How Our Emotions Affect Our Physical Well-Being

In today’s episode, I want to talk to you for a few minutes about emotions and how they affect our bodies. I think we all recognize that our emotional health and our physical health are connected and one influences the other in theory; however, I’ve noticed that a lot of us fail to make the connection that choosing to ignore our emotions, or numb them instead of working through them can have a negative effect on our health. Let’s talk about it! 

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So we’ve all experienced some kind of physiological response to an emotion - butterflies in our stomach when we’re nervous, a flushed, hot face and a racing heart when we’re angry, fatigue and lack of motivation when we’re sad or grieving. It’s common sense that our emotions evoke a physical response in our bodies. So why is it that we’ve tricked ourselves into thinking that we can avoid dealing with deep emotions and stressors by distracting ourselves or numbing out, and it’s not going to negatively affect our health? Let me just be completely transparent and say that I’m just as guilty of doing this as anyone else. Even studying this and knowing what I know, it still seems daunting and sometimes scary to work through my own feelings and emotions at times. 

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), it’s taught that different emotions are specifically connected to different organ systems in the body. For example, the liver is associated with anger and unforgiveness; the spleen/stomach is associated with overthinking and nervousness; the heart with agitation and over-excitement; the lungs are associated with grief and sadness; and the kidneys with fear. It’s important to note that emotions are not bad - they are good, they are natural and healthy. It’s when they become extreme or uncontrollable that they can indicate an underlying issue. Also, in TCM it’s believed that the connection of emotional health and physical health isn’t linear - it’s cyclical. This basically means that chronically unresolved, ignored, and stuffed-down emotions can cause dysfunction in our bodies and visa versa, unresolved dysfunction in our bodies can cause extreme, out of control emotions. 

I’m certainly not an expert on TCM and understand that some people can find it a little strange, but I do think there is a lot of insight that we can glean from it. As a Holistic Health Practitioner (and furthermore as a Christian), I absolutely believe that our bodies were created body, mind, and soul and that all of these areas of our lives have an effect on our level of health. As I’ve said many times before, when we consider “being healthy” we can’t just think about what we eat or if we exercise. It’s so much more! It’s every part of our lives - our relationships with other people and with God, our level of fulfillment and sense of purpose, different stressors from jobs or finances, our sleep patterns, etc. It’s looking at the whole person and their whole life. 

It reminds me of what we know to be true about the physical effects of chronic stress in the body. The overproduction of cortisol can lead to dysregulation of the HPA axis (adrenal system) and lead to chronic inflammation in the body. It makes a lot of sense to me that unresolved emotions, especially those caused by traumatic experiences, can have just as impactful of an effect on the body. 

I’ve actually observed this first-hand in some of the clients I’ve worked with. When they have had traumatic experiences in the past or even just deeply hurtful things happen to them and they think that they’ve moved on or just are afraid to go back and work through those emotions, it really slows down their progress and sometimes even blocks any progress they would have otherwise made. 

So here’s the bottom line of what I want you to take from this episode: Even if you’re “doing all the right things” - eating healthy foods, moving your body, getting good sleep, taking supplements, your drinking water, you’ve switched over to clean beauty products… all.the.things. but you haven’t dealt with the emotional stuff going on inside your head and heart, there’s a good chance you aren’t going to see the improvement you are hoping for. This is true for all of us - whether its anger or unforgiveness at a situation or person, maybe grief and sadness, or some kind of trauma we’ve experienced - we can’t just sweep it under the rug, shove it down, or numb it with food or other substances and then expect that our bodies won’t react. We have to deal with our emotions and feelings. We have to work through past hurts and especially traumas. We have to let go of things and not stuff them down or brush them off like they don’t matter. 

So how can we make sure we’re working through our emotions? 

I think self-reflection through journaling can be really helpful. Learning to sit still and spend some time being quiet, without noise in the background, can often lead to emotions and thoughts that need our attention coming to the surface. Journaling and praying through those things, releasing them to God, and then choosing to move forward can sometimes be enough to release those pent up emotions. 

