By Don McCann, MA, LMT, LMHC, CSETT
FINANCIAL RESOURCES UPDATE:
If you are a hands-on therapist you more than likely have been shut down and told to close your business due to COVID-19 pandemic. There is no way you can safely practice social distancing and treat your clients with hands-on therapy. If this has left you without an income there are a couple of routes you can follow that you may have read about in one of my previous articles.
The first is unemployment. This system is overloaded with the large number of applicants. Some systems have crashed periodically as they were not designed to handle this volume. Having talked to many who have applied for unemployment the time between 2 a.m. – 5 a.m. seems to give you the best chance to enroll via the computer. Hopefully, you have been successful and will soon be receiving expanded unemployment reimbursement with both the State and Federal Governments contributing.
The second option is a Small Business Loan. If you applied online you found you could also apply for a $10,000 grant that should be easier to qualify for and take less time than the other Small Business Loan possibilities. I have yet to hear of anyone who has applied who has been contacted for the next step. When you applied you probably were told someone would contact you within 3-5 days. However, the news has indicated that the system is overloaded and breaking down periodically. Hopefully, they are going to fix these glitches and will soon be able to start contacting you for the next step in receiving this money.
The third choice could be a Payroll Protection Plan. You would go to the website of the bank where you do business and apply for a Payroll Protection Plan through Disaster Relief Aid. If you qualify the loan amount will be 2.5x the salary paid by your business. You will need to upload a Paycheck Protection Program-Borrower Worksheet that you fill out showing your payroll. You will also need a 940, or 941, or 944 Tax Form to show what you paid your employees and your withholdings paid to the Federal Government. Again, I don’t know anyone who has been contacted about the next step. It’s easy to assume that some tax returns will be necessary to get approval. There is also news that this system is also overloaded and periodically breaking down. I know they are working on the system and hopefully it will be fixed soon.
Whichever route you took neither the State nor the Federal Government has ever dealt with this many cases and it’s going to take time. The best we can hope for is that it’s all going to work out and these glitches will be efficiently resolved.
THE WIM HOF METHOD for BREATHWORK:
The Wim Hof method involves using breath and has similarities to the Emotional Energy Release breathwork we use in Structural Energetic Therapy®. However, you don’t need a therapist to facilitate the process. There have been several SET Therapists who have been using it and have reported excellent results in reducing their stress and calming their bodies. The focus is not emotional release. However, it is possible that some emotions will come up to be released. The system uses an app that you can get from your app store on your cell phone. It is also free. I have downloaded it and found it relatively easy to get into. My feeling is that any breathwork has benefits and that when you can’t get together with a therapist to be facilitated this one will be of benefit. Thank you, Joel Rayburn, for finding this and recommending it.
MELATONIN – ANOTHER IMMUNE BOOSTING SUPPLEMENT:
While researching nutritional supplements that can help build and maintain our immune systems putting us in much better shape to combat the COVID-19 virus, I have been finding several health professionals who recommend melatonin. They recommend melatonin because it will not only help you sleep better at night, but it also definitely helps your immune system operate at a higher level. However, they have discovered other reasons for using melatonin. The best article I have seen on this is an analysis by Dr. Joseph Mercola in his article Melatonin for Sepsis and COVID-19 is included. (Please click on this title of Dr. Mercola’s article to read his whole article – there much more important information there than we can include here). The following is quoted from this article – Melatonin for Sepsis:
STORY AT-A-GLANCE
Melatonin plays an important role in your immune function. It has antioxidant and mitochondrial-protective functions, and has been shown to be effective against various bacterial and viral infections
Melatonin has been shown to reverse septic shock symptoms by decreasing synthesis of proinflammatory cytokines; preventing lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced oxidative damage, endotoxemia and metabolic alterations; suppressing gene expression of nitric oxide synthase; and preventing apoptosis (cell death)
A metabolite of melatonin, 6-hydroxymelatonin, has beneficial effects on sepsis-induced mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress and cytokine responses
Melatonin can also protect against polymicrobial sepsis, i.e., sepsis caused by more than one microbial organism. In this case, melatonin appears to offer protection by having an antibacterial effect on white blood cells called neutrophils
The inflammasome NLRP3 is a key culprit in acute respiratory distress syndrome and acute lung injury, both of which are potential outcomes of COVID-19 infection. Melatonin inhibits the activation of NLRP3 inflammasomes, thus offering potential protection against infection
While melatonin works as a natural sleep regulator, it affects health in many other important ways as well. For example, melatonin:
Is a potent antioxidant
Plays an important role in cancer prevention
Is important for brain, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal health
Boosts immune function in a variety of ways
May improve the treatment of certain bacterial diseases, including tuberculosis
Helps quell inflammation
May prevent or improve autoimmune diseases, including Type 1 diabetes
Is an important energy hormone – if your sleep efficiency is impaired, meaning you’re not sleeping as deeply as you should, for as long as is ideal, then your energy level is going to be adversely affected.
As noted in the Journal of Critical Care:
“Melatonin is a versatile molecule, synthesized not only in the pineal gland, but also in many other organs. Melatonin plays an important physiologic role in sleep and circadian rhythm regulation, immunoregulation, antioxidant and mitochondrial-protective functions, reproductive control, and regulation of mood. Melatonin has also been reported as effective in combating various bacterial and viral infections.”
(Please note that in all of Dr. Mercola’s articles his information and statements are backed by in-depth research as shown by footnotes to his sources for this research throughout his articles. All resources are listed at the end of his articles. He follows strict fact checking guidelines which can be verified by clicking on “Fact Checked” at the top of his articles.)
I have enjoyed communicating with you again. I will stay on top of any available information that I find and pass it along to you.
I am doing all I can to stay safe and healthy and hope you are doing the same. Remember, wash your hands, wear your face masks, and find something that makes you happy and do it often.
