Category Wellness

Natural beauty in under 10 minutes per day

Priscilla Leave a comment

Recently, my sister and I mulled over morning stresses of getting everyone out the door before 8.30, while the men established a ‘pecking order’ of tasks.  Filling and emptying the dishwasher, making beds and blowing husks out of the birdseed bowl were viewed as “non-essential”, while we declared that coming home to wrinkled bedclothes and full sink amid wrangling school bags and hungry kids was not on our agenda!

Whilst I’m not sure that they thought we should spend more time in the bathroom, inspired by the males’ advice to “re-prioritise”, I’ve challenged myself to prioritise self-care each morning.

Without the DINK (double income no kids) status, I’m not about to swap holidays or gifts for Botox and dermal fillers!  Once the kids are fed and clothes are laid out, instead of running through my own routine on autopilot, I try to make those minutes count.

Whether your mornings are hectic, or you have a little leeway, a small window spent on yourself can reinvigorate the brain, remove toxins and lay the foundation for smooth skin.  Here is my way of combining all three in ten minutes or less!

The root cause of heathy hair

A head massage increases blood flow (nutrition) to the scalp for strong and healthy hair and energises the brain.

Hang your head upside down and feel the weightlessness as your head, neck and arms dangle. Using the pads of the fingers, massage your scalp all over for around two minutes.  If you’re about to wash your hair, you could use a few drops of an essential oil (e.g. Lavender or Neem) or Jojoba oil.  Flick your head up and voila, you also have full bodied 80’s-inspired hair!

This simple routine, also referred to as the ‘inversion method’ is also hailed as a method to grow hair more quickly.

Brush away toxins

Grab a natural bristle brush with a long handle (Kmart or The Body Shop).  In simple terms, you’re brushing towards the heart, remembering that your lymph drainage areas are under the arms, in the groin area (around where the pelvis and upper thigh meet) and the neck.

Starting from the feet, brush up each leg in long strokes with a light pressure, clockwise around the belly, under the chest to each armpit.  Brush up each hand and arm, down the neck and shoulders and each side of the face: along the jawline, across the cheeks and forehead.

At first, it may feel strange dragging a brush up dry skin but I find it really wakes me up.  It comes close to a coffee!  Up to three minutes is all you need.

Put your best face forward

Face massage may be the best thing you can do to prevent wrinkles.  It brings fresh blood and nutrients to the skin, helps to improve muscle tone and relaxes stress points.  To prepare the skin, I like to use a carrier oil, mixed with a few drops of organic essential oil.  Currently, I’m using Grape Seed Oil as a carrier, mixed with a few drops of rose oil.  Rose is filled with anti-oxidants and I also like to mix it up with Frankincense to help remove any blemishes and for anti-aging).

Take the index finger from each hand and move them across the skin in opposite directions to each other.  As with body brushing, I like to massage one side of the face and then the other. Starting from the chin, move across the jawline up to each cheekbone, treading gently under the eyes toward to the outer eye and across the forehead.  I like to spend a minute working on the pressure points and releasing tension along the upper eyebrow line.

Buzzing with energy, you can then take that brisk shower and finish off with some natural skin pampering.  My current favourites are Hyaluronic acid combined with Vitamin C, followed by organic shea butter.  Shea butter is very thick to apply (I only use a dab) but I find it extremely hydrating and I also like the small amount of natural inbuilt UV protection.

Natural methods take longer to work than artificial ones, but as with parenting, I’m holding on to the belief that consistency is key and that lasting, natural beauty outweighs any quick fix.

I hope you’ll join me in spending some of your precious time on ‘me time.’  It’s the little things that count.

Some of my favorite natural beauty blends: Continue reading “Natural beauty in under 10 minutes per day” →

How to create a personal style

Priscilla Leave a comment

There are certain things that no-one can take away from you…learning, self-respect, attitude…and style!

Forget about fads – knickerbockers, bubble gum jeans, puffball skirts, crop tops.  There’s something way cooler, sexier and possibly cheaper than conformity.   It’s personal style and no one can flaunt it like you!

Jackie O’Fee, owner of Auckland-based Signature Style sums up style versus fashion.

“The reality is that every trend doesn’t suit every body…and yes, I mean that to be two words. Your shape is your own and we’re all built differently. True style is knowing what works for you, and then selecting the trends that suit you rather than letting them dictate what to wear.”

