stress

“Normal” Stress vs Excess Stress: Identification, Management, & More

February 20, 2020 By lyndsinreallife Leave a Comment

Modern life, for all of the wonders it can undoubtedly bring, is also inherently stressful. When juggling so many different requirements and responsibilities – on both professional and personal levels – it’s fairly normal to experience a few flutterings of stress here and there, and some even argue that this stress is helpful; that it helps to increase productivity, and isn’t inherently bad for us in moderation.

The key, however, is the phrase “in moderation.” A little stress can have its benefits; it might not be the most pleasant of sensations, but the sense of urgency and the need to focus that stress tends to bring can be useful in certain situations. Unfortunately, a person’s experience of stress can cross a line, to the point where the benefits are almost completely nullified, and stress becomes harmful rather than helpful.

What are the signs that stress has become excessive?

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Everyone tends to process stress differently, but there are a few signs that can suggest stress levels have exceeded the normal/helpful classification and become more problematic, such as:

Feeling overwhelmed on a regular basis, even when completing tasks you understand well.
Struggling to enjoy normal activities or relax and have fun
Being more susceptible to bugs and viruses and/or experiencing more frequent headaches or stomach-related issues, such as acid reflux
Exhaustion, even if you have slept normally and should feel rested.
Using coping methods, such as eating or drinking alcohol to excess, to try and ease feelings of stress or “unwind”
Feelings of hopelessness or lethargy, particularly when it comes to planning for the future
Emotional changes, such as being more liable to cry or experience bursts of anger

If any of the above symptoms develop, then it could be that the balance has tipped: stress is no longer a helpful motivator and part and parcel of modern life – it’s now a worrisome issue that has to be addressed.

What are the next steps if you develop the symptoms above?

It’s always advisable to check out the above symptoms with a doctor before attempting to make any changes. Should your doctor confirm that the symptoms are attributed to stress, then you can start to make lifestyle changes that can potentially help to manage the symptoms of the condition, in the hopes of finding a long-term cure.

Here are a few ideas you might want to consider:

Reaffirm the basics of healthy living: ensure you get enough sleep each night, eat a balanced diet that is rich in foods that are thought to help lower stress, ensure you stay hydrated.
Exercise can be especially helpful when it comes to combating stress; aim for around 150 minutes of aerobic exercise per week to help address symptoms.
If coping methods, such as consuming excess amounts of alcohol, have been an issue, then seeking assistance from the likes of Renaissance Ranch can prove to be advantageous.
If experiencing GI symptoms, avoiding foods and beverages that can exacerbate these issues (such as nuts, fried food, spicy food, artificial sugars such as maltodextrin, and alcoholic beverages) can provide relief.
Many people dealing with stress find that therapy or life coaching can be very beneficial.
Cut back on as many activities as possible in order to address feelings of being overwhelmed or too busy.
Relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing and meditation, can help with management of stress symptoms.
Keeping a diary can allow you to externalize any concerns you have and process them, which in turn can assist with alleviating stress.

Can excess stress be cured, so that you only experience “normal” stress in the future?

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Stress is the kind of condition that can, on occasion, rear its ugly head and become problematic – there is no absolute “cure” that will ensure the issue never comes up again. However, the key to managing stress is to be on the lookout for any of the symptoms that indicate stress has become problematic, and if these manifest, to take action – using the options above – accordingly.

It is also helpful to be aware of circumstances that are more likely to cause harmful stress – such as a house move or a change in personal circumstances – so that you can be particularly cautious to monitor your well-being during these times.

In Conclusion

Stress may have its uses, but it can be a hindrance if it becomes excessive. In such a scenario, treating the condition directly and making changes to your lifestyle can help bring it under control, and help you work towards a future where the only stress you experience is beneficial in nature.

Thank you for reading!

Health

Combat Stress With These Steps

December 28, 2019 By lyndsinreallife Leave a Comment

Are you feeling stressed? Stress can have a range of negative impacts on your life. It can affect your emotional and physical health. It can even start to affect your diet, and people who are stressed may start to eat less or over eat, depending on the person and how they choose to cope with the situation. Stress has also been linked to certain types of cancer. This is why it’s important to make sure that you are taking the right steps to deal with this issue. There are a few possibilities you can consider here so let’s think about the different options.

