What I’m Thinking About Right Now

Friends,

I apologize in advance because this is going to be a slightly different newsletter than the usual. I have been reflecting over the past couple of weeks about the results of the election, the dynamic of the world around me, and the role that wellness plays in our lives and our world. 

Last year at this time, I wrote a newsletter about navigating the holidays from a fitness/wellness perspective. I felt that topic was important to discuss because it is so much deeper than feeling unmotivated in the winter. Over the holidays we miss workouts due to travel, we eat foods that might make us uncomfortable, we encounter family that can be harsh about our appearance. This year, there feels like an added layer to those feelings and dynamics - an election that (to me) feels like it shifts the course of history and how we understand health and wellness as a country. 

Today, my goal is to create a safe space to share my thoughts - and to welcome your thoughts and reflections on how we can move through this holiday season with grace, in health, and in community. 

Feelings

Last Thursday, I described my feelings to a friend as an “emotional hangover.” I was having trouble focusing and engaging in my day-to-day tasks. I felt a “crash” as several months of blind, unconscious anxiety dissipated and some dread set in. I felt heartbroken for individuals and communities I believe will be deeply impacted by the results of this election (Black people, people of color, immigrants, women, children, etc). I felt disheartened in humanity and I felt scared for what is to come. Now, you may not have felt any of those things or you may have felt all of them and more. 

As we inch towards Thanksgiving and Christmas, many of us are going to spend time with loved ones. Loved ones who might be our biggest support system and/or loved ones who have different political beliefs than us, loved ones who ask whether we gained 10 pounds or ever stuck to that diet, loved ones who ask when we’re going to find a husband/wife or have kids. And I want to acknowledge that no matter what you felt after the election, these things can be stressful. It can be stressful to travel, it can be stressful to step out of your routine, it can be stressful to engage with family and friends when they have opposing or hurtful views to you.  

So I want to remind you of two things as we head into holiday season: your feelings are valid AND your feelings are not facts. 

It is natural to have an emotional response to stress and not acknowledging our feelings can be damaging. I encourage you to sit with your feelings, even the uncomfortable ones, and let yourself flow and grow through them. 

When you’ve done that, remind yourself that your feelings are not facts. Just because you FEEL unmotivated doesn’t mean you don’t have energy to go to the gym. Just because you FEEL sad doesn’t mean you cannot engage in joyful activities. 

Do not underestimate how powerful it is to allow yourself to feel things & then CHOOSE your response. 

Self Care As Resistance

"Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare" - Audre Lorde

Whether or not you choose to see self care as political warfare is up to you, but it is scientifically factual that self care is required for self preservation. If you’ve been subscribed to my newsletter for more than a month, you know that I believe to my core that health is fundamental to our existence. It is difficult to live a long, happy life if you are not healthy. And it is impossible for us to be good sisters, brothers, sons, daughters, parents, employees, engaged citizens without prioritizing our health. Movement is healing, meditation is healing, healthy food & water are healing. 

That is the reason I do the work that I do. We are better individuals and a better society when we are physically, mentally, emotionally, socially & financially at our best. While it's not always possible to be at our bests, it is always possible to try. 

If you are struggling this season, for any reason, small healthy habits WILL help. Take a walk, drink a glass of water, eat a home cooked meal, call a friend, log out of Twitter. These are all actions that have been proven to improve your wellbeing. 

The phrase: you can’t pour from an empty cup means two things to me. First, that it is imperative to take care of our own health to be a functional human and second, that being a functional human is imperative to your community and your life. 

Collective Healing

I will leave you with this. After recovering from my emotional hangover, most of my thoughts have centered on one theme: collective healing is the only way forward. I am deeply concerned about the future of public health. Not only because of who will be in charge of our big systems come January, but also because I believe that as a society, we don’t fully understand how much we rely on those systems to protect us (clean air and water regulations, making sure food production is sanitary, employee health protections, vaccines, green spaces and parks, the list goes on). 

As we are forced to reckon with how broken those systems are, and how ineffective they might become, it is absolutely necessary for us to do everything in our power to protect our own wellbeing - and that is not an individual job. We must become each others’ safety net. There is a framework in public health called the socioecological model. It defines health as a complex concept that includes physical, mental & social wellbeing, and is influenced by interactions between individuals and their environments (aka we are a product of our environment). 

We are each other’s environments. It is more important than ever for us to come together to seek health and happiness as a collective, to lift each other up, and to create the world we want to live in. 

Sending you all SO much love.