This is a simple and direct way of providing a painful stimulus of minor degree.

You may suddenly feel, “But I could not stick a pin into myself. The very thought of it upsets me.” If you should feel like this, just remember how many diabetics must have said these words. Then after the first few trials they forget all about it, and go on to give themselves their injections naturally and with very little discomfort. You may say, “But the diabetic has to learn this. I don’t.” But you do. You do, if you wish to master the pain. And there is the evidence of thousands of diabetics that it is really very easy to learn.

Roll up the sleeve on your left arm so as to expose the forearm. Take a pin in your right hand. Now, before you do anything else, let yourself relax. Take your time about it and do it properly. Feel the relaxation of your body, and your face.—Feel the calm.—Let yourself drift.—Your eyes are half open.—You see your forearm, and you see the point of the pin on the skin.—It pushes the skin into a little fold.—You withdraw the pin.

In a way you feel surprised that nothing happened, that there was really no sensation at all. You are utterly relaxed; you feel it in your face and in your mind;—You see the point of the pin on the skin again.—It again pushes the skin into a fold.—There is still no discomfort.—You withdraw the pin.—You are still utterly relaxed.—You do it again.—The pin makes the fold in the skin.—You are utterly relaxed.—You push the pin harder.—It has stuck in the skin.—You leave it there.—You look at the pin sticking in the skin.—The relaxation is still all through you.—You take out the pin.

This is all very simple. But because it is so simple, do not fail to do it. Again, because it is simple, do not just stick the pin into your arm. Anyone can stick a pin in their skin. Remember that you are doing a particular exercise for a particular purpose. If you take short cuts, the whole point of it is lost. The essential feature of the exercise is keeping the mental relaxation while you are doing it.

In this first experiment, it is a help to let the point of the pin rest on the skin for a moment before pushing the skin into a fold with the pin. By doing it slowly and gently at first, we give our mind time to adjust to the situation, and it also makes it much easier for us to maintain our relaxed state.

Do not try to go too quickly. Aim to be leisurely and natural about it. Spread the experiments over a few days, doing a little more on each occasion.

When we have practised this a little, we can push the pin into the skin much more firmly, still without causing discomfort.

We can now modify the experiment by jabbing our skin with the pin instead of gently pushing it into the skin. The jabbing is a much more sudden stimulus, and it does not give our mind the extra time to adjust as when we push the pin in slowly. We are very relaxed, completely

relaxed, our face and our mind.—We take the pin and make little jabs at the skin, just little jabs at first.—We are so relaxed that our eyes are only half open.—We see the pin jabbing our skin.—There is no discomfort.—We are very, very relaxed.—We jab a little harder.—The pin now sticks in the skin.—We leave it there.—We look at it.—Then we take it out.

*141\57\2*

SCLEROSIS-DISPLACEMENT OF THE UTERUS

Is recognised by the fact that the iris fibres in the uterus-area run in large strongly curved arcs enclosing dark lines. The iris fibres then reach as far as the kidney area. With a uterus displaced towards the rectum (retroversion) there is a displacement of the iris fibres from

22′ to 20′—therefore to the low back area, and since there is often pressure upon the rectum, the above signs may also be seen in the left iris in the rectum area. Where there is prolapse the dark uterus sign extends lower and often reaches as far as the iris-rim.

Uterine neoplasms are recognisable in the early stages often only by changes in the iris wreath. Therefore it is absolutely essential to observe any deviation of the wreath upwards, since with all new formations in the abdominal cavity, especially of the larger kind, such as ovarian cysts and uterine fibroids, an indentation of the iris-wreath develops, even when no true sign of swelling has yet appeared. In the subsequent development of the disease, the typical widthwise dark tumour-sign forms in the affected organ area.

In contrast to the large tumours, the uterine carcinoma shows at first only in the form of very small, somewhat pin-head size dark points, around which the iris fibres separate. Only if the condition deteriorates, and disturbs the normal body tissues do these points become black.

Small black points with small white transverse lines in the area for uterus are generally the consequence of difficult childbirth (lesions of the cervix).

If cramp-rings are found which interrupt in the uterus area, the patient complains of painful cramps during the menstrual period.