Credit Source CCO License Pexels

Try To Meditate

One of the best ways to deal with stress is to reduce how much it impacts you. Stress is unavoidable in life because there are so many different situations and scenarios that can make us feel stressed. The key is to know how to handle the situation the right way. The best way to do this is always going to be meditation. By meditating you can calm your mind, and this will make it far easier to deal with issues that are causing you stress in the first place. You will begin to see the answers to problems that you might be facing.

Make Sure You’re Exercising

You can also think about adding more exercise to your daily routine. With exercise, you can effectively burn off the stress in your life. You can leave it behind you on the road when you’re running or in the gym when you are working out. The benefit of doing this is that it gives you an outlet for how stress is impacting your mood and making you feel. If you do this, it’s less likely that you’re going to end up lashing out when trying to come to terms with the stress that you are under.

Find A Calming Process

Meditation is an example of a process that many people find calming, but there are certainly others. For instance, you can consider vaping (this is not medical advice and vaping should be done with caution). With vape juice, vaping will taste great, but it’s the sensation of inhaling and exhaling that makes this a calming experience for many people. You’ll find it particularly useful if you used to rely on cigarettes to cope with high levels of stress in your life.

Avoid Stressful Situations

You can think about avoiding the situations in your life that make you feel stressed. For many people, there are going to be various triggers to consider here. It’s important that you understand how to approach this the right way. For instance, you might have a job that constantly makes you feel stressed. If that’s the case, it could be time to consider a career change.

Treat Yourself

Finally, there are various different professional treatments that can help you cope with your stress. Spa treatments are particularly useful because they can provide the benefits you need for your body as well as your mind.

We hope this helps you handle your high levels of stress the right way!

•How do you handle stress?

This post was a collaboration.

Thank you for reading!

Health

Keeping Yourself Healthy When Going Through A Tough Time

November 6, 2019 By lyndsinreallife 2 Comments

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Tough times can often lead to a sense of stress, and this can wreak havoc with your emotional health. However, it’s important to recognize that keeping yourself healthy when going through a tough time is not only something you should focus your mental health towards, but also your physical health. In fact, they inform one another in various ways. For example, caring for your mental health will make you much more likely to exercise, while exercising can help you reduce stress and anxiety, and help you live the rest of the day with optimism.

It’s impossible to separate your physical and mental health efficiently, because you are not separated into two distinct categories yourself. However, keeping yourself healthy when going through a tough time often calls for a worthy approach. Sure, you may be working on your stress and mental struggles by taking forthright action and relying on the support of those closest to you, but are you also maintaining your physical health in the best way you can?

It’s these questions we hope to answer, and we hope to answer them as follows:

Superfoods

Superfoods are extremely worthwhile measures of ensuring your body is able to restore itself, as high levels of nutrition and the replenishment of vitamins and minerals can mean plenty for energizing you, and helping you fight off issues relating to a tired immune system. You may learn how to make v8 juice at home, providing you with that necessary health kick you may be after each day. Eating kale, drinking green tea, nuts and seeds and ginger can be jus tthe start, but a thoroughly worthwhile start at that.

Plenty of Sleep

You need to sleep when under intense stress. It’s your body’s way of being able to refresh and replenish its systems, and without a good snooze you may find yourself unable to comfortably or rationally think your way through a situation as you may have. Sleep requires great sleep habits, and while eight hours is often the recommended maximum, for certain difficult periods of your life even nine to ten hours may be customary to help your body adapt to the expanded sense of exhaustion it may be going through right now.

Getting Out In Nature

There’s a sense of real peace in nature, because to some extent it doesn’t care what your emotions are. That tree you walk past may have been there two hundred years ago, and is still sat there, living, calm, blowing in the wind. There’s a timeless aspect to nature. It was here before you and it will be there after you are gone. This sounds scary upon first analysis, but it’s simply a fact of life. Keeping yourself healthy then, can often mean stress reduction, and a safe natural environment is perhaps the best way to bust stress. You’ll look at things differently after walking in the park for an hour, and you can trust us on that point.

