of scenarios and stories that Jesus shares about people walking in fear, or walking even though they are afraid.
Melissa Crenshaw 28:52
Yeah, remember, Peter believed in the Lord and stepped out of the boat and walked on the water to the Lord. That's Matthew 14:30 and it says, "but when he saw the wind, he was afraid and beginning to sink, he cried out, Lord saved me." Now we can't see the wind. We know it's there because of how it moves things that we can see, and we feel it on our skin. The only way that Peter would have been able to see the wind is if he took his eyes off of Jesus and looked at the ripples in the sea or the sails of the boat. So when he took his eyes off of Jesus and instead saw the effects of the wind, he began to sink. We feel peace when we look at Jesus, however, when we take our eyes off of Him because we feel something that we can't see against our flesh, like a spiritual force not of God, the rejection of family, the judgment of people, etc, and then turn away and believe or see the effects of it in the physical realm, we sink and feel like we're drowning. We will walk on the water with Jesus while our eyes are on Him and we will sink or at least struggle to stay above water when we take our eyes off of Him. So I always encourage people to keep your eyes on Jesus at all times and you'll always remember that he equips you, Holy Spirit comfort you, and when we step out in obedience and faith, we feel the blessings and experience God's best for our lives.
Bri Hurlburt 30:29
What does it mean, to keep your eyes on Jesus, maybe when you're dealing with fear or anxiety?
Melissa Crenshaw 30:36
So to me, it means focus, remember, and know what He's doing in and through our lives and not even giving any attention to fear and confusion or anything that Satan's trying to cause. He can only cause the amount of fear that you're going to allow him to so we stand on the Word of the Lord, we reject the spirit of fear, claiming our identity in Christ, and that does not allow fear. Fear is not from the Lord and I don't want anything that's not from Him.
Bri Hurlburt 31:16
And I know a lot of people in my life who really deal with a lot of anxiety and we are in a season of life, that's really, I won't say uncertain, but unknown. So it can feel uncertain when I am letting my feelings overpower what I know to be true. So this is really good. It's a good reminder for me, and a good thing that I've been trying to put into practice is keeping my eyes on the Truth and rejecting anything else that is not of God. So thank you for sharing all of this.
Melissa Crenshaw 31:52
I love it. I love talking about the Lord and everything that He does. I love Jesus. You talking about you have plenty of people that you know, I can guarantee you that everyone listening to this podcast, or reading its transcription, has either suffered from anxiety or knows someone who has, and a person with anxiety or depression likely has an unhealthy digestive system, and/or imbalanced hormones. So like I said before, I began having anxiety and panic attacks after I had my first child. That's so common! You wouldn't believe how many women I help who start having anxiety or panic attacks after they have either their first child or one of their children. I can trace it back to my toddler years with a timeline. I encourage people to make a timeline beginning with conception. You might need to ask your parents what was going on in their lives and and in the world when you were conceived and go from there. So let me just share with you what I mean. Mine goes like this: I began my vaccine schedule as an infant, before I entered a childcare facility where I began having constant ear infections which "required" antibiotics and probably some pain relief. I had so many ear infections that my mom pulled me out of the place that I was in and put me into a home daycare. That seemed to help, but the damage to my gut was already done. I stayed up to date on all my vaccines and then was diagnosed with hay fever or allergies, some people say, at five years old. At some point before then I went back to a childcare center and I still remember the PineSol they used to clean everything with! I loved the smell of PineSol. Do you remember that, Bri?
Bri Hurlburt 33:53
Oh my goodness, I used to love PineSol and now when I think about it, it still smells good in my mind, but I'm sure I couldn't stand it now. I also remember my mom used to use Comet in the bathtub.
Melissa Crenshaw 34:06
Mm hmm.
Bri Hurlburt 34:07
And I if I smelled that now, I did not like that smell. It was super strong chemicals and I can't believe they were used so commonly around little children.
Melissa Crenshaw 34:21
I know right? I mean, the daycare was full of PineSol - that's all you would smell! I mean, of course they didn't know how those chemicals were negatively affecting people, even themselves and the children, they just didn't know. So okay, I was fully vaccinated had multiple rounds of antibiotics, pain medications for earaches, was fed canned daycare food and was constantly exposed to PineSol five days a week. No wonder I had allergies! I was prescribed an over the counter medication for allergies and my mom had to open up the capsules and put it in my food because of course couldn't swallow capsules yet.
Bri Hurlburt 35:02
Oh my goodness. So your immune system, ear infections, your allergies all suppressed Check, check check.
Melissa Crenshaw 35:09
Gosh, oh my goodness. Yeah, it keeps on going. I started getting strep throat and I had chronic strep throat which required more antibiotics and more pain medications. I had chronic strep throat for like 25 years. Most kids will have it only as kids and then grow out of it, but during my strep throat days, I began having peculiar symptoms that I went to the doctor for. I was then diagnosed with IBS at 16 years old and prescribed a medication.
Bri Hurlburt 35:46
That sounds so familiar. So strep throat, suppressed - check and then gut health now suppressed.
