Health & Fitness Archives

Seattle Stress Management Coach for High Performers

Ready To Stop Stress Once And For All?

Mind chatter, anxiety, worry, fretful and sleepless nights, and not to mention feeling sluggish and empty about life… that has to go right?

You may have been wondering to yourself, “what’s wrong with me?” or “why am I the only one with this problem?”.

Trust me, it’s NOT just you and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with you.

And actually, this is a GOOD THING.

Why?

Because now you’re going to find ways to finally stop the madness that is controlling your work and your personal life.

And with the right solution, you may just find yourself feeling even better than ever before.

You see, once you train your brain to work for you instead of you working for it, suddenly life becomes enjoyable!

You’re going to find yourself smiling all the time for no reason, everything will seem effortless, and what used to phase you before will just roll off your shoulders.

If you’re ready, then sign up for my “Masterclass” waitlist. I’m going to announce something exclusive to those only on this list before I make this announcement public later in February 2019.

Learn the exact method that is helping high performers get back to high performance once and for all!

Join me.

In wellness,

Susan

Seattle Stress Management Coach, Burnout and Adrenal Fatigue

Taking A Break

Maybe it’s the transition to the holidays, the hour we gained, or simply “end of year” syndrome… and you’re thinking about that long needed alone time. Perhaps a week or long weekend where you do absolutely nothing. Possibly escape to the woods… go on a spa date with just yourself and a good book. But how hard are you on yourself when it comes to taking that much needed break? Do you feel guilty, shame, or anxiety even around taking a break?

So many people feel that if they miss the notifications, whether from email, text, direct message, social media, or facebook groups, they are missing out on something important.

But if all those things were “important” then where does your sanity rank on the totem pole? Or how about your health, or time with loved ones? Or heck, time alone to truly find your center?

I’ve seen too many people push away the most important thing they need to actually start feeling better, and that’s this – TIME.

And this is where YOU get creative because here’s the thing….

Some people need alone time.

Some people need time with loved ones.

Some people need time to simply PLAY.

Some people need time to meditate through baking, golfing, reading, etc.

Some people need time to organize their life.

But only you know what’s best for YOU.

So if you know deep down you need the time… the break…

Take it.

Don’t let another week or month go by where you push and strain to make it until the weekend.

When you push too hard that’s when you reach burnout or god forbid adrenal fatigue; that’s when other issues start to realize themselves into an overeating or overdrinking problem.

So, don’t be too hard on yourself. Taking the break is an investment and you will reap the benefits ten-fold when you take it at the right time.

In wellness,

Susan

The Seasons In Our Life

Oftentimes in our life we wonder what went wrong to be in a “barren” cycle of our life. But what if there was a gift through it all?

Watch this recent live as I share this one question you can ask yourself to begin creating more space in your life during this crucial season in your life.

In wellness,

Susan

Learn The Biggest Mistake You Make When Trying To Get Rid Of Stress!

Before I start going into the biggest mistake we make when trying to get rid of stress, I wanted to take a moment and make one thing clear: stress is a part of life; some stress is even healthy for you.

But so often what happens is that we make stress mean something other than it is.

You see, as humans we have been given the power of free will. The power to choose our thoughts. And we get to choose between positive, negative, and neutral. So when things happen in our life we choose to make things much more stressful than they actually are.

For most, this is a hard concept to grasp because what we think we are reacting to is just the fact of life, but what we are ACTUALLY responding to is a thought about what is happening.

(I know, this stuff can get confusing but I promise it’s simple)

Here’s the biggest mistake we make when it comes to getting rid of stress.

The very act of getting rid of it is the mistake. By getting rid of it you are creating resistance and giving stress more power. By thinking there is a need to “get rid of it” you are presupposing there is something wrong to begin with.

What if peace comes first after you acknowledge you are at peace with the situation?

What if, by recognizing things are just happening because they are happening you stop resisting the moment?

What if, by allowing yourself in a non-judgmental way to feel whatever it is you are feeling, you are actually speeding up the process toward peace?

You see, stress is ultimately what we make it. When we are stressed, it allows us the opportunity to inquire within and ask, what is actually stressful here? Because when we really dig deep and ask ourselves, “so what?”, we will often find there is fear to be found and THAT is the real work we must tend to.

So the next time you feel stress creeping up around the corner, ask yourself, “so what?” and see what unfolds for you.

In wellness,

Susan

Masterclass: Elevate Beyond Adrenal Fatigue & Major Burnout

It’s happening folks! My vision for this book I was going to write has now transformed into a Masterclass! For some of you who have been following closely you know this has been in the works for quite some time.

