Overcoming Suicidal Thoughts, Major Depression, Anxiety, Spousal Abuse, and a Tsunami of Health, Relationship, Money and Spiritual Problems

Nearly two years ago I reconnected with a friend on Facebook.  We had been looking for each other for close to 15 years.  What a blessing to be able to find each other on social media!  It took us some time to catch up but as we talked I started to understand my friend’s situation.  She was bombarded with unbelievable baggage.  So I decided to help her help herself.  She wanted to make changes and she wanted to be healthy and whole again.  

We started health coaching sessions in December 2017.  At the time my friend was on various medications for diabetes, heartburn, depression (two kinds), urinary incontinence, and high blood pressure. She was living day in, day out with chronic pain from heartburn and osteoarthritis, chronic sinus problems, vertigo, panic attacks, driving phobias.  The list went on and on.  Frankly, I had never seen a health history like hers before and I was seriously concerned for my dear friend!  She also spoke candidly about her suicide attempt which had happened two years prior.  

As with all clients I like to start the healing process with food.  It’s how I healed my own autoimmune conditions and it’s the basis for achieving a healthy lifestyle.  But I quickly realized that her struggles with food was just the tip of the iceberg.  We had to dive deep emotionally for our health coaching sessions and I mean really, really deep.  

Let’s fast forward to present day.  My friend is off all of her medications.  According to her doctor all of her blood tests came back normal.  My friend was proactive in dropping all of her medications early in our health coaching program.  She said that she felt numb with the medication and she wanted to be free from it.  In the beginning she found herself crying a lot more without the anti-depressants.  She felt loneliness and sadness and moments of intense emotions.  This step is so important.  No one talks too much about this.  The fact of the matter is anti-depressants suppress one’s emotions.  To heal and I mean to completely heal, one must feel his or her own pain.  There’s no shortcut or magic trick around it.  

In the relationship department my friend and her family have done a lot of healing and forgiving.  Things are so much better for them now.  She better understands her children. She’s present and is there for them. And they are able to talk and work things out as a family.  She and her husband are civilly able to discuss the upbringing of their children together.   

After almost two years of coaching sessions my friend has a job and a promising paid internship.  It’s an encouraging first step for her.  And I know that only more good things are to come her way.

I believe that my friend’s saving grace is Our Lord.  She depends a lot on prayer especially attending frequent Adoration and Mass.  When we first started sessions together she was spiritually weak and had quit going to church.  Her faith is blossoming beautifully.  Her daughter recently asked, “How do you overcome your depression, Mom?”  My friend lovingly told her, “I talk to God all the time.”

September 10 is Suicide Awareness Day.  There is help available for anyone who is struggling.  As a holistic health coach and Access Bars practitioner I advocate Access Bars sessions for physical, emotional and spiritual issues, and for really any problem.  Why?  Because it can work quickly and it gets to the root problem.  Free Access Bars clinics are available worldwide.  For more information visit www.accessconsciousness.com/suicideawareness.

17 Year Old Diagnosed With Fatty Liver

Over the weekend my family and I visited some good friends in our old stomping ground. My friend was telling me that she had decided to get a blood panel done on December 31 for all three of her teenagers. She was frightened for her oldest child. The doctor reviewed his liver test results and told her son that 70 is within normal range. His levels were off the charts at 270. He diagnosed him with fatty liver and said that he needed to change his diet pronto. The boy was very scared after hearing this. My friend had told me years back that the only food that her eldest would eat was chicken and he never ate vegetables. So he started eating less fatty foods and more vegetables. He tried spinach, lettuce, carrots, and cabbage but didn’t like those so well. He ate them anyway. Surprisingly he learned that he liked kale. On top of that he lost about ten pounds from the long hours of dress rehearsals and dance practices for his high school production. Recently he got tested again. He still has fatty liver but his levels are not as high. He surprised the doctor and is still determined to get healthier.

