Disclaimer: This is not medical advice. This is personal experience turned into suggestions. Please consult your doctor, especially if you are pregnant. I am not a doctor, I am just a person who suffers from sporadic anemia, who has found some helpful products and strategies and wishes to share them. Please trust your own body and your own instincts. Please always keep these and other products out of the reach of young children.

Update: I am now using different products than those I recommend below. Those recommended below are great. They helped me a lot. But currently I get all of my supplements from a company called Vitanica. I recommend all of the Vitanica products for women, since the company is founded by a woman specifically to help women with our health needs. The products I currently use on an ongoing basis are: Iron Extra, Slow Flow, and Women’s Symmetry. I worked with a professional Naturopath to determine the best dosages for my needs, and this is what I suggest if your needs surpass the recommended dosages.

A few weeks ago, I got hit with a severe case of anemia. I’ll spare you the details of how I got there. Suffice it to say that this is not the first time in my life that I have struggled with anemia, although I’m pretty sure based on what I’ve learned that it’s going to be the last.

In my research, I discovered that a lot of women are affected by anemia. Anemia mostly hurts teenagers, pregnant women, and middle-aged women, but it can happen any time so all women should have their blood count checked from time to time to find out if they are anemic.

One easy way to keep tabs on your anemia is to give blood regularly because they will check you for anemia first. Don’t give blood if you are anemic, even if you are only a little anemic, because you might faint like I did one time, which was scary and could have caused an injury if the volunteer hadn’t caught me.

One Of The Worst Cases I’ve Ever Had

Indicators of anemia are tiredness, shortness of breath, and headaches. If your anemia is becoming severe, you may have exhaustion, rapid heart beat, headaches, mental confusion, leg cramps, dizziness, insomnia, and pale skin.

I always like to say that my anemia makes me “dumb,” which is why it often gets the best of me despite the number of times it’s happened. Anemia can come on quickly or slowly but if you are tired and confused, it’s hard to pinpoint what’s going on no matter how many times you have been through it. Also, and this is sad, women, especially moms, are used to be tired and worn it in our society. So to all the moms out there, I want to say gently, your exhaustion is not a badge of honor; it’s something that needs to be addressed.

The kind of anemia I am describing here is the most common type of anemia, which is caused by iron deficiency. But there are other kinds, too. For a full discussion of types of anemia as well as causes and symptoms, check out Web Md and read this fact sheet from the US women’s health department.

Okay, so back to me. I was completely worn out. Only days earlier I had been working out three times a week and was planning to increase my workouts. Then whammo! I got hit, and as usual, I became tired and confused and did not respond quickly. When I did respond, I took a new iron supplement that I’d not used before and it was under-effective, even in double and triple doses.

So I turned to Facebook and asked my Facebook friends for suggestions. The most often recommended product was something called Floradix with Herbs, which is a liquid. I took a shot of it in the parking lot. It tasted good to me. I took that to be a good sign.

Floradix With Herbs To The Rescue

At first, I was taking the recommended dose. Then I did a bit of research online and saw that others were taking a double or triple dose for severe anemia. I was severely anemic and getting worse prior to finding the Floradix. I went from working out three times a week to not being able to climb the stairs. When I did make it up the stairs my heart was beating in my ears and sometimes I eve had to lay down to recover. My daughter was in a musical at the time. I was crawling through all the responsibilities associated with it. My anemia really took a lot of the joy out of that experience for me. I won’t let this happen again.

Eating, Drinking & Feeling Better

Once I doubled the dosage of the Floradix with Herbs, I started feeling a lot better, a lot faster. I was also taking a product called ChlorOxygen that I stumbled on at Whole Foods. It’s a Chlorophyll concentrate that you add to water, which says on the label that it “Builds Red Blood Cells.” I asked about it and it sounded like it would help restore some of my energy and it did. It also got me to drink more water, which is important any time, but especially when you have anemia.

The other thing I did, which was helpful, was I started seeking out high-iron foods and eating mostly those in my diet. I would always feel better after eating a high-protein meal with spinach salad. Clams, it turns out, are especially high in iron, and I was like a clam chowder junkie. So do an Internet Search for High-Iron Foods and educate yourself, and then add as many of those foods as you can to your daily diet.

I’ve been sharing the news on Facebook that I am now feeling a lot better after my little wake-up call. My doctor did get me an iron IV in the middle of all this, but unfortunately it took my medical insurance several days to approve the IV, so I got it much later than when I could have really used it. But better late than never.

