health

Mental Health Awareness Month

May 3, 2022 by Rachel 8 Comments

It’s May! And that means that it’s Mental Health Awareness Month! For those of my audience who have been around for a few years, you’ll remember that I’ve been on my own mental health journey for the last 10-ish years. It all seemed to really come to a head when I had my first child. There was no longer a way to pretend that my anxiety and depression didn’t exist. Not when another life depended on me being present in every moment. But also, in that moment, I began my advocacy journey towards spreading mental health awareness.

My mental health journey

While my advocacy journey started 10 years ago, my mental health journey started long before that. Prior to having my son 10 years ago, I had gone almost my entire life with undiagnosed depression and anxiety. My family suffered the traumatic loss of my grandfather when I was young. And, due to the circumstances surrounding his death, it sent me into a bit of a spiral. I have vivid memories as a child of not understanding how so many kids were happy when there were bad things happening in the world every day. If that doesn’t scream depression, I’m not sure what does.

My depression and anxiety manifested itself in many ways over my adolescence, but it ultimately became unmanageable when I became a mother. I remember going to both my OBGYN as well as my primary doctor, in tears, telling them both that I just couldn’t go on any further. I’m lucky to have had physicians who listened rather than write it off as ‘baby blues.’

My postpartum depression and anxiety worsened the second time around. There was a point, at my lowest, where I considered taking myself to the hospital and checking myself in. I tell this story regularly, because it was a pivotal moment in my mental health journey. At the time, I said this out loud to a friend. And she responded with the following: “Just know – that if you do that, they WILL admit you.” In that moment, I realized I was cognizant enough to understand that as much as I thought I wanted that; I realized that, deep down, I wanted to be present for my new baby.

But I also understood that there may be a time where I could have responded with “I know and I’m ready for that.” This realization came with a lot of shame. But it shouldn’t. And the only way we’re going to move past the stigma of mental illness and mental health is by talking about it, openly, with others. One in 7 women will develop postpartum depression after giving birth. It’s well past time that we start talking about it. The lives of mothers depend on it.

Why speaking about mental health is important

The way we ultimately lose people to mental illness is by refusing to talk about it. The stigma surrounding those of us with mental illness is astounding. We talk about mental health not being a “casserole illness”. Meaning, it’s not a broken leg, or a heart attack — which you can visibly see someone struggling from. No one thinks of bringing the person going through a severe depressive episode a meal.

But we should. And the only way we are going to get to where both types of ailments are on the same page is to talk about them the same way. Truly!

Our children aren’t immune

You would think that as an adult who suffered as a kid, I would understand exactly what it’s like to mother a child with mental illness. But I don’t. In fact, even as a mother, I’m not clinically trained to deal with children’s mental health issues.

Childhood is tough. And perhaps the saying ‘children are resilient’ should be retired. Because, are they really? Or does our ‘resiliency’ as children later manifest itself as unhealed trauma?

Mental Illness Risk Factors

Like most diseases, mental illness can be hereditary. In fact, nearly 1 in 4 Ohioans struggling with mental illness. My dads side of the family has a history of mental illness, and now it’s a risk I’m passing on to my own children. But it doesn’t have to be something that is hidden. It’s important that we discuss family history of mental illness in the same ways we discuss family history of heart disease or diabetes. If you’re looking for more information on risk factors to mental illness, check out BeatTheStigma.org.

Resources You Need to Know

No one should have to go through mental illness alone. And, luckily, no one has to! You can visit FindTreatment.org for treatment options. You can also call the Ohio CareLine at 800-720-9616. If you’re in immediate danger and need a text resource, please text the mental health crisis line at 741741. Trained mental health professionals are standing by, day or night.

If you’re interested in taking a mental health screening, head here. You can find additional resources for children at OnOurSleeves.org.

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31 Day Self Care Challenge

April 23, 2021 by Rachel 8 Comments

The past year has done a number on all of us. I know find myself riding a roller coaster. Some weeks I feel like I have it all under control; other weeks I am struggling in every way possible. Each day of this 31 Day Self Care Challenge I’ll give you a simple actionable task that you can do. Whether it’s starting your morning off on the right foot, or sneaking in a workout for the day, after 31 days you’ll be amazed at the difference in your mood.

