A hug is more than just a nice thing to … in fact it is a powerful way of promoting healing! Much research shows that hugging (and also laughter) is extremely effective at promotion of healing from sickness, disease, loneliness, depression, anxiety and stress.
Here are just some of the reasons we need more hugs:
1. The nurturing touch of a hug builds trust and a sense of safety. This helps with open and honest communication.
2. Hugs can instantly boost oxytocin levels, which heal feelings of loneliness, isolation, and anger.
3. Holding a hug for an extended time lifts one’s serotonin levels, elevating mood and creating happiness.
4. Hugging relaxes muscles. Hugs release tension in the body. Hugs can take away pain; they soothe aches by increasing circulation into the soft tissues.
5. Hugs teach us how to give and receive. There is equal value in receiving and being receptive to warmth, as to giving and sharing. Hugs educate us how love flows both ways.
Time to go get me some hugs… I know of a snuggly year old that will happily assist me in building my oxytocin and serotonin levels 🙂
Beautiful, Courageous You Noosa Event: ONLY 50 Tickets available for this One-Day Event held Saturday October 1st at RACV Noosa Pre-purchase tickets essential – no tickets available on the day of event.
Purchase EARLY Bird TICKETS HERE $95p/p includes Nourishing lunch, + morning & afternoon tea + all supplies & materials required for ALL workshops.
NOTE: individual workshops are usually approx. $120p/p. This is an opportunity not to be missed!
Feeling grateful for the journey when reviews like this are received;
“As a counsellor working with many who come in for help with depression, I have just found a valuable resource to assist them bust out of the darkness that overwhelms them – “Beautiful Courageous You”. Many clients struggle with the ‘how to’ of breaking out from depression. This book gives insight into how to take those first small steps out of despair and turn towards hope. A brilliant easy to read text with hope language filling every page!” – Michelle
What is it? A collective of handcrafted perfume oils, candles and scarfs… all created with healing in mind. Every product has been prayed upon, blessed and loaded with love and faith to usher in healing for the recipient!
Throughout my bookBeautiful, Courageous You – a journey on healing from depression, I write about the benefits of aromatherapy plus a plethora of other very practical steps you can take towards your healing. It is from this standpoint that I have, by popular request, created an essential oil perfume using a blend of the oils that I personally used to assist in recovery from anxiety & depression. You can read more here on aromatherapy for a happy mind. Meanwhile pop in to the Etsy store x
By popular request, I am handcrafting essential oil roll on perfumes with a blend of the oils I personally used and found to be very effective in easing the symptoms of anxiety & depression. These exquisite perfumes are almost ready and can be pre-ordered here in the comments!
Aromatherapy is the art and science of blending essential oils for therapeutic, cosmetic and mood enhancing applications. Each essential oil has its own unique therapeutic properties, exhibiting highly aromatic extracts taken from tiny oil glands in the flowers, roots, stalks, bark, seeds, leaves, gum or rind of plants.
In Biblical times essential oils were used for healing, anointing and as a fragrance for the hair and body; in fact the Hebrew word for anointing means to rub or massage a person with oil. Now this wasn’t just a bottle of vegetable oil poured over someone, we know this by the anointing oil recipe the Lord gave to Moses in Exodus 30:22-31, where the Israelites were instructed to make anointing oil with myrrh, fragrant cane, cinnamon and cassia in a medium of olive oil.
The Bible mentions aroma and incense throughout the scriptures. Frankincense, my favourite, was added to the grain offering as “a soothing aroma to the Lord” (Leviticus 2:1-2, NKJV). In Matthew 2:11 we read how the wise men brought gifts of Frankincense and Myrrh to the new born Jesus and in the Gospel of John, Mary, sister of Lazarus, took a pint of nard, also called Spikenard, a very costly essential oil, and anointed the feet of Jesus (John 12:3). There are many examples of essential oils being used in Biblical times.
Personally, I have found aromatherapy to be an easy and effective tool for when I need an emotional lift; most nights it is prayer and a drop of Lavender oil on my pillow to induce a deep peaceful sleep.
During my journey through depression I had a spritzer (an essential oil blend with a base of water) of lavender, bergamot and rose geranium (all indicated to relieve nervous tension, anxiety, stress and insomnia), which I would use every morning, and some days every hour. Closing my eyes I would spray the beautiful blend across my face, breathing deeply and feeling the almost instant calming effects of the aromas.
