Healing America: 5 Unique Solutions to End the Anger

I’m probably one of the most patriotic chicks you’re gonna meet.  I can no longer sit by and watch our great country self destruct. Every week there are more incidences of Americans self-destructing and taking down others with them.  As I write this, we are going into a hotly contested election season, and the anger, hateful words and insults are at a fever pitch. This is insane and needs to stop. Whether a school shooting, anti-semetic attacks or a celebrity suicide. What are the root causes of all this craziness?

I’m certain there is not a parent out there who taught their kid that being a bully was an acceptable way to act.  When they took that first glance at their precious baby, they were not thinking “what a great mean kid she will be when she grows up”!  Somewhere along the way, we all get hurt. What we do with that hurt can be for good or not. We can only control ourselves and manage our own emotions. It’s time we started healing each of US, Americans, and ultimately the US of A using these 5 unique solutions to end the anger.

1. Crap Food = Crap Attitude

Seriously, who actually feels good after drinking a bottle of wine or a 6-pack of beer and eating your weight in corn chips, chocolate chip cookies, popcorn, ice cream, hot dogs, fries…you get the picture.  This is not food.  Does your gasoline engine run very long if you put diesel in the tank? How long do you think your body can handle this diesel fuel?  Ask yourself:

1. When you don’t feel well, how is your attitude? Irritable? Cranky?
2. How well does your brain work when you are hung over?
3. What happens if you continue to feed your body low nutrient fuel?
4. Can your body make quality hormones or brain chemicals called neurotransmitters?

Our body requires certain amounts of certain vitamins and minerals to function properly. Kids need even more because they are growing.  Many people I see are actually malnourished, even when they are overweight. This is called Over-consumption Malnutrition, per Dr Jeffrey Bland, the father of Functional Medicine.

We are eating way too many calories that contain zero nutrition. Do you think your body can function properly on the Standard American Diet of sugary soda’s and over processed meals and snacks? These types of foods have only been on the planet since the late 1950’s and gained popularity in the ‘70’s. How welll can your brain function on this CRAP?

Kids bodies are even more sensitive to this CRAP. We are feeding growing children “food” devoid of the nutrients they need to grow a healthy brain and body.  The processing of food takes out nutrients that are necessary for healthy cell structure, without healthy cells you cannot have a healthy body. How can our children be expected to focus if they aren’t fed?

• How can we expect kids to act well when they are lacking energy, their blood sugar is all over the place and they are deficient in key vitamins and minerals?
• And can we expect kids to make good decisions under these conditions? Download my free ebook, Clean It Up, for a place to start.

2. Skipping Meals = Mood Swings

Next to making crappy choices when you eat, skipping meals is the worst offender in terms of creating a body and brain that will certainly be angry. This is known as “hangry” – hungry and angry. If you are skipping meals thinking you need to lose weight, don’t have time or any other excuse – STOP IT!

When you skip meals your blood sugar goes down. This causes your brain to freak out.  It will tell the body to break down anything to get some fuel for itself.  The brain is selfish that way.

So, the body releases cortisol, the stress hormone, and it causes your body to break down your muscle tissue.  This can leave you weak and lethargic.  The brain will use that protein to fuel the vital processes.  Clear thinking and decision making at work or school is not going to be a priority for the brain.  Making sure your heart is beating and your liver and  kidneys are clearing toxins, that is what the brain sees as important.

When you finally do eat, your blood sugar may soar and then crash. Flooding the body with too many carbohydrates, like starchy vegetables, pasta, cookies, rice, chips, you get the picture, and will also leave the brain cranky, and eventually lead to diabetes.

Eating 5 small meals per day will prevent this issue.  You can download my eBook, Clean It Up, for FREE, to learn more.

3. Dehydration = Cranky

Headaches, confusion, foggy brain,  irritability, muscle cramps and aches, joint pain and more can be caused by dehydration.  Soda, coffee, caffeinated teach and alcohol contribute to dehydration. For kids the symptoms can be even more destructive like lethargy, cranky, inattention, hyperactivity, and muscle cramps.