Self Care Week ONE

Day 1

Wake up 30 minutes early and sit in silence or with your favorite podcast.

Day 2

Make a list of at least 5 things you’re grateful for.

Day 3

Do a brain dump on a pad of paper, a notepad in your phone, or even in a Google doc.

Day 4

Make your favorite recipe (or your favorite meal from a takeout restaurant!).

Day 5

Rewatch your favorite movie.

Day 6

Spend 15 minutes organizing any space in your home (I recommend going through the junk drawer!).

Day 7

Aim to drink at least 64 ounces of water today.

Self Care Week 2

Day 8

Unplug from social media for one full day.

Day 9

Learn a new skill.

Day 10

Create a vision board.

Day 11

Go through old photos.

Day 12

Pick up that book you’ve been meaning to read and get started.

Day 13

Try your hand at a new recipe.

Day 14

Write down a list of personal long-term goals.

Self Care WEEk 3

Day 15

Catch up with a friend or family member by phone.

Day 16

Learn a new skill.

Day 17

Bake your favorite dessert.

Day 18

Take a long, relaxing bath with a bath bomb.

Day 19

Move your body with a NEW workout!

Day 20

Binge watch your favorite (or new) TV show.

Self Care Week 4

Day 21

Treat yourself to ice cream.

Day 22

Take yourself out on a solo date.

Day 23

Break out the coloring books and take some time relaxing with some crayons (or colored pencils)!

Day 24

Take a nap — you deserve it!

Day 25

Go for a 20-minute walk by yourself today.

Day 26

Write a friend a letter and send it (yes — snail mail!).

Day 27

Dress up and take some selfies (even if you have nowhere to go!).

Day 28

Plan your dream vacation (even if it’s just a dream).

Self Care Final days

Day 29

Plan a night in for yourself.

Day 30

Make a new playlist.

Day 31

Do a digital cleanse by clearing out old files, upload photos to the cloud, and clear out your phone and laptop.

Self-care doesn’t always come easy for busy moms, but this challenge will allow you to find those pockets in your day to sneak in some time for yourself.

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Maternal Mental Health Matters: Quit telling moms they’re overreacting

February 9, 2021 by Rachel 12 Comments

I first became a mom 8 years ago. Before I became a mom, I had the perfect vision of what type of mom I would be. You know, the kind of mom that doesn’t yell, only serves their kids organic foods, and has zero temper. Well we all have plans on the type of parent we are going to be before we have kids. But kids have a way of humbling us. And as a ‘seasoned’ mom of three kids, I have advice for all of the advice-givers: quit telling moms they’re overreacting.

Maternal Mental Health is fragile

Did you know that one in 8 women experience postpartum depression? I did. Because I became one of those statistics. And it hurt me to my core to come to grips with this fact. I knew I was supposed to feel a tremendous amount of joy after the birth of my first child; but, instead, I felt an unimaginable anxiety and disappointment. And, while this might not be the case for every mom, we are doing all moms a disservice by pretending that any one stage in a child’s life is “easy”. Every single stage in a child’s life comes with its own set of difficulties and setbacks.

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But, perhaps, a mom has a very bad infant stage or toddler stage. In those fragile moments, a mother may be at her breaking point. I myself have been there. She may be questioning if she can do this at all. Why perpetuate the myth that others are doing it (or handling it) better than us?

“You’ll miss this someday”

I cannot tell you how many times I was told this. By the grace of God I decided to have a second baby. Our first was so colicky and my postpartum anxiety was out of control; but we still decided on a second baby. My luck? Our second infant was worse than our first. Unbeknownst to us, she had been dealing with chronic UTIs from about 6 weeks to 9 months. She would scream (and, I kid you not) for 22-23 hours a day. That left approximately 1-2 hours of (broken) sleep in a 24-hour period. How does a newborn even survive on that? No idea.

But I will tell you what, I almost did not survive that.

In fact, I can vividly remember three times that I almost self-admitted to the hospital because of psychological issues. And, I don’t take that lightly. I was at least cognitive enough to realize, in that moment, that if I checked myself into the hospital, it would be a disservice to my child physically (she wouldn’t take a bottle).