At a recent business conference, a presenter commented that the interviewer makes their mind up about a person within the first three minutes of an interview, spending the remaining time seeking pathways that make them right.  With limited time to communicate who we are, how we present ourselves at that first meeting can create unconscious bias about who we are.

Great personal style reflects our uniqueness and highlights our strengths. With the proliferation of online stores and import brands, the opportunities for style statement are endless and accessible to most budgets.

Finding your personal style starts with choosing complimentary colours, considering the context of your lifestyle and the characteristics of your body shape, so you can shop with ease and confidence.

Complimentary colours

Know your colours and stick to them.

Jot down your favourite colours.  Which do you feel good in? To open up your choices, consider which colours go together or would work well with a different accent colour.  I love green and pink, lemon and brown, brown and dark pink/nude and black with brown.

Knowing what you look best in is so helpful when building a wardrobe.  At Signature Style, one of O’Fee’s services is a professional colour analysis. “The colours that never go out of style are the colours that look best on you! You’ll always be able to find something in your colours in the shops.”

For a little self-help in defining whether you’re ‘warm’ or ‘cool’ and how to start creating a colour palette, Hungry Wardrobe has a few tips.

Do certain colours stay in fashion?  According to O’Fee, there’s navy, taupe and, of course, black and it’s variants.  “We’ve had navy hanging around now for about five years (hooray!) and there’s usually a version of taupe out there too. You can always find black (but it’s a bit boring – seriously), grey and cream.”

Context of your lifestyle

Like your life, aspects of your personal style will change over time.  To help shape your personal style, you could start with reflecting on your key weekly activities and the percentage of time you spend on each.  For example, you may spend time at work, caring for young children, doing the school run (I like the ‘athleisure’ options), nights out with friends, corporate functions, BBQ’s, etc. Knowing the current percentage mix in your life will help to prioritise spending and choose style options to support you as you transition through these roles.

Physical characteristics

Consider your personal characteristics and physical strengths to help you make fabric and fit choices that draw the eye to your best features.

  • Many style experts agree to accentuate just one feature with your clothing. You may be tempted to go for more (lucky you), but one is the most striking.  Retain a little mystery…and mix it up!
  • Consider your body shape and both what you want to cover up and reveal in the styles you buy. Where do you want the hemline to fall?  As O’Fee says, “Ladies who are short-waisted and busty are likely to feel ‘all boobs’ in a leather biker jacket.  If there’s more weight around the hips and thighs with a bit of a tummy, a long-line boyfriend blazer isn’t the best choice.”  Focus on where you want the eye to fall and make clothing choices that draw attention to these areas.
  • Consider your personality. Do you love the vivaciousness of florals or feel more comfortable in muted patterns?  Are you sensual and love luxurious fabrics like chiffon or cashmere?  Perhaps you want a mix of patterns to reflect different moods or settings.  Having an overall theme that you enjoy will help guide your choices on patterns and textures and how much you spend on staple items.

Start shopping

Once you’ve reflected on colours, your lifestyle and characteristics of your body-shape, you’re ready to shop for ideas!  Online is an ideal place to start – check out Instagram, Pinterest and designers’ websites for ideas.

The Recycle Boutique, H&M and Dressmart are ideal for budget-conscious options, as is Louvisa for accessories.  Similarly, online fashion brand Birdsnest offers a wide range of clothing for different body shapes, with a free online style guide.

Personal style can be admired, but not imitated.  With a strong personal style, there’s no need to buy on lukewarm feelings.  Personal style ensures that a first impression reflects your strengths and uniqueness and supports you to perform at your best in your ever-evolving roles.

Freeing yourself – and others – from entanglements of the mind

Priscilla Leave a comment

It’s all in the mind.  There’s no doubt that the mind has incredible power, but without an adjudicator, it can be prone to over-thinking, rehashing and creating its own melodrama.

Old, recycled thoughts can keep us – and the people close to us – trapped.  Feelings or difficulties that we haven’t been able to voice or work through to an agreeable solution can become wedged inside us.  Although when grief, sadness or anger resurfaces, we can simply swallow it back down, if not dealt with and cleared, it can be cannon fodder for the mind to replay the same message over and over, without respite.

“You are the sum total of your most dominating or predominant thoughts.”  Napoleon Hill

We don’t deserve to be held ransom by our thoughts and those connected to us don’t either.  There’s fantastic support available and many success stories of people becoming unstuck through therapies such as counselling, neuro-linguistic programming and hypnosis. Perhaps they’re all tools that seek to achieve the same thing: acknowledging and releasing repressed feelings and thought patterns.

