The Holidays are coming! Time to stop stress before it starts!

What gives you the most stress during the upcoming holiday season?

• Is it trying to find the perfect gift for every person on your list?
• Is it worry over being the perfect host or hostess for a large family gathering?
• Is it office parties? 
• Is it simply having too many extra duties added to an already busy life?
• Is it facing change because of death, divorce, or children leaving the nest?

Whatever it is, FeelBach! has a flower remedy to help you breeze through the season without getting all

tangled up in an emotional upheaval.

If you're usually a capable person, but begin to feel inadequate when faced with holiday stresses, choose Elm. 

If you always lack confidence, and feel even worse when confronted with a task such as cooking a feast for the in-laws or deciding on the perfect gift for a nephew, choose Larch.  Larch will help you gain the confidence you need to look back at past accomplishments and realize that yes, you really CAN do it.

If this is the time of year when you're most likely to let others bulldoze you into taking on far more tasks than you want to handle, start taking Centaury now - and find it easy to say "No."

If this is the year that a child has decided to spend the holidays elsewhere, and you're used to being the center of his or her universe, take Chicory to alleviate your need to control. They do love you, you know! Chicory will help you let go of the need to make them prove it by their presence.

If you're facing the season with a change that you couldn't prevent and didn't want, use Walnut to help you accept what you must accept - and get on with living.

Since you may be experiencing several different reasons for stress, come to FeelBach! and fill out the .questionnaire. Based on your answers, our experts will choose the perfect blend to help you get on track, stay on track, and actually enjoy the season.

Taking my own advice - Feel5ive!

Most of the time my life is pretty calm and serene - but this week I am facing abject terror! 

Yes, I'm doing the thing I fear most - going to the dentist. I couldn't put it off any longer. When my darling little horse smacked me in the face with his head a few years back he cracked a couple of teeth that had been capped. And... two of them broke off.

So - it's either go around with holes in my face, or get a grip on fear and visit the dentist. 

Feel5ive is going with me - ahead of time. I'm going to start dosing a couple of days ahead of my appointment, just to get myself on an even keel and to prevent getting "all worked up" about it in advance. 

What kind of scary things are YOU facing? 

Whatever they are, Feel5ive will help you through them. Our flower essences won't make the problems go away, but they'll help you stay calm and collected, so you can get through that time without a melt-down.  

Feel5ive is an exact replica of Dr. Bach's original calmative formula. We even use Brandy, just as he did. (Our competitors use grape alcohol.)

When you're standing up to your fears - either by choice or by "no-choice" begin taking Feel5ive at least a few hours prior to the stress. Of course, if the stress is ongoing, you should take it 4 times per day. With this help, your mind will stop running away with you - making things even worse than they really are. You'll be able to focus and do whatever you need to do. 

What if you didn't anticipate the stress, but there it is?

Take a deep breath and dose of Feel5ive. You'll feel better soon.

Millions Stressed About the Weather – I wish they all had Feel5ive!

For the past few days the news has been all about the weather. Flights grounded when people wanted to get home and back to work after the holidays. 40 and 50 degrees below zero temperatures. Snow and more snow.

We've been fortunate. It's cold, but not THAT cold, and for the most part the roads have been good.

It's snowing now, but it isn't piling up much. We have only a few inches on the ground.

We're fine, but all those folks who need to get back to work are under great stress. So are those whose pipes are frozen and whose cars refuse to start.

 And I know what great stress I'd be under if I had a herd of cattle or horses and couldn't get them in out of 40 degree below zero temperatures. My heart goes out to all those animals – both domestic and wild – who are suffering in this cold. 

Feel5ive wouldn't solve the weather problems, but it would certainly make it easier for people to relax and accept the things they can't change – like cancelled flights -  and to cope with living day to day in a deep freeze.

Don't Let Stress Harm Your Pets

You know you can get sick from stress and worry. Did you know your pets can also get sick from stress and worry?

Most people think pets only get stressed from being hungry, being left alone, or being punished. But that isn't true. They also tune in to YOUR feelings and get stressed when you're going through a rough time. 

A friend told me recently that when she's sick, one of her dogs hovers - stays right by her side and "fusses" over her. The other one hides.

Both of these animals are reacting to her feelings, each in his or her own way. And both are feeling stress because the person they love is under the stress of illness.

Pay attention to your pets. Are they behaving differently these days? If you're worried about a job loss, an overdue mortgage payment, an illness, or even an emotional rift with a loved one, your pets are feeling it.

Keep an eye on them, and if you see behavior changes, treat them with Bach Flower Essences before their stress causes a physical ailment as well. Most of the time, Feel5ive will do the trick. But just to be on the safe side, use Feel Bach's questionnaire designed just for pets.  It will help you choose just the right combination of Bach flower essences to help your most loyal friends through this difficult time.

In addition to the fact that you love your pets and want them to be healthy and happy, having them become ill is a stress you just don't need!

Holidays = Stress

There's no way around it. Unless you happily live alone and are independently wealthy, holidays bring stress.

It might start with the money – how to stretch your budget around gifts and the extra expenses at the grocery store.

It might start with trying to live up to other's expectations.

It might start with knowing you'll be spending time with people who love to criticize you.

It might start with trying to fit all the extra activities into an already-full schedule.

And once you're in a "stress mode," things begin to snowball, causing you even more stress. But you don't have to stay in that mode. Instead, you can do two things:
1. Do the "sigh and look up" exercise. Simply let out a big sigh while looking toward the heavens. This helps release pent-up negative energy. It's also a great exercise to do when someone you love tests your limits. Instead of blowing up, just sigh and look up.

2.Take Feel5ive from Feel Bach!

I keep a bottle handy for those times when I need to calm down and get on with life. It even helps to relieve anxiety when you're heading into a situation that you think will be stressful. (Going to a dental appointment, giving a speech, meeting with your child's teacher, going to a job interview, driving on icy roads, or meeting your sweetheart's parents – just to name a few such situations.)
Get your bottle of Feel5ive today and enjoy the holidays!

Oh – one more thing. Your pets also experience holiday stress, so put a few drops in their water dish each day when things around your house begin to get hectic.