With this advice, we hope you can stay healthy when going through a tough time.

•How do you stay healthy when you’re going through a tough time?

This post was a collaboration.

Thank you for reading!

Health

How Can You Limit Work Related Stress?

October 2, 2019 By lyndsinreallife Leave a Comment

It is possible for our jobs to be enjoyable and satisfying, but it’s almost always the case that there are at least one or two downsides to our place of work. For instance, many of us feel stressed. We’re working more hours than ever before, and we’re earning less money than previous generations. Combine this with added responsibilities and an unstable economy, and you’ve got a recipe for stress! As such, it’s important that you take steps to reduce the amount of stress that you feel; you’ll run the risk of burning out if you don’t. Below, we take a look at a few tried and tested methods for keeping work-related stress to a minimum.

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Leave It Behind

One of the problems of the modern working world is that we never really leave. We could physically leave the office, but we have our phone and email with us at all times, which means that it has never been easier to check in on work or be called out of hours. It’s recommended that you take steps to actively put a distance between you and your job. When you leave the office, really leave — switch off your work phone and put anything work-related that might be on your mind to one side. It can all wait until tomorrow!

Find a Friend

There are always going to be things about work that bother us. But they’ll be much easier to manage if you have a friend there. This can be someone with whom to talk about your problems, or someone to just make the working day more enjoyable. Of course, it takes time to make friends, but you can put yourself in the right situations for it to happen. For example, you can attend after work drinks or go out for karaoke.

Managing the Stress Levels

Try as you might, stress will find you at one point or another when you’re at work. There’s not much you can do about it, but there is one thing that you can control — how you respond to that stress. If you can feel your stress levels rising, then take a look at doing the things that have been scientifically proven to reduce stress symptoms. Attending an acupuncture clinic, joining a yoga class, or engaging in a spot of meditation will all work to push stress away. There’s no need to let the stress levels rise when there are things you can do to limit them.

Change How You Work

Sometimes, you might find that no matter what you do, the stress induced by your job is relentless. If you think that there’s no escape, and you’re no longer enjoying it, then look at making a change. There are many health problems that stress can cause, and there’s no job in the world that’s worth compromising your health! You can talk to your boss about changing your working routine, or switch jobs and careers altogether. Once you leave your stressful position, you’ll soon find that you’re much calmer.

•How do you deal with workplace stress?

This post was a collaboration.

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Health

What Can We Do Against Stress?

September 7, 2019 By lyndsinreallife 2 Comments

Stress has become a detrimental part of our day-to-day lives. Whether it’s the congested road on your way to work, or the recent argument you’ve had with your best friend, we’ve grown used to stress. In many ways, we’ve even welcomed it inside our homes and helped it settle down.

However, this has to end. You can’t make stress a regular guest in your life. You need to find a way to fight it off without actively aggravating the situation. Stress is the body’s response to events that are unexpected, unpleasant, and out of the ordinary. There’s no denying that you can’t always control what life is throwing at you. While in some specific situations, you can reduce anxiety and tension by directly sorting out the underlying problem, more often than not, the best way to defeat stress is to manage it.

Below are a few ways to help manage your stress:

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Keep informed about life-changing remedies and treatments

Ultimately, while a little stress is healthy and can even boost your performance (a lot of people do well against a deadline), there’s a thin line between the healthy and unhealthy amount. Indeed, too much stress can have handicapping consequences, like anxiety disorders or panic attacks. It’s a vicious cycle that is almost impossible to break through. However, there are more and more alternative medicines and remedies that can help you to tackle high anxiety. If you’ve been struggling for a while, check out the marijuana expo to hear more about how medical professionals are using CBD to help patients deal with mood and stress disorders. It could be your way to gain back control.

Make exercising a priority

There’s nothing a good workout can’t do. Not only is it the perfect way to clear your hearts and lungs from the clogs accumulated through our sedentary and passive lifestyle, but it also provides a strategic answer to stress. Working out releases happy hormones that can single-handedly reduce your stress levels. You don’t need to be highly active to benefit from physical exercise. Something as simple as walking after dinner gives you the opportunity to relax and forget about your worries.