Why are we waiting till there’s a health issue to teach our children proper nutrition? Why are we waiting for a health scare to happen? The truth of the matter is that the parents aren’t eating healthy so the children aren’t eating healthy. The end result is sickness. Doctors aren’t trained in nutrition. They barely have time to eat healthy themselves with their demanding schedules and the number of sick patients waiting in the waiting room.

In ancient China if the doctor was not able to help a patient heal the patient was NOT obligated to pay the doctor. Umm, hello? Our society has it all backwards. Patients continue to look to conventional medicine and accept everything that they are told. They’re told that they have to have their thyroid radiated and so they take thyroid meds for the rest of their lives. They’re told that they need to be on high blood pressure medication for the rest of their lives despite the dangerous side effects. They’re told that they need to be sliced open to remove a part of their intestines. They’re told that there’s no cure for this disease and that disease. They’re told there are no other options whatsoever. All lies. And the people get sicker and sicker every day.

If only people started to question, think for themselves, and get with a good health coach or wellness practitioner to get to the root cause of their condition people would have less health problems and be less dependent on Big Pharma. Because people need the help. They need to learn preventative medicine, which is taught by health coaches, in order to heal. Preventative medicine is the best way to prevent disease. Well maybe it takes a whack on the head and a real health scare for people to start realizing the lies they’re being told every single day.

Yup, my friend’s son is seventeen years old and has fatty liver disease. True SAD story.

Spring, Sneezing, And Allergies

I’ve always loved spring.  To me I’ve always associated it with hope, love, and beauty.  I love the new flowers that start to pop up and the green blades of grass. When I start to see dandelions I know that spring has arrived.

In my elementary school years I was pretty healthy.  I hardly ever got sick or missed school.  My brother on the other hand suffered from asthma and allergies.  My dad used to joke that he was allergic to everything except girls.  

When I worked in the corporate world I noticed that I was getting sick all the time so I scheduled doctor appointments frequently.  I remember going every week for about a month.  Each time I visited the doctor he’d give me some Claritin.  I eventually figured out that the Claritin did nothing for me and that it was the stress from work and my poor diet that was causing my allergies.  When I left the corporate world and fixed my diet my allergies went away.

When someone suffers from allergies it’s a gut issue or an autoimmune condition. I’ve seen it and studied it many times.  Whether it’s environmental or food allergies anyone can heal them.  I’ve been advocating the solution for some time now.  Eat organic, local, and seasonal.

Not everyone understands the concept of eating local and seasonal.  It’s pretty simple.  If something doesn’t grow in your area don’t eat it or don’t eat it all the time. People don’t understand this idea because we have access to foods from all over the world in grocery stores.  I live in New York but bananas don’t grow here.  I rarely eat bananas because they're not part of my environment and they won’t strengthen my microbiome.   

This is why I’m big into CSAs and I believe this is the reason why my immune system over the last three years has improved immensely.  Before I moved to New York my gut health was not its best.  I had just gone through a few traumatic years of health problems.  I was so weak and so vitamin deficient I thought that I was dying.  

People don’t have to suffer.  People don’t have to accept a sick body.  Get with a certified health coach or wellness practitioner.  Run past the fear and trust the process because this process that I and many others teach really does work.

Community And Longevity

Orestis Portelos, age 97 from Greece, was interviewed for the Human Longevity Project (https://humanlongevityfilm.com/). He said, “‘Panigiria’ (a Greek festival celebrated during the summer months) is a tradition found from our ancestors. At that time, we had good ‘panigiria’, they were not as crowded as today. We were also organizing them for financial reasons. All the money we were gathering was used for the village’s needs. Even today, all these ‘panigiria’ are organized for this purpose. We are also having fun. We meet with people from other villages. I still go. As I told you earlier, I used to go with friends my age. Nowadays, most people going are young people. I meet with few people now, but I still go.”

It was nice to have good friends over this past weekend as we reminisced the warm, sunny weather we enjoyed in Florida. They shared with us all about the community of their second home. The wife described the close knit community of just a hundred homes. She said the ladies meet pretty much every week and even on the weekends. They have so many fun activities like cooking, exercise, and dancing classes. They even have frequent luau parties. The neighbors are so close that it’s common for neighbors to visit each other’s homes to help with any issues. It truly sounded like a wonderful community of living, learning, laughing, and loving.