In addition,  we also often need to also reach out for help - especially when the hurt is deep or traumatic. I am a huge proponent of counseling and think that everyone can benefit from it. There is just something about an outside perspective and unbiased listener that can be so helpful. Licensed counselors are trained to know exactly how to lead us through the process of dealing with our emotions and experiences. 

I’ve also read that acupuncture can be helpful for releasing pent-up emotions and improving organ-system function. Deep breathing, prayer, and meditation are all helpful practices as well. 

I think one of the most important, first steps for us is to just allow ourselves to feel and be aware of the emotions we’re experiencing. Don’t be afraid to feel or try to distract yourself from feeling. Deal with what’s going on, give yourself time and space to reflect on why you feel the way you do and then go from there. There isn’t an exact formula for this - it’s different for everyone and every situation. The important thing is is that you don’t ignore it. That you recognize that your emotions are a gift and they communicate something to your body. God created you as a whole person and we can’t separate our bodies from our minds and emotions.

Prioritizing and Protecting Your Sleep

Welcome back, friends! I’m excited about today’s episode because we are diving into one of the pillars of good health - sleep! Sleep often gets overlooked because a lot of us think “well yeah, I sleep” but we haven’t really paid much attention to the quality of the sleep we are getting and often don’t prioritize getting enough sleep. 

In an article by Dr. Chris Kesser, it stated that “more than 1/3 of Americans have trouble sleeping every night, and 51% of adults say they have problems sleeping at least a few nights each week. 43% of respondents report that daytime sleepiness interferes with their normal daytime activities.” Can you relate to that? I know I can. There are many days that I feel like there isn’t enough coffee in the world to get me through! 

Why is sleep so important to our health?

Sleep is absolutely essential for the basic function and repair of our bodies! Our neurological, endocrine, immune, musculoskeletal and digestive systems all depend on us getting enough sleep for them to properly function. In its natural design, the hormone melatonin naturally increases after sundown and during the night, which actually increases our immune function and helps protect us against infection (this is why you’re so likely to get sick after not sleeping well for a few nights). Sleep has been shown to be so important to our overall health that total sleep deprivation has been proven to be fatal! (The article stated that lab rats who were denied the ability to sleep died within a couple of weeks.)

Among many others, here are a few of the health benefits of a full night’s sleep (7-9 hours is the National Sleep Foundation’s recommendation):

• regulates blood sugar and metabolic function

• decreases the risk of heart disease and diabetes as well as autoimmune diseases

• enhances memory and mental clarity

• improves athletic performance

• boosts mood and overall energy

• improves immune function

• increases stress tolerance

What happens when we don’t get enough sleep?

In the same article that I mentioned before, it stated that most adults admit only get an average of 6 hours of sleep in a 24 hr period (again, the recommendation is 7-9 hrs). This can greatly increase your risk for an impaired immune system, obesity, blood sugar imbalance and insulin resistance, diabetes, hypertension, mood disorders, impaired cognitive abilities, and systemic inflammation (which as we know leads to all kinds of other problems). Lack of proper sleep has also been shown to make you hungrier and lead to more severe cravings.  Honestly, there is no health condition or symptom that lack of sleep doesn’t make worse. We talk a lot about the importance of a nutritious diet but if you eat all the healthy foods and ignore dealing with your stress or prioritizing sleep, you will still be unhealthy. 

How can we make sleep a priority and protect it? 

Set good boundaries and protect your sleep environment:

• Reduce your exposure to artificial light at least 2 hours before bed (turn down the lights in your house, wear blue-light blocking glasses, turn screens off at least 1 hour before bed-time, use a salt lamp in your bedroom instead of artificial light)

• Find a ritual to clear your mind and de-stress before bed. Maybe a bath, maybe stretching or praying, reading a book - something that will help your body calm down and clear the thoughts and stress from the day in your mind. Remember when we’re stressed = cortisol and adrenaline and those two things are enemies of sleep! 