But the suicidal ideation remained. Even through my existing anxiety and depression medication, motherhood had taken its toll. And I cannot tell you how many times I heard “someday you’ll miss this,” and thought about how I must be a failure — because I could not imagine missing this moment.

Whether its infancy or toddlerhood or adolescence, it’s all difficult

I recently engaged in a Facebook conversation on a mommy page (I know — that in itself is the problem). The original poster had created a poll — which is more difficult? The infant stage or the toddler stage. My initial gut-reaction was to answer the poll. Duh, infancy. And then I pulled back. I read the article in question. And, as I deemed this group an engaging and progressive group of moms, I decided to point out the obvious (to me) — this article is hella problematic.

First, it is entirely dismissive. I realize this was a tounge-and-cheek type of article. But, to quote the author , she slept — “Nevertheless, I felt clear-headed and was able to get good chunks of sleep both at night and during the day.” And a clear head is basically the key to keeping one’s sanity.

But one in 8 women don’t feel that way.

If you tell one of those women struggling to get up and take care of her baby that “she will miss this one day,” it may be the thing that pushes her to a breaking point. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in new mothers.

And articles such as stated above — as well as the dismissiveness of others — can certainly compound on that feeling of hopelessness.

Please stop telling moms they’re overreacting

Here’s a thought — don’t tell anyone — not moms, not dads, not the lady at the grocery store — that they are overreacting. Let us all recognize that we are living a very narrow margin of the full spectrum of possibilities. If you wouldn’t tell someone with a physical ailment that they are overreacting, don’t say it to someone who is (potentially) suffering from a mental ailment. Period.

How to Host a Social Distancing End of Summer Cookout

July 26, 2020 by Rachel 32 Comments

Summer will be over before you know it, and what used to be a fun season of cookouts and fun summer hangouts has turned to waving to your neighbor from across the lawn. If you are looking for a fun way to celebrate the end of summer, you can still have a fun end of summer cookout, safely. Here are some tips to help host a social distancing end of summer cookout.

Keep things clean and sanitized

If you are going to have a cookout where you will be sharing items and touching surfaces, you want to make sure that you are keeping things clean! The main reason for social distancing is to reduce the number of germs being passed around, so ensure that you are keeping your areas clean and sanitized often. Have sanitizing wipes readily accessible, and don’t forget to wash your hands often.

Seat in sections and grab food in rotations

If you are serving food, make sure that you spread out seating and implement food rotation areas. This should help prevent contact between others and still allow you to talk to one another without shouting! Try to avoid sitting too close to each other and take advantage of your full yard or block if you live on a less busy street. It may not be the best option for every situation, but you can still have a decent celebration this way!

Bring your own food and supplies

If you want to avoid cross-contamination, bring your own supplies. This includes food, drinks, and whatever else you will need. While it’s not as fun to have everyone bring their own supplies, this can keep people from getting sick from contacting another person’s stuff. Having everyone bring their own things could end up being the best option if you’re feeding a lot of people. Just make sure that you still keep your distance from each other, even if everyone brings their food and supplies.

Get single-serve materials for serving, drinking, and more!

Single-serve options are not usually an excellent idea for the environment. In this case, they could be lifesaving! Encourage people to use canned sodas instead of a 2 liter and avoid contact hot spots. Encourage the use of disposable products and single-serve items that don’t require you to wash afterward.

Move to the front yard

Normally cookouts take place in the backyard huddled by the grill, but instead, bring your cookout to the front yard! Have all your neighbors sit in their yards and enjoy cookouts together! Each person can make their own dish, and you can still be near each other even if you can’t sit right next to them. You can also play fun games that don’t require you to be near each other or play contact games.

While nothing can replace the fun of standing next to your neighbors and friends to celebrate the end of summer, hopefully, this will help ease the pain of not being able to hug your loved ones from afar!

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How To Save Money on Everyday Essentials

May 6, 2020 by Rachel 23 Comments

This post is sponsored by Optum Perks but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

It’s hard to believe that I have been “laid off” from my job for going on 7 weeks now. The job that, over the years, became my happy place — has been missing from my life for nearly two months. As things have changed rather dramatically for all of us, I’m finding new and inventive ways to pinch pennies.