Be your own voice of reason

Stress starts in your mind. Therefore, as long as you understand how to control your mind, you should be able to tame your stress monster. Your emotional answer to stress is (generally) a choice. Always take a step back to ask yourself how you feel. You can’t control what happens around you, but you can decide how it makes you feel.

Why does stress win?

Most people, however, continue to feel overwhelmed by stress. It’s important to understand that while stress is a trigger for your unease, the real issue is how you choose to manage it. Unhealthy coping mechanisms are the first cause of mental and physical health troubles when it comes to stress. From giving in to emotional eating to choosing isolation, stress makes you your worst enemy if you’re not careful about the choices you make.

We can’t defeat stress as long as we fail to see that we are in charge of how we feel. You have a choice to make at the start of your stress management journey, and it’s to give your body and mind a fighting chance. Through alternatives treatments, exercise, or even rationalizing your fears, the only mistake with stress is to let it dictate your feelings and reactions.

•How do you handle stress?

This post was a collaboration.

Thank you for reading!

Lifestyle

Do You Collapse In A Crisis?

February 9, 2019 By lyndsinreallife Leave a Comment

Most of us would probably like to say that we were pretty good in any kind of crisis situation. After all, the idea of being the one person who’s able to keep their head when everyone else is losing there’s is a pretty nice idea. However, it’s fair to say that most of us are probably not quite as composed under pressure as we would like to think. Which raises the question, if you are normally the kind of person who totally crumbles when they’re in a crisis, what can you do in order to deal with those kinds of things more effectively? With that in mind, here are some things that you can do in order to stop yourself from collapsing when everything goes wrong.

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Think in Practical Terms

One of the best things that you can possibly do when it comes to taking a lot of stress and panic out of any kind of crisis is to stop thinking about it in terms of emotions entirely. Instead, think about it in purely practical terms where possible. Think of any kind of crisis as a problem with a solution, rather than something awful happening to you. If you’re in an accident, then think about things like insurance claims, hiring attorneys, and getting justice instead of focusing on how unfair it was that this happened to you. The same applies to everything from getting fired to getting sick. If you can think about the practical stuff and deal with that first, you’ll have a whole lot less emotional fallout to worry about.

Take Your Time

One of the most common instincts, when things go wrong, is to run around trying to fix it as quickly as possible. Now, dealing with things right away is a good thing, but if you’re getting to the point where you’re running around trying to put out all of the fires at once, you’re just going to end up causing yourself far more stress and upset that is unnecessary. Take your time and think things through before you dive in.

Ask for Help

As much as it would be nice to say that you’re the kind of person who can deal with any problem on their own, you really don’t need to. The truth is that there are always going to be people out there who are willing to lend you a hand when you need it most. From friends and family, to trained professionals, there really is no need for you to try and take everything onto your own shoulders.

The truth is that there will always be times when something will come out of nowhere and send you reeling, that’s just the nature of the world that we live in. However, if you can understand the right ways to deal with emergencies and crises, then you’re going to be far less likely to end up panicked and confused when things go wrong. Just remember that for every problem, there is a solution. You just have to be able to find it.

Thank you for reading!

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Health

The Strange Reasons Why You Should Chill The Heck Out

January 28, 2019 By lyndsinreallife 2 Comments

Stress and anxiety have been a part of the human struggle since time began. Both are evolutionary responses to circumstances in our environment, and adaptation allowed for them because they help us survive. It’s better to be anxious and stressed in the face of certain doom than it is to be calm and relaxed, because people who were stressed were more likely to take action to survive.

But in the modern world, we rarely face threats to our lives. Rather we experience a kind of chronic activation of our stress-response system, which is unhelpful.

The problem with stress, though, is that it’s not just something in our heads: it has a direct effect on the body, too. And while many of us know about the visible signs of stress, like heart palpitations and sweating, few of us are aware of the stranger, less common side effects.

Stress Undermines Your Immune System

Blood Cells Virus Helper Cell Defense Immune System

Max Pixel

Your immune system is in a constant state of war against pathogens trying to overwhelm your defenses. Healthy people can repel the majority of attacks, but when the body is under stress, it can actually produce fewer immune cells. You often see this in people who do a lot of strenuous exercise – the number of white blood cells in their body goes down by about 50 percent – but it’s also common among the chronically stressed.