If any of this describes you or someone you love I hope you will do six things. And here they are:

1. Get Yourself Floradix with Herbs

(Available at Whole Foods or below, from Amazon)

Get it today and try it. Because there is really no other way to tell if this is a good match for you and your body without trying it. Floradix also comes in Gluten/Yeast-free, if that is something you need. I took the regular Floradix and consumed an entire bottle over the course of two weeks.

I took a double dose twice a day, once I tried the product for a couple of days. I would not go beyond this dosage without checking with your doctor. Keep this and all iron supplements out of the reach of children.

Also the product can stain your teeth, so try to swallow without swishing and brush your teeth afterwards. I took my doses when I woke up and before bed, which goes well with teeth brushing.

2. Drink More Water Each Day, Especially If You Drink Caffeinated Beverages

If you are fatigued, you will likely do what I do which is to reach for more caffeine. If you notice that you are doing this, pause and chug a glass of water. If you feel immediately better than you don’t need more caffeine, you need more water. Water is the number one health solution, but we always overlook it. If you are tired right now, go drink a glass of fresh, clean water and tell me if you don’t feel better. Make a deal with yourself that you will chug a glass before caffeine and meals. Simple, yet very helpful.

3. Try ChlorOxygen

(Available at Whole Foods or below, from Amazon)

This stuff is super-dark green and turns your water super dark green, but I liked it. Add 18 – 36 drops to your water twice a day. Just add it to the water you are already drinking. If you do a half hour before breakfast and a half hour before dinner, I found this works well.

4. Eat Mostly High-iron Foods

Beef, clams, spinach, pumpkin seeds, cashews, lentils, poultry, burritos, garbanzo beans…do some research on “Foods That Are High In Iron” and then think about how to get these foods into your meals. If you are low on iron, add a couple of in-between meal snacks that are high in iron like a handful of cashews or some carrots and humus to help you get through the day.

5. Drink Green Juice

(I used Odwalla Superfood, but any organic green juice will do)

Facebook friends suggested it and I was skeptical because I often take green food pills. But drinking a couple of glasses of green juice a day did seem to help me feel better in the short run, so I’m recommending it here. This is all probably starting to sound like a lot to purchase, but I think the combination of all of the above helps turn anemia around more quickly than an iron supplement alone can do. And this is what I think a lot of suffering anemics want — to just feel better as soon as possible. And all of the above added up is not that expensive when compared to a trip to the doctor or hospital.

6. Have A Maintenance Plan

Maybe other iron supplements worked for me in the past, I’m just no longer willing to suffer any longer than I have to. So it’s only iron + absorption assistance for me from here on out. If, like me, you have had chronic struggles with anemia, I suggest you try the same strategies, so you don’t have to wait forever for an iron supplement to start working.

In the long-run, I’d rather not have to take a liquid twice a day (and if this describes you, please check out Vitanica’s Iron Extra that I recommended in the note at the top of this post). Either product works like a charm for anyone dealing with chronic or sporadic anemia.

I’ve listed the products mentioned below on Amazon for your convenience in case you do not live near a Whole Foods. Feel free to comment on your own experience or provide input if you have tried any of these products that I’ve recommended.

And special thanks to all of my Facebook friends, who answered my call for help that day. You guys are the best!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I have something to say, this blog is the place where I give myself permission to say it. Though I often write about writing and creativity, I also write about issues that are important to me. I help folks become more creative for personal enjoyment, professional development and transformational growth. I am a veteran journalist, author and coach with over a decade and a half of experience and a wealth of techniques to share. Whether you are a professional creative or hope to become one some day, I can help you embrace your personal strengths, explore your creative possibilities, and evolve incrementally into your most inspiring self. If you are ready to achieve creative consistency in your life and career, email me about monthly coaching calls. Looking for more fun in your life daily? Then join us for Collaging For Self-discovery, my online accountability group. To learn more about increasing your creative confidence, please check out my online school. Stay tuned for ways to save money by becoming a Beta User for my next new course by subscribing to The Prosperous Creative. And don’t forget to get these blog posts delivered to your inbox, so you never miss a post. If you appreciate my work—school, products, blog and social media posts—you are welcome to make a contribution of any size at any time. Thank you for your support!

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If I can’t be creative, then I don’t want to do it.

If I can’t be creative, I don’t want to do anything.

This is a truth about me that I recognized a long time ago.

Another truth is, once I figure something out, I like to help others figure it out, too.

In my many years of being creative, this second truth emerged, and this is how I became a teacher.

So, based on knowing myself and realizing that I enjoy serving others, I became a creative teacher. I’m a creative person who also coaches others to channel their creativity in practical ways.

If you don’t know what makes you tick as a professional, you’re not going to be able to enjoy your work.