Saving Money on Essentials Can Be Easy

I made a lot of changes in these last 7 weeks. Surprisingly, most of them were incredibly easy! Here’s what my family is doing to cut down on our every day expenses.

Shop at discount grocery retailers.

Going to the grocery store is unavoidable. For my family, we are making far fewer trips than before — but we’ve also made the decision to use grocers that offer off-brand or discounted groceries like ALDI and Save-a-Lot. We still are getting the same quality fresh foods, produce, and non-perishables, but we’re doing so at a much lower cost.

Cancelling Unnecessary Subscriptions.

There was a time when we had a cable TV subscription, Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. Honestly, we’ve never had that much time to watch TV. So we have trimmed up our TV subscription services by cancelling our live-television services and picking one of the online streaming services.

This can go for many types of subscriptions like a grocery delivery service, music streaming service, and even beauty boxes.

Using Optum Perks to Save on Prescription Refills.

Prescriptions are another ‘unavoidable’ cost, but there are brilliant ways of saving cash when it comes time to fill or refill! Savings reach up to 80% with no membership and no fees!+

Prescriptions saving is easy. You just search, find, and save without ever having to enter personal information or data in. Optum Perks can be used at over 64,000 pharmacies nationwide, including Walmart, Walgreens, and CVS. Once you find the prescription and pricing, you can decide if you’d like the free coupon to be delivered by text, email, or by printing it out.

These prescription coupons can be presented to your pharmacist whichever way is convenient for you. So whether you’re using the drive-thru or picking it up in-store, your pharmacy coupon will be honored. Truly. That’s it.

I’ve been really open about my struggles with mental health, particularly since having children. As many know, I’ve relied mostly on my Lexapro prescription for the last 5 years. Usually my refills cost upwards of $20. By using Optum Perks I’ve been able to fill it at the rate of $9.00! That’s an eleven dollar savings! While it may not seem like a lot, with a family of 5, every bit helps.

You can see for yourself by heading to Optum Perks today and finding out just how much you can be saving on the prescriptions you need for the whole family.

Putting Memberships on Hold.

If you look at the number of items that are auto-deducted from your account each month, what would you see? For me, it’s our family gym membership, zoo membership, and my auto-renew of my coffee card. While these memberships are handy and even affordable in times of employment, they can be detrimental to savings when going through financial hardship.

Most memberships will allow a ‘hold’ or ‘break’ for anywhere from one to 6-months. And it’s usually as simple as giving them a call or shooting their customer service team an email.

These Adjustments Do Not Have To Be Permanent

If there’s one thing that I’ve learned in these last couple of months it’s that I am capable of much more than I previously thought I was. I’m the same girl who would grab coffee from Starbucks before work almost every day. But I don’t have to be. In fact, I’m amazed at how these small changes I’ve made in our spending have had such a tremendous impact on not only our pocketbooks, but our overall psychological well-being.

But knowing that at least some of what I’m doing right now is just temporary certainly helps. I may not stay away from my beloved coffee forever, but I can tell you that I will never go back to paying full-price for my prescriptions.

+Prices are subject to change over time

Tell me — what will you do with all of the money you save using Optum Perks?

Why I’m Intermittent Fasting

January 30, 2020 by Rachel 36 Comments

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I recently shared a quick Instagram Story about how I’d begun Intermittent Fasting and it spurred a lot of questions, so I wanted to elaborate on why I decided to start intermittent fasting.

Intermittent Fasting, or as it’s commonly referred to, IF, is cycling between periods of eating and fasting (restricting food). I’ll further detail the form of IF I’m doing and why below.

What brought me to Intermittent Fasting

I wish this was an easy answer, but it isn’t. After years of near-abuse to my body by restricting calories and over-exercising, I got pregnant with my oldest child. When I returned to work full-time, I was able to semi-maintain some balance with food and exercise without going overboard. But I never got back to my pre-baby weight or jeans size.

Fast-forward to one job-loss and two additional babies later, and I have basically spent the last 4.5 years as some sort of baby incubator or feeding-machine. It took a toll on my body, physically and mentally. I tried Weight Watchers, with some success, but I was still tired of limited results and calorie-restricting.

