I Tried This to Calm Me Down, and it Worked in Less Than 60 Seconds.

Last night, I experienced a feeling I haven’t felt in years. Nausea. This wasn’t just any old stomach ache or case of the big N. No, it was the kind I felt as a kid.


Growing up, I used to get sick everywhere I went. Long road trip? Car sick. Watching a movie (usually Pokémon: The Movie 2000) in elementary school? My kid-sized, wooden, foldable seat flew up with how many times I’ve had to ask to use the bathroom. 


I used to get sick after brushing my teeth. One of my best friends can verify that one for you. I would get sick when my family went out to dinner. The place that made me the most nauseous was Friendly’s. That was a bummer, cause I LOVED their ice cream. 

Dairy

Milk and cookies were my favorite after school snack. Ice cream was my favorite Dessert. Cereal was my favorite bed time treat. It deceived me.


Nauseous was my default state as a child. It got so bad that I went to the doctor to take a lactose test. My fridge was stocked with not only whole milk for my family, but soy milk. The chocolate one. This was the late 90s/early 2000s when Oat and Almond milk hadn’t dominated the store shelves yet. 


The formula they make you drink for the lactose intolerance test was horrid. I can still taste it in my mouth 20 years later. After that taste torture and endless amounts of pleading with the gods above to give me an answer to my stomach conundrum, the results came back negative. 


Negative. I was not lactose intolerant. What the heck was it then? I never knew. I chalked it up to being a victim of a sensitivity, especially when it came to fried food. I stopped eating Friendly’s chicken strips before I could have my Cone Head (wasn’t a Monster Mash fan, sorry my friends). And after the Cone Head, it was right back to the single stall bathroom with the cherry ash tile floor. 


Over the years, I came up with little tricks to get me through the nauseous tantrum. I call it a “tantrum” because even at a young age, I knew it would pass…eventually. I concentrated on my breathing. I flipped my shirt up and down while sitting on the toilet to create a breeze to my hot-flushed face. This trick was indeed discovered at our local Friendly’s. 


I started inhaling mints. I didn’t really inhale them. I’m being dramatic here, but I might as well have because I would pop those babies in my mouth every chance I got. I sucked them up like a vacuum. Spearmint gum became my new best friend. 


Ice chips were there for me like they were for a pregnant woman. Only I wasn’t pregnant, I was on the verge of fainting on an airplane. I still get severely nauseous every time I fly. I even get nauseous from smells. On a trip back from London in 2015, the man behind me ordered Jerk Chicken on the flight. Airplane-food Jerk Chicken. It took practically the whole flight for me to stop gagging. 


What was (and still is) my favorite anti-nausea trick? Rolling down the car window and sticking my head out like a dog. The breeze on my face takes my mind off of the disturbance in my stomach. 


At this point, you may be wondering why I didn’t just run to the toilet, kneeled down, and chucked everything up. Everyone feels better after they puke. 


Here’s the thing — I HATE throwing up. That’s a strong word, and I’m using it in caps to highlight how strong I feel about this. The thought of throwing up petrifies me so much that I would rather put myself through hours of torture than to allow my insides to come up and out through my mouth. 


Have I thrown up? Absolutely. But I am determined to make the nausea tantrum pass as much as I possibly can before I let a puke happen. So what do I do when I feel like I’m at the puke point? I move. 


I shake my feet. I pace back and forth. I rub my stomach. I move my arms. I breathe. I take off just about every piece of clothing I can except my underwear to cool down. All while chewing gum. 


That’s what I did last night. Except this time, I tried something different. I massaged my feet. 


Yup. You read that. I will write that one more time. I massaged my feet. 


I grabbed my stress relief lotion and went to town. Eucalyptus and peppermint created a stress-freeing scent. The soothing and pain relieving properties of the eucalyptus relaxed the muscles in my body. You may find the ingredient in your cold medicines and cough drops.


Peppermint is what I like to call the “clearing” plant. The smell is fresh, which clears any rotten or unwanted stenches wafting through the air. It’s known as the plant to soothe muscles in the stomach, hence why it is known to help with nausea. 


Yesterday just so happened to be one of the most stressful days I’ve had in a while. Having that lotion on my nightstand was my future self looking out for present day me. I didn’t sit down for hours on end all while wearing heels. 


Being the hard worker that I am and being surrounded by fellow hard workers in NY, our feet definitely need more TLC. They support us every day. All of our blood rushes down to our toes, putting endless amounts of pressure on them. We torture them with heels, squishing our toes together and what do we gift them with? Blisters and muscle cramps. 


Giving yourself a foot massage relieves stress by increasing your circulation, and activating your nervous system. For me, a foot massage is a reset, alleviating pain in pressure points. Check out this Web.MD article with a step by step guide to give your feet the optimal tender, loving, care they need. 


Have you EVER had a foot massage? There’s no feeling like it. I can go on and on about the importance of foot restoration and care, but let’s get back to the nausea. 


While I massaged, I was physically moving and my mind focused on something else. Like sticking my head out of the window when an onset of car sickness rushes through me. If I’m the driver in places I usually get car sick as a passenger, the nausea doesn’t even register in my brain. It’s true what they say — it’s mind over matter. 


Guess what? Not only did my feet feel loved and restored, but my nausea went away in 60 seconds. It took me 20 years to figure out the number one method that subsides my nausea problem. I went to Google. I found that this was not new to treat nausea, but I felt comfort in the fact that I have found a new method that works for me. 


The really satisfying thing is, I also found a way to calm my stress and anxiety. Everything is layered and related. I’m no doctor, but I’m speaking from experience. If you suffer from constant nausea, stress, or anxiety, come back to your body. Reset. 


Give your feet a massage before you go to bed. When you help the body, you help the mind and heart. You’ll feel grounded again. Try it. I mean it. Email me to let me know how it goes. 


Need some insight about anxiety and the layers of life? My podcast, The Sweet Madness Podcast is here for ya. Go give a listen now… or whenever you’re not overwhelmed by the repercussions of your own versions of chicken strips and Cone Head Sundaes. 

Personal Stories, How To, TipsAmanda Montonistress tips, anxiety, calming methods, natural remediesComment