You also won’t be as successful as you could be. Or if you are successful, you won’t enjoy your success as much as you could. And then, what’s the point?

Your primary job is to do enough consistent work to notice and then embrace who you are as a professional.

Don’t listen to people who tell you that who you are is not an important part of the equation.

And don’t listen to people who tell you that you can just go off on a mountaintop and be you without consideration of how you fit into the bigger picture, either.

There are certain things that make you You. And if you are not aware of and prioritizing those things, you might be spinning your wheels or feeling frustrated.

So start with the simple questions.

Who am I?

Who am I really?

When am I the happiest?

When am I the most satisfied?

How does my satisfying work serve the world?

If you can answer these questions honestly, you are in great shape to love what you do everyday.

And if you can’t or don’t answer them, then don’t be surprised if you are struggling.

Part of what I do is make tools that help creatives get centered. Because being centered in who you are is always the starting place. You can consider how to serve afterwards. But first consider who you are and what you love.

I hope you will check out my incredibly inexpensive offerings for creatives.

Creative Knowing workbook (Click on the cover to learn more) Only $1.99

Creative Rx Video Affirmations (Click on the cover to learn more) Only $15

Unwrap Your Creative Gifts Daily Prompt Challenge (Starts on Monday! Click on the badge to learn more.) Only $22

 

Thanks to Tiffany Doerr Guerzon for asking me to re-share this helpful resource!

Head spinning with ideas and info after a writing conference?

Conferences are almost always informative and helpful. But it’s what you do with what you learn that makes all the difference. It’s about how you transform a bunch of info overload into action that makes all that learning worthwhile.

Here’s what I recommend: within twenty-four hours of attending a conference, get twenty-five actions written down that you can immediately apply in your career.

You’ll likely do best using this worksheet if you fill it out, from memory, the day after a conference.

It’s not a bad habit to get into while you are emptying out your conference tote bag.

Feel free to download this resource to use whenever. And please let me know if you find it helpful.

Happy conferencing!

Take 25 Actions worksheet 2015

Get ready to notice what happens to your creativity, once you spring clean your thoughts.

I am very excited to announce that my affirmation series, Creative Rx is back, and now it’s better than ever.

Once upon a time, I hosted Creative Rx as one audio affirmation series folks could listen to daily to suss out any negative thinking potentially blocking their creative growth.

Today, Creative Rx is a series of three short videos meant to be watched daily in quick succession. The purpose is to identify and address any negative thinking that might be interfering with your creative growth and success.

The technique behind Creative Rx is simple. You give the affirmations less than ten minutes a day for 21 days, and they give you a creative spring cleaning of your beliefs that can eventually result in a more positive, productive attitude towards yourself, others, and your entire creative process.

What you believe about yourself matters. Negative beliefs about yourself can interfere with your creative growth and even stop you short of achieving your creative potential.

And people with negative thoughts or hard-to-identify fears are not rare. We are normal, in fact. I am sure most people have negative thoughts and fears they are not even aware of.

Suffice it to say that we all deserve to be 100% on our own team. Creative Rx will help you get out of your own way, relax, and create more effortlessly.

Check out what past participants have said, and they did not even use the deluxe version:

Christina’s Creative Rx offers an effective counter-punch to that nagging inner voice of creative self-doubt.  ~ Susan

Creative Rx had helped me recover and maintain the balance I need. I’m a busy mom and professional who often forgets about herself until I run out of “juice” from being over-extended. I’ve found Creative RX to be a quick and simple check-in and reminder to take care of myself.   ~ Judy

Who says simple can’t be effective? Christina’s Creative Rx is both. After about a week of using the tool I found my mindset already shifting in a positive direction that fueled my writing. It was worth taking the five minutes out of my day to “recalibrate” and gear up to do the tasks at hand — and start new ones I’d never attempted before. ~ Lara

I love to start my day listening to Creative Rx. The voice of the instructor, combined with the positive messages puts me on the path to productivity and creativity for the entire day. It lightens my mood and lifts my spirits. I would highly recommend this tool for any person wishing to become more creative in their everyday life. ~  Lisa

Conscious self-awareness can help you re-capture your creative spirit and turn your doubt on its heels. Christina’s Creative Rx helped me overcome the obstacles that my mind was manufacturing, holding me prisoner to my own self-perceived limitations. I am a more confident and creative writer, woman, mother and wife thanks to this tool. ~ Christa H.

Creative Rx cured my cold feet.  Now I’m ready to stop stalling and go for it!  ~ Laura

Users may find this hokey at the outset. I did. But give it a chance. With an open mind it could yield surprising results. It did for me.  ~ Lela

Thinking on these phrases helped me realize how far I have come in life, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and guided me to places to still journey while making me deeply appreciative for the path already traveled.  ~ Christa S.

