Self Care

I want to talk for a little bit about the importance of self care. I hear so many moms (well, people in general, but especially moms) complain that they just don't have time to take care of themselves. I used to be this person. I took care of everyone else but myself and I eventually crashed. When I did, I crashed HARD. Boy did I learn my lesson!

The years of exposure to chronic stress, anxiety, and turmoil took it's toll on my mind, my body and my spirit. Throughout this blog, I have discussed the various forms  of self care I have used to recover the health of my body, mind and spirit. For me, that meant seeking the care of an experienced Naturopathic Physician,  various brain treatments to heal a brain injury (LENS Neurofeedback), homeopathic remedies, MAJOR change in diet, as well as counseling and inner healing. All of these have been ESSENTIALS for me to recover from the years of chronic stress.

I have had seasons of being on antidepressants, and they have worked well. They provided my brain with a buffer of sorts so I could tackle the deeper and harder issues without being constantly triggered or in a state of fight- or- flight. While I am tremendously grateful for conventional medicine and will continue to use that as needed, I  have always preferred the natural route to taking care of myself if at all possible.

Why is it important that we take care of ourselves? Well, for starters, we are loved. This is something that I think many of us (myself included) fail to recognize. Have you ever noticed how when a girl falls in love, she begins taking care of herself differently? It's because she knows she is loved. When we know we have great value, we begin to value ourselves. It is only from THAT place that we can begin to give to others. You know that verse "Love your neighbor as you have loved yourself?" Well, it's implied that you must take care of yourself. I am a MUCH healthier person when I place my needs in priority. Not necessarily above others, but on the same level of others. If I stop taking care of myself in whatever that looks like for that season, it begins to show up in my parenting, in how I think about myself and in all my other relationships.

As I mentioned briefly before, stress and anxiety have had their grips on me in different seasons. It's one of those things that pops up from time to time and I have learned to be diligent in taking care of it immediately so that it doesn't get out of hand. I had SEVERE post partum anxiety (that's a thing? Yes...it's a real thing) when my first daughter was born, and how I wish I had known then what I know now!

So, what does it look like for me personally to take care of this issue in my life?
    1. Sleep. This is so important and so many people including myself struggle from lack of sleep. Sleep is important in regulating hormones, including cortisol- the stress hormone. So...yeah...I am very protective of my sleep.
    2. Diet: I make sure in times of high stress or pressure that I'm eating well- that means minimizing, or eliminating altogether sugar and caffeine. I just do better without it.
   3. Support: For me, that means making sure I am spending time with people I love and feel loved by, also attending counseling as needed has proven to be very helpful to me.
   4. I take my supplements! I have an underlying issue with my blood that when I don't take my B vitamins, I get depleted within a few days of Vitamin B and zinc...building blocks of serotonin and other neurotransmitters....you cam imagine what one might look and feel like if they did not make serotonin...not awesome! So I take my supplements.
  5. Whenever I am pregnant, I get very cautious about what I put in my body- food, medicine or otherwise. I don't want anything to harm the unborn baby growing inside of me. That means that while my anxiety level might be a bit higher in pregnancy due to hormones, medication is not a first resort for me. I know many people who do take antidepressants/antianxiety meds during pregnancy and I am by no means judging that! Just saying for me- they haven't become necessary at this point. So, in addition to taking certain homeopathies, I have begun researching essential oils and their effect on the brain. I had no idea how much research has already been done to prove the effectiveness of certain oils to reduce stress, anxiety and other mood or nervous system issues. Of course, after reading that, I began doing research on various brands and found a company whose blends just looked so amazing and began trying some out as the need arose.

I am so impressed. I purchased my Premium Starter Kit through Young Living (http://www.youngliving.com/en_US/opportunity/products/starter-kits/premium-starter-kit and received 11 different essential oils, some samples and a diffuser for $160. This seemed a little pricey to me at the time (I am a very cheap person!) But I've only been using them for a week and I already feel like it has been completely worth it.

For example, their blend "Stress Away" is a delicious and happy scent. It's warm, refreshing and so so relaxing..I was feeling a bit of anxiety and stress over nothing the other day and placed a drop or two on my wrist, rubbed it together and inhaled the scent a few times. I'm not kidding...within 10 minutes, I felt like my calm normal self again. Some other oils you can use for stress and anxiety are Lavender, frankincense, and Peace and Calming. There are several others, but these are the ones that I have used so far and felt have really made a difference.

For gloomy and dark days, I put some "Joy" in the diffuser along with some "citrus fresh" and it immediately lifts my mood. Again, very impressed.