In the iris, the cerebellum lies opposite the uterus (cerebellum-uterus line), and both these organs have a close relation to one another. Patients in whom the cerebellum-uterus line is indicated tend towards hysteria—they are noisy and talk too much. On the other hand, patients showing the cerebellum-rectum line (left iris) tend to hypochondria. Patients with such signs are silent, say almost nothing, and bear their sorrows without much complaint.

The appearance of the uterus sign in the left iris is very much disputed. On this point I cite Phil. Jung: ‘Since both vagina and penis as single organs are found in both irides, why should the uterus be an exception?’ Jung found that with severe genital conditions the uterus signs appear in both irides, whereas in slighter conditions only the right iris shows the sign, and, as he says, this may have its origin in the strong ‘positivity’ of the uterus as a developed organ.

*32\78\2*

By now I hope you will have found that you can use at least some of the tricks and techniques I have been describing to make your periods easier. With luck and persistence you may have found exactly the right blend and won’t be suffering every month. Good! Or if, in your particular case, this hasn’t been your experience, at least you should be feeling that you are on your way to an improvement, watching your periods get easier and easier month by month. The likelihood is that you will have learnt how to cope with your particular stresses and although you’ll probably have recognized that your periods are rarely going to be entirely painfree, at least by now they’ll be relatively easy to manage.

But sadly. I know that there is bound to be a minority who will go on suffering from far too much pain from the cramps, or far too much discomfort from the aching miseries. It’s also for anyone who’s recognized that an attack of epilepsy, asthma, cystitis, migraine or hay fever may be linked to an approaching period. And for any woman who is afraid that a violent mood swing could be the final straw that could lead her to batter her child.

*74\177\2*

There are two ways of dealing with too much fluid in your body. One is to get rid of it once it’s there, and the other is to take less in in the first place. By taking a drug called a diuretic, you produce more urine than you normally would. Many doctors used to prescribe diuretics, and there’s one on the market now that you can buy without a prescription. But there are snags to this first method. It only seems to work for a few women. Others find that although they are rushing to the loo every five minutes, they also develop a raging thirst, so that water is going in one end as fast as it’s coming out the other. This defeats the object of the exercise. The other difficulty is that if you excrete too much fluid artificially you can also lose potassium from your body. This, in its turn, will upset the amount of potassium circulating in your blood. And if the level of potassium in your blood gets too low, you’ll certainly notice it, because it will make you feel very tired indeed. So this is a treatment which requires medical supervision.

The second method is simpler and has no side-effects. It just takes a lot more self-control. It is simply to cut down on the amount of fluid you take in. Most of us drink to be sociable — cups of tea we don’t really want, pints of beer we don’t really need —so it will be a bit difficult at first to refuse all those friendly offers. But it might help if you can explain that there are good medical reasons why you have to restrict yourself to four cups or glasses a day, and four only. Most of us drink a great deal more than that and if you’re used to drinking a lot, four cups may seem very little to start with. But it really is all most of us need, except in very hot weather when we sweat a lot. Eventually you’ll find you needn’t be too severe about it. The secret is to drink only when you’re thirsty and then only enough to quench your thirst. But like all the treatments for the aching miseries, this one works really well only if you start it in good time —which means before your symptoms appear —and if you keep it up until your period has begun. With the bloat, prevention is usually better than cure.

There is, believe it or not, one symptom of the bloat which can be quite helpful and that’s those horrible black circles under your eyes. If you are looking at them in the mirror you probably can’t see anything good about them. But they are often the very first sign that the miseries are under way. So if you rarely look in the mirror and if you have an exceedingly busy life, you may not notice them until you are taking off your make-up at the end of the day or cleaning your teeth. But they’re the first signs other people see and if you have a loving husband, an attentive boyfriend or an observant mother, they will see them and can gently remind you to start your particular treatment. Partners often get a raw deal from wives and girlfriends who are suffering from the miseries. We hear a great deal these days about all the difficulties that couples face because of pmt. But there’s a reverse side to this coin, although you wouldn’t think it from the newspaper articles. Period time can certainly be painful and difficult, but it needn’t be negative and destructive. There’s a positive side too. Many women are more sensitive at period time, more vulnerable certainly, but also more aware of their feelings. Tackled with intelligence and affection, it can be a time when couples are drawn more closely together; when her terrifying honesty can actually be useful; and when his tenderness and concern and care can be seen and accepted as the strongest kind of love.

