How to build your care team
Building a care team over time helps us to address all the areas of our lives in which we need support. In the video I’ve outlined the six major areas of our lives where different players in a care team can support us.
Complex illness requires a mix of conventional, pharmaceutical or surgical treatments as well as attention to diet and digestive health, stress, movement, and our spiritual and emotional health. Living well with chronic disease requires a team approach to be able to address all of these underlying factors.
Often times we only look to one practitioner to get all of our answers and support. We may feel frustrated or uncared for when we get instructions on what medications to take, but no guidance around day to day practices that promote health.
Building a care team over time helps us to address all the areas of our lives in which we need support. In the video below I’ve outlined the six major areas of our lives where different players in a care team can support us.
Medical
Root cause investigation
Mind/Spirit/Emotional
Nutrition
Mindful movement
Stress reduction
I’ve given you some ideas to get started in the video below (this list is by no means exhaustive). You don’t need to go out and employ six new practitioners today, but over time you will be able to gather a team that works to support your unique needs. Some facets of your care team may even include free yoga videos, friends and family, or a trusted podcast you go to for information and inspiration!
Listen below to learn how to start building your unique care team!
Prefer to listen? Tune into The Live Well Podcast below (AND DON'T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE SO YOU'LL NEVER MISS OUT!)
Click here to listen in iTunes
Click here to listen in Stitcher
Or if you’d like to play the episode right now in your browser, use the player below:
Are you dealing with symptoms of chronic fatigue, brain fog, autoimmune disease, pain or digestive issues?
You’ve gone to doctor after doctor. You’ve received some answers, have started on medications and notice some relief (thank goodness!) but are still left feeling exhausted, stressed, inflamed and not fully yourself?
Or maybe every test has come back “normal” and your practitioners have told you that there isn’t anything they can do, to come back when things get worse, or to simply manage your stress better?
If yes, then you are someone who would benefit form 1:1 holistic health coaching.
Health coaching is a necessary extension of the health care system in that together we have more time to uncover issues, implement strategies and assess outcomes together. Autoimmune disease is complex and to address it we need to come at it from all angles (pharmaceutical therapies from your doctor while also focusing on root cause factors like gut health, diet, sleep and stress). I offer accountability, a knowledgeable resource and most importantly support.
I always offer free 30-minute discovery sessions to get clear on your major health concerns and what’s standing in your way. Click the button below to set up your free consultation and we can create a plan of action specifically for you.
LIVE WELL PODCAST | Ep #49 - Embracing all parts of ourselves with Claire Bradshaw
In this episode Clare speaks about her experience with burn out, declining health, discontentment with life and losing her connection with herself. Join us as we delve deep into the concept of “becoming whole” and learn tangible ways to reconnect with yourself.
Today on The Live Well Podcast we’re speaking with Claire Bradshaw about embracing all parts of ourselves in the healing journey. Claire Bradshaw is a life coach, yoga teacher and host of the Becoming Whole Podcast. She supports women to empower themselves to ditch stress and overwhelm so that they can connect with their whole selves and their life’s purpose. She guides them to step into their own brilliance and express their personal gifts.
In this episode Clare speaks about her own experience with burn out, declining health, discontentment with life and losing the connection with herself. Join us as we delve deep into the concept of “becoming whole” and learn tangible ways to reconnect with yourself and reignite that fire in your life!
LISTEN BELOW (AND DON'T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE SO YOU'LL NEVER MISS OUT!)
Click here to listen in iTunes
Click here to listen in Stitcher
Show Notes:
0:00 Intro
0:56 Introducing Clare Bradshaw
2:30 Claire’s personal experience with burn out, physical symptoms of extreme fatigue and dizziness, discontentment with life and losing her connection with herself
7:30 Exploring the “root causes” of chronic health issues
9:50 How to uncover what you value most in life as the first step to living in alignment
12:40 The importance of allowing “blank space” within your day
“Our society is addicted to productivity and achieving”
23:04 How to start the process of connecting inwards to yourself to understand what you need
What are my values?
Is the way I’m living my life currently aligned with these values?
Am I giving myself what I need?
