Skills 4 Livin'

The guest on today's show is Jennifer Owens, the co-founder and Wellness Director of Bridge Counselling and Wellness, in Louisville, Kentucky. Bridge Counselling and Wellness is an Integrative Health Centre that provides individual therapy, yoga, fitness, cooking classes, meditation and workshops.  Jennifer is an Integrative Mental Health Therapist, a licensed Clinical Social Worker and a Certified Personal Trainer and she specialises in the holistic treatment of anxiety.

Jennifer (Cobb) came across Jennifer's website and she became fascinated with all the different modalities that they use to promote wellness- all with the recognition of the interconnectedness of our mood and our bodies. They provide individual sessions in conjunction with other classes, to help people to restore balance and wellness within themselves. 

Today, Jennifer, who really understands the connection between our bodies and our brains, talks about how you can view your physical and mental health in an interconnected way, as a whole package. She breaks it down in a way that's easy to use, so that you can walk away from today's show with some detailed and clear tips about how you can make small changes in your life that could have a big impact on your mood. Listen in and find out more about how you can change your diet, to restore balance in your life.

Today, Jennifer talks about:

• How she initially became interested in the food/mood connection.
• How she worked with her own anxiety.
• Her cooking classes- what they're about and why she and her team began to develop them.
• That the overwhelming amount of information available today impedes people's ability to make smart choices.
• The links of diet to mental or emotional problems.
• That Jennifer and her team of practitioners know that they need to use multiple interventions in different combinations so that people can find what's best for them.
• The Seven Key Areas that Jennifer focuses on for the food/mood connection: 1) Nutrient Deficiencies   2)The effects of sugar on mood   3) Gut Health  4) The role of inflammation  5) Essential Fatty Acids  6)Water and staying hydrated  7) How your mood affects your food choices.
• The link between depression and nutrient deficiencies and how the different vitamins actually help.
• That thyroid issues can also be linked to depression.
• Foods that Jennifer recommends- mainly leafy greens.
• The importance of reducing processed, refined and fried foods in your diet.
• Why you should avoid sugar in your diet.
• The hidden sugar in processed foods.
• That about 95% of your bodies store of serotonin is produced in your gastrointestinal tract.
• Explains more about gut feelings. 
• The probiotic function of the bacteria in your gut and how it can affect your mental health.
• How to manage your gut health.
• Inflammation in the brain can be an indicator of depression, or even schizophrenia and that inflammation is the precursor to any disease in the body.
• The benefits of following an anti-inflammatory diet.
• The big culprits for causing inflammation.
• Two great anti-inflammatory foods- turmeric and omega3 fatty acids.
• The great health benefits of turmeric and saffron.
• Which foods contain Omega3 Fatty Acids and why you really need to supplement them in your diet.
• How Omega 3's enhance the effect of ADHD medication.
• Water- the simple solution!
• That the effects of mild dehydration exacerbate anxiety.
• Knowing that what you're eating affects your mood is a great motivator for people to change their diet.
• The value of using a food/mood journal.

Links:

Jennifer's website: www.bridgemindbody.com

Jennifer's email: [email protected]

Resources:

Dr Andrew Weil's Anti-inflammatory Diet Pyramid: www.drweil.com/diet-nutrition/anti-inflammatory-diet-pyramid/

Recipe for Turmeric Tonic:

1-2 cups of boiling water

Some fresh grated turmeric, or 1 teaspoon ground turmeric

A little fresh ground black pepper

A little ground ginger

Method:

Boil for 10 minutes, then add some lemon and some honey, if a bit of sweetness is desired.

Recommended books: 

The Food Mood Solution by Jack Challem

The Happiness Diet by Tyler Graham and Drew Ramsey

The Anti Anxiety Food Solution by Trudy Scott

The Integrated Mental Health Care Therapist's Handbook (For Therapists)

Today we’re going to be doing something little bit different. As you may have heard in Episode 1, I believe that self-compassion is an important part of us being comfortable with ourselves and is the first step to making changes in our lives. 

Today, I invite you to join me to sit and participate in a loving kindness meditation. I heard from many people that sitting for a formal meditation is difficult for them, so I thought I might walk you through the steps. 

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• What is a loving kindness meditation
• Where this meditation originates from
• What the loving kindness meditation about
• What is the goal for this meditation
• What is your heart-center
• What posture you should use when meditating
• How you should breath when meditating 
• What to recite about yourself and others
• What to visualize when you are relaxing and meditating 

Thank you so much for joining me today and participating in this loving kindness meditation. Anytime that you feel necessary please come back and meditate with me again. I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Resources:

Guilford Counseling 

This week’s Skill for life is meditation. Meditation slows aging,  improves concentration, reduces stress, encourages a healthy lifestyle, increases happiness, and it delays death. Our guest, Jimmy Tunstall, is a counselor-therapist and a meditation expert. He teaches you how to meditate. 

Show Notes 

• The practice prolongs life because it benefits cardiovascular and immune system health.
• How Jimmy helps those who want to recover from addiction
• How he uses meditation to
• The right way to meditate
• Tips on meditation
• His struggles and successes 
• You can meditate even when driving 
• The effects of meditation
• Benefits of regular meditation
• Breathing is the core of meditation
• The right length of meditation
• The background music or sounds to use during your meditation
• Altering diet and sleep patterns 

Resources 

• Jennifer's website:  www.guilfordcounseling.com
• Jimmy's website:  www.full-life-counseling.com

You can read the full show notes at www.guilfordcounseling.com.

I know that our lives are busy, and I’m grateful that you took the time to listen to this week’s podcast.

If you enjoyed today’s episode, please share it with your colleagues, friends, and others you think may also find it interesting. 

Please consider leaving an honest rating and review for the podcast on iTunes as this helps the podcast reach more of our colleagues who want to build successful practices.

Finally, feel free to click here to join the crew of other folks who get a tip, tool, or technique delivered right to their inbox every week!

You’ll learn valuable tips to apply Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills, as well as other techniques to live your healthiest life possible...as well as get the podcast episodes delivered right to your inbox!

You’ll also get FREE access to The 10 Foods that Impact Your Mood. 

In today's episode Jennifer Cobb talks about self-compassion and gives us some tips for cultivating more. It's a concept that most of us are familiar with, but we tend to think that too much elf-compassion means that you just accept every flaw as acceptable, and nothing needs to change.

Jennifer is quick to point out the 2 components of Self-Compassion:

1. Validation

2. Dialectics

Jennifer skillfully illustrates the difference between the 2 and how using them effectively can lay the groundwork for self-compassion.

We can easily see in Jennifer's illustrations, that we would not be drawn to others that repeatedly judge, attack or condemn us. However, the behavior that we refuse to accept from others is the behavior that we tolerate from ourselves.

What would happen if 60% of your thoughts each day were validating? What about 70%? 

Join us in this episode to find out.

You can read the full show notes and access all the links and resources at www.guilfordcounseling.com

I know that our lives are busy, and I’m grateful that you took the time to listen to this week’s podcast.

If you enjoyed today’s episode, please share it with your colleagues, friends, and others you think may also find it interesting. 

Please consider leaving an honest rating and review for the podcast on iTunes as this helps the podcast reach more of our colleagues who want to build successful practices.

Finally, feel free to click here to join the crew of other folks who get a tip, tool, or technique delivered right to their inbox every week!

You’ll learn valuable tips to apply Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills, as well as other techniques to live your healthiest life possible...as well as get the podcast episodes delivered right to your inbox!

You’ll also get FREE access to The 10 Foods that Impact Your Mood.