*35\177\2*

Signs and symptoms

The signs are obvious, and diagnosis of the cause of abnormal vaginal bleeding often can be made by inspecting the vaginal area. The inspection should determine whether blood is coming from the vaginal opening, the urethra, a laceration of the surrounding tissues, or the rectum.

Home care

Unless they are extensive or due to sexual molestation, bruises and lacerations of the vagina and the surrounding area usually can be treated at home. No antiseptic is necessary, and burning on urination can be minimized by having the child urinate while in a bathtub or water. All other causes of vaginal bleeding require your doctor’s attention.

Precautions

• If a girl is less than nine or ten years old and has vaginal bleeding with or without breast development, she should be seen by a doctor.

• If there is any suspicion of sexual molestation, contact your doctor immediately.

• Girls whose mothers received the drug diethylstilbestrol (DES) during pregnancy may have a deformity of the vagina (adenosis) that causes bleeding. Whether or not they have vaginal bleeding, all girls whose mothers took DES should be examined by an experienced gynecologist (a specialist in the diseases and health of women) at the beginning of puberty. Although the medical profession originally overestimated the chances of a girl whose mother took DES getting cancer, the possibility does exist; all girls with adenosis of the vagina should be carefully monitored.

Medical treatment

Treatment of vaginal bleeding depends upon its cause. Your doctor will determine what is causing vaginal bleeding by performing a careful examination, sometimes involving the rectum. Your doctor may require a culture of any vaginal discharge or an X ray of the pelvis. A girl whose mother received DES will be referred to a gynecologist. A prolapsed urethra requires surgical correction.

*237/84/5*

My six year old has been asked to a children’s birthday party. Should he go, and if so, how will he cope with the party food?

Of course he must go. It is important that he should lead as full and normal a life as possible and it would be very wrong for him to miss parties because of his diabetes. He will need some guidance so that he can help himself to the party foods. It is well worth while discussing this with your dietitian who will be able to suggest the sort of things that he can have. See page 204.

It is also worth while speaking to the mother of the child giving the party and explain that your child has diabetes. Perhaps you could bring a bottle of low calorie soft drink when you take your child to the party and he can have that when the other children are having ordinary soft drinks. Ice-cream is permissible and there are often savory foods including sandwiches, nuts, potato chips and small pies which can perhaps be taken as part of the food allowance. It may be possible for him to have part of his evening meal food allowance as well as his afternoon tea allowance at the party, and this gives him a little more to eat. If he is very active and excited at the party, he will need extra food anyway. Your child should have a piece of the birthday cake so he doesn’t feel left out of it, or he might like to bring back his piece of birthday cake for some other member of the family and have a small piece or some other treat when he gets home.

I would like to give my child a birthday party but most of the favourite party foods are off the diet.

As discussed in the previous answer, you should certainly not allow your child’s diabetes to prevent him having a birthday party. You may get many helpful suggestions from your dietitian, and there are many things to substitute for the iced cakes and other sugary foods that children sometimes have at parties. The main food items at the party will probably be nuts, potato chips or crisps, low calorie soft drink, diabetic jellies of varying colours, ice-cream, party pies with diabetic tomato sauce or ketchup. With ingenuity you can certainly make a very attractive array of party foods for a small child. He may have an ice-cream cake as a birthday cake.

My teenager wants to give a party. What would you recommend?

You will probably want to encourage him to feel able to entertain, and you should help him prepare for the party and discuss details in advance. The most sensible occasion would be to have the party at a meal time and perhaps have a barbecue with steak, chops, sausages, salads, rolls. Teenagers very often do not want the sweet things that younger children seem to want at a party and low calorie soft drinks can be used. Your teenager should have no trouble at all in eating very adequately and freely and still conforming to his carbohydrate allotment. Extra activity will allow him to have extra carbohydrate during the evening as well as his usual supper allowance.

*81/54/5*

The following information is provided for schools and youth groups when they are arranging camps which might include a child with diabetes.

Sometimes a school feels that it cannot take responsibility for a child with diabetes. The following might be helpful to them in making their decision.

