My unhealthy gut - yep, I am going to discuss my long history of poor digestion, constipation, and bloating. It appears that the trendy, newest and greatest way to explain my lack of going #2 on a regular basis is the unhealthy gut. I had actually never heard this term until my face started breaking out. I never had acne, zits, pimples, blemishes, etc. except for the 2 little ones that would appear on my chin during my menses. (fancy word, huh) Many of my clients experience psychosomatic symptoms related to anxiety and stress and the most common of these symptoms - an upset tummy.
Why did it take years and years of digestion issues for me to have an "aha moment" and realize that my problems could be related to anxiety or my symptoms could be heightened due do stress?Hmmm.....maybe because I was just recently diagnosed with anxiety and these symptoms have been around for years and years. Copy of Be mindful of your unhealthy gut.
"I can help my clients, but when it comes to helping myself - I am a complete moron."
Copy of Be mindful of your unhealthy gut.
Anyway...back to my unhealthy gut. I was never a social media girl, but after about a month of dealing with the grossest things that had taken over my left and right side of my face, I immediately took a picture and posted it on social media. I guess you have now figured out that I don’t have boundaries and what you see is what you get. People couldn’t believe that I would post these awful pictures of my face. I would have no problem posting the picture on this blog, but I want this blog to be pretty and nice. That is what we do as women - we hide the ugly stuff. So yes...I posted the pictures and I didn’t care. I wanted someone to reach out to me and say “oh honey, I have been there and i know the cure.” We are all looking for that magic pill. I had already gone to my dermatologist and she gave me some cream that I probably could have gotten over the counter and it didn’t do anything. I called my internist and ob/gyn and they told me it was probably just hormonal.
Girls are so funny!
Why are they so funny? They did not want to comment on my facebook page because for some reason women do not want to be seen. I still don’t understand that there are successful, beautiful, funny women who do not want to be seen or heard. Ladies - what is that all about?
I used to always say that I don’t care what other people think about me and by the way, it took me a long time to get there. But, if I am going to be really honest with myself and you, I actually do care what people think...just not to the point that it is going to change my behaviors, actions, and thoughts. I wouldn’t be a genuine, kind, compassionate human being if I totally didn’t give a crap what other people thought of me.
"Why do I show up everyday?
I show up because I care about myself
and I care about others."
So anyway, back to the text messages that started blowing up my phone. Most of the messages started with “OMG...I can’t believe you posted that.” Then the next text bubble of 3 dots, that we all sit back and wait for said. “Lisa, you have never had problem skin. What is going on?” No one could relate. Everyone just poked fun at the fact that there was crazy Lisa again doing something that no one else would do, while enjoying the comic relief from their crazy evening with their kids and husband. One friend who I hadn’t really hung out with in years, reached out and said it might be my gut. She acted like I should know that my gut has something to do with my ugly face. Isn’t my gut the big thing that hangs over the top of my jeans? Isn’t my gut my tummy?
So, as anyone with an undiagnosed case of OCD would do, I stayed up for hours googling “unhealthy gut.” I have to tell you how much this really intrigued me because my bedtime is 9:30 p.m. and I stick to it like a bee sticks to honey. I wish I could say that I am a really cool and spontaneous gal, but that would be a big fat lie. I love structure and I love a routine. Bedtime is bedtime, unless I am having the best time ever, but let’s be serious - how often do these occasions happen? I found all these articles, pinterest posts, podcasts - you name it and I found it. It turns out an unhealthy gut can cause poor digestion problems or let’s just call it what it is - CONSTIPATION and a bunch of other health conditions that I was experiencing.
Let me explain to you how long I have had digestive issues - can you say elementary school? I remember sitting at the kitchen table with my father every single night after dinner. I would sit there with my feet dangling off of my chair, pouting because I didn’t want to eat this disgusting thick molasses looking chocolate flavored stuff off of a spoon. How could I have spent years as a young kid doing this ritual every single night and no one else was experiencing this same after dinner delight?
I have not been living under a rock and about a year ago, I had heard tidbits of information about probiotics, but to be honest I never knew why they were important. If everyone around me is saying something is healthy, you can bet your bottom dollar that you fill find me the nearest natural food store. I began perusing the grocery section of the weirdest sounding foods that have this stuff in it. I tried the Kimchi, Kombucha, and Miso - this stuff was just as disgusting as my fake chocolate flavored constipation medicine. As a substitute, I started eating a lot of yogurt because I had read that yogurt has tons of probiotics and I figured that would be better than not doing anything at all. By the way, yogurt and dairy is not great for your digestive system. Oh yes, I learned that tidbit of information a little too late, but that is for another blog. Note to self - do not eat yogurt or dairy while traveling. Am I the only one who can't take a poop when traveling? What is that all about? So listen up - don't make it worse by eating a big ice cream sundae or a gigantic piping hot slice of pizza!
Back to my friend who suggested I might have an unhealthy gut. She told me to come on over to her house, so we eould chat. I felt so "old school." Getting in my car and driving over to have a face to face conversation, instead of sending endless text messages back and forth. Besides the fact that she thought she could cure my pimples, digestive issues, bloating, and constipation...I was more excited to catch up and rekindle our friendship. Hmmm...which is more important - friendship or pooping? I could have both and I was so excited. It just so happened that I didn't have to work the following Monday, so excited as ever, I put her address in my GPS and headed over to her house. We sat in her kitchen and caught up on life. How funny is it that I ended up back in a kitchen trying to cure my constipation and bloating?
She talked about things that worked for her and sent me on my merry way. I noticed a difference in my skin and my tummy right away. I know you don’t want to know the graphic details, but those of you who were glued to the television set when Dr. Oz was on Oprah...
"I MADE A BIG S!"
If you don’t know what that means, you can probably google “Dr. Oz, Oprah, big S.” Changing my eating habits, totally cleared up my skin and I hate to brag, but I am now the girl who takes a daily, very impressive poop! Photos? I don’t think so. Give me a break - I showed my face full of pimples. I do have some boundaries after all!!
Even though things were definitely changing, I knew that I had to work on my anxiety and stress levels. I had been reading and listening to a lot of literature on building a positive growth mindset. I had attended many lectures, seminars, and webinars about the importance of this topic but I really wasn't talking the talk and walking the walk. Once it really hit me that having a positive growth mindset could alleviate some of my health conditions...I showed up and I was full in!
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