I can attest to this. This past December, I was so incredibly stressed, more than I’d ever been before, that I became physically ill. I was nauseous every day and night, I found myself throwing up at work, and I couldn’t eat or sleep. Stress is very, very real.

Stress Makes You Constipated

Stress is a response to danger – or at least that’s what it was in our evolutionary history. And so when our bodies get stressed, they tend to shut down other vital systems not required for immediate survival, like digestion. Most westerners are constipated anyway because of a lack of fiber in the diet, but stress can lead to a cessation in bowel motility, meaning that the bowel no longer transports waste products from one end to the other. Sure, that’s a good thing when you’re running away from a bear, but not so good when you’re sitting at your office desk, fighting a deluge of emails.

Stress Can Result In Heart And Lung Problems

Flickr by mararie

One of the reasons you might want to take advantage of a cheap vaping deal (opposed to smoking cigarettes, or quit altogether!) is the effect that stress has on the heart and lungs. Stress causes the HPA (hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal) axis to go into overdrive. Cortisol, a stress-related hormone, gets released, causing elevations in breathing and heart rate. While cortisol is safe over short periods, it’s the chronically elevated levels that start to lead to problems. People with higher circulating cortisol suffer a faster heart rate, which has been shown to be correlated with shorter life span, high blood pressure (a leading killer worldwide), and increases in asthma attacks.

Stress Can Hurt Your Jaw

One of the problems that people with stress have is bruxism – or the unconscious grinding of their teeth. Bruxism usually occurs during the night while sleeping, leading to jaw ache and damage to the teeth. The tension can then spread from the jaw area to the surrounding tissue and muscles in the face and neck. It may also be a contributing factor to TMJ. I have TMJ and it is incredibly painful.

I’m not a stress expert, and I’m not a doctor, of course. These were just a few things I wanted to share about!

*This post was a collaboration.

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Ambassador Health Nutrition Reviews

Avoid Dehydration With The World’s First Alkaline Sports Drink, Phenoh

April 18, 2015 By lyndsinreallife 5 Comments

I suck at keeping hydrated.

Really, I do. I’m ALWAYS thirsty because of a medication I’m taking, I’m always walking/playing with the kids I babysit, it’s hot in LA, and then add in my yoga and stretching. You’d think I’d be better at it! Truthfully, no matter how much water I drink, I can’t seem to feel hydrated. It’s a never-ending battle and it’s severely hurting my health.

Disclosure: I received a 12 pack of pHenOH as part of my #SweatPink ambassadorship with Fit Approach. Monetary compensation was received. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.

I heard about pHenOH through Fit Approach (I am a #SweatPink ambassador) and thought I’d give it a try! It’s the world’s first alkaline sports drink, which aids in staying balanced during times of stress and exercise! Below is an excerpt from the home page of their website, explaining who they are and what pHenOH is:

A superior, healthy, ALKALINE alternative to conventional sports drinks. Phenoh has redefined the concept of a “sports drink” to reflect the needs of athletes and active individuals alike. Phenoh 7.4, with just 7 naturally healthy ingredients and a pH of 7.4, is everything that your body needs to stay balanced during stress and exercise. This is not an ade, this is pHenOH.

After a yoga sesh; ignore my sweaty selfie & super weird smile! 😉

What attracted me to pHenOH is the pH level. PHenOH’s pH level is 7.4 (alkaline) and is the biggest part of what makes them stand out. If you’re having difficulty recalling anything from your high school chemistry class (ahem, me), pHenOH gives an easy lamens terms summary of pH (website):

The body is naturally alkaline [7.4 pH] and it must stay that way in order to function properly. Stress and exercise cause the production and buildup of acidic compounds in our blood, contributing to fatigue and negative health effects.

Regular sports drinks have an excessive amount of sugar and extremely acidic pH levels. Did you know anything below a pH of 5.5 can cause tooth decay? Super gross. So not only am I not hydrating enough, I’m also most likely consuming things with too high of a pH. In addition to the things I’m consuming, I also have very high stress levels (I rarely have me time). I realized it was time to try pHenOH and see if it helped!