We have also been diffusing "Thieves" essential oil as well as applying it to our feet during the winter to kill off bugs and viruses. It seems like since putting out daughter in daycare/school, we have had colds circling around non stop!  Thieves is a blend specifically formulated to support the immune system, so when we are in need of some extra immune support, I rub some on my and my girls feet, diffuse, and apply to my lymph nodes. You can also take it internally which is awesome! And it smells like Christmas. So so yummy.

As I said, I am just getting started but I am in love with these oils.

If you are interested in purchasing these oils, the premium starter kit from Young Living is the way to go. You get 11 essential oils (Including their Everyday oils collection), a home diffuser (worth over $150), as well as some samples and a roller fit-bit for easy application. Worth well over $300.

You can purchase the premium starter kit OR individual oils and other kits via this website:
https://beta.youngliving.com/vo/#/signup/start?sponsorid=2609270&enrollerid=2609270&type=member&isocountrycode=US&isolanguagecode=EN

To get the best discount, you can enroll as a wholesale member. This saves you 24% on all of your orders and would allow you to sell should you choose to, but it is not a requirement. You also have the option of purchasing single oils, kits or any other products at the retail price without becoming a member- but you won't receive the 24% discount.

You can also find out more information about their seed-to-seal quality control process at www.yountliving.com

Enjoying the journey to better living!

MTHFR! (Things aren't always as they seem!)

No...I was not cursing...MTHFR is the acronym for methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase. It is a genetic mutation that can cause numerous problems depending on which mutation you have. After seeing my naturopath to help get my hormones back in order after the second miscarriage, she suggested I have the testing done to see if I carry the gene that is linked to recurrent miscarriages (among other things such as heart disease, strokes, clotting...the list seems endless!).  Basically, my body doesn't break down folic acid appropriately, which leads to the build up of homocysteine which is what causes all the dysfunction. Not just in my body, but can also cause neural tube defects in the growing baby. If we can bypass the folic acid and break it down FOR my body, we should be able to skip around the dysfunction and bring my body back into some sort of balance, and protect further pregnancies. 

Lo and behold...I was positive for the mutation most linked to recurrent miscarriage, and likely what caused the massive subchorionic hemorrhage in the last pregnancy. I was relieved and scared at the same time. Relieved that we had a cause and it wasn't just a "fluke", and scared because I began to wonder if we would ever be able to have more kids again. Having 2 back to back miscarriages had begun to cloud my mind with questions and fears and unknowns. 

I am a nerd at heart, and I secretly (or maybe not so secretly) really enjoy the research side of things, so I started researching this supplement and how it was supposed to benefit me. I'd read countless stories of people going from depressed and anxious to feeling "normal" for the first time in their entire life. It turns out, folate when broken down appropriately during the methylation process, is responsible for organizing your neurotransmitters-mainly serotonin and dopamine Who knew?! I however, did not have such pleasant side effects. I got a massive headache, followed by intense anxiety and irritability after just a few days. I stopped the L methylfolate, and started doing some more digging. This is supposed to be good for me, and clearly, based on testing, I need it...right? So, why do I feel like crap???

I emailed my naturopath, who advised me to cut way back on the supplement to see if that would help. Folate is technically a B vitamin, and can be stimulating to some people (me!). Ugh. Ok, so I cut way back and still felt foggy, irritable, anxious, and unable to sleep. I cut it out completely for a few days and started researching again. Apparently, long term use of high doses of B12 and other B vitamins, can cause a potassium deficiency. I have been taking large doses of B 12 for over a year due to the pyroluria and subsequent B deficiency. When one starts mehtylfolate, it drastically increases the demand for potassium within the cells causing hypokalemia (low potassium) and about a million different possible side effects. Since I had informed my naturopath that I was still feeling yucky, and had not heard back, I decided to get a potassium supplement and just hope for the best. I started taking it and then started taking the l methylfolate- no side effects! Yay! So...I am hoping to steadily increase the dosage of the methylfolate to what I'm actually supposed to be taking. 

I'll be honest- I did not come at this whole process with a great attitude. I've been in such a rush to heal and move on that every little upset to that plan has tipped me over...not a great place to be. I've been frustrated that it's taking so long to heal. I've been angry that my body wasn't responding too well to the supplement, and that is ONE MORE DELAY to adding to our family. I've just been frustrated- even a bit hopeless at times. But, once I sat back and just accepted that this is where we are at,  that it's taking longer than I would like, I've been a much easier person to be around. I've realized that in my rush to move forward, I haven't been enjoying the day to day- and that's not really ok with me. There is so much good in every day. So much to be grateful for, that we often miss out on it when we are so focused on all the is NOT working. Well, there's a lot that IS Working, and I think that deserves more of my focus and attention. 

I have no idea what the future holds...and I've learned to just take things one day at a time. Trusting in God's perfect love and Father-ship- that he will be completely faithful to bring us to a place of abudance. Not lack.