Recovering from Burnout | #3
I’m your host Cara Dempsey, I am married with two small kids, and I left my career of 19 years because of a lack of self-care and boundaries, which led me right to burn out.
In this episode, I talk about the struggles I’ve had after having my second child. I also talk about how my immune system started to shut down while also dealing with the health issues of my family. I talk about the mindset changes that occurred for me to start living a life that feels more purposeful and allows me to be more present for my family. I want you to know that taking time for yourself is very important so that you don’t get burned out from your life. I hope this inspires you to take action in loving yourself.
Healing our Relationship with Food and Connecting to our Intuition with Dr. Claudia Thompson | #2
In this interview with Dr. Claudia Thompson, we dive into how important self-care is to connect with our best version of ourselves. Especially the stuff we don’t think applies to us or feels hard at first. Women tend to have so much going on that we forget how important it is to get out of our heads and into our bodies. We cover how to start healing our relationship with food:
We dive into Claudia’s journey by healing her own food story and how it inspired her to help others in their journey.
We tackle the topic of food and how our coping mechanisms make us think we are keeping ourselves safe.
We dive deep into what healing may look like and how that is different for everyone.
We talk about what intuition is, why it’s important, and ways that may help other women begin their journey to their intuition.
A Journey To Wellness For A Balanced Life
I Want To Share With You Who I Am, Why I’m Here, And My Steps Into Making My Wellness Journey My Priority. So many people have reached out to ask, what’s my secret? How did I make a transformation like this? Follow my journey to wellness for a more balanced life. On my journey to wellness, I began to connect with myself. I healed the emotions I ignored and found ways to make life easier. In fact, sharing my journey and giving guidance has become a passion, so it doesn’t feel as overwhelming as it did for me. I realized that I had to make my health a priority. As a result, the answers came once I made that commitment. The key is to grow and bring value to yourself continually on the journey to wellness for a more balanced life. When I was in the last trimester with my son, my health changed for the worse. However, the importance of this story isn’t why but how I could get ahead of it. For two years, so much affected the health of myself and my family. It brought constant stress and trying to work with two small children drained me in every way. Read my post on how to avoid burnout here. I felt guilty for thinking that my life was hard. There were people in my life having more complicated experiences. Yet, I am incredibly grateful now, looking back on my experiences. I am in the best shape mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally because of my journey to wellness to a more balanced life. When someone has a more challenging experience, it doesn’t take away the current pain you feel. I had found out that our house having mold was a significant contribution to our low immune systems. Before I found that out, I removed so many foods from my diet, hoping to help with all the symptoms I was having. I was going to the doctors more than I could keep up with. I always left with prescriptions to treat my symptoms but not the underlying cause. The mold left our immune systems depleted. Here are just some examples of health issues we dealt with: RSV Strep Ear infections (I stopped counting after 15) Horrible coughs (months at a time) Rashes Insomnia Anxiety I began my health reset once we had the very costly mold remediation. This included our roof, siding, and crawl space. I was relieved to learn children are resilient and would not need any special treatment. In my research to my journey to wellness for a more balanced life, I found that gut health has a connection in so many ways. I also found that hormonal birth control can lead to gut issues for an extended amount of time. Mold exposure and antibiotics can affect gut health too. In other words, it was to best heal my gut since all three factors had been long-standing offenders. Over the years, the decline in my gut health played a significant role in my depleted immune system. I went on a stringent diet that included: Organic meat and seafood Veggies (mostly broccoli, brussel sprouts, and mixed greens) Green apples and green bananas for my smoothies Fresh, unsweetened organic almond butter The foods that were avoided: Sugar, sweeteners, honey, etc. (pretty much in everything we consume) Starches (carrots, corn, potatoes) Processed foods, which means if it has ingredients listed, it’s not allowed Take-out except a couple of compliant places I recommend reaching out to a holistic health coach, or a reputable protocol if you need to