Why Does Wellness Have To Be So...Wellnessy?

via Allison Wu [wuhaus.com]

My friend and I have an Instagram message thread titled, “Why does wellness have to be so...wellnessy?” where we share photos we come across of wellness portrayed with the most unrealistic standards.  

I’m talking beautiful green tonics surrounded by posed crystal stones meant to enhance the health and wellbeing of the arranger as part of an essential morning routine. A bright pink smoothie bowl with edible f-ing flower petals in it suggested as a great pre-work energy booster. (My pre-work energy boost is sprinting to catch the bus from 3 blocks away holding my Tupperware).

Please don’t get me wrong though, this is nothing against those individuals, their intent, their rituals, and what lights them up at all. Honestly, I am one (I'm drinking a matcha latte as I type this). I am not in the business of passing judgement on anyone’s….. anything really. What’s the phrase, “Don’t go sweeping other people’s front porch before you sweep your own?” I’ve been known to burn sage and Palo Santo before client meetings, drink the greenest of juices, meditate for abundance, almost weep over the beauty of a watermelon radish, and drink coffee with butter and “brain tonic” so I’m as much of a wellness warrior as they come and I’m damn proud of it.

I wonder, though, how these unrealistic and over the top portrayals of wellness are affecting the ability of people to understand and buy into the simple idea of caring for one’s self.

We live in a world where it’s already difficult to feed ourselves with real, nutrient dense food every day and get enough real rest and sleep. We do not need the idea of health and wellness to be out of reach as well.

It’s already overwhelming to even know what the heck to eat every day to be “healthy.”  There is so much conflicting dietary advice out there.  Is fat bad for you? Whole grains, those are good right? Should I go gluten free or is that fake? What about cutting out dairy? Will matcha make me live to be 110? OMG do I have a leaky gut? It can be overwhelming and contradictory and make it seemingly impossible to make good choices.  

Wellness is not the latest fad.  You do not have to drink mushroom coffee and stuff crystals in your underwear to heal (although, you can if that works for you).

Wellness is listening to what your body is telling you. I used to think that meant I would actually hear a little voice saying “Christina, I’ve had enough rosé, please, please stop,” and then I would be like “Ohhh sorry little guy! This was just a first date and I was realllly nervous, I didn’t even know you noticed!”

Turns out it's not that. I guess it’s more paying attention to your body and the subtle cues it gives when it needs more or less of something. It’s also investigating the root cause of what’s going on rather than masking the symptoms with a pill or by ignoring them all together.

For example, if you have a headache what is your first response? Grab the Advil, get rid of the pain, keep on going. What might be more valuable in the long run is to notice the headache and think about the underlying reasons why you might have it. Giant hangover? Ok that’s an easy one. Majorly dehydrated? Under lots of stress and having tension build up? Not sleeping? Find the one that applies to you and give your body what it’s asking you for. Prioritize drinking lots of water (especially if you take in a lot of caffeine), take breaks and remember to breathe to manage stress, investigate causes of sleep disturbance and try to remedy them.

That is what wellness and healing looks like, and it’s completely different for every single one of us. It’s amazing how immune we can become to these subtle cues and how they can build up to massive imbalances and disease over time. I work at a giant public hospital most days, I see how this plays out in big ways. I've also been immune myself. We need to tune in so we can course correct before things get really bad.

I was once told by one of my clients that if I had a superpower it would be “Listening to my body,” and I was like ugh that sucks I’d way rather have superhuman strength or atmokinesis (controlling the weather, duh), but if that’s what I get, ok fine.

Now I’m pretty into that superpower. Paying attention to your body and what it needs is the key to everything. It’s what has allowed me to heal from autoimmune disease, know what to eat on a daily basis to feel good and energized, and to navigate this crazy world we live in with at least some grace and ease despite getting pulled in many different directions every day. I share this only because I don't want you to get discouraged in your pursuit of health. 

If you are trying to make changes and be healthy and feel overwhelmed, confused or annoyed all you need to do is start with this paying attention process. That’s it. Oh and eat some vegetables too. Maybe then have a matcha latte with the most beautiful smoothie bowl the world has ever seen. Your body will tell you that though ;) 

If want to talk more about this whole "paying attention" thing, feel free to email me! I'd love to hear from you. 