Our sense of smell is the only sense that is hard wired straight to the brain
When the nose identifies an aroma it travels up the nasal cavity where millions of olfactory sensors are located. Via the olfactory bulb, the aroma is sent directly to the centre of the brain, to the limbic system, the part of our brain that governs our emotions.
When the aroma is processed, neurochemicals are released, causing an emotional or physical response (relaxing, stimulating, sedative etc.) Our brains’ interpretation of the aroma will determine the reaction.
An understanding of the science behind aromatherapy helps explain how a fragrance or applied oil can have some very profound physiological and psychological effects. It works for me, not as some magic potion or an instant “fix” for a problem, but rather in conjunction with other healing approaches for the spirit, soul and body.
NOTE: Tickets on sale June 22nd – put it in your diary to come back then x
Beautiful, Courageous You Collective presents a non-profit event equipping women and girlsSaturday August 13th, to live a life of complete wellbeing; Body, Soul and Spirit. Sponsored by beautiful Riverside Retreat enjoy the surrounds and be inspired by the author of “Beautiful, Courageous You” – Lauralee Berrill plus other guest speakers, then enjoy a full afternoon of fun, thought provoking sessions that facilitate the unveiling of your identity through creative expression in art and floral workshops. Be inspired, Be empowered, Be ‘Beautiful Courageous You’
In this busy world we live in it’s important for us, as women, to know how to incorporate physical, mental, spiritual and, emotional wellness into our every day lives. This enables us to live a life full of hope and be empowered and encouraged to pursue our passions and dreams.
Snapshot of the day:
There will be several sessions and fun workshops throughout the day where professional female artists, nutritionists and specialised consultants will speak and share practical tools that you can use to live a full, happy & healthy life.
A nourishing lunch is provided + Morning and Afternoon Tea
You will explore your creative self through various mixed media techniques, using art and creative expression to help you realise your full potential. No experience is necessary. You will be guided by Froyle as you create a beautiful artwork to take home. Froyle will make and supply hand picked beautiful mixed media and collage papers for you to use. (All art materials are provided in the ticket price). This hands workshop will be co-ordinated by NZ born artist Froyle Neideck -froyleart.com
Flowers, like a beautiful garden bring joy and healing. Just like artwork or paint … Natures own use of colour, fragrance and texture are here to delight the soul.
This workshop run by Dezley Hughes from Twig and Grace, will inspire you to see the beauty in the everyday. Using what is in nature combined with floral to create a heart felt gift for yourself or others. There are wonderful ways to become aware of what is in our local environment and how to use it to bring life to our floral arrangements, to enhance our or another’s surroundings. Dezley will encourage you to stop, see the beauty and have some fun, learning a few easy skills to enjoy floral arranging. Dezley Hughes is the founder and creative director of Twig and Grace
3) Healing the Body with Health & Wellness
Hosted by Lauralee Berrill – Ba Exercise Science, Treena Salthouse – Health & Wellness Coach and Cara Morgan – mind/body facilitator. The Healing the body session will be run in a panel discussion with each facilitator sharing her expertise and knowledge in the area of health and wellness. Topics discussed are: depression and anxiety in a clinical sense, eating for a healthy mind, exercise and the mind… plus much more.
Social Responsibility
Helping others – the purchase of your ticket will also be helping reach those in less fortunate situations.
Proceeds from this event will go to support the ongoing of BCY events also to sponsor:
* Scarfs on assignment – beautiful, soft, richly coloured scarfs, created from original paintings, saturated with love and prayer which are sent free to to inspire hope and healing to those who are suffering from any type of illness or just need to know they are loved and matter. This is a revolution to inspire hope through colour and beauty in the face of global despair – making a difference in the world one person at a time. coloursofhope.com.au
While exercise has the potential to transform your body, increase feel good chemicals and keep you feeling confident and healthy, it also does wonders for your mind to be distracted from your worries and negative ruminating. In the very depths of depression I would spend most of my waking hours trying to reason with my unreasonable thinking. Much like a dog chasing his tail, I never caught up with reason. My real turning point was when I put on my running shoes and ran out along an old dirt road to visit some brown cows.
Exercise is much more than getting fit; rather, it’s meditation in motion.