Trying to find the time to fit the scripting, recording, and editing has been quite fun to observe, but well worth it.

This means everything I know and used to help manage my adrenal fatigue so that I could start living my life despite diagnosis, all in one place. And the good news? I made full recovery.

But here’s the thing, everything that I teach in this Masterclass I STILL use today! Because when does managing stress and your mind ever stop?!

Years of learning all in this one Masterclass. Head on over to the website and sign up to be on the early bird wait list to hear all about the launch soon!! I can’t wait to share it with you.
🧠
www.susanchoiwellness.com/master-class

Why Mindset Is The Key To Feeling Better With Adrenal Fatigue

In my practice I particularly enjoy working with clients who are experiencing adrenal fatigue or other auto-immune related illness. Why? Because I’ve been there myself. I understand what it took to full recovery and wish I knew the tools and thought management techniques I know now. Regardless, I am incredibly thankful to share what I know today.

What I notice happening a lot with people experiencing adrenal fatigue (or other related illness) is a three part phase:

Despair/Breakdown
Determination/Identify Protocol
Maintenance or Plateau

The first phase is clear for anyone who suddenly understands the depth of their situation. It’s a time where you begin to question everything in your life and analyze what lifestyle patterns may have caused adrenal fatigue in the first place. Bottom line: give yourself a good cry. Don’t judge yourself for why you got here or panic about how you can change things. Let it be and give yourself compassion.

The second phase is a re-birth of sorts. You begin to track down some of the best doctors who can help you identify a path to recovery. It’s a time to learn more healthy lifestyle habits to incorporate and if there’s one piece of advice I give to anyone going through this now it’s this: don’t get overwhelmed about the plethora of information out there, this is the opposite of recovery. Trust the information will flow to you; trust the timing and don’t rush it.

The third phase is what I wanted to emphasize in today’s blog post. You see, how you manage your brain will be the KEY to whether or not you can mindfully continue through to maintenance phase or it will be the point it which you plateau completely or retreat back to phase one.

You have to understand that one of the biggest root causes for adrenal fatigue is stress, and stress can only come from one place – our minds.

If we can’t manage our minds to begin with, we will have a much longer time recovering from adrenal fatigue. This is why understanding how your brain works and whether or not it is serving you will be key to achieving peace.

Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to understand whether or not you need to evaluate your current thought process:

Do you often feel rushed, anxious, angry, or worried throughout the day?
Is there a set of thoughts and/or problem you repeat over and over again in a given day?
Do you feel overwhelmed by a thought and/or problem to the point where it starts to cause physical stress?
No matter how much you apply will power, do you find yourself using food, drinking, working out, or the internet to avoid/buffer in order to feel better?

If you answered yes to any of the above, chances are you would benefit from understanding why your brain works the way that it does, and how making tweaks to your own internal process can help provide more peace, joy, and personal power into your life.

You see in a nutshell, when you understand your brain and why you have certain thoughts you start to uncover limiting beliefs, habituated thought and behavioral patterns. With this recognition you can now do the work to understand your individual mental model that has been driving your actions until now.

After all, if you’re doing all the work to live a healthier, more mindful lifestyle why not work on the one thing that can help you manage stress to begin with?

Because the good news is it’s completely possible to optimize your very own internal world and THAT, is priceless.

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash

What To Do After Major Adrenal Fatigue Or Burnout

I like to call this phase the i-think-i’m-a-zombie phase.

If you’re the type of person that wants to just move on with your life to the good stuff, chances are you haven’t fully absorbed the meaning behind why adrenal fatigue happened and how you can transform adrenal fatigue to serve you.

You might still be in a daze as to why adrenal fatigue even happened, especially since you’re smart, well intended, and nothing that stressful really happened. Right?

It’s not until we look back and realize just how hard we were working and just how hard we were on ourselves during these times.

If we don’t take the time to understand why our bodies couldn’t habituate to the stress and what was causing the stress in the first place, we just might find ourselves in a similar situation in the near future.

And that is no good.

Anyone who’s ever been through adrenal fatigue would never wish it upon anyone, even their worst enemies.

So what can you do during this zombie phase?

You can start by simply taking the time to reflect on what was driving you so hard to begin with.

What were you so hard on yourself for? What were you afraid of?

Now I’m not talking about things outside our external control.

I’m talking about your internal drivers. What motivates you and why, and why you place meaning behind the things you do.

You see, once we can start to understand the root of what was driving you to do, be, and act the way you did prior to adrenal fatigue, we can begin to build new internal drivers.

This is the most important work you can do for yourself.