heal your gut. After some testing, I decided it was best to get off hormonal birth control. I originally went on it many years ago to help regulate my period. I knew it would take tracking my cycle to help get my menstrual cycle back on track. That was a pivotal moment in my journey to wellness. Check out my cycle planning blog post here. I surrendered myself to healing my mind, body, and soul. I knew what I was going through was a significant transformation. However, it wasn’t about the weight loss but the ability to finally listen to my body. I was able to give myself the love and acknowledgment that I needed. Here are some ways I sparked Self-Awareness on my journey to wellness for a more balanced life: Meditation Energy work Breathwork Journaling Yoga Writing Dancing Hypnosis Art Nature Cooking Acupuncture Most of us cram so much into our day, as a result, it doesn’t allow our bodies to communicate with us. Instead, we numb our minds with tv, scrolling through social media, and the duality of the news. This turns into anxiety, insomnia, and other ways our body screams for our attention. One thing in my wellness journey that had stuck out was a meditation I did back in February of 2020. Incidentally, it was right when I realized what I needed to do to begin healing. This meditation asked us to visualize our perfect day from when we woke up to when we went to bed. It wasn’t supposed to be a dream day, like a vacation, but what we did as a profession and how we spent our day. My day began in my house, which at the time would have made me feel unsafe because of the mold. This wasn’t the most surprising thing that came to light in my meditation. The fact that I didn’t do anyone’s hair on this day is what surprised me the most. I started the day off meditating, then into yoga. The rest of the day included quality time with my kids and sharing anything I thought of value to others. After this meditation, I felt a sense of ease and fulfillment, like a weight was lifted. I was allowing myself to finally take a moment and evaluate what was important to me in my journey to wellness for a more balanced life. This was something that sat
Cycle Planning and Why it’s Important
Cycle planning was something I never even considered starting doing in my own life, even though I have been a planner my whole life. Always thinking of the next thing to look forward to. Whether it’s a vacation, grocery list, or just what the next day will entail. Even my job as a hairdresser had me scheduled to the minute. I have lived the last nineteen years in the constant blur of not being truly present. What is cycle planning and why it is important Women have this potential to utilize their productivity to a whole other level when they begin to plan with their cycle. It sounds like it takes so much time and effort, but in the end, you will gain so much more energy and productivity when you honor your cyclical nature. It only takes a few minutes a day to begin, so what are you waiting for? Planning with your cycle takes patience and energy to start to understand your body and what it needs to thrive When we went into lockdown, I was already in the process of what I would call my awakening. It started in February 2020, and once I didn’t have a job to go to, I began to see and feel more clearly. My need to constantly plan was my version of numbing myself to not feel anything by taking myself out of the present moment. As of March 18th, 2020, my only job was to care for my family and myself. I decided that this was the time to do everything I “didn’t have time for.” Before then, I worked out, meditated, and journaled, but it wasn’t in my daily or even weekly practice. I finally showed up for me. All these things were for me and no one else, but my family got the benefits too. I became more present and was able to hold more space for those around me. I changed my mindset from “I SHOULD do this” to actually doing it. When you tell yourself you “should,” you are giving yourself the message that you aren’t important enough to take the time to do the things that are healthy for you. Each day I awoke with a commitment to show up in a way that was healthy for me. I told myself what I want to embody; I am healthy, strong, confident, and worthy. There is always time to invest in yourself and cycle planning should be apart of that investment Life can get hard to balance work and family. I’ve been there. Even when I was working, I still made sure I showed up for myself. Now that I see how much I can grown as a person and how I can show up for my kids. Going back to mindless living and just getting through the days is not how I want to live. I don’t just get through the days anymore. I show up and be present as much as I can. Don’t get me wrong sometimes my patience is thin, or things aren’t going my way. These are the days I spend a few extra minutes on myself. Here is a post about my burnout experience. It’s always easier to put on Netflix or scroll through social media, which numbs your