Walking Toward Wellness: Twenty-One Weeks to Increased Health and Well-Being

By Sharon O'Shea

Walking Toward Wellness is a 21-week program that offers the reader information for increasing her physical, mental/emotional and spiritual well-being. The reader is also introduced to a variety of alternative healing and wellness options. Over-all wellness is a progressive, on-going process. Daily, consciously or unconsciously, we make decisions and choices, and we set priorities that impact our well-being. Today, choose to walk toward wellness.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jun 10, 2013
• ISBN: 9781475989984

Sharon O'Shea

Sharon O’Shea, MS, is a native of Southern California now living near Austin, Texas. She earned her BA at Vanguard University and her MS at the University of North Texas. She left employment in Social Services to study female abuse. Sharon’s goal is to create Merry Heart Ministries – a healing and recovery center for abused women. A portion of the proceeds from this book will go toward the fulfillment of that goal.

Book preview

Copyright © 2013 Sharon O’Shea.

Thank you to those who have been supportive of this endeavor, and to those who have reviewed and proofed the drafts of this book. In the end, however, this is a self-edited, self-published book. Therefore, all errors are the sole responsibility of the author. Comments, corrections and critiques may be addressed to the author.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

If you would like to use material from any work by Sharon O’Shea,

please contact her at:

Sharon O’Shea, MS

Merry Heart Ministries

P.O. Box 1426

Elgin, TX 78621

iUniverse books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

iUniverse

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.iuniverse.com

1-800-Authors (1-800-288-4677)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4759-8997-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-8998-4 (ebk)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013908559

iUniverse rev. date: 06/06/2013

Table of Contents

Caution

Preface

Introduction

The Best Way To Use This Book

Week One

Physical Health Principle

Mental/Emotional Health Principle

Spiritual Health Principle

Reading, Viewing and Doing Recommendations

Reflections

Week Two

Physical Health Principle

Mental/Emotional Health Principle

Spiritual Health Principle

Reading, Viewing and Doing Recommendations

Reflections

Week Three

Physical Health Principle

Mental/Emotional Health Principle

Spiritual Health Principle

Reading, Viewing and Doing Recommendations

Reflections

Week Four

Physical Health Principle

Mental/Emotional Health Principle

Spiritual Health Principle

Reading, Viewing and Doing Recommendations

Reflections

Week Five

Physical Health Principle

Mental/Emotional Health Principle

Spiritual Health Principle

Reading, Viewing and Doing Recommendations

Reflections

Week Six

Physical Health Principle

Mental/Emotional Health Principle

Spiritual Health Principle

Reading, Viewing and Doing Recommendations

Reflections

Week Seven

Physical Health Principle

Mental/Emotional Health Principle

Spiritual Health Principle

Reading, Viewing and Doing Recommendations

Reflections

Week Eight

Physical Health Principle

Mental/Emotional Health Principle

Spiritual Health Principle

Reading, Viewing and Doing Recommendations

Reflections

Week Nine

Physical Health Principle

Mental/Emotional Health Principle

Spiritual Health Principle

Reading, Viewing and Doing Recommendations

Reflections

Week Ten

Physical Health Principle

Mental/Emotional Health Principle

Spiritual Health Principle

Reading, Viewing and Doing Recommendations

Reflections

Week Eleven

Physical Health Principle

Mental/Emotional Health Principle

Spiritual Health Principle

Reading, Viewing and Doing Rec♠ommendations

Reflections

Week Twelve

Physical Health Principle

Mental/Emotional Health Principle

Spiritual Health Principle

Reading, Viewing and Doing Recommendations

Reflections

Week Thirteen

Physical Health Principle

Mental/Emotional Health Principle

Spiritual Health Principle

Reading, Viewing and Doing Recommendations

Reflections

Week Fourteen

Physical Health Principle

Mental/Emotional Health Principle

Spiritual Health Principle

Reading, Viewing and Doing Recommendations

Reflections

Week Fifteen

Physical Health Principle

Mental/Emotional Health Principle

Spiritual Health Principle

Reading, Viewing and Doing Recommendations

Reflections

Week Sixteen

Physical Health Principle

Mental/Emotional Health Principle

Spiritual Health Principle

Reading, Viewing and Doing Recommendations

Reflections

Week Seventeen

Physical Health Principle

Mental/Emotional Health Principle

Spiritual Health Principle

Reading, Viewing and Doing Recommendations

Reflections

Week Eighteen

Physical Health Principle

Mental/Emotional Health Principle

Spiritual Health Principle

Reading, Viewing and Doing Recommendations

Reflections

Week Nineteen

Physical Health Principle

Mental/Emotional Health Principle

Spiritual Health Principle

Reading, Viewing and Doing Recommendations

Reflections

Week Twenty

Physical Health Principle

Mental/Emotional Health Principle

Spiritual Health Principle

Reading, Viewing and Doing Recommendations

Reflections

Week Twenty-One

Reflections

Conclusion – Some Final Thoughts

Inspirational Quotes

Female Victimization Issues

Dedication:

To everyone who has ever helped me

in any way along life’s journey.