During my time breastfeeding babies over the last few years, my husband would mention intermittent fasting. He had success doing an 16:8 fast (fasting for 16 hours and having an 8-hour eating window). I couldn’t participate because I knew that doing this was not conducive to my milk supply.

Well I am happy to say that I am completely finished breastfeeding and will not ever again be pregnant. Hooray! This whole ‘finished nursing’ thing is relatively new and came as quite a shock to me. But when I sat down and thought about it I realized that it meant I could finally get back to feeling like ME (physically, emotionally, and mentally).

Seeing results in-real-life

About a year ago my mom started her Intermittent Fasting journey. I’ll admit, I was an almost immediate naysayer. I told her she was starving herself and that this practice of over 18+ hours of fasting was detrimental to her health.

But I watched her flourish. She never had much (if any) weight to lose, but she did tone and seem much more full of energy than before. I watched her break her fasts and her diet (meaning food, not the typical term “diet”) seemed completely unrestricted. She navigated the holidays with ease and zero stress.

So I asked her for more information. And she invited me to join this Facebook group she belonged to. Then I was hooked.

Delay, Don’t Deny

The Facebook group “Delay, Don’t Deny: Intermittent Fasting Support,” is based on the book of the same name, by Gin Stephens. Upon approval into the group, I tried to absorb as much knowledge from the participants as possible. After a few days of reading testimonials and questions from other members, I decided to listen to the audiobook Delay, Don’t Deny. It answered every question I had about the process.

Note: Gin Stephens, whilst having her doctorate, is not a physician, nor is she a nutritionist. But she backs up her book with data from scientists and nutritionists and puts it into laymen’s terms for the rest of us. I would like to also note that I am not a physician nor a nutritionist. For questions regarding your health journey, please consult your physician.

The entire premise of the book is as follows: Calories in/calories out is not a successful way to maintain weight loss. Science shows that prolonged fasting will train the body to enter ketosis. Ketosis, or the metabolic process in which the body burns fat instead of glucose for energy, happens naturally and gives our bodies the training they need to develop sustainable eating habits.

This blew my mind. The science backs it up and I immediately felt free from all of the years I obsessed over calories-in, calories-out. Additionally, the idea of working out to ‘burn calories/earn food’ is basically discredited. Working out to be healthy, build muscle, or simply, for fun, is really the idea she explains in her book.

Clean Fasting

The idea is to do a Clean Fast, meaning that during the time you are fasting you are only consuming unflavored water or black coffee. No food or sugar-free drinks are ‘allowed’ during the fast because it will trigger your glucose and prevent your body from entering ketosis.

Breaking The Fast

Breaking your fast, or what Gin refers to as “opening your eating window,” happens at a time you deem right. During your ‘open window’ you shouldn’t deny yourself certain foods. Naturally, during appetite correction, your body will crave foods that are good for you. But if you want wine and french fries? Have wine and french fries! Diets don’t work because they require restricting ‘bad foods’ for long amounts of time.

This is a lifestyle change, not a diet

Another quick note regarding diets — If someone recommends a program you have to pay for (Keto Coffee, Faster Way To Fat Loss, Beachbody Shakes, or Herbalife Shakes), it is a gimmick. You don’t need any paid program to take control of your health and your eating.

After reading Gin’s book and fasting for two weeks now, I can say I’m committed to this lifestyle change. I haven’t had to give up the foods I love and I’m still getting almost immediate results. The scale is slowly moving in the direction I want it to, but I’m also experiencing increased mental clarity, clearer skin, and more restful sleep!

I know you may be saying “but it’s only been two weeks,” and you’re right. But for the first time in my adult life, I feel FREE. Free from diet culture, free from restrictive eating, and free from anxiety regarding health and weight loss. Everyday I witness the transformations of people in this Facebook group and it encourages me that I am on the right path.

I realize that this can seem completely foreign for many people. Heck, it was to me for a very long time! But I am so excited to continue this lifestyle. I promise to keep you updated!

Do you have any questions for me?! Want to know what my typical fast looks like?!