• Go to bed at a decent time (deepest sleep in the first half of the night (less REM) this is where most of the body’s restoration and regeneration happens) 

• Try to go to bed and wake at the same times each day (within a short window)

• Make your room a preferred environment for sleeping - cool and dark with no artificial light at all (blackout curtains, alarm lights off or covered, or use a sleep mask), use a sound machine if needed, keep phones and electronics out of your room. 

• Diffuse essential oils while you sleep (lavender, roman chamomile, and ylang-ylang are great ones)

Set yourself up for success during the day:

• Get outside during the day (the natural sunlight during the day helps the brain with regulating rhythms and will give you a good dose of vitamin D which can help with melatonin production)

• Move your body during the day (walking outside in the evening around sunset would be a double win! Movement plus red-light to trigger melatonin)

• Decrease caffeine consumption, especially at night (try switching to a caffeine-free herbal tea like chamomile)

• Stop eating at least 1-2 hours before bed (2-3 is really preferred unless you are hypoglycemic)

• Add extra magnesium into your day if you feel that you need extra support (Epsom salt soaks in the bath or take a multi-mineral like this one from Mary Ruth Organics). Most health professionals prefer magnesium over melatonin being that most people are deficient in magnesium anyway. Also, melatonin is a hormone, which means you should use EXTRA caution and if you take it, only do so short-term and under supervision from a health care professional.

I know that we do not live in a perfect world and something there are things that interfere with both the quality and quantity of our sleep (hello, parenthood), but there are still things we can do help prioritize and protect our sleep because it does matter and if we don’t do it, it will catch up to us! 

If one of these tips stood out to you, let me know in the comments or if you’re listening on apple podcasts, leave me a review (hopefully with 5 stars :)) and let me know which tip you plan to try! 

I hope you guys have a good week full of good sleep!

015 - Boost Your Health by Moving Your Body

Hi friends! Today we are continuing to talk about ways to support our health, specifically our emotional and mental health by moving our bodies. 

Our bodies were designed to move! Our bodies will not function well if we aren’t engaging in regular physical activity. You’ve probably heard the tagline “Sitting is the new smoking” and that is because research is starting to show just how detrimental inactivity is to our health. 

Benefits 

Just as a reminder, some of the health benefits to exercise are:

• Happiness - endorphins / serotonin

• Mental clarity / increased memory

• Better sleep / supports natural circadian rhythms

• Energy boost

• Reduces stress in the body

• Reduce overall disease risk

• Pushes toxins out of the body

• Increases strength and endurance

• Supports healthy weight

• Facilitates Longevity

Guidelines 

Everyone seems to have an opinion on which type of exercise is the best or exactly how you should go about it, but there’s not a specific kind of physical activity that is best for everyone. Just like most things, the method or type of exercise that is best for you depends on your specific situation, needs, and preferences. 

There are a few general guidelines, however, that apply to everyone:

• AMA recommendations - 150 min of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week, plus 2 days of strength training / 30 min / 5 days a week is ideal (You can start by doing 10 min x 3 per day).

• Bodyweight / weighted strength exercises are good! 

  Women have been known to be scared of doing weightlifting or strength-training exercises because they don’t want to get bulky or look like a body-builder. But this is actually not possible without externally altering your hormones or working out so much that you increase natural testosterone production, so this isn’t something we need to fear! 

  Bodyweight strength-training exercises, as well as weighted exercises,  have significant benefits to our health. 

  • Builds bone mass

  • Increases the body’s sensitivity to insulin

  • Helps to prevent and/or manage autoimmune diseases

  • Increases strength and ability to function

• More is not always better

  • Two-a-day workouts or high-intensity workouts that last more than 1.5-2 hours can do more harm than good. Not only can it increase the risk of injury and fatigue, but it also can lead to sustained high rates of inflammation in the body. This can cause the body to be under too much stress, for too long and will lead to inflammatory issues, like hormone imbalance. 

Most important - choose something that you enjoy!

If you hate exercising, you’re not going to do it, so choose an activity that you enjoy. You can choose to workout in a gym, at home, with a friend, or alone - just whatever you feel works best for you and that you will stick to! 