A portion of the sale of this book goes toward

the creation and support of Merry Heart Ministries,

a healing and recovery center for abused women.

Cover artwork, map and sketch of the author were created by:

Elizabeth Sullivan

Wild Spirit Artworks

www.ecsullivanart.com

Effort was made to correctly credit all sources of quotations within this book.

All artwork was used with permission.

People stumble over the truth from time to time, but most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened.

–Sir Winston Churchill

Caution

Not all of the information in Walking Toward Wellness is appropriate for everyone. You are encouraged to consult your doctor, counselor or health-care provider before beginning this program, or any new program geared toward improving your health and well-being.

Although this book offers information and exploration into various ways to assist with one’s physical, mental and emotional, and spiritual health, the author does not diagnose any medical condition or prescribe any type of physical, medical, psychological or spiritual treatment, or counseling of any kind whatsoever in this book.

All opinions, advice, techniques and practices are offered as an exploratory presentation for the reader’s consideration and should not be interpreted as a replacement for medical or professional care or treatment.

The feel of this book should be that of friends or family sharing information over lunch or while walking in the park. If one desires validation or substantiation of any information within this book, it is most probably readily available over the Internet, via books written on the subject, or through independent research. Do not take my word for anything you read in this book, other that the personal examples. Instead, when in doubt, seek out expert advice.

It is the author’s belief that we are ultimately responsible for our own health and well-being and we should, therefore, explore and consider all available resources in our quest for wellness. In the end, though, we are our own best friend or worst enemy, aren’t we?

I have learned silence

from the talkative,

toleration

from the intolerant,

and

kindness

from the unkind;

yet strange,

I am ungrateful to those teachers.

–Kahlil Gibran

Preface

Walking Toward Wellness has been reworked, updated and modified from Born A Woman, a 21-segment healing and recovery program written in 2000 to help female victims of abuse. (A condensed version of my Master’s thesis regarding the psychosocial consequences of victimization appears at the conclusion of this book).

Born A Woman had a multi-pronged approach to wellness – physical health principles, mental and emotional health principles, spiritual health principles, monthly counseling sessions, recommended books and movies, a reflections section, and a feedback section.

Recently, a friend said, Many of the women I know are turning to drugs and other self-destructive behaviors to deal with their lives. Why don’t you write a book explaining how one can achieve balance and wellness in life and avoid the pitfalls?

At first, such a task seemed overwhelming. In fact, I wondered, What do I have to offer that would be of serious help to women who are struggling with life’s problems and challenges?

Finally, I decided to rework and update Born A Woman. It has a number of concepts we all know we should embrace, such as drink more pure water, exercise, avoid sugar, salt and tobacco, and so on. Also, I’ve briefly outlined some of the alternative healing strategies I discovered while researching recovery options for abused women. Although I was at first skeptical and held these modalities suspect, I grew to embrace and enjoy them.

Additionally, I have addressed a number of personal lessons and changes I have made along my own life path.

Born A Woman had a strong spiritual component since, as most professionals agree, spiritual growth and development is the backbone of nearly all successful healing and recovery programs, including Alcoholics Anonymous, and its many offshoots.

Sadly, my research revealed that the more one is victimized in life, the further away one often moves from the Divine. However, it is my belief that it is when we move closer to the Divine we find peace and healing in the midst of pain and struggle, and so I have included that segment in Walking Toward Wellness.

When consistently applied, the information in this book should help anyone move toward increased health and wellness. However, it is especially important for those who have experienced abuse to realize they might have to work especially hard to embrace and incorporate positive change, balance and wellness into their lives.

This book can be used by setting up a 21-week program and following the recommendations as they are presented each week. Or you may choose to read whatever grabs your attention as you randomly read through the book.

For optimum success and maximum positive results, please keep an open mind and try whatever works for you, setting aside whatever does not.

A great deal of the information within the pages of this book can be substantiated by research on the Internet. If you have questions, but do not have in-home access to a computer and the Internet, please check with your local library as they often have computers available for public use and, of course, libraries are a great resource for books and general assistance.

At the conclusion of this book I have presented information as it relates to female abuse in America.

As I was proofing this book prior to publishing, I became aware that in Time magazine (March 18, 2013), in response to jokes Tina Fey and Amy Poehler cracked about her during the Golden Globes, Taylor Swift responded:

There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.

After decades of studying women’s issues and the psycho-social consequences to women and their families when a woman is abused, I believe Taylor Swift is right and that she is exceptionally wise for such a young woman. I hope you will join me in purchasing her products and supporting her, as she is supporting other women. Taylor Swift is a beacon in a world that is often dark and foreboding for many women. May her light never dim!

Regarding the graphics found in this book, the course taken to find artwork would make an interesting book in itself. The short version is I spent untold hours finding just the right graphics from two graphics programs I had purchased. Then I scoured the Internet for umpteen more hours. In addition, I sought permission from various fine artists to use their artwork in this book.

When it was time to submit the book