Faith vs. Fear - taking charge of your responses

Faith vs. Fear

Hi friends! WOW. What a weird time we are living right now. The difference in emotions from last week to this week couldn't be more palpable! I am seeing so many posts about fear and anxiety surrounding what might happen, restrictions that are being put into place, and just not feeling like you can live a normal life right now....

So I wanted to provide several resources to hopefully support you during this time...

First, I wanted to share my perspective on all of this, and why I'm not personally freaking out. 

1) Faith

Number one, and by far the most impactful is my faith. I know, as I did through my cancer journey, that whatever happens happens. And whatever I may personally experience in my own life, shows up for a reason. It's therefore my ONLY job, to be open to lessons I may learn, stay calm,  and receive it in faith. When things happen in our lives beyond our control, it is the best opportunity to give God all the control. Ultimately He's in control any way so...

2) There is a difference between fear and anxiety, and being proactive and conscientious.

I am certainly being very proactive, and very conscientious, but I choose not to be fearful or full of anxiety about things that may or may not happen. So far, I have survived all scary and negative things that have happened in my life, and there has never been a moment where worry or anxiety helped me navigate those times better.

So what am I doing to be proactive? Well I'm certainly not slacking on my supplements. One of the  things we DO have control over right now, is our bodies and our own personal home environments. Eating healthy foods, getting outside for walks and fresh air, taking immune boosting and detoxifying supplements etc.... my usual.

70% of your immune system lies in your gut. Prioritizing your nutrition, optimizing sleep, stressing less, and dialing in on your supplementation are all supportive.

In addition, when we went grocery shopping we did stock up a little more than usual. Being proactive is something within our control. When we take steps on things that are WITHIN our control, it helps us relax al little more about things that are NOT within our control. 
 

3) Find the good.

Don't tell me that when a few activities were cancelled you didn't feel a LITTLE relieved that your schedule was a little less booked? :) Now, being quarantined for several weeks, not being able to eat out or gather in large groups is NOT ideal.

However, finding the silver linings and maintaining a positive attitude can only HELP your immune system (where stressing lowers it!). I'm choosing to be grateful for less stuff going on. This came after a particularly busy season where our lives and schedules were PACKED and in fact, had this not all happened, we would currently be hosting a German exchange student in our home, and in a little over one week Keegan and Patrick would be flying to Japan and my parents and I would be flying to Prague for vacations.

I could be totally bummed but I'm not. This in no way impacts my life in a negative way in the grand scheme of things, and in fact, it's nice to have some down time.

You don't have to love this, you don't have to LIKE it. But you CAN choose to be happy, positive and joyful. Which is good for YOU, your body, and your family during this time!

4) Find the JOY

Intentionally seek out things that make you laugh. Laugh at all the toilet paper memes. Make jokes yourself. Get on TikTok and watch how silly people can be in the midst of life upheaval. Watch funny Netflix movies. Be purposeful about stress relief!!

How can I help??

In order to support you more fully, I am posting updates in my FB group #Youtrition - in regards to healthy food delivery services, supplements when they are available etc (it may appear the world is out of Vitamin C, but there are options!).... to hopefully encourage you with some ideas and tips through this unprecedented scenario.

I am also offering stand alone coaching calls at a discounted rate from now until the end of March. I don't normally offer stand alone calls, but I wanted to offer this as an option for anyone who wants to ask some questions, get some tips or anything else you feel may be supportive during this time. The hour is all yours to use as you need!

If this would be supportive to you, you can book a call below.

DEEP breaths!!!!!! Take a moment to think about something that makes you happy, visualize it. Feel it in your body. Create a positive emotional state for yourself right now.

Stay safe, and stay healthy.

Taking a Mental Health Day

Hey Hey Diva friends!

I'm still reeling from all the Christmas hustle :) I am a party planner. I love the preparation side where I get to make lists, buy gifts, plan some meals, and celebrate with family. I think I often enjoy the process more than the actual event! As a result...I've been doing a lot of sleeping this week :) But for us it's not over yet! 

Keegan will be coming home New Year's Eve (he's currently visiting his bio mom in AZ) so we are having a second Christmas New Years Day which will be even bigger than the first. FUN!! :)

In the midst of all of this my husband and I realized we really needed some down time for our mental health as well as our personal relationship. I don't want you to think I'm complaining. We live a charmed life in every sense of the word! We have a great home, a great family, wonderful friends, jobs we love.....but sometimes life is life and occasionally it hits ya hard!

The past few months have just been cram packed with stress from work to family, to travel to Keegan being sick and trying to figure out what was up with him (update on that coming soon). So yesterday Patrick andI decided to take a 24 hour, last minute, mini vacation to force ourselves to relax. Literally. FORCE ourselves to relax haha. 

Sure we could have taken a "staycation" where we just stayed home all day but I knew I needed to get away from everything. If we were in the house we would have ended up cleaning, cooking, planning doing laundry....SOMETHING. So we shot down to Cincinnati and had some good food, went to a pretty cool sign museum I didn't even know was there, and enjoyed a BREAK.

(p.s. if you have a fitbit check your heart rate when you go on vacation - it always drops. Stress impacts us daily.....hourly....no by the minute!!!!)

Who wouldn't want to take a cuddle day with this smokin' hottie?!

                  American Sign Museum in Cincinnati Ohio!

It's so easy to get wrapped up in all the "stuff" in life. The hustle, the bustle, the cleaning, the cooking, the worry, the parenting, your work.....all GOOD things that can cause excess stress IF we allow them to. (I personally fall into this trap too often).

Stress is the #1 cause of disease and breakdown in your body and doing what I do as a health coach...knowing THAT stresses me out ha! So I have tried to become much more aware of relaxing intentionally. Taking time, cutting things out of my life when I'm able to that cause excess stress, allowing myself to slow down, and remembering to STOP. Be thankful. ENJOY LIFE.

So remember - if you feel like you can't breath this week, take a minute. Sit down. ACTUALLY breath. Feel your breath. Listen to your body. Let your mind calm down. 

Here are a few things you can do today if you can't hop out of the house and get away:

• Take an epsom salt bath and relax
• Sleep in
• Read a book you ENJOY
• Workout if you have the energy and burn off the stress
• Give yourself a facial
• Splurge on a massage or mani/pedi
• Watch a movie by yourself
• Meditate ( I love the apps "headstrong" and "calm")
• Really savor that morning cup of coffee. don't wolf it down but enjoy the process.
• Enjoy some high quality chocolate
• Close your eyes and list everything in your life you are thankful for that you can think of at this moment

And whenever possible - Get yourself out of that house and go on a fabulous vacation!!!