Melissa Crenshaw 35:56
Yep, all the things. Next up, chronic vaginal yeast infections added to the IBS, strep throat, and allergies. Do you see where I'm going with this? Nothing was being healed. It was all being masked. (Oh my goodness, I hate that word now.) The conditions are multiplying, and through all of this, I was never a good eater. I hated vegetables and meat, I lived on macaroni and cheese, strawberry Pop Tarts, sweet tea, and Carnation Instant Breakfast.
Bri Hurlburt 36:37
Oh my goodness, the breakfast of champions.
Melissa Crenshaw 36:39
Yep.
Bri Hurlburt 36:41
I mean, unfortunately, that sounds really common.
Melissa Crenshaw 36:45
Mm hmm. Next, after all of that is anxiety, depression, and full blown acne at age 23. I had never had acne before, and barely even got a pimple during my cycle. But there I was, 23 years old with this acne. I was totally embarrassed. What do you think happened next?
Bri Hurlburt 37:09
I'm sure you're prescribed some kind of medication.
Melissa Crenshaw 37:15
Exactly! More medications. So I'm 23 years old, with a new baby, postpartum depression, acne, anxiety, depression, IBS, allergies, chronic yeast infections, and chronic strep throat. What happened next should be no surprise. My baby starts getting the exact same things. He starts the exact same cycle that I had been on. He was fully vaccinated, followed by chronic ear infections "requiring" antibiotics and pain medication, BUT instead of IBS, he was diagnosed with a peptic ulcer and THAT'S where I drew the line on medications.
Bri Hurlburt 37:59
Wow, that is so crazy, poor little guy.
Melissa Crenshaw 38:02
Yes, I walked away from that doctor's office thinking, "What in this world?" This was the beginning of my homeopathy journey and we haven't looked back since. A timeline isn't made for you to go back and figure out all the ways that your parents and doctors made mistakes. We're not condemning our parents here. They did the very best they could with the knowledge that they had at the time, just like we do. I did the best that I could with the knowledge that I had with my oldest son and with all my children. But the timeline is a useful tool in figuring out which remedies you may need and this is something that I teach in my Mentorship Program. So back to the anxiety that I had after I gave birth to my oldest son. Remember earlier I said that I was always worried about something bad happening to him. These were intrusive thoughts and I felt I needed to be in control of everything that had to do with him. It's an unrealistic fear that many people have and Rhus Tox, which is poison oak may be a good fit for that kind of fear. That's not what my homeopath suggested to me at the time, but it would be at the top of my list today. So the Rhus Tox mental picture has this restlessness of the mind and they can't keep still, they have intrusive thoughts that they can't stop and anxiety about the future. This person is always worried about what's going to happen next. I remember I was constantly planning the next month, week, day and hour, I had all these calendars and lists. Rhus Tox has a lot of fear and the person may tense up, cramp up and stiffen up. These are some key notes that you want to write down. So she may be in a highly agitated state with fixed ideas and OCD. Oh my goodness, that was me. Rhus Tox is similar to Arsenicum album, which I'll touch on next. The classic Rhus Tox dreams are full of great exertion and they're busy. This kind of anxiety is classified as chronic because it continued on for more than three weeks. I want to discuss chronic anxiety first, and then we'll touch on some acute anxiety.
Bri Hurlburt 40:28
Okay, so before you move on to those, you mentioned Rhus Tox as a remedy and Arsenicum album. When I choose a remedy, how do I know what potency to use and how often to use it?
Melissa Crenshaw 40:43
Oh, that's a good question. How to decide on potency and frequency is something that I teach in my live classes and I'll cover in my mentorship program that I'm going to release in early 2021, but for now, just know that without experience in using homeopathy, you can safely use 30c, as needed during anxiety, or 200c twice a day.
Bri Hurlburt 41:11
Okay, I think that's where my experience has been mostly. When I first started, I used 30c almost all the time in everything, and just have started using 200c more often.
Melissa Crenshaw 41:23
Getting the correct remedy is much more important than the potency and frequency and you can meet the intensity of the condition with the frequency of the dosing. That means, in an emergent situation, you're going to use the remedy very often for a short period of time and in a non-emergent situation, you could try once or twice a day, or maybe even just once a week but you always want to keep good notes and you'll soon understand what you need.
Bri Hurlburt 41:54
Okay, so what if there are a few different remedies? I mean, like there are for anxiety, and I can't decide on the right one. How else can I get help figuring out what to use?
Melissa Crenshaw 42:07
Well, I'm also here to help you if you need more guidance. My chronic consultations are listed on my website and my acute consultations. Also, you can just go on there and fill out a form to get started with me as soon as you want to. So just remember a chronic condition has been around more than three weeks and an acute condition has been around less than three weeks. Otherwise, if you don't want to do a consultation right now, or just can't then give these remedies a try and sign up for class in order to dig deeper into how and when to take the remedies.
Bri Hurlburt 42:51
Okay, what are some other remedies that are useful for anxiety?
