Overcoming the Stigma of Bi-Polar Disorder with Health Coach, Erin Kerry
May 25, 2021 - Episode #67 - Overcoming the Stigma of Bi-Polar Disorder with Health Coach, Erin Kerry
That downward spiral. Last week, you heard me tell part of my story about struggling while acting like everything is just fine. This week we are continuing the conversation about mental and emotional health as I interview my friend, fellow Health Coach, Erin Kerry. From having a genetic predisposition to mental illness, witnessing the tragic death of her grandfather, suffering from PTSD, contemplating suicide, having manic depressive illness, and being diagnosed with bi-polar disorder……her story will shock you and sadden you. So much struggle over so many years. Yet, you will be inspired as you hear how she has overcome! There is such a stigma associated with a mental disease like bi-polar disorder. But Erin learned that her illness is a gift. Listen and be encouraged. Today on the Healthy Harmony podcast. My role here is to help you overcome the overwhelm! As I spend a lot of time prepping these podcasts, I realize that most of us women are simply in a state of survival. We are just trying to get by. Sure, you are done with the physical feelings of toxicity, weight gain, brain fog, unmanaged stress, low energy . Most definitely done. But it’s the mental and emotional downward spiral that has you feeling defeated, like you can’t go on. I want you to know that you are not alone. So many are struggling. If you have been listening to this podcast for a while and you are ready for some one-on-one personalized help, consider booking a one-hour, virtual health coaching session. I know you will be so glad you did. Book your session here.....https://healthyharmony.thrivecart.com/wellness-warrior-power-hour/ Other links you need......... --- If you're a mom and you're in survival mode and you feel like your health and your life is spiraling, I have a free gift that will encourage and empower you. The top Five Habits for the Spiraling Mom to Gain Inner Peace and Total Control. You can access it by going to https://bit.ly/peaceandcontrol --- For an amazing FB community of women who struggle and are trying to move forward, just like you. Click here https://bit.ly/FMwomenswellness Read Full Transcript below Where else to listen: (note: Google is only available on android devices)
FULL TRANSCRIPT May 25, 2021 - Episode #67 - Overcoming the Stigma of Bi-Polar Disorder with Health Coach, Erin Kerry Speaker 1: That downward spiral. Last week, you heard me tell part of my story about struggling while acting like everything is just fine. This week, we're continuing that conversation about mental and emotional health. I’m interviewing my friend, fellow health coach, Erin, hairy from having a genetic predisposition to mental illness, witnessing the tragic death of her grandfather, suffering from PTSD, contemplating suicide, having manic depressive illness and being diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Her story will shock and sadden you. So much struggle over so many years yet you will be inspired as you hear how she has over come. There is so much stigma associated with mental illness but Erin has learned that her illness is a gift. Listen, and be encouraged today on the Healthy Harmony podcast. Hey there, welcome to the Healthy Harmony podcast. I'm Jennifer Pickett, your host, your health coach, your friend. If you're ready to tap into the healthiest version of you so you can live life with confidence and intentional harmony, then my friend you're in the right place. As a Dietitian turned Functional Medicine Health coach, I’m here to walk beside you and show you how to take control of your complete health body, mind, and soul. I want you to live a life. You not only love, but a life where you're truly arriving. This podcast is a real talk about real life, simple, realistic strategies that will leave you feeling empowered. As we dive into physical health, mental, emotional health, and spiritual health, it has addressing these areas equals intentional harmony, AKA happiness, fulfillment, and confidence. Let's do this. My role here is to help you overcome the overwhelm. As I spend a lot of time prepping these podcasts. I realized that most of us women are simply in a state of survival, just trying to get by. Sure. You're done with the physical feelings of toxicity and weight gain and brain fog and unmanaged stress and low energy. Most definitely done, but it's the mental and emotional downward spiral that has you feeling defeated. Like you can't go on. So I'll want you to know you're not alone. So many of us are struggling. That's what this podcast is for. It's about encouragement and empowerment, real talk about real life. And it's just not pretty. Sometimes I'm here to take all of that confusing and conflicting health information out there and break it down. Simple, give you realistic action steps and encourage you that yes, you can do this. Your health is worth it. You're worth it because