In a nutshell, YEP! After incorporating pHenOH into my daily routine (2 a day for 6 days), I felt more hydrated and balanced. Dehydration causes fatigue, so it was definitely awesome not getting tired a couple hours after waking up. For only have 7 ingredients, I wasn’t sure how it would taste. However, it is delightful! I love the hint of aloe vera and agave nectar.

The Ingredients:

the finest organic aloe vera
naturally low glycemic organic agave nectar
potassium (no added sodium)
magnesium
vitamin C
only 30 calories per 8 ounce serving

Research shows that pHenOH 7.4 (source):

Increases VO2 Max (oxygen metabolism) by up to 10%.
Boosts your endurance.
Enhances your peak athletic performance.
Offsets the effects of altitude on performance.
Buffers your acidic metabolic waste during exercise and stress.

If you’re interested in a Q&A with the founder Alex Schmotter (an avid outdoorsman and dentist), I highly recommend fellow #SweatPink ambassador Kinetic Fix’s blog post!

My honest opinion of pHenOH 7.4 alkaline drink:

Also after my yoga sesh; hydrating with pHenOH of course!

I love it! I’m an advocate for consuming only natural and organic foods/drinks (except the occasional cake from Susie Cakes), avoiding chemicals as much as possible, and easier ways to get hydrated. I can only drink so much water without getting bored; having a tasty, healthy drink like pHenOH is exactly what I need! Oh, and my boyfriend totally loves it. He’s a soccer coach, health coach, swimmer, and exercise enthusiast (he walked 12 miles today if that’s any indication of his enthusiasm), and he’s been stealing my pHenOHs (I caught him red-handed!). He never likes anything I like; so pHenOH and friends, know that this is a HUGE victory! Haha 🙂

Share on social media what you love about pHenOH 7.4 by using the hashtags #GoAlkaline, #FindYourPhenoh, #StayBalanced, & #Sweatpink! You can find them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

To purchase pHenOH for yourself (or friends!), order on Amazon here (affiliate link) or their website. You can also use the store locator (scroll to the bottom). One case (12 pack of 16.9 oz tetra packs) is $28 plus free shipping.

So tell me,

how well do you stay hydrated? Do you drink anything other than water?
When would you incorporate pHenOH into your daily life?
Do you remember learning about pH levels in high school chemistry?

Thank you SO much for reading! Connect with me:

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Holistic Living Nutrition Personal

GAPS Diet Update – Week 3

May 11, 2014 By lyndsinreallife 10 Comments

A couple weeks ago, I posted about my new nutrition plan and why I was doing it. As a recap, I am following a plan called the GAPS diet, which basically means my digestive system is not a happy camper. The past four months have been very stressful, which led to an excess of cortisol being released (stress hormone), sugar and refined carb cravings, poor nutrition, and then an overgrowth of candida.

(Image Source)

Candida is a fungus/yeast that we all have a little bit of in our digestive systems. However, if it grows out of control, you get pretty scary symptoms. Since starting to detox from things like sugar, soy, dairy, gluten (grains), and refined carbs, these are the symptoms I have experienced:

hives (daily)
migraines (6 days in a row)
fatigue, no matter how healthy I eat
difficulty sleeping
abdominal/digestive pain/bloating
irritability, mood swings, depression
muscle pain, especially in my legs
weight gain
acne (I haven’t had acne in YEARS!!!!)
intense sugar and refined carb cravings

I could go on and on, but those are the ones that really stood out to me. It has been a rough 3 weeks! But I feel like I am finally getting over the hump of the worst part. I started a 21 day cleanse (through Herbalife), I’m taking a supplement called FloraFiber daily (probiotics), and I just ordered goldenseal root (to push the candida out) and another probiotic. I already feel so much better!! I definitely have a ways to go with getting healthy again, but I can already feel a difference, and it is soo comforting!