For me, the two most practical, cost-effective and timely tools to identifying and re-setting re-current thought patterns are meditation and mindfulness. I change my practice to reflect any current challenges, allocating just 15 minutes most mornings.  The interesting thing about practicing them is that I didn’t just wake up one day and feel marvelous.  Like anything organic or natural, progress is slow but sure – and ever-evolving.

Here are three things that daily meditation and mindfulness practice has taught me:

  1. Freeing my own mind from spiraling thoughts not only frees me, but also any person/s who may be subliminally affected by them. As I accept and respond differently to others, so they have more choice on how to respond, creating new possibilities for everyone.
  2. Over time, the load of hurts can be lessened. This creates more head-space to focus on other things more deserving of precious time and energy.
  3. Every choice has merit and is influenced by a person’s unique life experience. We can disagree one something and still both be right.  Let’s embrace that!

There are many guided meditations available to buy online and that’s one way to jump start and embed a regular practice.  After attending a couple of meditation groups, I veered down the non-traditional path of developing my own practice methods, rather than using a prescribed one.  Do what works and feels right for you.

Whichever way you start, here are a couple of simple meditation and mindfulness ideas to consider incorporating into your own practice:

  • Find one positive word, a mantra that you believe in, that sits right within you. Repeat that word in your mind, see each letter and place it upon each of the energy centres of the body, one-by-one (feet, base of spine, lower abdomen, stomach, heart, throat, between the eyes and top of the head).  Use your deep diaphragm breathing to slowly breathe in, focus on each centre, hold the breath, then release out, repeating your mantra as you visualise it touching each centre.
  • Tell yourself that you intend to set aside time to release any old feelings that no longer serve you. Sit and scan the body and wait for any to appear, then identify where the body you are ‘holding’ the feeling.  Where is the tension of this feeling held?  See the feeling and let it be seen.  Name it and accept it – voice this if needed.   Now imagine pure white light beaming into the feeling, holding and surrounding it, then carrying it away for cleansing and transformation.

Depending on the nature of the feeling/s held, you may devote many ‘sessions’ to a particular one.  Lightness in replace of tightness is a good sign that it is shifting or has cleared.   With regular mindfulness practice, repressed feelings are noticed and accepted without judgement, from which they can then be let go of more easily.

As a busy mum, these small yet significant practices maintain a daily habit of giving time to myself to restore my inner well-being, so I’m less likely to ‘boil over’ at surface stresses.  As I manage my own reactions, I have more energy for things that matter most and am clearer about the boundaries of what’s right to take on.

Sometimes life brings up people and situations that challenge us.  Rather than run away from these challenges, by using meditation to find that inner calm and releasing caged feelings through mindful awareness, you’ll begin to grow into acceptance.  You’ll love more and grow more…and free others to do the same.

Supporting the body through tough times

Priscilla Leave a comment

A story about natural healing versus surgery  

We were on the home stretch to Christmas when my four-year-old insisted I join him for a round of ‘fire balls’ on the trampoline, a game in which we ‘dodge’ the balls until inevitably one touches a leg and is thrown to tag the opponent.

Accidents happen when we least expect.   Bang!  My left foot caught a ball and rolled forward.  Losing my balance, I keeled over to my right, my left leg resembling a zig zag road sign.

Desperately, I clung on to my kneecap for fear it was going to slip off in the same direction as my leg.   A split second later, my partner would’ve slipped out the door but thankfully, I’d caught him mid-way with my cries.

“Call the ambulance”, I yelled, my voice catching and shaking as the shock hit.  I felt desperate for pain relief.  Was my kneecap broken?  I was handed a device that looked like a large whistle (Penthrox).  My ragged breaths were flailing.  “Keep breathing in and out” the paramedic instructed. “It will help ease the pain.”

An examination, X-ray and a few hours of waiting later, I was relieved to hear that my limbs were intact.  Heading back home with a simple crutch, I felt light-hearted, gracious even.  I’d witnessed people worse off than me that Saturday night. Limping out those hospital doors, I appreciated the Doctor’s fair and careful attention to my injury and his leave pass for home.