you're needed mama. You have people counting on you. So you've been listening to this podcast for a while and you're ready for some one-on-one personalized help. Why don't you consider booking a one hour virtual health coaching session? I know you'll be so glad you did. As you walk away from that session, feeling encouraged and having a health strategy that fits your specific needs and your life. Let me tell you a little about my incredible guest today. Erin Kerry is a certified integrated nutrition coach and a self-proclaimed brain health nerd. She taught middle school for middle school English for 11 years before pursuing her wellness business, full time. She is mom to three kids and the owner of the nutrition coaching company, sparking wholeness as a survivor of bipolar disorder. Erin knows firsthand how suffering from a chronic can infiltrate every area of life. She has the last seven years coaching others and learning for herself what holistic health truly means. And that comes in the form of nutrition for mind, body and soul. Erin wants people to be empowered on their own, to be health advocates and not limited by a label or a diagnosis. She is certified as an integrative health coach through the Institute for integrative nutrition, and she's a regular contributor for the mighty Christian parenting. And her writing has also been featured in Yahoo news and on the Denison forum, our podcast, sparking wholeness with Erin Carey reaches hundreds of thousands of listeners every month. You're going to love the guest today. This month is mental health month and there are some things that are difficult to talk about. And so our goal is to go there to just be real and be vulnerable. And I'm so honored to have my friend, a fellow health coach with me today to tell her story and talk about her struggles. So Erin Kerry, thank you so much. Welcome to the Healthy Harmony podcast. Speaker 2: Thanks for having me. I know this is something we've talked about doing for a long time, so I'm just glad to chat with you. Speaker 1: We have, I'm so excited we're doing this and it's a tough subject. I mean, you and I get to talk about a lot of different things. We could talk for hours and hours about gut health and inflammation and, and wellness tips. And I think when it comes to mental wellness to mental health, it's an, it's a topic that sometimes we have a tendency to want to shy away from. And I love your approach and how open and vulnerable you are with your struggles. Speaker 2: Yeah. Thank you. No, I was just humming really loudly. So like, yeah, that's so true. It seems like a taboo topic. It's a topic that comes with a stigma for a lot of people. I think there's a lot of the unknown when it comes to the brain and I think that's true for science anyway. Right. So yeah, I think it's, it's, it's kind of a tricky subject to talk about. Speaker 1: It really is. So I want us to get right into it and thank you for being, for being here and just be willing to tell your story because your story is a tough one girl. Like it is, I know a little bit of a little bit about your story and I'm excited for you to share. It's a really tough one. You know, you say that you're a preacher's daughter and you've got a genetic predisposition to mental illness. So I want to say, go back to your childhood and tell us like how your, your childhood impacted your mental and emotional health. Yeah. Speaker 2: For sure. So, I mean, just to get started, there's definitely a history of mental instability, mental illness in my family, through my mom's side, my dad's side, there's all sorts of Alzheimer's dementia, which I mean that we could say kind of, kind of fits along there too. Right? Cause it's still brain stuff. But the root of that, you know, I've done some genetic testing and found out I am predisposed to being very low on vitamin D very low on B vitamins, both of which we need for mental wellness, mental wealth as I like to call it. And so just as a young child, I suffered from lots of ear infections. Then I was put on lots of antibiotics. Well, you know, the more antibiotic Biotics that you're on, the more your gut health might suffer later on because it's going to cause gut dysbiosis. And that's no good for mental health and creating neurotransmitters because over 90% of our serotonin is produced in the gut. So if your guts out of whack, your brain's going to be out of whack. So just starting off my first year of life was tons of antibiotics then turned into asthma. I got an asthma diagnosis. So I was put on all sorts of medications for that steroids, which I do believe in, you know, don't me on this. But I think even steroids can cause us to be deficient in certain vitamins minerals that we need again for mental health. That's just a few things that I've kind of looked into, but I'm not an expert on, by any means. I just know that my setup as a kid was kind of a recipe for what was to come and I suffered from crazy allergies, which you know, is a gut issue as well. Lots of allergies. I