This is what the elder Orestis Portelos was describing. Close bonds formed in communities are such commonplace for centenarians living in the Blue Zone areas. Human relationship is such a vital part of life and one of the primary foods that was taught at my nutrition school. You can be successful in health, career, spirituality, and other things but if you lack in the relationship department, you will struggle. It will be like trying to drive a car with a flat tire. Isn’t that what the human condition is all about? The human spirit begs to be loved, adored, and embraced.

On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your relationships? And if it’s taken a back burner what can you do to improve it? It would be wise on our part to model our lives and indeed how we view our relationships after the people living in the Blue Zones. To your health and happiness!

The Consequence Of Autoimmune Disease

Autoimmune disease is the consequence of bad nutritional science.

Last month I started health coaching a lady who wanted help with severe environmental allergies. Not only had she been suffering from allergies for a while she was overweight and had a family history of heart disease and diabetes. She was worried about her A1C levels signaling a high sugar diet and perhaps diabetes in the horizon as her health history suggested. I asked her what her diet looked like. She told me she didn’t eat breakfast or lunch. If she had anything it was a cup of coffee. For snacks she ate candy. And for dinner she ate very little, maybe rice and a little protein. She paused for a moment and then stated that she didn’t cook at all. She said that a lady would come to cook for her husband on the weekends. I asked her what I would find in her refrigerator if I were to come over to her house. She said that there might be some beans and maybe some fruit.

This is the SAD diet, the standard American diet. Not only is it sad in a literal sense, this is people’s reality on a daily basis. There should be joy in partaking delicious, nutritious food rather than people rushing to grab fast food or standing up to eat their meals. For many people home cooked meals is a thing of the past. I felt so bad for this woman and her family. She confided that she had anxiety issues and she was worried about two of her three children. One was living an adventurous, careless lifestyle while her daughter was suffering from mental issues and depression. This is what happens when people are not taught proper nutrition, self care, and self love. Everyone suffers. If we eat poorly then this is the legacy that we pass on to our children and future generations.

The good news is it’s never too late to reverse disease and bad eating and lifestyle habits. It doesn’t matter if someone has stage 4 cancer or was told by the doctors that they have little time to live. No, it’s not a magical, overnight shift that takes place. It takes work, real hard word, patience, and trust in the process. If you’re sick of being sick there is a better way.

You Deserve Better

This morning I was talking to a friend at church. He told me, "I hate drugs and medications! But I have to go see the doctor."

Don't get me wrong. There is a place and time for modern medicine but when we're given one drug after another we have to start asking, "Is this too much? Is this good for my body? What are the side effects?"

We all have choices. You can continue to go the same old route doing the same things over and over again. Guess what? You end up with the same results. Or you can wisen up, start asking the tough questions, and make changes to your diet, lifestyle and conscientiousness. That's what I did about six years ago. I had a sweet, precious baby who I could no longer care for. I was sick of being sick so I sought a holistic doctor, went to nutrition school and got mentored by the world's best health coaches and wellness practitioners. I got to the root cause of my health problems and healed.

If you're on any type of medication or don't feel your best you're not well. I hear this a lot. People tell me their long list of chronic illnesses and symptoms and then at the end they tell me that they are in pretty good health. No, they have just settled for the worst life possible for themselves. They have been sick for so long that they don't know the difference between being sick and being well.

People deserve better. You deserve better.

For Better Sleep

If you want better sleep, read on…

This morning I went to barre class at the local Y. At my friend’s suggestion we went over to the sauna. As we walked in I heard a voice say, “Hi friend! I followed your advice! I quit coffee and I feel so much better!” I turned and said to the gentleman, “That’s great. Congratulations! How so?” He said, “I sleep so much better! My wife just looks at me. She won’t quit but I feel great!”