In health and wellness, 

Christina 

Why Our Current Healthcare System Isn't Enough

I am a holistic health and nutrition coach. I believe that all areas of our lives work together to influence our health and manifestations of disease.  I believe tangibly reducing stress levels and eating nutrient-dense foods to be just as prescriptive as pharmaceutical medications at times.  I believe in the power of food as medicine.  I’ve experienced healing through acupuncture, therapy, meditation, reiki, and herbs and witnessed these effects on countless others.

I am also a critical care trained registered nurse. I believe that conventional medicine is awe-inspiring and important. I have seen people who were terminally ill get new hearts transplanted from another human being that died.  I have cared for these people and have seen how these miraculous surgical interventions conducted by supremely skilled doctors gave them new life. Personally, I owe my life to pharmaceuticals that worked to quiet my immune system when it was on overdrive during my first flare up of autoimmune disease. And should I suffer a stroke or break a bone, you better believe I wouldn’t be reaching for herbs or meditating on it.

One might think that these two beliefs and occupations of mine go hand in hand and complement each other nicely. But in reality, it’s almost as if I work within two different worlds.

When I am working as an RN at the hospital, I help identify if there are blockages in the coronary arteries through stress testing and interpretation of electrocardiograms. If there are, patients are sent to get stents or bypass surgery to open up the blockages and preserve their heart function. I don’t talk to anyone about why they actually have blockages in their hearts in the first place or what they can do in addition to surgery and pharmaceutical medications to help heal themselves. Some doctors do have these conversations almost as an afterthought about the effects of diet and lifestyle, but most of the time patients don’t even know there are alternatives to consider.

It’s easier to just prescribe a pill than to spend time investigating underlying causes of disease which can be complex and multifaceted. And often times it’s what patients want or are used to -  the quick fix

When I work as a holistic health coach, I look at all areas of clients lives to see where things are out of balance and together we explore ways to get back to health, mainly through diet and lifestyle modifications. 

Sometimes, moving towards a whole foods diet to feel better in our bodies can be considered an alternative or complementary approach. 

Alternative. That’s the loaded word I really wanted to talk about.

Our Western medical establishment typically defines alternative medicine as any practice that doesn’t come from evidence gathered using the scientific method.  And while I believe standards and regulations to be crucially important when creating guidelines to treat human beings, (do you want your surgeon doing anything other than the gold standard?) I do believe this labeling creates a very limited viewpoint.

In our Western medical model it is currently considered an “alternative” notion that the food we put into our bodies has a direct effect on manifestation of disease states and, generally, how we feel. Honestly, it really is. I see it every day. When treating someone with an autoimmune thyroid condition the current recommendation from a conventional standpoint is a replacement of thyroid hormones. Rarely is there any further investigation into underlying cause (a thyroid problem is not simply a deficiency of thyroid medication) or the very real and detrimental effects of stress on the adrenals and thyroid, or the possibility of a poor, sugar-laden diet contributing to inflammation and the disease state.

What I’ve come to know over time is that the best solution lies in the middle. Complex illness requires a mix of conventional, pharmaceutical or surgical treatments as well as attention to diet, digestive health, stress, relationships and our environment.  We are doing ourselves a huge disservice to limit ourselves one or the other. It requires a team approach to be able to address all of these underlying factors, each bringing their own unique knowledge.

As Danielle Laporte, self-help guru says, “There is a time and place for everything.  Knowing the right time and right place is how you become your own healer.”

In terms of healing and treating disease in a real and effective way, truer words have never been spoken.

A branch of medicine called Functional medicine is emerging to better address the health care needs of our current world. Functional medicine works to tie together conventional and alternative healing modalities to add as many tools as we can to our toolkit.  It works to find the underlying causes of disease rather than simply masking symptoms using a systems-oriented approach and engaging both the patient and practitioner in a therapeutic partnership.

This is the approach that is needed for true healing to occur. The current model we are working in is not enough.  If we’re being honest with ourselves we know this to be true. We need both advanced technology and ancient wisdom.  We need open minds and a broader acceptance for what is considered “alternative.”  If we are in the alternative or natural healing world we need not shame those who require pharmaceuticals and conventional interventions to heal.  There is a time and a place for each and we need to call on both for true healing to occur.