This type of investment is the kind of investment no one talks about.

What if you could have invested in yourself THEN so you wouldn’t have had to go through adrenal fatigue?

What if, now knowing this, you can invest in yourself NOW so that you can prevent another breakdown in the future?

What if by investing in yourself now you can live the life you always dreamed of?

Understanding your internal drivers is one of the best things you can do for yourself. If you don’t take action for yourself, who will?

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by Alexandra Gorn on Unsplash

10 Top Paleo & Health Resources You Need To Know

Over the years I’ve tried a few diets and lifestyles. I loved few, disliked most. Nothing ever seemed to be “the answer” until I blended everything I knew from the top experts in various fields and found something that worked for me.

I have found myself applying this to various areas of my life when it comes to formulating what works for me, from diet, lifestyle, learning, coaching, mindfulness, exercise, and more.

It probably helps that I’m the type of person that absolutely LOVES to learn. I can’t get enough of it! Any time I have spare time I’m watching a conference on YouTube or listening to a podcast. I find it absolutely fascinating at how much information is out there and why people feel so strongly about one stance vs. another.

What I also find fascinating is how much new information is discovered every year. Who knows what really works other than to getting to know your mind and body for yourself?! I mean, in the 90s it was low fat, and now?

Now fat is the cool kid on the block.

This is why I keep an open mind. Just like how conventional medicine says there is no such thing as “adrenal fatigue”, and while the naming of this syndrome is yet to be conclusive, what I do know is the effects that this hormonal dysregulation had on my mental and physical self.

What matters is finding out what works FOR YOU.

What matters is getting to know YOUR OWN body and mind and not compare success stories.

What matters is identifying the right people and resources that will help you become your OPTIMAL SELF.

With that said, here are the top Paleo experts and other resources I keep an eye on for the latest and greatest as this field continues to expand.

While they all have common themes, they also differ in slight ways. What’s most important to consider here is not what they say, but how you feel, perform, and think, as you apply advice and adjust your lifestyle.

If you don’t know where to start, choose one adjustment and commit to two weeks, then see how you feel. Give yourself constraints and honor your decision to try something new.

Finding what works for you is a journey; and you have to remember that as you evolve so will the lifestyle – so you might as well enjoy the ride.

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by Maarten van den Heuvel on Unsplash

Is Adrenal Fatigue REAL?

Depending on how long you’ve been experiencing adrenal fatigue, you probably know by know that “adrenal fatigue” is a syndrome that is not recognized by conventional medicine, which means you’re working with a naturopatic doctor or other alternative health care practitioner at the time of this writing.

Well, it doesn’t stop there. There’s more research that indicates while the symptoms that collectively fall under “adrenal fatigue” are real, the treatment of our adrenals isn’t truly targeting the root cause.

What few are now starting to call this is HPA Axis Dysregulation. The HPA Axis is known to be the body’s central stress response system. And for some people, when our body, and it’s hormonal response, is no longer able to habituate to the chronic stressor, symptoms of “adrenal fatigue” begin to emerge until we treat the root cause

Essentially – cortisol disturbance.

So, is adrenal fatigue REAL? HELL YES.

Should it be CALLED adrenal fatigue? I’ll leave that to the medical experts.

What I do know is that the collective symptoms that are now under the naming convention – adrenal fatigue – is absolutely real and debilitating.

Thankfully, there IS a way to peace and finding joy while in recovery.

It wasn’t until I realized my thoughts were causing me more stress than what was actually happening in my life that I was able to regain control.

This is what I tell my clients (adrenal fatigue or not) all day long. You need to pull out the ROOTS (your mis-managed thoughts) in order to FEEL BETTER. Because our thoughts create our feelings, never what’s happening.

It’s a hard concept to grasp at first but when you do, you’ll begin to realize just how IN CONTROL you are of your life 100% of the time.

So, adrenal fatigue? It’s real – at least the collective symptoms of adrenal fatigue.

I hear you. I see you. I feel you.

How do I know? Because I was right there with you my friend.

Let me know how I can help.

In wellness,

Susan

Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash

Revisiting Adrenal Fatigue

If you’re new to the blog, welcome! This is a space where I freely share articles, tips, and words of inspiration related to up-leveling our lives from stuck patterns and old behaviors that don’t necessarily serve us anymore. As an Integrative Life Coach I use mental meta-models to change habituated patterns that no longer serve. In today’s blog post, we re-visit a debilitating illness that is a growing issue among many stressed out individuals – adrenal fatigue. As someone who’s experienced deep adrenal fatigue here are my best tips for a healthy recovery.