Children with diabetes should attend school camps if possible

It is thought to be very desirable that children with diabetes should attend school camps and excursions. Children should not be seen to be handicapped by their condition, they should be able to cope fully with a camp programme, and they should benefit from the programme to the same extent as other children. It may be psychologically damaging for them to be excluded.

In general, children should be able to attend camp when they are reliably independent in their own care of diabetes. This includes an ability to measure an insulin dose accurately, to inject an insulin dose reliably, to carry out urine or blood glucose tests, to recognize the early signs of hypoglycemic reaction and to take sugar when they occur, to estimate their diet in exchanges and to understand the need for taking extra food before increased physical activity, and to have meals and snacks on time.

In some circumstances a parent might accompany the staff of the camp to assist with the child who is not fully independent, or the staff of a camp might take special responsibilities if a child is not reliably independent. This is to be encouraged if the child requires it, but discouraged if the child is reliable without special supervision.

The child needs to take equipment

A child will take adequate supplies of insulin, disposable syringes, blood testing equipment and glucose or suitable sugar products to prevent or treat an insulin reaction. Whether the child keeps these in his possession or hands them to the teacher should be by mutual agreement between parents, child and teacher. In many instances, it would be most appropriate for the child to keep his own insulin and syringes to save embarrassment and because of the self reliance which most children with diabetes develop. It is essential that blood testing strips and sugar should be kept by the child to be available when needed.

Others should know he has diabetes

It is desirable that a child’s friends should be aware of4 his diabetes, both to give moral support if needed, to save embarrassment at blood testing and insulin giving times, and to give appropriate help if needed, should the child have a hypo reaction. Children in the same bedroom or tent should all be aware of a child’s diabetes, but it is undesirable to inform all the camp group in most instances, as this may cause undue attention to be placed on the child with diabetes.

No special privileges but some spare time

In general, a child can undertake all camp duties and activities. He should however have some free time before breakfast and before the evening meal for blood testing and insulin injections and before bed for blood testing. It may be necessary to provide some private place for a child to give his insulin, but many children give it in the sleeping quarters without embarrassment in front of children.

Meals are important

Mealtimes should be adhered to as strictly as possible. If a meal is delayed, a child should have access to food, (e.g. fruit, biscuits, fruit juice) at the normal mealtime while they wait for the meal. A child with diabetes should be permitted to take extra food at odd times before extra physical activities to prevent insulin hypoglycemic reactions. On any excursion beyond the camp site, a child must take some food or confectionery.

A school camp might be considered unsuitable for someone with diabetes if the child was totally inaccessible to medical aid in the event of an emergency. In such cases a responsible school friend or teacher could be shown emergency procedures to ensure a child’s safety.

*71/54/5*

We may be finding problems at work. These may arise from the work itself, or from interpersonal difficulties, with the boss or our peers. Perhaps, more commonly, the problem at work is the threat of the younger people who have a better understanding of the new technology than we have. If the problem, whatever it is, causes stress, there is always the temptation to avoid the unpleasant symptoms of stress by early retirement.

Retire. The problem has gone. Stress is relieved. All is well with the world. For a while. Then come doubts.

‘Work wasn’t really all that bad. I could have got on with the boss. I should not have let the others annoy me. If the young ones do know more about computers than I do, it need not have upset me.’ Then there are inevitable comparisons. ‘Bill Smith. He’s five years older than I am. Never thinks of retiring.’ So the external problem of work soon gives way to the inner problem, ‘How is it that I am not working? It would be good to see some of my old workmates again.’ And, of course, this inner problem may well be supplemented by the outer problem of how to fill in the time. So it may well be that the stress from problems at work is merely substituted for the stress of too early retirement.

It is not uncommon for the situation to be further aggravated by things at home. At first the time together is great for both man and wife. Retirement often starts with a trip or a holiday. All is well. But this comes to an end. He wanders about the house without anything useful to do. His restlessness irritates her. And added to this she has had to give up some of her erstwhile activities with women friends. Even if she does not say it, she thinks, ‘It was better when he was in his job.’ Tension arises between them, without either being clearly aware as to the cause of it.

Two guidelines emerge from this evaluation of early retirement to avoid stress of work. Before retirement the individual should establish some satisfying activities with which to occupy himself when he leaves work. Too many people, pressured by the stress of work, make an early retirement without thinking the matter through. They satisfy themselves with vague ideas. ‘I shall take up golf,’ when in fact they have never played the game. ‘I shall do some charity work,’ when they have never before shown the slightest interest in this field.