Evaluate yourself and pinpoint what you need: 

• Is it to find something you enjoy? Choose a new option to try this week! Accountability? Ask a friend to join you or give them permission to ask you about it.

• Sit all day at work? Set reminders to get up every hour and walk around for a few minutes - fill up your water bottle or do a few stretches! Even better - be the change and start leading office-wide stretches or a walking group in your department! You never know what kind of impact you can have with just a little suggestion and it will benefit everyone! 

• Can’t afford a gym membership or don’t want one? Search for quality workouts on youtube (Nourish, Move, Love, is a great resource!) Also, now that the weather is cooler, just get out and go for a walk! 

• Prefer to have more support? Sign up for a personal trainer to show you exactly how to workout in a way that will help you grow stronger and prevent injury! OR join a fitness class at your local gym! You will be surrounded by others doing that exact same exercises, with the instruction of an instructor! You get both a social connection and a great workout! 

There really are so many options and with a little effort, you can find something that will work for you! 

Well, friends, I hope this episode gave you a little reminder and boost to get up and get moving! It did for me! 

008 - Part 4: The Top Four Reasons Women Struggle to Lose Weight - An Unhealthy Mindset

Hi friends! This week we are finishing up the month-long series on The Top Four Reasons Women Struggle to Lose Weight with Part 4, which is an Unhealthy Mindset. 

While an unhealthy mindset may be the last part of this series, it absolutely should not be the last thing you think about when considering why you may be struggling to lose weight (or to reach any goal, really) - it should be the first! The truth is that you can eat all the kale, never miss a workout, and drink tons of water, but if you don’t deal with the heart work - the part that addresses how you feel about yourself and the value you place on your health - you’re not going to make any true, lasting progress. 

This principle is along the same lines of what we talked about in the first part of this series with having The Wrong Goal, but it goes much deeper than that. Your mindset about your health, your body, and really your worth is at the core of who you are and whether consciously or not, almost every decision you make about food, exercise, self-care, boundaries with others, etc. is related to it. 

We all have struggled with this at some point - let me give you an example of what I mean. Let’s imagine that I have a client that is frustrated because she can’t seem to make any real progress with her health goals. She has tried multiple diet plans and has lost weight on most of them, but after a few weeks or months, she gains the weight back and is right back to feeling sluggish and depressed, she starts going through the drive-thru every night instead of cooking at home like she was before, she hardly ever works out anymore, and is back to drinking more soda than ever. This has happened to her time and time again and she can’t figure out why nothing ever seems to stick. She knows the things to do - but something is missing. She just can’t stay motivated! When I get to know her a little better, I learn that she has been dealing with these feelings and frustrations for several years. When I asked her when she remembers first feeling this way, she shared that it all started in college when she and her long-term boyfriend broke off their relationship. She told me about how he had made a few jokes about her gaining some weight and how it had hurt her feelings but she just brushed it off. Then she found out he was cheating on her with another girl who was much thinner and in her opinion, much more attractive than her. She told me that she blamed herself for their breakup and immediately started trying different diets and workout programs, and it worked - she lost all the weight she had gained in college. But nothing else in her life really seemed to change and after a while, she just went back to the same kind of lifestyle she was living before because it didn’t make the difference she was hoping for. She became very insecure about the way she looked and started spending more time alone. Even if other guys became interested in her, she would end things before they ever got started because she was afraid that if she couldn't control her weight, the same thing would happen again and this cycle just continued throughout her early twenties. 

Can you relate to this client? Do you feel like you’ve tried every diet program under the sun but nothing really sticks long-term? Have you had a similar experience where you started to doubt that your body was good enough or that your identity was somehow wrapped up in the number that showed up on the scale? 

There are a few questions that I would ask my client - and that I’m also going to ask you: 

• How do you define what “health” is? 

What does it mean to you? Not a number on the scale or a certain size. I want you to dig deeper than that and think about what health means to you. 

• What would it look like for you to be healthy? 

What would your life look like? How would it be different than it is now? What would your energy be like? Your relationships? Your career? 

• Do you think that you can actually be healthy? 