I believe that Creative Rx has the potential to really help people and not only with their creativity, but in all aspects of their lives!  ~ Courtney

Taking two minutes to remind myself of my good qualities was completely painless. And it’s the quickest and healthiest way I’ve found to quiet my own self-criticism and tap into my best self. You are already good. This tool helps you own that.  ~ Heidi

Sign up for Creative Rx Video Affirmation Series today for only $15. You’ll get unlimited access to the videos for good. You can even send the link to your phone and watch them or listen to them on the go. Whatever it takes to work 6-7 minutes of creative affirmations into every day!

Try Creative Rx for 21 days and you’ll be amazed by how much you learn about yourself, your mind, and how your thoughts affect your daily creative output.

Once you pay for access, you will receive an e-mail confirmation directing you to the videos right here on ChristinaKatz.com.

Don’t let another day go by where you feel like you are struggling instead of creating as much as you can.

Try 21 Moments, and spring clean your thoughts!

Did you know my website has a shopping cart?

If you put something into your cart in error, no worries. You can take your time, look around, and select books, workbooks, writing and platform challenges, classes, and dream teams until you are ready to check out. Then, to view or alter the contents of your shopping cart, click the button below. The shopping cart always opens in a new tab.

This is a great video by Jane Friedman that provides some historical perspective on the publisher-author relationship and how publishers might improve it today. Her post is called, Do You Love Your Publisher? Author Survey Results.

I am going to summarize what I think is the biggest problem with the author-publisher relationship, from the point of view of the author.

I think it’s the same problem that has always existed with authors and publishers, and it’s an attitude I have been addressing for a long time.

When authors have a “take care of everything and I’ll just write the book attitude,” this does not serve them or publishers.

Jane does a great job in her video of showing how some of the most successful and lasting authors have historically taken books sales into their own hands. Or at least these authors have done what they could to move the needle on book sales with the resources available to them at the time.

The biggest problem potential authors have is a system that is still put in place to perpetuate the idea of “just get discovered and then everything will be all right.”

Look in two places to find this attitude and confront it. First, look for the myth of the rags-to-riches author in the media and in educational outlets for aspiring authors. Do you find stories of “my life was nothing but then I got a publisher, got published, and now I live on easy street and you can, too”?

This story is a lie. There is nothing in this story that is true, so reject it at once whenever and wherever you encounter it. Even if this was seemingly another person’s experience, do not expect to be able to imitate it.

The second place you have to look for this mythology is inside your own mind. If you have a “dream” of becoming an author some day, you will likely be disappointed with the entire process. Becoming an author is not a dream, it’s work, and very hard work.

Getting an idea out of your head and onto the page in a saleable manner and then getting various forms of books into readers’ hands is also a lot of work. It always has been and it always will be. And even then your job as an author is not done. Once the book is done and in people’s hands, you still have to solicit feedback and partner with others who can help you promote and sell your book.

Anne Lamott has a list of life-long advice circulating on the Internet right now. Here’s what she says in it about publishing:

Publication and temporary creative successes are something you have to recover from. They kill as many people as not. They will hurt, damage and change you in ways you cannot imagine. The most degraded and sometimes nearly-evil men I have known were all writers who’d had bestsellers. Yet, it is also a miracle to get your work published (see #1.). Just try to bust yourself gently of the fantasy that publication will heal you, will fill the Swiss cheesey holes. It won’t, it can’t. But writing can. So can singing.

At the end of the day, the “dream” of becoming an author comes up very short when the fantasy is compared to the reality. Do not take advice from anyone who is trying to sell you on the idea that authorhood is easy or that you will become rich from it. These are not reputable coaches. These are hucksters.

Jane shows us how there has historically always been a disconnect between the author fantasy and the author reality. Anne Lamott echoes the failure of publishing to make writers whole. Of course, publishing cannot heal us. But we have to be honest with ourselves about what we are trying to achieve by publishing in order to suss out this false hope in ourselves.

But in her video, Jane hints that the dynamics of publishing are shifting in the digital age. She suggests that independent authors are doing better at collaborating with each other than publishing houses are doing partnering with their authors.

The growth of the indie author movement is teaching authors what we always needed to learn: how to stop fantasizing about being taken care of and how to take business matters into our own hands.

I think it’s time for authors to take publishing off it’s pedestal and put it back where it belongs, where it has always belonged.