Scheduling time in your life to slow down and to do things that bring you joy
23:52 The importance of getting into the parasympathetic branch of our nervous system
Claire’s favorite breathing exercise to get into the parasympathetic nervous system
29:00 Exploring the feelings of guilt or unworthiness when you start to give to yourself
32:00 How to give yourself time at the start of your day and create a morning routine that works!
39:00 How to connect with Claire
40:42 Outro
If you loved this episode, I'd be honored if you would give me a rating on iTunes. This helps me to get content out to others who are interested in getting control of their health through diet, lifestyle shifts and personal empowerment. Thank you for your support!
If we haven't met before, I'm Christina Tidwell, founder and owner of Live Well with Christina. I'm so excited that you're here and have begun to delve into your health and wellness journey! Here at Live Well we help people with chronic autoimmune disease take control of their health through nutrition, lifestyle shifts and personal empowerment.
If you suffer from:
Fatigue and energy crashes
Brain fog
Poor digestion
Symptoms of autoimmunity
Stress and overwhelm
...and aren't getting the support you need, I can help guide you through 1:1 health and nutrition coaching.
Health coaching is a necessary extension of the health care system in that together we have more time to uncover issues, implement strategies and assess outcomes together. Autoimmune disease is complex and to address it we need to come at it from all angles (pharmaceutical therapies from your doctor while also focusing on root cause factors like gut health, diet, sleep and stress). I offer accountability, a knowledgeable resource and most importantly support.
I always offer free 30-minute discovery sessions to get clear on your major health concerns and what’s standing in your way. Click the button below to set up your free consultation and we can create a plan of action specifically for you. I can’t wait to hear from you!
I'm working with an integrative doctor, do I need a health coach?
Health and nutrition coaching is a relatively new area of support in our healthcare system. I sometimes get the question from potential clients, “I’m working with an integrative doctor, how does health coaching fit into this picture?” It’s a great question and one I would love to bring some clarity to today!
Health and nutrition coaching is a relatively new area of support in our healthcare system. I sometimes get the question from potential clients, “I’m working with an integrative doctor, how does health coaching fit into this picture?” It’s a great question and one I would love to bring some clarity to today!
Watch the video below or read on to learn about the top 3 ways health and nutrition coaching helps you achieve optimal health, it’s unique and critical role in our current healthcare system, and the best ways to work synergistically with your care team to get the most out of your care.
I understand that depending on where we are in terms of time, readiness for change and finances, we may need to pick and choose what kind of support we are able to get at the present moment.
The goal of this video is to clarify the roles of different practitioners so you can pick what you need most, rather than to tell you that in order to be healthy you need to have a huge care team of fancy practitioners, because you don’t!
1. Time
Integrative (Naturopathic, Functional Medicine, etc.) practitioners are amazing in that they usually allocate a whole lot more time for patient visits than your standard conventional doctor. It’s because it takes time to get to the root cause of complex, chronic issues and a 15-minute visit just won’t cut it.
That being said they’re still doctors with busy schedules! You’re likely to see them initially and then maybe every 2-3 months depending on their practice or financial constraints. Depending on what’s going on for you, it may take a lot more time and investigating to understand the full picture of what’s going on in your body.
Health coaching is structured in a way where we are able to meet more regularly (weekly and bi-weekly) and have more frequent contact to dig deep and uncover the sources of imbalance in your life.
An example is a client I worked with who had a lot of complex chronic issues going on. She had her initial visit with her functional medicine practitioner and left with a giant diagnosis list and a bag full of supplements.
In that time he was able to uncover a lot through bloodwork and testing which was amazing!
As we worked together over the coming weeks we were able to see that she had blood sugar balancing issues due to how and when she was eating, a very high-stress load, insomnia at 2-3am every night, and 8/10 bloating when eating certain foods.
None of this was uncovered in the single doctor’s visit, so I was able to make a few, basic dietary and lifestyle recommendation and also recommend a SIBO breath test, which came back positive and her doctor was able to treat her more effectively. Time is valuable and necessary to uncover what’s going on in the body, but also to implement interventions and asses results in order to modify for that unique person.
2. Guidance to avoid overwhelm
Since you may only see your practitioner every 2-3 months, they want to make sure that you get all the information you need in that visit. For some people, this may work out really well. If you are the kind of person that gets a list of dietary changes, daily routines, lifestyle modifications and supplements to take and thinks, “Bring it ON!” that might work for you!