had insatiable sugar cravings. So once again, if anybody listening is like, oh, I know about gut health, these should be red flags. You know that there were some gut issues. I had yeast infections. I've always struggled with that my whole life. And then I think, you know, if you look at, and I know you love this kind of thing too, Jennifer epigenetics, which is, you know, your genes load, the gun, your environment pulls the trigger. So if you look at my genes, sure, I was predisposed to some things. But if you look at my environment, you can start seeing all of a sudden the triggers getting pulled. And the, I think the biggest thing that happened just to kind of shoot me out towards a mental health spiral was witnessing the death of my grandpa when I was nine years old. He had he experienced anaphylaxis and electric shock from being exposed to something he was allergic to. And he ended up dying on our front lawn. I was nine years old. My brother and sister were seven. We watched this, we watched, you know, my grandma and my mom get out the epi pen, try to help him. We watched them crying for help. We saw the ambulance come and you know, to me as a little kid, I'm like, well, gosh, I I'm praying. It's not working. I'm praying for God to save him. It's not working. I'm praying for the people that I love to keep me safe and make this happen, make this work out. And it didn't happen. And so, you know, I think as children do I stuffed it for a while afterwards, like sure, I was sad. There's a blur of a time period after that, that I don't remember much of, because it was so traumatic for me, but it didn't really pop up until about seventh. The summer between seventh and eighth grade is when I really started struggling with some flashbacks, some PTSD type symptoms. I watched a movie where the main character died and I lost it in the movie theater. And I'm like, why am I crying? Like, what is it about this that is? And I, I just felt so sad all the time. And I was a high achieving kid. I played sports. I was involved in theater. I was in, you know, just ask me to volunteer for something. And I would, that was the kind of kid that I was. And so to have these deep bouts of sadness, it didn't make sense to me. I mean, I remember writing suicide letters, you know, as an eighth grader, but I didn't really want to commit suicide. I just, I just wanted to go away for a long time. Like I wanted to go away and come back when everything was better. And when I didn't feel these feelings, so it was a, it was a huge struggle and I'm kind of, I'm trying to go through quickly. But it was hard and that led into high school of just back and forth. So I would do really well. And then I would crash and I would do well and I would crash. And my parents, you know, at that time, not many people were seeing counselors or psychiatrist. This was the mid nineties. And so I know all the SSRS, they were just becoming, I think it was in the eighties when they came on the market and they were really starting to become more well-known than in depression. Even PTSD was a little bit more well-known before that it was just maybe with war veterans or whatever, but it was starting to be more well-known with the regular people like me. And I, I did have, I had a great counselor who sent me to a psychiatrist. They put me on an SSRI, which is an antidepressant. I think the first one was so loft and it worked for a little while, but like sometimes these things do, it kind of stopped and I gained a lot of weight. And then I started shooting to these crazy highs where, which they called mania. And that was, I would feel feelings of grandiosity. I would stay up really late and work, work, work, whether I was writing or creating or whatever it was I was doing that I felt like was going to have this massive impact on the world. I would let's see, I would, I would be involved in kind of some risky behavior. I mean, I think all kids could be rebellious to an extent it's at certain points. We, when our prefrontal cortex is, have not been developed yet. Right. But for me it was natural and preachers get, I did say, I mean, that's, the other thing is I was a good kid. And so for me to be involved in anything risky, anything that would have a consequence was not like me, first four preachers could achieve her. That was just not like me. And so my parents started seeing these signs. So then I got labeled with my next diagnosis. So the first time around, when they took me in, it was like, oh, you have PTSD, you have depression. Okay, cool. Well, the second time around, they said I had manic depressive illness and that's what they call it. This was 1999. So this was, you know, going on 22 years ago. And that sounded really scary. And that just even that name has a stigma. And I remember, you know, my parents are very transparent people. I'm transparent. I'm an open book. We like to be as real as possible, but even sharing something like that with people, I mean, you get the stare like, whoa, what they're crazy. Speaker 