When you picture that healthy version of yourself, do you actually believe that it’s possible for you? 

• Do you feel that you deserve to be healthy? 

Like the client in my example, have you allowed something that someone said to you to become your own belief? Do you think that you are somehow undeserving of being healthy because of something you did, or maybe something you continue to do? Are you subconsciously punishing yourself because you feel like that is what you deserve?

Those may seem like weird questions but you would be surprised at how many people have never thought about these questions and honestly have a hard time answering them. It is so common for people to believe that truly being healthy isn’t actually possible for them or is something that they don’t deserve. So, I want you to take the time to reflect on your answers to these questions. 

Now that you’ve thought about your answers, I want to spend the rest of today’s episode focusing on ways you can move into a healthier mindset. 

Self-Worth

The first is to remind yourself of your worth! You were intricately and specifically made to be you! It sounds cliche to say but it’s true - no one else can be you!  We spend so much time getting caught up in what others might think about us or maybe even in something that has been said about us by another person, that we forget what our Creator said about us - that we were fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139)! We are who He says we are - not what the internet says we are, not what our friends or family say that we are, not even what our own thoughts and feelings say that we are. We have to do the heart work of letting that stuff go, of laying down our insecurities and the lies we’ve allowed ourselves to believe. We have to remind ourselves that we were made by God and God doesn’t make junk, and He doesn’t make things without a purpose. We were given life and a body to live it in, and it’s our responsibility to honor that gift by stewarding it well. 

Overwhelm

The second is to work through the overwhelm! Listen, I get it - trying to improve your health or make any health decision is overwhelming. There are so many options and so many people with opinions about the best way you to do it, but you can’t let that paralyze you. I’m all for making informed decisions and researching which option might be best for you, but it’s so easy to get caught up in all the noise that you end up not doing anything at all. So, my advice is to pick something - pick one action step that you know will improve your health, something simple. Things, like drinking more water or moving your body for 20-30 minutes every day, are great places to start. Action begets action. Once you start to make one change and stick to it, the more motivated and confident you will feel to move on to the next thing. 

Maybe your situation is more overwhelming than most. Maybe like me, you are dealing with a health condition that needs specific considerations and recommendations. If so, your first step needs to be contacting a professional that can help you, then commit yourself to learn as much as you can from them. 

Whenever I get really overwhelmed, usually with a list of things that I need to do, my husband always tells me the same thing. He says, “Line them up vertically - stop looking at them horizontally, as if they all need to be done at the same time, and just do the first thing.” As much as it may annoy me sometimes, he’s right! You can’t think about changing all the things at once - you will psych yourself out - but if you choose one thing to do first, you will begin to make progress and it will get easier from there!

Support

The third thing is you need to have a good support system. It’s critical for success! Research has shown that your health is greatly affected by the people you spend the most time with. Now, I’m not saying that if you have unhealthy friends that you need to stop hanging out with them, but I am saying that you need to find at least one person, preferably more, that will have your back and support you! Who will celebrate your wins and encourage you when you’re having a hard time. It’s going to be really difficult for you to make lasting lifestyle changes when the people you surround yourself with are making fun of you for going to work out or for not eating pizza for the third night that week. Again, the point isn’t to lose your friends, but to choose carefully who you have in your corner for this journey! Most of the time, if they truly care about you, they will be supportive and if not, it’s usually due to their own insecurities, so just keep that in mind. 

If you need a group of people to be in your corner, who are experiencing similar struggles and have the same kind of goals, join my group coaching program! This is the last week to sign up for it (registration closes on 9/1) and there are a couple of spots left! Maybe this is the first step you need to take. I really can’t think of a more fun way to get started on your health journey, or maybe to restart on your health journey, than with the guidance and support from a coach, as well as with the support from other women all experiencing and learning the same things. 

The group will meet twice a month from September - November and the meetings will be held virtually, so you’ll be able to join from the comfort of your own home! I’m really excited for this group and I would absolutely love for you to join us! 

Friends that wraps up today’s post and our August series! I hope that you heard something that encourages you! Enjoy the rest of your day!