For the majority of people I work with, and for myself as well, that approach tends to be really overwhelming.
I had a client who got a giant list of her many diagnoses, a list of foods to eliminate and include, and a supplement regimen that was 5 pages long (I kid you not). What happened in her case (and what I see all too often) is the overwhelm set in, she panicked and froze in inaction.
She didn’t know how she was going to begin to cut out gluten and sugar let alone incorporate meditation every day, or get a routine with her many supplements.
It began to feel like a full-time job she didn’t feel qualified for. She came to me for support, guidance and someone to create a plan with her that felt manageable. At the end of the day, we can have all of the information in the world but if we don’t have a plan to integrate it into our lives in a sustainable way, it doesn’t matter and we won’t see the results we want.
This is the beauty of health coaching and why I believe it to be a critical asset in our current healthcare system. I hear from so many clients, “I know what I should be doing, I’m just not doing it,” and it’s not because you are bad or a failure, it’s just because you haven’t found a way to integrate things into your life in a way that feels sustainable rather than like you’re either “on the wagon” or “off the wagon.”
That’s precisely what I guide you to do though health and nutrition coaching. Together we implement changes that feel simple, clear, manageable, good and sustainable.
3. Nutrition
Depending on your practitioner and their scope of practice, you may or may not get guidance around nutrition. Some providers give no information, others give templates for elimination diets, and others are more involved in the process. It’s been my general experience that most integrative doctors don’t spent a lot of time understand what it is you are eating on a daily basis, and how you are digesting that food. Pieces that are essential to healing.
Again it comes back to time.
It takes time to review food/symptom/poop journals and gather nuanced information about how what you are eating on a daily basis is affecting you. They have a lot to cover and may not have the time to go as deep as we need to on the nutrition piece!
I partner with a lot of integrative doctors in my local area because they need support and realize that they don’t have time to do everything. Likewise, they have tools and knowledge that I do not that may become necessary in the healing journey.
If you are looking for more targeted nutrition support I recommend health and nutrition coaching in order to find what works for you specifically rather than just going off of a template.
I hope that helps to clarify the role of health and nutrition coaching in our healthcare system and how you can benefit!
I chose to devote my life to this field as an RN and certified health and nutrition coach because I believe it to be the missing piece. The support we need to make health feel attainable no matter where we are at in the present moment. If you have any questions comment below, I’d love to hear your experience!
Prefer to listen? Tune into The Live Well Podcast below (AND DON'T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE SO YOU'LL NEVER MISS OUT!)
Click here to listen in iTunes
Click here to listen in Stitcher
Or if you’d like to play the episode right now in your browser, use the player below:
Are you dealing with symptoms of chronic fatigue, brain fog, autoimmune disease, pain or digestive issues?
You’ve gone to doctor after doctor. You’ve received some answers, have started on medications and notice some relief (thank goodness!) but are still left feeling exhausted, stressed, inflamed and not fully yourself?
Or maybe every test has come back “normal” and your practitioners have told you that there isn’t anything they can do, to come back when things get worse, or to simply manage your stress better?
If yes, then you are someone who would benefit form 1:1 holistic health coaching.
Health coaching is a necessary extension of the health care system in that together we have more time to uncover issues, implement strategies and assess outcomes together. Autoimmune disease is complex and to address it we need to come at it from all angles (pharmaceutical therapies from your doctor while also focusing on root cause factors like gut health, diet, sleep and stress). I offer accountability, a knowledgeable resource and most importantly support.
I always offer free 30-minute discovery sessions to get clear on your major health concerns and what’s standing in your way. Click the button below to set up your free consultation and we can create a plan of action specifically for you.
LIVE WELL PODCAST | Ep #47 - How to use the “Be - Do - Have” model to get what you want out of life with Sarah Kolman
Sarah Kolman a Registered Nurse, Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, and Contemplative Psychotherapist. I’m excited to have Sarah on the podcast to delve deep into the concept of reframing our mindset and practicing adjusting our lens so we perceive life and relationships in a more positive and fulfilling way.
Do you ever feel stuck? Focusing on what you want to HAVE in life and what you have to DO to get there?