1: Of course, of course it has such a stigma associated with it. Speaker 2: And so as a, at that point, I was 18 as an 18 year old hearing about this and going so I'm crazy. Like I can't trust my brain. My brain is broken. What's going on. Cause when people think of bipolar disorder, which is what we call it, now, they think of somebody that flips like the weather in Texas, right? Like one day tailing, the next day, it's sunny. I mean, you know, or whatever, snowing and sunny, you know, all of that, how it's, but that's not how bipolar is bipolar. It's truly a physical illness. And that's something else I want to add in is that the same time I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, I was diagnosed with and, you know, throughout my research on the gut brain connection and immune function and brain connection, there are some links to Epstein-Barr virus, which is, I guess the what causes mononucleosis. And so, you know, looking back, I'm like, gosh, well, there's some things that even my doctors that I trust to kind of miss that maybe we could have looked at in a different way, but back then, nobody was talking about the gut-brain connection. Anybody who was, they were told they were crazy. I was recommended omega threes, but that was about it. Nobody was looking at nutrient deficiencies, food sensitivities. Speaker 1: No one was digging deeper. It sounds like. I mean it's so devastating to hear the full story and to hear how, how far back this goes. I mean already having some, as you look back now with the knowledge that you have already had being set up and having some gut health issues and having some pretty significant health issues because you started off with so many antibiotics and that led to other problems. But also that horrific tragic event with your grandfather. Was there anything obviously you were diagnosed with PTSD and that's so awful to witness such a tragic event. What was the answer then? Did they put you on medications then? At a very young age… Speaker 2: I wasn't medicated until I think I was 15. It was spring of freshman year of high school, I believe. It was, it had gotten so bad, maybe a sophomore year, you know, I could look back, I do have my medical paperwork, which is funny to read because I see these words like manic depressive, and I'm like, gosh, we don't call it that anymore. But yeah, there wasn't really anything like now they're amazing trauma treatment. So if anybody is listening and has experienced a traumatic event and is facing some PTSD symptoms, just know that there are so many tools out there that were not there when I was young and you don't have to be in fight or flight forever. But at that time, I will also say, if somebody is telling you to just take a medication or an antidepressant, that's not going to fix your trauma, your trauma stored in your body. Yes. Speaker 1: It really is. It really is Erin. I've got a client of mine and she always says, because she's been through significant trauma, she always says that trauma is the gateway drug. Yeah. And that's so significant because trauma leads to so much. And so when we don't deal with the trauma and we can't just numb it out with the medication, but when that trauma is not adequately dealt with it's gonna manifest itself into many other problems and very unhealthy behaviors. So you alluded to these, these manic type of behaviors in college. Cause you know, it was, you started getting on medications about, at about 15 going into college and you were like the star student preacher's daughter, like involved in all the things, volunteering for everything. And then in college you had just some other significant events with the mononucleosis. And so what was it, what did that look like? As far as being diagnosed with bipolar after you were diagnosed with mano? Like what was it, what did that look like? Speaker 2: That's interesting that you asked that because I remember ever all I'd heard about mono before was that you're really tired and you sleep all the time. I, at one point I think I stayed up for almost 48 hours and I had mono, but I just didn't go to sleep. And so that was, that was looking back at the time. It was like, I didn't even notice it. I don't remember feeling like I know my my tonsils were very, very swollen and red, and that was my biggest symptom of the mono was just constantly sore throat. But it was, I didn't have the sleep needs that most people who have mono have. And so that was confusing for me because I'm like, well, I still feel good. I can still stay up. I can still get all this done, but I would crash. And that's kind of been, you know, it's so funny. I think how many CEOs are like that, right? Like how many people are undiagnosed bipolar, really high achieving people who go go home. And then all of a sudden, there's this pressure to get out of bed for a weekend. All right. Now I'm back up again. You know, I think that in some ways that's just how some people function. I'm not saying it's good or it's bad. But for me, this was