I love to run with the sun on my skin, birds chirping, smells of the countryside, focused breathing and on the lookout for the odd brown snake on my path. With all my senses being stimulated it is hard to think about anything else. Often on days when I am feeling flat or just unbearably grumpy with my loved ones, my husband will point to my shoes and “suggest,” “You need to go for a run!” From experience, he knows all too well that I am a better wife and mother when I have been out for a run, having left my worries behind and fully engaged in the moment, distracted from whatever had been weighing me down. This works for me, and it will work for you also. After a 30 minute jog, a brisk walk, several laps in the pool or whatever exercise you choose, you’ll often find by the end of a session that you’ve forgotten the negative ponderings whilst being focused only on your body’s movements and the surrounding environment! Now go ahead and leave the screen time, get out and move that amazing body 🙂
There was a time, not that long ago, when I cursed the morning sun as each new day brought with it the biting reality of a deep depression. Too tired to get out of bed, tired of breathing and with no inspiration to welcome another day of my wretched life. This is a time, a woman, a life I no longer recognise…. no longer is there a cloudy canopy of depression hovering over my days, the sunlight has broken through the clouds and every day is filled with a joyful anticipation of goodness in my life.
Today I have beauty in my life, joy which remains immovable and an attitude of praise that leaves the world perplexed. Many times people I meet are completely baffled that I would choose to praise God and glorify Him in every circumstance, not just the circumstances I find acceptable.
As you read the following thoughts penned by H. W. Smith, may you be encouraged to praise Him no matter the circumstance, and begin to trust in His tender and wise purposes toward you;
See God in everything, and God will calm and colour all that thou dost see! It may be that the circumstances of our sorrows will not be removed, their condition will remain unchanged; but if Christ as Lord and Master of our life is brought into our grief and gloom, He will compass us about with songs of deliverance. To see HIM, and to be sure that His wisdom cannot err, His power cannot fail, His love can never change; to know that even His direst dealings with us are for our deepest spiritual gain, is to be able to say in the midst of bereavement, sorrow, pain, and loss,“The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the Lord” (Cowman, 277).
You can read more on healing from depression in my book Beautiful, Courageous, You soon to be released by Westbow Press! Pre order here
A Snippet from my book Beautiful, Courageous You on the topic of faith under fire…
Faith in God is easy when life rolls by from blessing to blessing; however, faith is not faith unless it holds up under great trials. Charles Spurgeon once wrote, “Remember we have no more faith at any time than when we have in the hour of trial. All that will not bear to be tested is mere carnal confidence. Fair-weather faith is no faith” (Spurgeon). The months and years that lay ahead were to be a test of our faith. We were about to experience the furnace of affliction. We would step into the refiner’s fire and prove our trust in the unchanging, purifying love of God…
You can read more on the refining of faith through trials in Beautiful, Courageous You – Healing Body, Soul and Spirit soon to be released by Westbow Press. Pre-order your copy here xx
Our sense of smell is the only sense that is hard wired straight to the brain.
Essential Oils image credit Courier Mail
Personally, I have found aromatherapy to be an easy and effective tool for when I need an emotional lift; most nights it is prayer and a drop of Lavender oil on my pillow to induce a deep peaceful sleep. During my journey through depression I had a spritzer (an essential oil blend with a base of water) of Lavender, Bergamot and Rose Geranium (all indicated to relieve nervous tension, anxiety, stress and insomnia,) which I would use every morning, and some days every hour. Closing my eyes I would spray the beautiful blend across my face, breathing deeply and feeling the almost instant calming effects of the aromas.
Most days when I am at home I will use a blend of cinnamon and citrus in an oil burner to create a “feels like a home” nurturing environment… a bit like when cookies are baking in the oven! Ever wonder why an aroma, like home baking, can bring a sense of security and warmth? There is a science behind how our sense of smell is linked so closely to our emotions. Our sense of smell is the only sense that is hard wired straight to the brain. When the nose identifies an aroma it travels up the nasal cavity where millions of olfactory sensors are located. Via the olfactory bulb, the aroma is sent directly to the centre of the brain, to the limbic system, the part of our brain that governs our emotions. When the aroma is processed, neurochemicals are released, causing an emotional or physical response (relaxing, stimulating, sedative etc.) Our brains’ interpretation of the aroma will determine the reaction. So go ahead and anoint yourself with some essential oils 🙂 Today mine is Geranium oil behind my ears… helping to balance those hormones before my husband get home!
You can read more on the link between aromatherapy and wellbeing in my book Beautiful, Courageous You – Healing Body, Soul and Spirit soon to be released by Westbow Press. Pre-order your copy here xx
*more hug info at mindbodygreen.com 
Feeling grateful for the journey when reviews like this are received;
There was a time, not that long ago, when I cursed the morning sun as each new day brought with it the biting reality of a deep 
Beautiful, Courageous You 