Today on The Live Well Podcast I’m speaking with the amazing Sarah Kolman about feeling stuck and the importance of mindset in our healing journey. We’re going to explore not just what we do to become healthy, but who we are as that person doing the tasks as we explore the BE > DO > HAVE model of creating change.
Here’s an example from Sarah of a conversation that may feel familiar to you:
“I want to have a thin, slim body and what I’ll do to get there is restrict carbs and exercise 7 days a week so that I will be attractive and lovable.”
This approach to having the life we want is called the HAVE > DO > BE model. This model creates the result that we are always chasing our tails because when we focus on what we’re going to have first and foremost and we never arrive at the place where we’re thin or beautiful enough to actually feel lovable, worthy, attractive etc.
It’s safe to say that we have all been there. At some point or another, we’ve all had an idea about the missing piece—losing 20 pounds, finding the right partner, getting a new job —that will finally make us happy, attractive, lovable, worthy, or enough. We make ourselves crazy chasing that missing piece, or feeling unsatisfied when we do get it. This trap feels comfortable to us because we are so bought into (and just about everything in society reinforces) the notion of our own unworthiness. The “thing” will never be what gives us what we yearn for deep inside.
Fortunately, it’s completely within our power to change the channel. When we focus on our ability to shift our ways of being, we tap into our power to create the results we want. This is one of the most powerful episodes I've recorded to date and I HIGHLY recommend tuning in.
Sarah Kolman a Registered Nurse, Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, and Contemplative Psychotherapist. Sarah’s unique one-on-one health coaching practice blends her nursing and psychotherapy experience with holistic and nutrition-based health concepts. A passionate student in the field of psychoneuroimmunology, she helps her clients heal by focusing on the brain-body connection and its profound impact on wellness.
With Sarah’s support and guidance, clients learn to manage stubborn symptoms that have persisted through countless traditional treatments. She is also the author of the book Full Plate: Nourishing Your Family’s Whole Health in a Busy World.
I’m excited to have Sarah on the podcast to delve deep into the concept of reframing our mindset and practicing adjusting our lens so we perceive life and relationships in a more positive and fulfilling way.
LISTEN BELOW (AND DON'T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE SO YOU'LL NEVER MISS OUT!)
Click here to listen in iTunes
Click here to listen in Stitcher
Show Notes:
0:00 Intro
4:28 Sarah explains what “ways of being” means in contrast to tasks of “doing”.
9:40 How you can still feel calm, free and at ease while still doing the same tasks you normally would (without feeling stress!)
11:26 I describe a typical Monday schedule and how I would normally approach my full day of “doing.”
14:08 Together we reframe my schedule to inspire calm, presence and peace for my day.
16:48 How stepping back actually takes the pressure and stress off my day.
20:47 Sarah takes us through a practical Be - Do - Have excercise.
30:27 How living with flow, ease and grace requires practice and rewiring our limiting beliefs.
32:40 How the practice of looking at your thoughts and what you make them mean, is completely in your power and how to choose another story that works for you!
37:25 Sarah suggests a an easy question to ask ourselves so we can begin using the Be - Do - Have concept.
42:05 Outro
If you loved this episode, I'd be honored for you to give me a rating on iTunes. This helps me to get content out to others who are interested in getting control of their health through diet, lifestyle shifts and personal empowerment.
If we haven't met before, I'm Christina Tidwell, founder and owner of Live Well with Christina. I'm so excited that you're here and have begun to delve into your health and wellness journey! Here at Live Well we help people with autoimmune disease take control of their health through nutrition, lifestyle shifts and personal empowerment.
If you suffer from:
Fatigue and energy crashes
Brain fog
Poor digestion
Symptoms of autoimmunity
Stress and overwhelm
...and aren't getting the support you need, I can help guide you through 1:1 health and nutrition coaching.
Health coaching is a necessary extension of the health care system in that together we have more time to uncover issues, implement strategies and assess outcomes together. Autoimmune disease is complex and to address it we need to come at it from all angles (pharmaceutical therapies from your doctor while also focusing on root cause factors like gut health, diet, sleep and stress). I offer accountability, a knowledgeable resource and most importantly support.
I always offer free 30-minute discovery sessions to get clear on your major health concerns and what’s standing in your way. Click the button below to set up your free consultation and we can create a plan of action specifically for you.