Melissa Crenshaw 42:58
So Arsenicum album can be useful in acute or chronic anxiety, and it's especially indicated when they're afraid to be alone. Arsenicum is white oxide of arsenic and is also restless like Rhus Tox, but has a fear of death. Fear of death is a big keynote in Arsenicum. So this person may be fastidious and have a big need for control. So he does everything in his power to control his entire environment, which brings more anxiety because we can't do that, right? He desires order, and may even have OCD. This anxiety paces the floor or moves from bed to floor and back again. He may change chairs often because he's so restless. He may suffer from germophobia. This anxiety may present with burning in the gut and insomnia. Panic attacks seemingly happen out of nowhere, and he may have a feeling of despair.
Bri Hurlburt 44:00
I love how versatile these remedies are because I've always used Arsenicum album as something for a stomach bug so to see the ways it can also be used for anxiety. I would never have thought that. I do know Ignatia, isn't that one?
Melissa Crenshaw 44:20
Yes. Oh my goodness, I love Ignatia! It's my favorite. Ignatia 200 can be very useful in general anxiety that's acute or chronic so I like to take it at night because it helps me sleep. Now don't get me wrong, I don't take it FOR sleep but when anxiety tries to creep in due to too much stress or too much going on in life, or 2020, I'll use this medicine at night for a week or so and stop when I'm feeling much better. It just happens to also help me sleep. So I had taken this for chronic anxiety and depression for a few months and then stopped when I felt better. But occasionally when I get too busy or overwhelmed and have a hard time sleeping, that's when I know it's time for a few nights of Ignatia.
Bri Hurlburt 45:05
Okay, that is something I have done as well. I use Ignatia to help me sleep as a result of being awake with some anxiety and feeling like I needed to get up and write everything down on a piece of paper and thinking about all the things I needed to do the next day. What about lack of self confidence related to anxiety or worry?
Melissa Crenshaw 45:30
Chronic lack of self confidence with constant worry and brain fog may call for Lycopodium 200. So this person may also have gut problems and food intolerances. You do know about the gut-brain connection, right?
Bri Hurlburt 45:44
Yes, I do. Definitely. I have researched that a lot.
Melissa Crenshaw 45:48
So when the gut is damaged, the mind is likely unwell.
Bri Hurlburt 45:52
Okay, so those are some good chronic ones. What about acute anxiety, like things that come up randomly or when you have to go to the dentist or you're about to give a big presentation in front of people, and you hate talking in front of people.
Melissa Crenshaw 46:09
So anticipatory anxiety calls for Gelsemium 30 twice per day alternating with Kali phos 6 twice per day. All of these remedies are going to be in the transcription, their spellings so that you can know what to look for. When an event is coming that you're feeling anxious over, start this protocol when the anxiety starts. That means that if you start feeling anxious about it three days in advance, then start taking this Banerji protocol. If you start feeling anxiety creep in just an hour before, that's when you're going to start taking it. So just start taking the remedy whenever you start feeling the anxiety creeping in. A well known acute anxiety protocol is called the triple A combo, which may encompass a fear of flying or riding in a car, and all kinds of general acute anxiety. This protocol is Ambra grisea 30c + Anacardium 30c + Argent nitricum 30c and you can take that as needed.
Bri Hurlburt 47:15
Wow, there's so much stuff covered in this episode today. Earthing, I learned tons of stuff about that. I feel like this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to anxiety and depression and it was still a lot of good information. We cover even more of this stuff in the classes that Melissa leads and I get to help her with and we'd love to see you in the next one. You can find information on the next class at MelissaCrenshaw.com under the Learn tab. I'm really excited about the mentorship program that you have coming up next year too, Melissa. Can you tell us a little bit more about that?
Melissa Crenshaw 47:57
Yes, the mentorship program. I'm so excited about it, too, and it's designed for those who want to really dig deep into how to use homeoapthy at home and it includes a Guidebook, pre-recorded videos that you can watch at your own pace, printables to help you be organized and do this well, and 6 bi-weekly live calls with me where I'll cover a specific topic each week and have a time of questions and answers. So we're also going to practice taking cases together and really hone in on the skills of being the homeopath of your family,
Bri Hurlburt 48:34
I am super excited about this. I've been doing your classes, your Gateway classes with you for a while, but I'm really looking forward to learning really how to take cases better and I know it'll be useful for a lot of our listeners. So what can our listeners look forward to in the next episode?
Melissa Crenshaw 48:57
I'm glad you asked. The next episode is going to be a bonus anxiety and depression interview with Kari Wagner, who is the owner of Taproots in Virginia. She and I are going to discuss a couple of different remedies in that interview to help you with anxiety and depression.
Bri Hurlburt 49:14
So that is it for today. Thank you guys for joining us. This was a great informational session. A great start to uprooting anxiety and depression in your own life. Please subscribe to this podcast and share it with your friends. We'd love to see your feedback. So please rate this podcast so we can continue to bring quality content to your ears often.
Melissa Crenshaw 49:38
Thank you so much for being with me today Bri and remember guys that I'm going to do a giveaway of the Earthing book so look for information on that. Be blessed, be whole, be healthy, and God bless you!