The second lesson to be learned, of course, is the fact that early retirement is usually an inferior way of coping with the situation. The real way is to learn to let our mind run easily so that we cope with the problems of work, and stress does not develop.

There are, however, two situations which clearly justify early retirement to avoid stress. One is failing health, whatever the cause might be. It is well to remember that we all do not age at the same rate. Some of us are older at fifty-five than others are at sixty-five. Secondly, the individual who is under stress at work because he has been promoted beyond his ability is justified in seeking early retirement, because any adjustment of his mind to the situation cannot really compensate for his inadequacy in the job.

In discussing these matters we must not confuse those who seek early retirement to avoid stress with those who retire early to upgrade their life in a philosophical sense. To have time to think things out. To experience life in a more satisfying way than one does when caught up in the materialism of the workforce. These people are not retiring to avoid stress. They are graduating to a better experience of life. They are the ones who have learned something as to what it is all about.

*74/98/5*

The symptoms of stress, of course, result from the disordered function of our brain when it is unable to fully integrate the flow of nervous impulses it is receiving. Symptoms of stress may occur in almost any aspect of our life, in our body, mind or spirit. This is natural, as our brain is the guiding star for all aspects of our life, from our heart beat to our concept of God.

The development of full-blown symptoms of stress is often preceded by minor symptoms. These are often quite trivial, and the individual may let them pass unheeded. But they are in fact warning signs that stress is imminent, and some action should be taken to restore greater harmony of brain function.

Increased perception of noise

“I have worked for ten years in this factory. Nothing has changed. Everything is just the same. It is only in the last month that I have become aware of the noise. It seems to irritate me. I have asked the others, and they say it is just the same as it always has been.”

‘The children. I am with them all day. No let-up. Never a moment. Used to like to hear them calling out. If they were making a noise I knew all was well. But now the noise upsets me. The calling out. The din. Driving me mad.’

The explanation is simple enough. In stress our nerve cells are over-alerted, and those concerned with our hearing may respond more easily than they should to minor stimuli from the ordinary circumstances in which we are placed.

Failure of concentration

Examinations are often perceived as a major problem, and their approach not uncommonly ushers in a stress reaction.

“I can’t concentrate. Sit with the text in front of me. Make myself read a page. Don’t remember a word of it. Can’t recall a word of what I have read only two minutes before. What’s happened to me? Have I strained my brain? Am I going mad?”

Impulses from the threat of approaching exams crowd our nerve cells so that our brain can no longer function effectively.

It does not matter how soon are the approaching exams; we must have a complete break from study to allow the self-regulating mechanisms of the body time to restore normal brain function. This process can often be helped in quite dramatic fashion by allowing the mind to run quietly in simple meditation for fifteen minutes three or four times a day. The main difficulty in my experience has been that the student is in such a panic about the consequences of possible failure that he will not allow himself the necessary break from study. He forgets that our exam, results depend not only on our knowledge, but also on our performance; that is, our ability to produce our knowledge at the actual exam.

This type of stress reaction is not confined to the student. I have seen it in the chairman of the board at the approach of the annual general meeting!

*36/98/5*

The exact proportion of cancers that are caused by exposure to environmental chemicals is the subject of considerable debate. Estimates vary from 1 to 3 per cent of all cases. Cancer mortality in England and Wales is 24 per cent higher in manual than in non-manual workers but it is thought that as much as 90 per cent of this larger risk is accounted for by factors like cigarette smoking rather than dangers associated with actual occupation. There are about forty chemicals and processes that are either known to cause cancer in humans or are suspected of doing so. Most of the known carcinogens have been withdrawn or controlled but many of the suspected ones have not. The most common environmental hazards are: vinyl chloride (liver, lung and brain cancers); some chemical dyes (bladder); some compounds of arsenic, chrome and nickel (skin, lung and nose); some wood dusts (nose); some types of tar and soot (skin); and radiation (many types of cancer). Your employer has, by law, to tell you of any known toxic or cancer-producing hazards, and you should tell him or her if you are worried about anything at your place of work. Your union safety representative could be helpful too.

*120/72/5*