If you want some more information about Functional Medicine or about how you can get connected to a pracititonor, feel free to email me . If you want to chat more about how to incorporate healthy whole foods into your diet successfully and how you might benefit from one-on-one health coaching, click the button below to book in a free 30 minute discovery session to chat. I'd love to hear from you!

With Love, 

Christina Tidwell, MN, RN, CHC

Emotion-FULL Living with Dr. Rosellini

People are funny when it comes to talking about emotions. Some thrive on talking about them, some maybe talk too much about them, others rarely open up, some hate them, and for some they might be a completely foreign concept. I am here today to talk about why emotions are important and the power in acknowledging and accepting emotions, even the “bad” ones.

Emotions are real. They are natural. They signal what may be going right or wrong in our lives.

They help us connect with others. They motivate us to act. Bottom line, they are an essential part of the human experience. Unfortunately, a lot of us don’t always have the best relationships with our emotions. I mean we all want the positive emotions like love, happiness, joy, and passion.  Who wouldn’t?! They are the best.

But the negative ones, holy moly, no way we want those. Feelings like pain, sadness, anxiety, fear, jealousy, hate, anger, and shame come to mind. Ugh! Even reading them off creates associated feelings for me. Those we often shun and avoid at all cost.

When I feel anxious, let’s say before a major presentation, I often think to myself “just stop it!” or “go away,” constantly wanting to get rid of the fear and worry. I even start to berate myself and say “what is wrong with you?” or “you are being ridiculous.” But feelings have utility, and the anxiety is important as it motivates me to present in the first place, and shows that I care.

If I am sad I might think, “just get over it” or “be strong.” Then I feel even worse because trying to control emotions does not make them go away. But the sadness I feel helps show me what is meaningful or lacking in my life. It has a purpose.

I remember one person saying to me they wished emotions were like chemical compounds because then he could break down the negative emotions and destroy them. Without the negative emotions, though, would we truly feel or identify the positive ones?

By numbing or suppressing negative emotions we also numb the positive ones as well.

Negative and positive emotions are two sides of the same coin.  I love the movie “Inside Out” because it demonstrates so well the import, double-sided nature of emotions.

Shame is a weird emotion because when I feel shame regarding a situation, I usually avoid it at all costs, leading to expressing it via anger or frustration. Have you ever done anything like that? I think we all do it from time to time. We bottle all the “bad stuff” up and shove it somewhere we hope no one sees. Walking around trying to be “on” and showing that we have it together. While this can be useful at times, it also takes its toll and is ultimately not sustainable.

It has taken me a long time (and I am still learning) how to be okay with having these negative emotions. It is so uncomfortable to have them and truly let yourself experience that shame, or sadness, or whatever it is you are feeling. But if you try to get rid of feelings, or avoid them, not only are you not getting rid of it, you are denying a natural part of yourself and the problem often time gets bigger. Research even points to the real, harmful effects of avoiding and suppressing aversive emotion (e.g. Campbell-Sills et al., 2006; Ben-Naim et al., 2013).

Yet this suppression happens all the time. And why? Because emotions can hurt (and can be annoying)! If we are a child or even an adult, and tell our parent about something exciting or sad that happened, and we are dismissed or ignored, that hurts! And we might think, “ohhh I don’t like that feeling, there is no way I am going to share how I really feel next time.”

Now fast forward several years. This person may have generalized this mentality and now feels uncomfortable being authentic. They may distance themselves from others to protect themselves, but end up not knowing who they are or what they really want. This may be an exaggeration but it captures what might happen when we try to cut ourselves off from emotions, particularly sharing emotional vulnerability. 

Another example might relate to social anxiety. Let’s say you are a freshman in college, meeting new people and really trying to fit in and make friends. At lunch, you are hanging up with a group of friends talking about favorite music. You bring up a band you know of, and everyone laughs and says that “they suck.” That might not feel so good, and it might make us a little more anxious in the next social situation. This time, we decide to avoid that emotion by removing ourselves from the group of friends (maybe by saying, “I have homework to do”), being agreeable, or not saying anything (despite having things to say).

While our anxiety might be curbed in the short term through this avoidance tactic, it makes us more anxious in each following situation and makes us more likely to avoid again, despite our hopes to connect with others and fit in.

