AMIDST CHAOS, JOY AND BEAUTY ENDURES

The changes seen in the world in the past few months have had an impact on every aspect of our lives, touching each person a little differently. This is a little story about how I’m creating balance where I can, and coping when so much in life is out of my control. I hope you it will inspire you to find joy and empowerment where you can! 

THE PHYSICAL IMPACT OF STRESS

When we endure a lot of life changes or stress, our adrenal glands get quite a workout as they try to make stress hormones to keep up with life’s demands. If the stress persists for too long, adrenal fatigue can set it. This can lead to difficulty with energy, sleep quality, immune health, weight management and mood. Add to that the isolation of social-distancing and limits to permitted activities, and our levels of bonding and feel-good hormones (such oxytocin and dopamine) can get quite low. So if you’ve been feeling more tired and unmotivated than usual lately, you’ve come by it honestly. You may need to be more gentle and nourishing to yourself and your adrenals in challenging times such as these. If you’re not sure how, I can help.

LACK OF CONTROL

For me, the pandemic has challenged me to use all the coping skills at my disposal. In addition to the direct changes to daily life, unexpected stresses added up – the sudden loss of my work home (Sage Clinic) , being unable to travel to Vancouver to visit my sister who is battling Lyme disease, being displaced from my home twice due to ant infestations, then feeling unsafe in my home after the landlord applied toxic insecticides that I would have preferred not to have in my home... to name a few. It’s been overwhelming at times. But it’s also been a good reminder to me of the importance of having an accepting attitude toward the sense of control in life, or lack thereof.

There is a great deal in life over which we do not have full control, big and small… the weather, pandemics, how people react to us, when we die, the stock market, the price of gas, accidents that affect our lives, the availability of toilet paper, to name a few. I studied anthropology and archaeology before my naturopathic life, during which time I learned that human beings have always gone to great lengths to try to gain a sense of greater control over life, and therefore security. This has looked like anything from blood sacrifices, dances to gods of rain or war, or simply the belief that if we just worked harder, believed the right things and tried to be a good person, we might be safer from things that we cannot otherwise control. But unfortunately, there will always be things that we cannot control, no matter what we do, who we are, or what we deserve. So we have a choice to make – we can dwell on the lack of control and stay in fear, or we can focus on the things we can control and live our best lives possible. Wait – read that again… we have a choice. Making choices is something we do have control over! I do want to acknowledge that there are many unaddressed inequalities in the world that unfortunately mean that not all people are free to make the same choices that others can make. I can only speak from my own experience of making choices in my life, but maybe you can relate and find your own unique ways to empower yourself in your life. Here’s what I’ve been doing to focus on what I can control in my life:

 Connecting to the home within.

            I practice Reiki daily and joined an online meditation class a few weeks ago. Although I’ve recently faced losses and a sense of threat to both my work home and place of residence, engaging in Reiki and meditation has given me a sense of being at home within myself, which I can access at anytime.  Reiki is also deeply relaxing, and gives the body a break from the fight-or-flight response that is common to be in during stressful times. And when something is stressing me out, I use the Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT – a practice of tapping on acupressure points while verbalising our feelings). If you’ve been my patient, who may have heard me mention it, or had an intro lesson from me (it takes about half an hour to learn).

Consciously balancing my exposure to stress with exposure to joy and beauty.

            Last year I visited Amsterdam, where one can walk by the former home where Anne Frank hid during the holocaust. It filled me with sadness to be there, but her famous words will always remain close to my heart: “Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.” Anne, I will.

Oh, but the news and social media can make it difficult. I do value being informed so that I can make choices in my life and connect to the reality of the shared human experience, but when we’re faced with challenges all around us in our lives and presented with mostly stressful news, one can easily get to feel overwhelmed, helpless or possibly even depressed. I’m consciously balancing my exposure to all the stress with opportunities to experience joy and the beauty of nature. Skyping with my little niece and nephew really helps – the stuff they say just cracks me up. And I take great comfort in knowing that the great beauty of the nature we have here on the West Coast is always there for us. Yes it’s cliché, but there’s a reason why “taking time to stop and smell the roses” is an enduring saying. Not to mention the lilacs, azaleas, magnolias, ornamental orange flowers… Beacon Hill Park is a celebration of blossoms at this time of year, and it’s very hard to be in a bad mood while watching the baby goats frolic to and fro (the zoo isn’t open, but you can see them through the fence)!

Eating to support my body but also delight my palate. Yes, both are important.

            When we’re stressed and our adrenals are fatigued, we often crave foods high in salt, sugar and fat. And remember that low dopamine I mentioned above? It’s involved in the function of the reward centre in our brain, so when it’s on the low side we tend to want to eat foods that taste as gratifying as possible, which are often not the healthiest (hello, chips and chocolate)! But there can be delicious compromise! It is possible to prepare foods that are both good for our bodies and very pleasing to our tongues, especially if we use lots of tasty herbs and spices. Often healthier foods keep us feeling satisfied longer, but also having some treats in moderation is nothing to be ashamed of and can enhance our quality of life.

Complex carbs such as sweet potatoes/yams, brown rice, quinoa or other whole grains are great for the adrenals and break down more slowly in the body than refined carbs (e.g. breads, sweets etc.), where the latter lead to blood sugar crashes that are rough on our mood and energy. We need a lot of good quality protein to provide amino acids for our neurotransmitter production (such as dopamine and serotonin), so including protein at every meal is essential. We also need dietary fats to produce our sex hormones, and healthy ones to include are olive oil, avocados and avocado oil, coconut oil in moderation (it’s a saturated fat, but plant saturated fats generally aren’t as concerning as animal saturated fats for most people), nuts and seeds, oily fish or fish oil, and even grass-fed butter (again, in moderation). You may actually need a bit more salt than usual if your adrenals are fatigued (unless you have high blood pressure, cancer or kidney disease). Seaweed snacks are my favourite salty snack and keep me away from chips… most of the time ;)

 I wish I could work with everyone to identify their unique dietary needs and support their overall health. But I know money is tight for a lot of people right now, so I hope the free recipes on my website blog will be helpful, and I’m also keeping the prices of my pre-made meal plans as low as possible on my website (no consultation required). In my workshops one of my attendees’ favourite recipes has been sweet potato brownies. They are seriously delicious, deceptively healthy and incredibly satisfying! You’ll find the recipe in the blog post above this one.

            Finally, at this time of year we can choose where to buy our food, and can find gorgeous fresh produce from the many local farms, such as Mitchell’s, Galey’s and Gobind. While they may not have the expensive official organic certification, most of our local farms avoid the use of harmful chemicals. Buying fresh local food is not only very nutritious and better for the environment than buying foods shipped across the world, but it’s also very important for food security. Our local farms are struggling more than usual as a result of a shortage of workers during the pandemic (need a job?), so they need the support of the community now more than ever. It’s rewarding to enjoy nutritious food while helping a local business… and reward means dopamine and joy :)

I encourage you to consider all the beneficial things that you do have control over right now, and to maintain balance in your life with a conscious effort to pursue joy and meaning in each day.

Stay joyful, empowered, and hopeful!

With gratitude,

Dr. Jocelyn