The next day, the seriousness of my injury dawned.  My poor old ‘puffer fish’ knee was awkward.  Getting in and out of bed and navigating stairs were a hassle.  No more bending or kneeling to help the kids and walking to school was out.  My energetic son was warned each time he made a beeline for me for fear he’d trip!   My hands were, quite literally full, juggling crutches as well as the regular paraphernalia of bags and shoes.   Rice, rice and more rice (rest, ice, compression and elevation) put me out of action for the entire weekend (and frankly, were a great excuse to read on the couch and do nothing)!

Unfortunately, when Monday rolled around, I realised that my motherhood duties persisted.

MCL sprain.  Now what?

An ultrasound confirmed a medium grade sprain of the medial collateral ligament (a support ligament that runs along the inner side of the knee).  Initially cheered by my physiotherapist’s assessment of a ‘grade two’ injury that would take around six weeks to heal, my enthusiasm dampened as weekly progress was zilch.

I was referred to a knee specialist who immediately ordered an MRI scan.  What a revelation!  A large cyst had taken up camp near the ‘suprapatellar fat pad’ and there was extra fluid (oedema) around the bone marrow.   Clearly, my knee needed some extra help.

From the surgeon’s perspective, the recommended option was to put a claim through ACC for key-hole surgery to remove the cyst and fluid, requiring a general anaesthetic and about 10 days’ off work and childcare.   Leave it untreated and I run the risk of calcification with possible osteo-arthritis later in life.  My mind replayed those parting words, spoken with the confidence of many years’ experience.  “It won’t repair itself.”

Jumping from trampoline into surgery…or not

Surgical treatment plays an integral part in healthcare and is often the sole or best option.  Aside from being mainstream and demanding a high level of skill and experience, it’s quick, quantifiable and tested.  What’s more, the public system is free and in my case, private surgical treatment would be covered by ACC.

There’s a big ‘but’ though.  In non-acute cases, is surgical intervention always the best and only solution?  Allowing the body to be put to sleep artificially, to place complete control of our bodily function into the hands of someone else, albeit a highly skilled professional, to me is unsettling.

Like wellness in general, knowledge and popularity of alternative treatments continues to grow.  Although untested to the masses, many practitioners cite miraculous results as to how their methodology has supported the body to heal itself.  The trick is finding the right one!

I’ve decided I have a couple of months left up my sleeve.  Surgery is booked in after the next school holidays.  With a self-imposed deadline set for natural recovery, I now have all the motivation I need to get cracking on my own healing.

Blood, bowen and bentonite clay

In the last month, I’ve set out in some unchartered territory.  It starts with my least favourite sight.  Blood.

My first round of treatments were three sessions of lymphatic drainage.  This is a form of vibration therapy which dramatically increases blood circulation, helping to ‘sweep out’ toxins via the lymphatic system and promote healing.  Sitting in a comfy chair with seat and back pads and a ‘wand’ to direct blood circulation around my knee, I felt the heat of my circulation ‘rev up’, followed by a little itching incited by the healing.   After the treatments, I felt revitalised but still unable to complete one rotation on the bike.

A week and a half later, I tried acupuncture, funded by ACC.  The acupuncturist inserted strategically placed needles from the top of my leg to the bottom, concentrating on the knee area.  With each treatment, he slowly built up to my ‘ouch’ threshold, allowing him to insert the needles slightly deeper each time.  This wasn’t too painful, but the true test was in ‘blood cupping’.

A small cup was placed on different areas of my knee, suction applied and the skin colour assessed.  A good deal of redness indicates the opportunity to remove stagnant blood under the surface.  A small needle pricked my skin multiple times, producing a slight stinging sensation before the cup was re-applied.  A successful cupping ended with dark purplish dots blotting the skin, indicating removal of clotted or ‘old’ blood.  After just one treatment, I was able to perform a complete cycle rotation.  Voila!  As our third session concluded today, we hit the ‘jackpot’, removing thick and stringy blood from the main cyst site, nestled within the fat pad area.

The acupuncturist has healed many sprains with blood cupping.  He assessed a hip imbalance as the root cause of my injury, not the knee.  “I can treat the knee, but if you don’t heal this, he said, pointing to my hip, your knee problem will probably come back.”  The physical demands of motherhood – and possibly running around without any form of postural regime – has left one hip out of kilter.   Hips are so important to defining our physical strength and posture, I wish I’d sought out an Osteopath sooner!

To conclude my course of alternative treatments, I’m talking with a Bowen therapist who has experience in re-balancing the muscles around the hip area, which in turn could benefit the knee and, together with home-based exercises, prevent reoccurrence of the injury.