Now I am not saying we should all just get obscenely angry, anxious, jealous and sad all the time and let our emotions overcome us. Or that we should walk around like an open wound or dwell forever in an emotion.

Being able to acknowledge what emotion is there, allowing it to be there, and embracing it as part of us connects us further with ourselves and leads to a better understanding of what might be going on internally.

Sharing emotional vulnerability with others also connects us with them in a powerful way (read any of Brene Brown for more information! She is a vulnerability guru). Next time you are sad or anxious, and you want to avoid that feeling, my challenge to you would be to:

1. Acknowledge what feeling is coming up.

2. Write it down or talk about it with someone.

3. Accept that it is there.

You are only human, and it is okay to have a sad feeling. You are not crazy. Find out what it is telling you. It is interesting to learn that once we are able to let ourselves experience just a little bit of that feeling we are scared of, we often feel relieved to have opened up to it. 

I don’t want to ignore the good feelings either. It is okay to be happy and have a lot of good feelings! You deserve them. However, the common advice of “just be happy” goes too far and might not be useful.

Emotions naturally come and go. Forcing it does not usually work. Sometimes we are happy, sometimes not. That is normal. I like the idea of the weather as a metaphor for emotions (Read Pema Chodron for more on this >>). Sometimes it is rainy, sometimes sunny, sometimes there are thunderstorms! So whatever you feel, allow yourself to accept it. Only you have the power to do that. And you will feel a lot more authentic and like yourself if you take that risk. 

How do you think you will incorporate emotion-full living into your life today? Leave a comment or email me at barrymorerosellinipsyd@gmail.com I'd love to hear from you!

Mindfully, 

Barrymore Rosellini, PsyD,  Licensed Psychologist

“The master observes the world but trusts his inner vision. He allows things to come and go. His heart is open as the sky.”

— LAO TZU, TAO TE CHING (STEPHEN MITCHELL TRANSLATION)

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Mindful Eating

I recently gave a talk at the hospital I work at about the topic of mindful eating. The talk was a hit and loads of people came up to ask questions after the event which is always my favorite part.  One woman came up to me and said how she appreciated the information so much because she has heard a lot about what to eat but has never learned how to eat.

You might be all, yeah I know how to eat CHRISTINA, it’s a basic human instinct and I’ve been doing it for 30+ years! And judging by my waistline or credit card bill I’m super good at it! But really focusing on the way in which we put food into our bodies is a totally revolutionary concept and I’ll tell you why it’s the key to everything.

One thing I hear a lot from clients is that they know they should eat more veggies, drink more water and avoid overly fried sugary foods but for some reason they just can’t seem to stick with it.  They have good intentions but cave when a sugar craving hits at 3:00pm or they get a surge of hunger after restricting calories all day, or they overeat after a particularly stressful day at work.

We’re smart people! We get it! Eat your veggies! Drink green juice! But for some reason it seems like we have to be nutritional geniuses with personal chefs to be able to sustainably eat in a healthy way.

Becoming mindful around how we eat and the food we put into our bodies is the missing link here that doesn’t get a lot of mainstream attention.

Eating mindfully means paying attention, on purpose, to what you’re eating and how it makes you feel.

Did you scarf down your sandwich in front of your computer today before you even realized it was gone? If you did, you’re in good company because so many of us are guilty of this. (When I asked the room this question during my talk almost every single hand in a room of 60+ people went up). This is an example of not eating in a mindful way.

When we are distracted and overly stressed we are more likely to succumb to cravings, overeat, and eat whatever is put in front of us no matter how it’s going to make us feel. Also, when our stress response is activated our body is not properly setup to digest and absorb our food.  When our sympathetic nervous system is activated we are ready to run away from a predator, not sit and digest a lovely meal.

One way to start tuning into the connection between what we put into our bodies and how we feel is to do a 3-Day Food Diary that you can download here >>

Once we start to pay attention to how food makes us feel and what our bodies are asking for in the present moment, we can move away from external sources of information (which can often times be conflicting and confusing) and rely on our own internal sense of perception.

What a relief.

If you want some more guidance feel free to email me or click the button below to book in a free 30 minute discovery session to chat about how to achieve total food freedom.

Mindfully,

Christina Tidwell, MN, RN, CHC