very extreme and I, oh, I know one, I got a big, you know, tramp stamps were the thing in 1999 and I got a huge tramp stamp on my back, which maybe would have like, thought that through. Speaker 1: And what did your family say about that? Or, gosh, Speaker 2: My mom, I think my mom might have, one of them said something like they'd said, I was like a biker chick or something like that. Back then. It wasn't like now everybody has tattoos, but back then still, you know, we didn't have them, but we do now. And they were just so confused and that was kind of a red flag. And then something else that is a little bit shameful to talk about. And this is a, if parents are listening in the car, turn it down for a second. But as a Bible, you know, following believing person of faith that I'd always been, the topic of sexuality was something it's like, you know, that's immoral, don't have sex before marriage, blah, blah, blah. Well, one symptom of mania is actually hypersexuality and feeling strong desires to engage in risky behavior in that way. And that's good, you know, like that could lead to all sorts of things. Right? So that's, that's something that I think needs to be brought up because it's not talked about as much when we're talking about, of course no disorder and, and even in Christian communities, you know, like that's something that people don't really avoid those topics. Yeah. Yeah. So, but, but that's a thing it's an, even to this day, 20 years later, I will go to my counselor. I'm like, so you're saying that was, that really was a physical symptom of my illness. That's weird. Like I still don't get it, but it's like, my brain was on a high colors. Were brighter. Food tasted better. Music sounded better. Everything was heightened when I was in this manic or hypomanic state, but it's dangerous because yeah, sure. If you, you sleep with a certain amount of people, you can get an STD or you go home with somebody, you don't know, you can get killed. You know, like there are all these things that it shows up differently in every person. It does not manifest the same for any single person. But for me, it's, it's when I was endangering myself and possibly other people that it became in a bigger issue that my parents were like, okay, what is really going on? And so that's a long roundabout way of answering your question, right? Well, no, Speaker 1: That's fantastic. And you know, that was my next question is at what point did you realize this manic behavior? Like, wait a minute, this is not normal behavior for me. Like was there a breaking point? Speaker 2: Yeah, no, that's, that's a good question. For me, I couldn't see it because it felt so good and that's a dangerous bipolar disorder and anybody who is related to somebody who has it, or who has experienced that themselves, meaning is great. It's so much fun. You are so productive. One of my semesters in college where I struggled the most, I had all A's. It was the only time in college that I was on the president's list or whatever they call it, you know? Cause I was doing so well because I loved feeling like I was on that high. And so I don't know if there, I think it was when the lows would get too low. That's when I was like, okay, I can't do this. I can't live like this. I can't live not knowing when to go on a high wind to go on alone. So I did, I took medication, they gave me I've been on so many meds. And they never really, sometimes they made it worse. Sometimes they would induce psychosis, which that's a whole other scary thing. Yeah. And so I never really felt like I could be stable. Until what's funny this, I ended up finding myself pregnant my senior year of college and pregnancy, you know, I had to immediately go off of most. I could stay on my SSRI, my antidepressant, I had to go off of everything else that I was on. Otherwise it would have really endangered the baby and I was so healthy. I was so stable. And so part of Speaker 1: That, that's amazing. So during pregnancy, even off the medications, you were very, very stable. So what were your thoughts then? Are you like, Hey wow. Like this is, Speaker 2: Were more hormonal issues at play for me. You know, I mean, even now I'm like, gosh, could it have been, was it a mixture of hormones and adolescents? And again, the trauma being in a state of fight or flight because when our brain is dysregulated in fight or flight, it, it, it really decreases our executive functionability, you know, like we're offline, we can't make good decisions. So back, I would love to go back and analyze myself and figure out what was really going on. But I know that pregnancy was a lifesaver for me. And that was the thing that, that got me to, to actually get my stuff together, which is crazy. But it, it did. And I had my daughter and I ended up getting my teaching certificate at that point. And I started teaching. It was a routine job where it's like, I come in at this time, I leave at this time. I have spring break, half summers off very routine, which is really, really