The bentonite clay?  Bentonite is having a resurgence.  Touted as a healing clay that cleanses the body, I’ve been using it as an evening poultice to draw out the toxins around my knee area prior to having acupuncture.   Making a poultice involves mixing the clay with warm water to form a thick paste, spreading it over the entire knee area and wrapping it in a light bandage dressing.  Leaving the clay on overnight allows it to set and draw out impurities.  One morning, after washing off the hardened clay, I noticed a pocket of liquid had formed at the base of the inside of my knee.  Perhaps the clay had drawn out some of the trapped liquid.

Healing takes time

As a Mum, I’ve heard (and sometimes felt) that many of our daily tasks are thankless.  If our bodies could talk, perhaps they’d say the same.  My injury has highlighted just how much we take our bodies for granted.   Appreciation (and a little patience) can work wonders!

The body wants and tries to return to homeostasis.  I’ve set my mind to healing naturally and I’m encouraged by my progress.  It’s interesting that when commit to an outcome, the supporting evidence takes care of itself!

If I end up sitting all gowned up in that surgery waiting room, I want to take comfort from the fact that my body had the chance to step up.

Having any form of injury or illness is tough.  Each of our bodies is equipped with its own innate intelligence.  Regardless of age, size or appearance, it deserves to be supported and appreciated for the myraid of daily miracles it performs…just as much as we do!

 

 

 

 

Tuning inward to conquer stress and enjoy life

Priscilla 1 Comment

“My thoughts got the better of me.”

“I can’t switch off.”

“I’m so snowed under.”

How often have YOU said these words, or even noticed this happening?

Our lives are more stressful than ever before.  Our mind is constantly busy telling us what to do next, remembering the past and planning the future.  Many of us work late on the job, spending our down time checking texts and social media.  When do we focus on ourselves?

There is a practical way to relax your mind and let go of stress.  This practice is meditation.

It wasn’t so long ago that meditation was a new age ‘buzz word’, an airy-fairy practice upheld by yogis and mystics.  But the great thing is, you don’t need to be a Buddist monk or buy into any form of ‘dogma’ to access it or realise it’s benefits.  Modern-day stress continues to be a huge contributor to depression and illness, and meditation is now widely cited as an effective self-help tool.

Meditation helps us to take a step back from our thoughts, to observe them rather than be caught up in them.  I call it ‘deliberate relaxation’. At the ethos of meditation is slowing down.  Slowing the breath down and tuning inward helps put a stop to all the frantic hurriedness.  Through meditation, we can take control of our thoughts and can scrutinise and update them at will, ditching those that no longer support us.

Benefits of meditation

For me, they can be whittled down to 3 ‘C’s:

  • Calmness
  • Concentration
  • Compassion

Meditation can help us feel more calm and peaceful through having a positive impact on two areas of our brain – the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala.

The pre-frontal cortex area helps us regulate emotions, while the amygdala’s job is one of survival and the fight or flight response.  Regular meditation enables these two pathways to have wider access to each other, resulting in improved problem solving and putting things into perspective.    What a great anecdote for stress!

Neuroscientists have said that meditation helps us to focus on tasks for longer.  Many of the thoughts we carry around with us actually divert us away from what we’re doing at the present time.  Reigning in the constant chatter of the mind can help us to concentrate or simply be in the present moment.

For example, when I’m with my young son, his and my idea of fun can be poles apart.  He wants me to play with his trucks and pretend to be a sea monster on the trampoline! Rather than wish I could be doing other things, check my watch or bury myself in endless housework, meditation helps me to enjoy this fleeting time.  Having given myself some concentrated attention, I can focus on my son and enjoy it.  By filling my tank, I can fill his.

Finally, compassion for yourself and others is a quality that can be enhanced with meditation.  Creating space in our minds and lives to be present, to ourselves and others and realising that in some way, we are all interconnected.

How do we meditate?

Sitting down, turning off our mind and relaxing should be easy, but the reality is, it isn’t!  The mind is generally a very undisciplined character: tell it not to think about something and it won’t listen! The important thing is just to start.  Here are a few quick tips.

  • Commit to a daily time. Be committed to keeping this date with yourself
  • Set a goal, for example, five minutes
  • Find and dedicate a place to meditate. Perhaps it’s a special chair or cushions on the floor.  You may like to include a token of relaxation – a candle, flowers or even a photograph.