Partnering with a traditional publisher is one option a writer has. It is one option of many options. If you don’t have any skills besides writing when you partner with a publisher, then you need to educate yourself. You need to think big picture, not just little picture. You need to follow advice coming from people like Jane Friedman and myself to make sure that you have your expectations in the right place from the get-go. If your expectations are not healthy, your actions will follow them.

To say this another way, don’t let your personal power become dwarfed in partnering with publishers, writers.

Take a note from indie authors, and use any book publishing occasion as an opportunity to build and improve your business skills.

Do not jettison personal responsibility for your publishing success, just because you have a publisher. This will always lead to disappointment.

Better yet, if you have not yet taken 110% responsibility for your publishing success, do it now. And don’t ever let anyone take that responsibility away from you.

Watch Jane’s video and consider how much better your long-term writing and publishing journey will become when you commit to steering your ship, and not turning over the wheel to anyone else to feed an old fantasy that never had any basis in reality anyway.

There are few things in life I enjoy as much as musical theatre. But if you think I mean simply attending shows, think again.

Of course, I enjoy attending a show. I love exploring musical theatre at a variety of levels: professional, festival, college, high school.

Believe it or not, I can even enjoy an elementary school show.

I am not sure which came first, enjoying musical theatre or enjoying my husband and daughter’s musical theatre. It seems like I did not see too many musicals on my own prior to marrying a theatre geek.

And now a writing nerd and a theatre geek have grown up and raised not just a musical theatre lover, but an arts enthusiast. Samantha loves doing all kinds of art: dance, singing, theatre, drawing, and writing.

I guess this makes sense, since Jason and I put self-expression and personal growth at the center of our marriage and our family.

And then there are those times when a show is up and running and everything is a happy blur. Like now. It’s opening night for my daughter’s show, Shrek, The Musical and I’ve been filling every spare moment helping with publicity, just like I always help my husband publicize his shows.

Lots of things make our family happy, but musical theatre is kind of our special thing.

What’s your family’s special thing?

Here’s a little taste of the fun in the form of my first musical theatre trailer for Shrek, The Musical. My husband has made them before, but this is my first time calling the shots.

Enjoy! And may you be happy being whatever type of family you are!

Between now and April 15th, everyone who registers for Power Up Your Platform Like A Pro and completes the course by then may ask me one question about their platform. I will get back to you within 48 hours with a response.

Please be prepared to provide more information, if requested. And do include ONE LINK to your primary website, if you have one.

If you have ever wished you could tap me on the shoulder and ask me to look at your online platform, now is your chance!

Take a risk. You’ll never know until you ask the question, “How could my platform perform better?”

I have 14 years of experience working with creatives and writers. Your sticking point may not be as unique as you think, but we won’t know until we take a look.

To take advantage of this incredibly low-priced offer, register for the course, jot down your questions as you take it, then hit me with your toughest sticking point.

I look forward to brainstorming with you!

 

We are living in the best of times and the worst of times.

Truly, these are the best of times because we have so many choices and options.

But with so many choices and options comes the need to make decisions, and not merely one, but sometimes ten at a time.

And yet, even in these lovely times I notice that there are questions that simply do not get asked enough.

I can give you some examples:

• Who are you?
• Who are you really?
• When you leave the world, what do you hope to leave behind?
• What rocks your world?
• Whom could you not live without?
• Why are you here?
• What do people value most about you?

I could go on and on asking important questions that are not asked often enough. (And I do ask these kinds of questions in my Creativity Challenge, but that’s not really the point here.)

I am also interested in why we don’t ask important questions.

Is it because someone told us a long, long time ago that our important questions do not matter?

Are they not realistic, practical, and logical enough?

Do they seem childish? Silly? Ungrounded?

It seems to me that we are having a conflict between the new world that wishes to be more fully born and the old world, which really does not wish to relinquish it’s vice-grip on dictating reality.

If we do not start asking more important questions and answering them, things are not going to change.

Or they are not going to change quickly enough, which is where I suspect we are right now.

Things could change more quickly, but they don’t. And they won’t unless we start asking and answering questions.

Deep down, are we terrified of change?

Do we shy away from answering any questions because we like things to stay the same?

We need to let go of fear and embrace the answers to the questions.

This reminds me of this quote by Rainer Maria Rilke in Letters To A Young Poet in 1934:

Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.

We need to start living the answers. But it’s never going to happen, if we keep running away from the questions.

Question false logic more. We are not questioning assumptions enough.

Even if you have always assumed some belief to be true, question it. What about now?

Question everything. And then live your answers. Do not try to live the answers belonging to someone else or to the past.

Do not live someone else’s truth. Live your truth.

Why be false when you could be true, and in being true, inspire the world?