Small steps count a lot and encourage people to keep working on getting healthy. Depending on a person’s situation I start health coaching with food. I start people off with something so basic like drinking warm lemon water first thing in the morning. This simple step has motivated people to do things they never used to do like exercising.

For someone who’s been hooked on coffee for decades I recommend drinking clean spring water or filtered water (I love our Berkey) in the morning, even just a cup. If you can drink two cups that’s even better. The goal is to replace the coffee with clean water. Eventually you will kick the habit. And like the gentleman I saw at the Y this morning you will start to sleep better and to feel great.

YES to changing the world for the better one person at a time, one step at a time!

Set The World On Fire

In fall of 1994 I was among the students of the incoming freshmen class at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.  The freshmen class was gathered at William and Mary Hall for the convocation.  One of the speakers told us to look at the person on our left and then on our right.  The speaker went on to say that our class was among the brightest incoming classes ever.  I forget the percentage but it was something like 90 percent of my class were either salutatorians or valedictorians of their graduating high school class.  More importantly, the speaker passed on some very smart advice to us young men and women that every college student should take to heart.  He said, "Take classes that interest you.  If you've never taken a kinesiology class or a philosophy class take it.  Major in what you want to major in.  Not what your parents or your brother or sister want.  Major in what you want."

I did graduate from The College of William and Mary in four years and I'm very proud of that.  But I did not major in what my parents had planned for me.  They had hoped that I would choose a career path just like my late paternal grandfather, Pastor Fabunan, who was an accountant.  The truth was that the economics and business courses were not meant for me.  Yeah, they definitely were NOT meant for me!  I struggled and I humbly withdrew from or failed a couple of those classes.  Instead I majored in Spanish.  Why?  In my junior year I took a hard look at my grades and immediately noticed that my best grades were from my modern language classes.  At the time I loved immersing myself in the romance languages and I excelled in them especially Spanish.  There was also pressure from my mom to complete my studies in four years so a BA in Spanish it was! 

And this is true for much of life.  By pretending to be something that we are not we can never be happy or be true to ourselves.  Life will always be an upward struggle.  I love this quotation by Saint Catherine of Siena:  "Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire."  Life is so short.  Why pretend or delve into misery, right?  

For about 12 years of my young professional life I was a banker for large and small banks and I did pretty well for myself.  The problem was that I pushed myself at work and I never really loved it.  I pushed myself to the limit working extremely late hours and even on the weekends.  I liked certain aspects of bank management like leading, coaching, and encouraging my team members but deep down inside I was never completely happy or satisfied.   

What changed for me?  I got married to a wonderful man and we had a beautiful baby boy.  But then my health spiraled downward and I hit rock bottom to the point of being bedridden.

Eventually I found the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN) and in a year I became a certified integrative nutrition health coach.  I utilized the knowledge that I learned from IIN and thankfully I started to heal my condition.  I was so intrigued with the use of food as medicine that I continued my education taking an alternative healing course.  I then used that education to help myself completely heal and my own family heal their conditions ranging from eczema, food sensitivities, high blood pressure, and heart burn.  I continue to take holistic health courses because of my passion in helping others heal their own conditions.  And, yes, since I've found my calling I want to set the world on fire!

I believe that any disease or ailment can be reversed.  Anyone can heal with the right foods, mindset, and proper rest.  That's the beauty of working with a health coach especially an integrative nutrition health coach.  We health coaches are trained to really listen to our clients and help them heal on a deep physical, emotional, and spiritual level.  

I love the flexibility that I am allowed.  I am able to be the kind of wife, homeschooling mom, blogger, and integrative nutrition health coach that I want to be.  Thanks be to God, my faith and family will always come first but I have found a wondrous joy in health coaching and there is nothing else I'd rather be doing.  Find your truth, your voice, and your purpose, and you will set the world on fire.  And after that there is no going back!

For A Healthy And Happy 2018

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““Take classes that interest you.  If you’ve never taken a kinesiology class or a philosophy class take it.  Major in what you want to major in.  Not what your parents or your brother or sister want.  Major in what you want.””

“I love this quotation by Saint Catherine of Siena:  ’Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.’”

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