Limitations: How Far Can You Go?

Why are we suddenly talking about what she's feeling? What's going on? She catches my surprise. Treat your stomach gingerly. Ginger in capsules or tea can be very beneficial in relieving nausea. Also try perppermint and dandelion teas to ease a woozy stomach. Easing morning sickness. Apply firm and steady pressure for one to three minutes to the acu-points that follow the median nerve and flexor tendons into the hand. These acu-points include P-6 (Inner Gate), located two-finger widths from the wrist; P-7 (Big Tomb), located midpoint of the crease that runs across the wrist; Easing morning sickness. Locate ST-36 (Three Measures on the Leg), which is located about four-finger width below the kneecap and one-finger width to the outside. Use reinforced index and middle fingers, firmly pressing for one to two minutes. Kids don't learn either of these important concepts when you constantly cater to their demands. Telling your kids -- even those with serious BPD symptoms -- that you love them is important. However, you also need to tell them when their behaviors are unacceptable. This strategy is called setting limits. Setting limits Kids with symptoms of BPD often throw tantrums, disobey rules, and stop listening to their parents. In turn, parents become angry and frustrated when their children refuse to do what they ask them to do.

Obviously, this kind of situation isn't good for parents or children. But how do you set limits when you haven't been consistently doing so up to this point? We have some suggestions for dealing with typical BPD behaviors in your children: I want you to try to mentalise and think about what's going on in me right now. Not for my benefit, but for yours. I settle back down out of my alarm-at-novelty reaction and consider this. What is she feeling? And I realise, with greater alarm, that I have no idea. Do therapists feel anything at all during sessions? Do they even feel anything outside of sessions? It's as if I'm used to seeing through her, and I've never stopped to consider the here-ness, the now-ness, the real-ness of her emotions. In a way, I didn't think they mattered. I feel embarrassed at my self-absorption. Breathe deep, gentle breaths, and rub the point after pressing. A malpositioned baby--also known as a breech baby--is the most common cause of difficult labor. Treatment by moxibustion (see article 5, Acupuncture--Tools of the Trade) has a long history of success at rotating the baby. This is done by simply heating the acu-point BL-67 (End of Yin) located on the outside of the nail on the little toe. One to five treatments usually does it. Stop the treatments after the baby has turned. Childbirth: The Joy of Giving

Your due date is fast approaching. You've got your doctor, midwife, and place of delivery picked out, but what about your acu-pro? A growing number of women are choosing acupuncture to use throughout their pregnancy and as an optional treatment for an overdue or difficult labor. Enlist help. If setting limits hasn't come naturally to you in the past, a therapist can help a lot. Therapists can guide you through the process of setting limits for your emotionally challenged child and provide a reality check when you're uncertain about how to set limits. We especially recommend a therapist who has been trained in cognitive behavioral therapy, which involves teaching specific new ways of thinking and behaving as well as setting limits and consequences on behavior. Be specific. Tell your child exactly what you want her to do or not to do. For example, don't tell your kid to stop being a brat, but rather, tell her that you want her to speak to you without sarcasm. State explicit consequences for inappropriate behavior. For example, tell your kid that you will hold back a specific amount of her weekly allowance for every infraction of your new rule. After you've made a rule, follow through with it. She half-smiles an acknowledgement, but continues to pierce into me. She's right there, right in my face, challenging me, pushing me, whilst also hanging back, supportive, empathic, giving me space. I stare at her blankly. How do I even go about figuring out what she's feeling? I am totally at a loss. I shrug my shoulders hopelessly, feeling way out of my comfort zone. She pushes a noisy air-smile out of her nose.

But I just don't know how to know. I am, at this moment--as at so many moments--emotionally blind. I look at her, astonished. Has your due date come and gone? Do you love being pregnant but had a difficult, prolonged labor with your last child? Who are you gonna call? Qi Busters! In all seriousness, this is a great choice for many mothers. Marie was a patient of mine that I successfully treated during pregnancy for debilitating migraines. She did not do well with medications and was worried about using them to induce labor. When she saw her due date pass by, she came in for acupuncture therapy. I used needle and electro-acupuncture. Her cervix dilated following her first treatment, and after the second treatment, she delivered a healthy baby boy. Don't waffle -- waffling only makes things worse. Don't bother setting a rule or a consequence that you can't follow through on. So, for example, don't prohibit TV time completely if you don't have a way to disable the television when you're out at night. If you feel angry, walk away and deal with the situation when you calm down. People with BPD symptoms need to see a model of calm and the ability to deal with difficult emotions. After all, you don't want to model a BPD behavior. Don't use reasoning.

By all means, give your reason for a rule when you set it. Give it once, and don't get hooked into an emotional dialogue about your reasons every time an inappropriate behavior occurs. Don't lecture -- your kid knows the reasons. I still don't understand. She speaks slowly, allowing each word to drip into my startled brain. It's a feeling like I want to act and that I have to act. And it's painful. But it's also vaguely hopeful. It's a feeling,' she says, looking away for a moment to find the right word, `like I need to see your suffering eased, and I'm also strangely hopeful that it can be. It's a warm feeling, even though it's painful. She takes a long look at me. I'm stymied in confusion. I shake my head and clutch myself smaller. Acu-Points to Help You Pop While you hurry up and wait during labor, use acu-points LI-4 and SP-6 to move things along. You'll need some help from your birthing team for the SP-6 point above your ankle--it'll probably be tough to reach. Jeff and Kathy were excited to be having their first baby. All the grandparents were fussing over Kathy, and Jeff was getting his share of slaps on the back by other fathers he knew. They were both attending birthing classes in preparation for the big day. They came to see me a little sad and disappointed following their last medical exam, during which they were informed their baby boy was in the breech position.