mind. However, sitting with yourself in meditation or journaling will at least inspire growth, and to be honest, not engaging in electronics is so freakin hard! It takes practice to become comfortable with it. Once you see the growth and benefit that comes out of it, there is no turning back. So how do you show up for yourself? I can’t answer for you; only you can. I do know the key to success is growth. That means trying something new and investing in yourself, whether it’s free or it can cost money. It only works if you show up. Cycle planning is the secret to help women flourish in their life I started to educate myself on the different phases of our menstrual cycles and how we can best utilize our time and energy at each phase. My cycle is something I’ve had since I was a young tween but never knew the importance of how to use it to my advantage. A big part of my routine was journaling every night, and I began to track my cycle. I started to see I have times where I’m very creative, and other times I feel like superwoman because I’m so productive. My journal became my instruction manual. I saw the patterns and began to see how I could plan to make my life easier. If I didn’t watch for the signs to wind down before my menstrual phase starts, I would be down for the count with a pounding headache and no energy for anything. Paying attention to the subtle signs of your cycle can unlock the power within yourself I searched for the ultimate planner to help my planning/journaling needs, and I couldn’t find it. Finally, my husband recommended I get a digital planner. I started to look at digital planners and wasn’t sure what they were. So I researched. I found one helpful in my journey, but it wasn’t what I needed to thrive in cycle planning. The designer of the planner I bought released a course on making a digital planner from scratch. It was a bit more than I would spend on a course, but the idea of taking this passion I had and bring it to life brought so much excitement to me. After talking to my husband about the idea, we knew it was the next step in my new career. I started to create the planner I wish I had when I started to understand the importance of my cycle. I wanted a planner that made intentions and affirmations as a part of my planning. Resting my body when it needs rest and getting all the stuff done when my energy is
Welcome to the Journey of Wellnest Reset
I want to welcome you to the journey of Wellnest Reset! It’s so hard to figure out the right post to jump-start my journey. I’ve attempted writing a few posts already, but none seem to be the right first post. So I thought the best first post would be to share with you why I created this space. Welcome to the Journey of Wellnest Reset I’m here to share the journey I started two years ago. While losing 75 pounds is an accomplishment I’m proud of, that’s not the important part of my journey I want to share with you. The person I’ve become in the process is what has truly inspired me to inspire others. I’ve learned my journey is always evolving, so I’m not sure what this will be as it grows. The most important part for me is to make sure I stay true to myself along the way. Here is why I’m here: To spread inspiration for self-love, self-care, self-acknowledgment, self-investment for the most crucial person in your life, YOU! Share recipes along the way. I intend to show ways to keep things healthy, but I’m not sure I can resist sharing the indulgent ones too. I hope for more traveling experiences for my family and I. Photographing nature has become a love I’d like to share. Making life a bit easier along the way. I’m an organized planner so meal planning, cleaning schedules, and things of that sort are what makes my life easier. There might be some tough love since the biggest lessons I’ve learned have also been the hardest. For me to bring value to you, I need some favors from you: Please let me know when something I share is of use to you. That way, I can create more content that relates to you. Share if you would like me to bring something specific, whether it’s a recipe, meditation, or any resource you think I should share. I’ve had trouble making the jump on starting my blog because of social media. We are ingrained that you must have a certain level of presence on social media if you want to be successful. Unfortunately, a significant factor in my growth has been removing social media from my daily life. So for the start of this blog, you won’t find me active on social media. I do encourage you to reach out to my email at [email protected] Wellnest Reset is a safe space where you can gain insight and ways to encourage your journey in yourself. Let me know how I can support you in the journey. I encourage anything that will help us grow. I look forward to our journey! With Gratitude, WellNest Reset with Cara Dempsey Check out some of my other posts Sign Up For The Free Gratitude Journal Challenge HERE Wellness Retreat For Complete Rejuvenation Gratitude Journal with Prompts