So you’ve made the decision that you need to pay more attention to your health. Where do you begin? Wellness isn’t just this idea of clean, green, Instagramable pictures, but it’s a journey into listening to your whole body, making the best decisions for your wellbeing, and creating a lifestyle with optimal function in mind.
That may sounds a little overwhelming, but it can really be broken down into just a few key areas. Here’s what we’ll cover:
- Healing the mind
- Creating an environment for health
- Nourishing your body
- Reducing stressors
If you are ready to take the first step in your journey toward ultimate health and wellness, let’s dive in together!
Your brain is such a powerful organ and I don’t think gets enough credit for all that it does. We are living in times that are rampant with mental illness and disease, but so many times people’s experience is dismissed and discredited by the very fact that “mental illness and disease” insinuates that it’s ‘all in your head’ or just a product of the imagination and not something that can really be healed. Let’s get this straight: mental illness is brain illness.
I recently experienced a very scary time in my life where I was hit by this brick wall of anxiety and depression that left me with a physical weight in my chest. I had never experienced anything like that before, but it terrified me. I felt like there was something wrong with my head, but eventually I came to realize that while yes, there was trauma that I hadn’t dealt with for so long my brain finally MADE me, my mind and body was doing its job.
Your brain is designed to protect you. When you go to sleep at night and it starts storing things away and organizing all your thoughts and memories, it will take traumatic events and create a narrative that allows you to still function, because it has your protection and survival in mind. Sometimes though, the mental illness we experience is because of actual chemical imbalances that can be attributed to our environment, lifestyle, health, etc. The brain is SO powerful, and these experiences of anxiety and depression are symptoms that something is wrong.
So how can we address brain illness? First off, counseling is a great place to start. It has been a gamechanger for myself and millions of others, and can help identify things you would have never even thought to think about. Even larger than that though is a whole-body approach. Wellness is holistic in nature, and therefore whole-body centered. So start doing breathing exercises, researching about how to stimulate the vagus nerve, and maybe look into therapy. But, let’s also look into the other ways we can improve our health that will take a domino effect on our whole wellbeing.
Your environment MATTERS. So many people will try to shame you for trying to create a healthier environment for yourself in the name of “you’re always going to be exposed to toxins and chemicals so why even try? You’re just depriving yourself from living a fun and happy life.” The reality is that you WILL always be exposed to toxins and synthetic chemicals, but you can still have a joyful, whole, HAPPIER life while reducing your exposure. Let’s talk epigenetics.
Epigenetics is a fun, science-y way to say genetic expression can be controlled by lifestyle and environment. You may have a genetic inclination and heritage for Alzheimer’s disease in your family, but there are certainly ways you can combat that gene expression with what you eat, how you live, wellness practices, and much more. Is it a sure bat? No…nothing ever is. But your odds are so much greater and you will be living a much more whole life in the meantime.
There are so many ways to change your environment, but a few key ones are limiting your exposure of phthalates and parabens which are found in things like artificial fragrance, skin and body care, and many household cleaners and laundry detergents/dryer sheets. If you want to learn more about where to start on changing your environment, check out this post on 10 ways to remove toxins from your environment or this one all about Non-toxic cleaning solutions for the home.
Food is delicious. Food fuels your body. Food also HEALS your body. Sadly, in our overprocessed, over-commercialized society, we have become so far removed from real, whole food and the benefits it offers.
Realizing that food is medicine is so critical when beginning your wellness journey. Start to research what foods are nutrient-dense, how eating a whole foods diet affects your body, how to cook from scratch, and how to properly prepare things like grains, legumes, and nuts (Carrie Vitt is the guru on this). It’s not just important to be eating good food, but to be eating it properly prepared so you can get all the nutrients and vitamins in the most bioavailable form which aids in digestion.
And speaking of digestion, go ahead and start getting probiotics (all the good bacteria your microbiome needs) and prebiotics (the fiber that the good bugs will feed on) in your diet too! Try to remember the 2 Fs: Fiber and Ferments. Fiber is critical in good digestion and fermented foods will create the biodiversity your gut needs to properly digest. So pay attention to what goes in, and what goes out will be right too! 😉 Some of my favorite probiotic supplements are from Mary Ruth’s and they have lots of great options for all ages.
You can get all the food, and digestion, and nontoxic stuff right, but if you don’t manage stress, then you will never see the major improvements in your health that you are looking for. I know what you’re thinking, because I think the same thing every time someone tells me to reduce stress. It sounds nice, but you can’t just give up all your commitments and obligations in the name of reducing stress or pretend like the problems in life just don’t exist. So how can you manage stress when you can’t remove your stressors?
Some of the best ways I have found to manage stress is with some of the tools my therapist has taught me such as bilateral stimulation tapping, breathing exercises, and visualization techniques, as well as just taking care of myself before I try to serve others. You can try to pour from an empty cup, but when things are stressful around you and you have nothing left to give, you have to first replenish your emotional and physical stores. That may look like spending some time gardening, having a weekly hot bath, getting coffee with a friend regularly, or even just a dedicated morning or evening routine that helps prepare you for the day.
Take some time to think about things that you really enjoy and how you can incorporate them into your life more, even if it’s in small ways. You can’t always remove stressors, but you can always add in small things that will make the big things seem not quite so big.
Getting started on your wellness journey can be intimidating, and you may feel like you have no idea where to start. Hopefully I’ve given you a few key areas to start transforming in your life, and I promise you will see the benefits sooner rather than later. Start small, take care of your body, and be kind to your self. You can’t do it all on Day One, and you’re not failing if you haven’t achieved the same goal as someone else.
A holistic lifestyle focuses on the whole body and in doing so recognizes that every body is different and that what you need will be different from what I need. Even your own needs will change over time. So listen to your body, take small, practical steps, and enjoy this new, whole, joyful life you’re striving for!