The Secret Behind Bouncing Back After Major Traumas

The above picture was taken by my hubby Mike exactly one year ago, August 28, 2018. It was the morning of my Double Mastectomy. My amazing kids traveled up from Florida to Seattle, WA to be with me at the beginning of my Breast Cancer journey and they surprised me by wearing these T-shirts. Naturally, I cried...which after learning about my breast cancer and BRCA2 diagnosis, just over a month prior, had been quite a regular occurrence, but to know that this is how they see me, gave me that extra boost I needed.

At this point in time, I didn't know what the course of treatment would be, much of that is determined after the lab runs tests on the tumor...but what I did know is that I could trust myself to do the best to look after myself, whilst going through whatever I would need to go through.

How did I know and trust this?

I'm not saying that I'm not bumped about and bruised...BUT I always get through these major traumas. To give you an example of some of our major life happenings in the past 6 years:

• A car accident, leaving me with 5 herniated discs, forcing me to change careers,
• I’ve gone to school to become a Health Coach and opened my own practice,
• Moved house 5 times (including to and from gorgeous St. Croix, a Caribbean island),
• Got married,
• Had Zika Virus,
• Lost both parents,
• Almost lost another loved one suddenly
• My hubby was in a motorcycle accident, almost losing his right arm,
• Diagnosed with Breast Cancer and BRCA2 (5 surgeries in the past year)

As you can imagine, it's been quite the ride. But I know for sure that I'm not the only one going through major traumas, unfortunately, we all encounter them at different stages of our lives...which is why I want to share my secrets to help you get through too!!

BTW FEEL FREE TO THINK OF ME AS YOUR BOUNCE BACK COACH!

When life is stressful, we need to go back to the basics...that's why I focus on helping you to build such a strong foundation so that when the sh*t hits the fan (and you know it will!) you've got the tools to keep a strong immune system and start to repair your adrenal health.

Our adrenals are small glands located above the kidneys and they play an important role in the endocrine system. They help regulate all normal bodily functions such as muscle movements, digestion, memory, and eyesight. Adrenal glands are a major part of making your body function properly.

Each day, adrenal glands produce several different hormones. One of these is cortisol, which is also often referred to as adrenaline. One of the main functions of the hormones produced by the adrenal glands is to command the brain when the body is stressed.

Anyone who works too hard and experiences too much stress in life your adrenals will start to shut down. 🙋‍♀️This is because when your body is experiencing fatigue, it stops producing sufficient hormones, causing your body to malfunction. The good thing is that this is both preventable and treatable.

Adrenal fatigue is a natural occurrence but does require treatment from a professional who is familiar with it. Clinical consultations can conduct lab tests to assess the status of your adrenal functions.

The good news...with lifestyle and nutritional changes, you can repair the health of your adrenal glands. 

I was absolutely dealing with adrenal fatigue...do you recognize any of these symptoms? Sometimes we can just feel "off" and not know that something is going on in our bodies because either the symptoms aren't severe enough to warrant a visit to the doctor, or we go to the doctor and just get told, "you're getting older, what do you expect?". 😡 I hear that a lot from clients.

Symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue

• Low stamina
• Exhaustion and excessive fatigue
• Sweet or salty food cravings
• Disturbed sleep
• Environmental and food allergies
• Feeling very energetic at night
• Difficulty concentrating
• Premenstrual syndrome and problematic menopause
• Feeling overwhelmed
• Depressions and mood swings
• Poor memory and concentration
• Frequent infections
• Lightheadedness

Stress is no joke...and if we just ignore these symptoms, then chances are we'll be dealing with a more serious health issue down the road.

But, to think of even beginning an adrenal repair program mid trauma would be a joke. So what I do throughout the trauma, and I'm sharing my personal secret's here...I go back to my foundation basics until things calm down a bit and I can wrap my head around boosting my immune system and repairing adrenals again (I'll be sharing more about how to do this in future blogs).

I call this my 24-Hour to Power Daily Checklist - DOWNLOAD YOURS HERE

1. Drink water
2. Eat a fruit or veggie with every meal
3. Move your body at least 30-mins a day
4. Stretch
5. Laugh & smile (even though it's not always easy)
6. Try to get 8 hours of sleep
   

Download your checklist and keep it handy, even take a pic with your phone. Keeping an eye on these basics is honestly what has gotten me through so much.

I remember being in the UK after my mum passed away, and getting the call that my hubby had been in a motorcycle accident. I got back to the USA and spent the next 2 weeks, 24/7 in a recliner next to my hubby's hospital bed. Eating hospital food for 2 weeks, with a gluten intolerance, was not easy. I've been Gluten Free for the past 10 years now and this particular hospital had very few GF options for hot nutritious food. 

It was this checklist that became my bible...and I remember even saying in my head "Karin, it's OK,  just use your 24-hour to power checklist, you'll get through this!).

Here I am, bumped and bruised but grateful for every single minute of every single day. It's been during this process and also now that my breast cancer treament has ended that I realize, there's no gameplan now and although I'm a pro at bouncing back, I think of my breast cancer sisters and I created a Facebook group just for us, feel free to share with other sisters.

JOIN: HOW TO MOVE FORWARD AFTER BREAST CANCER TREATMENT