This is an easy one to fix.  Get a water bottle that you LOVE – that way you won’t lose it.  Drink at least half you weight in ounces of water everyday. In other words if you weigh 100 pounds, you need to drink 50 ounces of water every day.

When dehydration is combined with poor blood sugar control, like skipping breakfast and/or lunch, this results in some seriously upset brain cells creating some profound mood swings.

4. Inactive = Stress

Right now, sitting is considered worse than smoking, in terms of the deleterious effect it creates on/in our bodies. Inactivity causes muscle loss, brain activity and coordination diminish, decreases endorphin production (the feel good molecules) and leads to depression, obesity, heart disease, strokes, and diabetes.

Humans need a minimum of 30 minutes of movement per day! Our kids need to discharge the energy that gets pent up when they sit all day in school, they need at least an hour of play everyday, and not in front of a video game.

• Mild to moderate exercise improves depression equal to a prescription antidepressant! And without the negative side effects.
• Movement increases the endorphins and mood enhancing molecules.
• Makes your clothes fit better because muscle tissue takes up less space than fat tissue, you will notice in a few weeks that your body will shift its size.
• Motion decreases stress by discharging stored energy.
• Moving your body is FUN.  You don’t have to run a 5K to be moving.  Start with your steps or walking to your mailbox a couple extra times a day until you work up to 30 minutes a day. Or a 10 minute dance party to your favorite music – go ahead, no one is looking!
• Don’t let your kids start their homework until they have play and had some physical movement for at least 30 minutes when they get home from school. Their brain will work better, and they will have better focus.
• You will focus better and have more even moods when you move your body regularly.

Let’s try moving to get happy instead of taking another medication.  I am not opposed to them, but let’s try this too.

 5. Perfection = Unrealistic Expectations = Not Good Enough Syndrome

Social media has heightened our sense of the need to be perfect.  Showing off only the best parts of our lives leaves us feeling not good enough and inauthentic. We know that when we post that perfect family picture, that there is strife among the family, maybe addiction issues, financial trouble etc, but the picture looks perfect…and it’s not the truth. Cyber bullying and mean-spirited kids just add to the issues.

What I have learned recently is that we are really all the same.  Our fears and anxieties are the same from person to person.  We strive for connection, it’s hard-wired, it’s in our DNA.  When we only see “perfect” and know that our life doesn’t look anything like that, we have to remember, we are only seeing half the story. Beneath most of the “pretty” stories on social media are the dark stories that people don’t want to share.

Perfectionism needs to go

• Get face to face with people you trust. There may only bee one or two of these people in your life.  Have coffee or tea together.  Actually spend time in conversation about the real things in your life, your struggles and fears along with what brings you joy.
• If you are in High School or Junior High, just know that everyone is going through some similar challenges.  Your guidance counselor or a special teacher will be there for you, if you just reach out and get vulnerable with them. Tell them your story.
• Journal the truth daily.  Stay in touch with actual highs and lows in your life.
• Stop the comparison! The only thing you should compare yourself to is who you were yesterday and try to be a better version today.  That’s it!  No more looking at the other ladies in your neighborhood or girls in your class and wanting to be like them.  You were made to be Y.O.U.

Maya Angelou said “All comparisons are odious”. Just become aware and you can stop your craziness. You be you, and let others be others! You can choose happy and spread some joy instead of junk!

Yes, cleaning up what you eat and drink, how you move, sleep, think and feel DOES make a difference in your mood. Is this the ONLY solution that needs to be addresses, of course not.  Is this one under your control if you want it bad enough?

Functional Medicine looks at each of these components along with performing some blood tests to determine what you are missing. Then, we take all of that data and create a plan, especially for you.  If weight loss is one of your goals, I have a several solutions. Let’s work together to get you and your family healthy. Do your part to Heal America using these 5 unique solutions to end the anger.