important for me. I got good sleep. I started exercising a little bit. Not for weight before. It was always like, how do I get this med weight, weight off? Because medications, they all caused so much weight gain. And I still think they've probably really messed up my metabolism, which I want Speaker 1: Us to talk about. Certainly want us to talk about next. Yeah. Speaker 2: Yeah. Cause that's another shameful thing, you know, it was like, why can't I lose this weight? Well, sometimes medication can cause all sorts of issues. But yeah, Speaker 1: Daughter was like kind of your saving grace in this, this whole horrific downhill slide. And it sounds like, you know, the, the mania was a, just a tremendous roller coaster ride, you know? And, and so you never knew when those lows were coming, you kind of enjoyed the high and then would bond them out with crash out. So you brought up medications and you know, that's such a huge controversial topic. I mean, obviously so many of these emotional and mental disorders desperately need medications that you've seen the downside. I want to hear your thoughts and opinions on meds for mental illness. Speaker 2: I don’t think that they're intended, they've always been intended for short-term use. I don't know how much research has been done on long-term usage and we're seeing it played out now, you know, we're seeing people that have been 20, 30 years. But most people, once you get on, you cannot go off without experiencing worse symptoms. And so I think that's something everybody needs to understand before they're put on meds. Is that the, especially if it's a benzo those are probably the, the scarier class of medications. I was never put on one of those. That's usually like the the ones that are used for more anxiety symptoms more of like a tranquilizer effect, you know? But the ones I was on, I, the SSRI is they still, like, I went off of my tapered off and again, I would never, ever, ever, and I want to say this very, very firmly. I would never encourage anybody to go off of a medication without the support, a big support system and not just your doctor, but your family to be involved, but you need to be tracking your mood, you to be supplementing with other vitamins, minerals, probiotics, whatever else you need in your life, because it can be very dangerous to go off medication. And that I think with that, you should never go on a medication without a psychiatrist prescribing, not a primary care provider. Speaker 1: I like that advice. Yeah. Speaker 2: Believe that that they are equipped to do the prescribing. And that's where the majority of people are prescribed. It's like, oh, you're feeling depressive symptoms. Okay, here you go. So many other tools that are just as effective for minor depression. Now, again, if it's major depression, if we have like these other shirt, but when we're just talking about having these, you know, or life interruptions or things like we all get depressed from time to time, it's very common. And so, and that's my mission is just to normalize this, right? Like there are seasons of, of sadness. There are seasons of anxiety. There are ups and downs all throughout life, but there are so many tools that are safe. And in the evidence, you know, that they are evidence-based to provide relief from depression and anxiety and they are not a medication. And so I, so, so with that, so yes, never ever go off without having a support team around you, but also never go on without a support team around you because yeah. Speaker 1: And doing your own research. And I think it's so important and this is why Erin and I are so very passionate because we're talking to people every single day and we're encouraging them be your own best health advocate, listen to your body. Like do not just take something. And in y'all remember, we're dealing with a very broken healthcare system. So I mean their goal, they've got to get you in and get you out. So, I mean, it's just very easy to quickly prescribe a medication. If you say you're struggling a little bit, okay. They don't have time to listen. So if you feel like your struggles are at a larger degree, you need to go see a counselor, a psychiatrist, to work through these things and determine a wonderful plan of action for you. Now, Erin, one thing I love about your story is that it doesn't end. It doesn't end there. It doesn't end with the trauma and the tragedy and the medications. And of course the weight gain that went with the medications and, and a life filled with, you know, just this humongous rollercoaster, you have the calm, an overcomer and a survivor. And you've done that by addressing some root issues. You alluded to gut health at the very beginning and want to know some of your other coping mechanisms, some of your other strategies for working on your mental health, since this is your background. Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah. Gut health. Yes. That was number one that opened my, that opened me up to a whole new world like going, oh wow. This could be helpful. And for me again, I think a lot of my issues did have to do with a gut that was not, maybe it was there some gut dysbiosis there. I probably just overgrowth, you know, and I wasn't utilizing my food. Well, I wasn't digesting my food in order to, you know, get the neuro-transmitters that I needed to get the nutrients that I needed for mental health. And so that's number one. The other thing is, I think for years, I didn't want to deal with symptoms. Like I just wanted, I wanted a pill. I wanted a pill to fix my, I didn't want to have to be aware of how I was feeling. And part of that could be the trauma, right? Like the second fight flight or freeze, I was in freeze mode with my brain. I just didn't want to deal with it. I wanted somebody else to tell me what to do. I'll take what you tell me to take. And I don't want to have to actively engage with unpleasant emotions. Speaker 1: So one thing, how did you overcome that? Because that's, I think that's such a familiar spot. That's a familiar spot for people to be in that kind of frozen. Like I'm stuck and I don't know how to move forward. Just tell me what to do. Just tell me what to do. So how did you get out of that stuck spot? Speaker 2: Just be nonjudgmental. I have to be like, okay. I'm feeling tense right now. I'm feeling anxious. I'm feeling sad. What's going on. What's behind that. It's okay. It's okay. To be anxious. It's okay. To be sad. It's okay to be depressed. Is it? It's okay to have these racing thoughts. It's okay. To feel completely discombobulated. So what's behind that and really stepping outside. I mean, yoga has been good for me for that. Like just learning to breathe and be slow. I don't want to be slow. That's been helpful for me. Meditation, my, which this whole thing that I'm time, it's mindfulness, that mindfulness is being aware of your thoughts and feelings being okay with that talk therapy is huge because then you're talking to somebody else about, you know walking, running. I used to run a lot more than I do now. Now I think my body does better with lower impact things, but just exercise is, is, is a good way to clear my brain clear my thoughts that's been helpful food. I cannot, you know, I used to be such a junk food addict. I love sugar, loved carbs, processed carbs. And now I just, I it's, I'm not saying I never have those things, but I'm mindful if I'm stressed. Like right now, my family's in a major transition. We're about to move. I'm being very careful not to have sugar, not to drink a lot of alcohol, not to have processed carbs because I have a limit, you know, I know my limit. And if I have too much at once, it's all going to almost be like a volcanic explosion, right? Like all of those things. So I just have to watch what I put in my mind and my mouth. Speaker 1: I love how you put that, what you put in your mind and your mouth. And again, it all comes back to mindfulness. Just that being, self-aware listening to your body saying, okay, what do I need right now? Like, you know, in this time of tremendous transition and stress for you guys, the last thing you need is a bunch of sugar and processed carbs and alcohol. Like it would, it would not be helpful. It would be more harmful. So I love that. That mindfulness and how you have grown so much. I mean, I think sometimes we over-complicate things as women because we're so busy and we forget that the simplicity and what works and that's, it's hip, it's simple. It works listening to your body. What does my body need right now? I also really like how you gave us permission and talked about, Hey, it's okay to be sad. It's okay to be anxious. You know, we have, we're so used to a mask. And I think sometimes we think I've got to be happy all the time. I've got to be happy all the time. Everything's got, you know, I've got to, you know, keep up this persona and that's not reality. Some days are just kind of rotten stinkin days. Yeah. Speaker 2: And it's okay. And it's okay to just sit in those feelings and sit, you know, you don't want to dwell to the point of inactivity, but just ask yourself questions, just check in with yourself and what can you do to nourish yourself every day so that when those things happen, you have some go-to. So you have some strategies. Speaker 1: I love that. So when you say sit with those feelings, what, and ask herself questions, what would be a good way to kind of get that out? Would that be like journaling? Like how do you do that? Speaker 2: Big fan of journaling. And I actually don't for awhile. I like, oh, I don't have time for that. I have started since January, extra waking up early in the morning, which it's not my favorite thing to do, but it's the only time I can have time to myself. I still have little kids. So I have a 16 year old, a seven year old and a four year old. And you know, it's like the four year old still wants to be in my bed sometimes at night or he'll wake up early and need mom or whatever. So I set up that intentional time. And as soon as