What is Adrenal Fatigue and Tips to Manage It

Do you ever find yourself so exhausted you are unable to follow through on your daily activities with the same energy you used to have? Or perhaps you find yourself feeling blue, anxious, and unable to sleep for long periods of time. Maybe you’re reaching for another cup of coffee when really, historically you only needed one? And worse yet, you notice yourself gaining a bit of weight but sugary sweets or salty foods are the only thing that give you a boost?

Depending on the prolonged presence of these symptoms in your life, they could be early warning signs of adrenal fatigue. (Note: while there can be many other auto-immune illnesses that can cause these symptoms please follow up with your primary doctor if symptoms persist to identify the root cause and a path to recovery)

In a nutshell, adrenal fatigue, or what few are now starting to call HPA Axis Dysregulation, is the inability to adapt to the chronic stressor appropriately, which then has a cascading effect of dysregulating other hormones in the body such as DHEA (a parent hormone). Adrenal fatigue can either make you extremely lethargic due to low energy or extremely “wired but tired”. Other symptoms include:

Weight gain or loss
Depression
Anxiety
PTSD symptoms
Insomnia
Brain fog
Inability to find words quickly
Hypoglycemia
Hair loss
Digestion issues
And more.

So what does cause this hormonal dysregulation? One word: STRESS.

Believe it or not, the body doesn’t know the difference between emotional, mental, or physical stress. Dutifully, the body receives a signal and starts to produce cortisol under any circumstance that requires it. Got a work deadline? Produce cortisol. Working out too much and not fueling properly? Produce cortisol. Going through a major life transition? Produce cortisol. Traveling too much and not giving your body enough rest? Produce cortisol.

What can worsen adrenal fatigue is, depending on how many stressors and how long major stress has been prevalent in your life, in order to produce the necessary hormones to actually DO the job, your brilliant body will often take from other hormones such as DHEA, pregnenalone, testosterone, etc. in order to survive, often leaving you imbalanced even further.

It’s no wonder our bodies are so tired. It can’t seem to keep up! What’s likely made it even worse in this day and age is how we are continuously bombarded by a never ending barrage of notifications from our phones. We are on constant alert.

Which is why we must take care of our body, mind, and heart all the more. If you’ve noticed yourself feeling any of the above symptoms for a prolonged period of time, adrenal fatigue or not, here are some all-around key tips in preventing and/or managing YOUR health and body.

Find good practitioners who can champion for your health
- Depending on the area of focus you need in your life, it’s always a great idea to be surrounded by a holistic set of practitioners in various fields who can help manage your recovery. Whether it’s:
  - Naturopathic care
  - Nutritionist
  - Acupuncture
  - Body work
  - Therapist/Coach

Get deep
- Find ways to get deep. This can be any way in which you find time for yourself and have time for introspection. Most of our day is spent planning mode, preventing mode, or taking care of others. Spending some time to take care of your physical and mental health is the best investment you can make. Here are some ways you can start making an investment:
  - Yoga – Most of you reading this blog post understand very well how yoga’s ancient practice and philosophy help to calm the central nervous system by way of asana, discipline of the mind, and meditation to name a few.
  - Meditation – Taking time to notice without judgement the thought, patterns of thought, and the voices in our head is a great way to better understand how your inner world operates. Meditation provides a way to understand and transform our mind.
  - Read good books – There’s nothing better than winding down from a hard day’s work to a good book that instills deep wisdom and truths. Not only do you benefit from the golden nuggets within each page, you give your body and mind a way to relax the central nervous system and prime yourself for bed.