(Image Source)

Sugar addiction and sugar detoxing are no joke. I was blaming myself for having a hard time cutting it out completely, but I was reassured that it really is my body that craves the sugar! It’s so similar to a drug addiction, it’s crazy. Did you know sugar is 8 times more addicting than cocaine? There was a study done on rats, and the rats chose the sugar over the cocaine every time.

Anyway, I feel like I’m rambling. I wanted to share a little bit of an update about this sugar detox since I know a few of you are following my updates (which I so so appreciate!!). If anything, I have totally learned how essential it is to truly take care of our bodies. Yes, I knew it was important before, but I feel like now, I have a deeper understanding of why we need to nourish our bodies with real food and get those toxins out through exercise. So many of us are living with poor gut health, and we don’t even realize it! I can’t stress enough how important it is to take care of our digestive system. 90% of our immune system is in our gut.

Healthy gut = happy life. 🙂

Bipolar Disorder Fitness Nutrition Personal

Health Coaches Need Coaching, Too; My Struggle With Sugar Addiction

April 14, 2014 By lyndsinreallife 28 Comments

As most of you are already aware, I am a health & fitness coach, and I also live with bipolar disorder. A couple weeks ago, I was talking with my psychiatrist, and he said to me,

“Lyndsay, you are always taking care of your clients and inspiring them. You’re taking care of the kids you babysit and the dogs you care for. It’s great, but let me ask you, who inspires you?“

A simple question, but it hit me hard. In that moment, I wanted to break down and cry. I absolutely LOVE what I do as a coach. The progress my clients make, the breakthroughs, helping others to live longer.. it’s absolutely amazing! I am in awe every day of how wonderful my clients and friends are. I love the feeling of being needed. I’m sure there is a specific reason behind that, but like Miss Maudie said in To Kill A Mockingbird, “All anyone wants is to feel needed.” My career brings me satisfaction, happiness, and hope.

But at the same time, I am giving all my energy to my clients, and completely neglecting myself. How can I be a good coach/mentor if I am not taking care of my mind and body? Who can I go to when I am not feeling strong? When I need inspiration, motivation, and help with my nutrition? Yes, I know a good amount about health, nutrition, and fitness, but I don’t know it all.

As much as I don’t want to admit this, I am going to, because honesty is incredibly important. Not only for the people you’re talking to, but also for yourself. I have a sugar addiction. Like a hardcore, legit, anxiety-fueled addiction to sugar. I have dealt with this on and off throughout most of my life, but when I get incredibly stressed, I lose control completely.

I have felt myself slowly spiraling out of control over the past two months. Poor nutrition, poor fitness, poor mental health. It is a vicious cycle. I feel sad/stressed, so I want to eat something that will release dopamine and endorphins, so I eat sugar (it’s comforting). But the comedown from that sugar causes me to feel depressed/anxious/stressed… and the cycle continues.

This photo represents the cycle of addiction. Any addiction. Did you know sugar addiction is similar to heroin addiction? It is very, very real.

This is specifically what happens in your body when you consume sugar. Endless, awful cycle.

You know how they say that people come into your life for a reason, and at the perfect time? It’s amazing! I was searching through blogs and stumbled upon Lifelong Wellness Coaching with Nellie Russell. I originally found her through her blog, Bipolar Out Loud, and saw that she offers mental health coaching. It’s something I’ve never considered, but something I definitely wanted to try. It’s similar to therapy, but I also get a meal plan catered to me and my physical/mental health issues.. plus Nellie has bipolar disorder as well, so she totally gets me. It’s a little different getting life coaching from someone who lives with what you live with, as opposed to someone who only studied it. Totally not discounting what therapists do, but it’s just a different experience.

My first session was tonight, and oh my gosh, I already feel like a new person. I have hope again. I don’t feel stressed (and I’ve been stressed ALL day.. hellooo taxes). It feels so good to allow myself to be the client, and to go into a coaching program with an open mind. I get so caught up in helping other people transform their lives (which again, I LOVE), that I forget to transform my own life. I am excited for what these sessions bring, and I am excited to improve my life. Physical and mental health go hand-in-hand, and it is time for me take full control of them both!

Have you ever dealt with any type of food addiction? If so, how did you get through it?
If you are a coach (or in any profession like it), how do you stay inspired? Who helps you?