I wake up, I am just stream of consciousness, journaling. Sometimes I just sit there and stare at the wall. But even that is nourishing to me because I'm always needed by somebody these days, you know? And so yes, journaling is a big one and processing having a gratitude list. But also like before bed, I tell a lot of people do a brain dump where it's like, what is on your, what's weighing you down? What do you need to let go of? It's an app that I love called one minute pause. It's one of my favorite apps. Speaker 1: Oh, yes. I'm familiar with that. It's so good. So good. You need to Speaker 2: Let go of, and I'm like, oh, that's such a reminder every day. I want to be, instead of feeling like I'm taking on everything, because that's been me my whole life, what do I need to let go of? What do I, what can I focus on today just today? And what can I let go of that I don't need to focus on today that I don't need to hold on to? Yes. Speaker 1: And I think letting go of something is being very kind to ourselves. How can we, how can I be kind to myself today? What do I need to let go of? How do I need to listen to my body? How can I support my body with, with what's going on? And I think we're all in such a time of tremendous stress and anxiety and fear. And it's taken such a toll on our physical health, not just our mental and emotional health. So I really love these strategies. I too have been, have become a very big fan of journaling. I have, I've probably adopted that habit within the past. I would say three years. And before that I was, if you had asked me about journaling, I would have been like, Nope, that's not me, but I will tell you, I think it's such an excellent way for me to just kind of get out some feelings and emotions. And every day it looks different that there doesn't have to be any kind of rhyme or reason to your journal. It can look however you want it to look that day, but there's something so beneficial about me journaling. It's just been huge for my mental and emotional health. So was, I was glad to hear you. You bring that up. Unfortunately our time is almost to an end and I'm so sad about that because you and I could talk literally for hours about this subject, because it's so very important. So I want to ask you as we're closing, do you mind giving just a word of encouragement to our listeners? If they are really struggling, like you have struggled in your life, what would you tell them? How would you encourage them? Speaker 2: I really would say that there's no one size fits all when it comes to mental health, when it comes to any health, right? And so you have unique needs and your unique body, and you can be empowered to tune into those unique needs and do what is best for your body. And if you feel that if somebody is telling you to do something or giving you advice, whether it's me or Jennifer, anybody, right? Like, and then you feel that that's not right for your body, speak up and say something and ask questions. And I share my story, but not everybody's story is going to look like mine. You know, like it's, it's also different. And so I think just being patient with yourself, but learning yourself so that you can advocate for yourself, Speaker 1: Such a powerful point, learn for yourselves, you can advocate for yourself. And that is just so there's just such timely advice. So I want to make sure that our listeners know where to find you. Cause I have a feeling there might need, there might be some questions then people that need to connect with you. So will you please let our listeners know where they can find you? Yeah. Speaker 2: My website is sparking wholeness.com, not sparkling, sparking wholeness.com. My Instagram is sparking wholeness, same thing. And then my podcast is sparking wholeness as well. So just search, sparking wholeness, and you're going to find Speaker 1: Me. I got, I love it. I love it. Erin. Thank you so much for being with us today. And I just appreciate your honesty and vulnerability. It's been refreshing. I love this. I'm excited for you to be on my show as well, because this is how much fun. I don't want to stop the conversation. I know. I know it's good stuff. All right, girl. Thank you. I hope that this candid conversation encourage you today. I so appreciate the honesty and vulnerability of Erin in telling her story. We both want you to know that you're not alone. As we wrap up today. I want to remind you if you're a mom and you're in survival mode and you feel like your health and your life is spiraling. I have a free gift that will encourage you and empower you. It's the top five habits for the spiraling mom to gain inner peace and total control. You can access it by going to Bitly forward slash peace and control. Again, that's Bitly B I T dot L Y forward slash peace and control these sharing. Grab that and let me know what you think are, can not wait to hear from me until next week. Please know, there is no shame in the struggle we're in this together and you, my friend are not alone. Bye ya’ll. |