Tone down technology
- Circadian rythm – Learning to rise and set with the true nature of your own body’s rythm is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Our bodies are hard wired to be in tune with mother nature. What does that mean? That means when the sun rises so should we, and when the sun sets so should we. But how does this work when our bodies aren’t able to due to cortisol disregulation? One day at a time… each morning when you wake up step outside your house or open a window and allow your skin to soak up the sun’s rays for at least 5-10 minutes. This will help your body to become more in sync with the natural rythms of nature. And with that said…
- Dim the lights – When it comes to winding down at night try not to have all your electronics on in the evening. Rather, turn everything off and light a candle or turn on a small lamp. Again, this will help send a signal to your body that it’s time to wind down.
- Get off the socials – Ever had that moment in the car where you were cruising along the highway and suddenly the person next to you turns off the radio and it’s eerily quiet? And the funny thing is you never realized the radio was on in the first place? That’s how it feels when you go on a social media fast. Suddenly you realize just how much space you have to just be. Take a time out an hour before bed and give yourself the gift of spending time with your own mind.
- Put your phone on airplane mode – You know that saying, “nothing good ever happens after midnight?” Well, let’s adjust that to 9pm. Each night at around 9pm put your phone on airplane mode. This will help ease the anxiety of constantly looking out for notifications and will allow you to truly focus on any night time rituals you might have such as meditation, taking a bath, or reading.
Have fun!
- Spend time in nature – As humans on this earth we are primal beings and nothing can bring us quite to our senses the way nature can. Get out to a park, touch a tree, say hello to the flowers, and don’t be afraid of the bees! Feel the earth energy and if possible, put your bare feet in the rich soil of this earth. There is a deep exchange of energy here that is incredibly healing.
- Connect with your family and friends – Having adrenal fatigue was brought to you by stress and unfortunately trying to recover can be stressful in itself which actually won’t help you to recover – go figure. Instead, focus on your family and friends. Take advantage of this slowness and build deeper relationships with those around you. Get in tune with building a deep and rich community around you. Sometimes, taking the focus off of you and pouring the love into others can be the perfect remedy.
- Let go of the fact that you are “recovering” – Often times our best intention to speed up recovery can be a stressor in itself, and when we focus on “recovery” we end up reinforcing a belief that we’re not OK as is. Acknowledge and accept, apply compassion, and be kind to yourself.
- Deploy gratitude and kindess – While being in any hard situation isn’t easy, we always have gratitude to turn toward. Focus on turning your energy toward everything that is going right for you in this moment. Shower someone with gratitude, buy the person behind you coffee, find a meaningful place to volunteer, or simply give someone a compliment and watch them smile! You have many gifts and ways to make an impact in the world – deploy gratitude and kindess.
Manage your thoughts
- Once you have the basics down and have a pretty good handle on your new routine, now is a great time to move toward one of the biggest root causes of adrenal fatigue – thoughts.
- Why is it that one person can excited about public speaking while another gets incredibly anxious? After all, it’s the same adrenaline pumping through our body, right? Well, it all comes down to the thought; two different thoughts causing two different experiences. Go figure!
- How we think about something (or someone) and how we choose to give meaning to a thought is everything.
- We grow up with certain beliefs that drive our everyday actions, but what is a belief? A belief is just a thought we repeat over and over again until we believe it.
- What beliefs do you have that have brought you to where you are today?
- Doing the thought work to truly understand the driver behind your actions, goals, or even inaction is the best gift you can give yourself. Because once you understand what core beliefs (or limiting beliefs) are, you get to decide whether or not it’s working for YOU.
- Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to help get started:
  - What goals do I have but can’t seem to make any progress on? Why?
  - What are some thoughts I have but don’t necessarily like? Why do I choose to believe them?
  - What beliefs help to center me? Motivate me? Give truth to me?

And there you have it. If you made it this far, congratulations! You now have a few more tips to help optimize your mind and body. Adrenal fatigue, general fatigue, illness… whatever the case may be, know that you are more than the circumstance – always.

In wellness,

Susan

Please note, this blog post is meant to be for informational purposes only. The evolving nature of science and medicine point to the over treatment of the adrenals itself and not the cause of the “fight or flight” activities that result in overstimulation in the first place. Finding a good practitioner who can champion for your mental & physical health will be a key contributor in your recovery.

Susan is a Life Coach based in Seattle, WA. Her main focus is to coach people build a strong emotional container so that we can experience the fullness of life coming from a place of deep confidence. Susan also coaches clients looking to heal adrenal fatigue by using a mental meta-model aimed at breaking down old mental patterns and behaviors so that we can finally tap into our own personal power.

Photo by elizabeth lies on Unsplash

When you push too hard that’s when you reach burnout or god forbid adrenal fatigue; that’s when other issues start to realize themselves into an overeating or overdrinking problem.

The very act of getting rid of it is the mistake. By getting rid of it you are creating resistance and giving stress more power. By thinking there is a need to “get rid of it” you are presupposing there is something wrong to begin with.

You have to understand that one of the biggest root causes for adrenal fatigue is stress, and stress can only come from one place – our minds.

I’m talking about your internal drivers. What motivates you and why, and why you place meaning behind the things you do.

I have found myself applying this to various areas of my life when it comes to formulating what works for me, from diet, lifestyle, learning, coaching, mindfulness, exercise, and more.

This is what I tell my clients (adrenal fatigue or not) all day long. You need to pull out the ROOTS (your mis-managed thoughts) in order to FEEL BETTER. Because our thoughts create our feelings, never what’s happening.

Never miss an announcement!

So what does cause this hormonal dysregulation? One word: STRESS.

Never miss an announcement!