Now that the practical side is taken care of, the technique is also simple.  There is no ‘right’ way to meditate.  Your goal is to still the mind, using the breath as the anchor point.   Take a moment to get comfortable, eyes can be open with a soft focus, or closed.  Draw the breath in through the nose, pause, then exhale out of your mouth, releasing tension, negativity and stressful thoughts.

Accept that your mind will wander.  Frequently.  Each time it does, acknowledge the thoughts that come up and re-direct your attention back to your breathing.  Stick with it!

Watch yourself change…gradually!

At first, nothing much will happen and you’ll wonder if the time you’re spending is productive.  Meditation is a little like having a garden.    Tend to it regularly, ideally a little bit every day.  Watching it grow is simply too long to wait, but one day very soon, you’ll look up and notice how much it has flourished.

Maybe you’ll notice that you didn’t snap during the usual rush hour commotion, or that when someone asks you something, you stop and look at them, giving them your full attention.  Perhaps you’ll feel more productive without so many worries circling overhead, or simply more confident that things will turn out for the best.

Meditation can help you to feel calm, increase your focus and exhibit greater compassion.  Time for you is important, but is so often elusive.  Start by prioritising yourself for just five minutes each day, give meditation a try and notice the difference.  Living more in the present moment, you can lead a richer, fuller life and with stress kept at bay, an ever longer one.

Want to know more about meditation? Please refer to comments below for useful links.

 

 

 

Health or Trauma insurance…your best chance of recovery

Priscilla Leave a comment

A sick child is no fun, but a sick Mum is even worse!  Our health is a top priority, but many of us have felt at the mercy of feeling ill, either through a simple flu or something more serious.

While many of us just badger on through the usual winter ailments, if we’re really sick, we quickly realise that we’ve got no choice but to surrender.

Our health and well-being is the cornerstone of life.  When it comes to insuring it, there are two pathways: Health insurance and/or Trauma insurance.

Health insurance is broadly a surgical/private hospital policy that pays on a reimbursement basis, up to policy limits.  Trauma insurance pays a lump sum upon diagnosis of some 48 medical conditions, requiring a survival period of at least 14 days.

Which insurance is superior and can you get by with just one?

First up, as nothing substitutes insurance advice that is both professional and personalised, I recommend that you discuss your age, budget, medical concerns/history and current financial health with a good broker (I’m happy to give recommendations) before a decision is made on what insurance cover is put in place for you.

Below are a few guiding principles to jump-start your decision-making process.

  1. Do you have existing savings?

Health insurance generally covers elective services that could be delayed in the public health system.  The public system waitlist guideline is generally 120 days for non-urgent treatment, however there are exceptions to this.  Early diagnosis and choice of specialist can be significant advantages to being proactive about your health, catching symptoms early and avoiding delays in treatment.

Health insurance reimburses the insured person (or policy owner) or in some cases, reimburses a recognised provider directly.  One of the great benefits of health insurance is the ability to receive surgical cover up to the actual cost of surgery (without a limit applied.  However, specific limits and Usual, Customary and Reasonable (UCR) charges may apply to other benefits such as specialists and tests, meaning that the the total cost of the treatment (including ancillary costs such as travel, accommodation, follow-up treatment and medical incidentals) may be above the amount covered by the policy.

If you don’t currently have a financial buffer in place in the way of savings and sick leave, strauma (and income) insurances are a wise safeguard.

  1. Do you have existing health concerns?

Both health and trauma insurance require health evidence and may exclude certain conditions.

Certain health insurance policies may cover pre-existing conditions after a specified time period, e.g. three years.  If you do have existing health concerns or history, the benefit of using an insurance adviser (over going direct yourself), is that a broker can deliver the best cover terms for you, ‘shopping’ the deal among a few insurers to determine the best acceptance terms for you.

  1. What are your existing financial commitments?

With a lump sum pay-out (and a portion paid for early stage cancers), the blessing of having Trauma insurance is that the money can be used for whatever you choose.  It can buy time (to recover), choice of treatment and cover ongoing rehabilitation and lifestyle changes of your choice.

In essence, you can spend trauma insurance however you like to alleviate financial pressure and help you recover.

On the downside, the policy is generally limited to set definitions for medical conditions.  You must reach the level of severity specified in the policy before a claim is paid, meanwhile, you may be unable to work.  This is where a tailored insurance recommendation consisting of income cover, trauma and/or health insurance and life insurance really comes into its own.