“Overthinking”. Ever heard of her?
I’m sure you have. And I’m sure she has bombarded your mental space way too many times!
A few months ago I wrote a mini course that I felt like the Holy Spirit downloaded to me back in the early spring. I wanted to tackle that project as soon as it came to me but with life’s struggles not only did I reach a point of complete burnout but also no desire to do much at all. My joy of everyday life was gone and my physical health reached an all time low.
“Your mind is your jail cell.”
This is a line I highlighted in the new birthing course, An Exodus Birth: Empowering women for Homebirth Through Education and the Word. As Christians, most of us are aware of just how imprisoning our thought patterns and mindsets can be. Recently, I realized how I had confined myself to a certain way of trying to organize my podcast episodes. When I understood my mistake and gave myself freedom to break out of that way of recording, I realized I could pick it back up and move forward. I haven’t recorded an episode in months because I didn’t have that one episode I really wanted.
Mindset is especially important when we encounter times where we want to give up, the pain is too excruciating, the trials are too hard, or our hearts are too heavy to handle anything else.
But, one thing I’ve been determined to do this last year, while working on my physical health, is bring awareness to how much our physical health contributes to our mindset and mental health. Christians can easily place a spiritual label on a physical problem. I would have labeled my own situation as spiritual if I didn’t have a tangible vital sign to tell me what was going on. Women are actually blessed with a fifth vital sign to help them gauge what their overall health is doing. Hardly would I call it a blessing at the time, though!
After my fourth baby, at this time last year, I was experiencing extreme mood swings, weeping, overwhelm, and a feeling of being a broken woman who couldn’t handle her everyday tasks. At times, I couldn’t handle my children, the crying, cooking dinner, or basic task planning. On top of that, I shamed myself because I wasn’t strong enough to handle what was on my plate. I became enraged at my husband over past hurts, and current struggles. It hasn’t been fun working through all of this. .If you’ve ever heard the phrase, ‘God won’t give you more than you can handle’ while walking through something that is WAY more than you can handle, then you know that saying is a farce!
Frequently, I read social media posts asking for advice or expressing the importance of working out and exercising in order to decrease stress. Or, stop drinking caffeine to help anxiety, take magnesium, take this supplement, or try xyz to improve an area of their health. While I agree with most of these comments and lifestyle changes, they simply miss a much deeper issue of overall health and mental stability.
Our bodies are GREAT communicators. Especially women’s bodies. We are the keepers of creation with God and He designed our bodies to be sensitive when things are not right. It’s a design to help protect reproduction. That’s why so many women experience autoimmune disorders and mood disorders more frequently than men. It’s our bodies way of saying, “I NEED HELP!”
Most people today are trying to target one aspect of their health. They have anxiety so they try to fix that anxiety through whatever means they can. They’re overweight so they go on a diet to lose weight. They’re struggling with infertility so they drink a tea. But, what they’re missing in an OVERALL HEALTH factor. All of these issues are a sign that our overall health is off. 80% of the adult population has moved into a slow metabolizing state because their bodies weren’t getting the proper nutrients in the first place.
What is the root to every health issue? Mineral imbalances. Although your hormones may be off (huge factor for women when it comes to losing weight) and you’re looking at every other test and marker, it is minerals that keep our body firing on all cylinders. I make that statement after having worked with a nutritionist 1:1 for nearly a year. And this is why I know that statement to be true.
“for you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.” – Genesis 3:19b
What is dirt made from? Minerals. At the very foundation of our makeup, God gathered the dust, mixed it with water and formed you and I. What happens when you pour water into the dirt? It gets absorbed. When you’re lacking in minerals, the water you’re drinking will not absorb into your body. I’ve stopped trying to guzzle gallons of water every day and instead focus on mineral intake which include herbal teas, juices, adrenal cocktails, and bone broths.
And where do we get minerals from? Food.
“You must serve only the LORD your God. If you do, I will bless you with food and water, and I will protect you from illness.
We have been taught and conditioned as a society to try and fix a problem or treat a symptom instead of going to the root. Again, as Christians, we are usually aware that we cannot get rid of certain emotions or traumas unless we get to the REAL root of the problem. A lot of times those things stem from childhood. Prolonged stress from childhood serves as a severe trigger to our long term health and getting those wounds healed are vital to our physical health. That is why we see the western medicine world losing its grip. While medicine is something we need in serious emergency situations to stabilize someone who might otherwise not live, we do not need western medicine to cover up our symptoms and keep us trapped in a cycle we can never get out of.
“Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire. – Matthew 3:10
People are waking up the reality that Pharmaceuticals cannot and will not cure their disease. Even doctors are stepping out of the system when they run into their own health battles only to find that Whole Foods and herbs are what will cure them.
But, did you know that our overall health can also contribute to our mental state? Sometimes, the mindset shift is realizing that the Original Design is the best design. What foods did my ancestors eat? is a question we should be asking ourselves.
Sometimes, it’s not just a mindset shift that needs to take place. Your overall health is also the root cause of depression, anxiety, anger, bitterness, and resentment. It’s true.
It’s a well-known fact that in almost every schizophrenia case study, when their copper levels were tested, there was a direct link to their mood disorder and erratic behaviors and copper. The chemical imbalance of the neurotransmitters (brain chemicals) serotonin, dopamine, and glutamate can be contributed to low copper levels.
If you’re a breastfeeding mom and you’ve experienced what they call D-MER, or dysphoric milk ejection reflex, it can be linked to low dopamine. Low dopamine is related to copper imbalances in the body. If your body doesn’t have the energy to produce the communicating receptors to the brain (hormones) then we will experience health problems. Part of health problems can be mood disorders or what Christians will label as something that needs to be prayed over more, give it to God, forgive, or any other churchy answer you can think of.
But what if those answers are just gas lighters for the one who is experiencing a physical condition?
There’s a lot more that goes into this post so I will not leave it here! Stay tuned for part two and three of how our health plays a vital role in our mental state. I will also be sharing what I’ve done and what lifestyle changes we have made. I’ll also share exactly what supplements and foods we are focusing on and how they help the body.
To be sure not to miss any upcoming emails, sign up for my email list.
Sources:
https://therootcauseprotocol.com/iron-toxicity-post-81/
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Iron-HealthProfessional/
Need to walk through inner healing? Tired of circling back to the same emotional hangups and traumas? It’s time to heal and Made Whole is Your Threshold to Healing Body | Soul | Spirit. A 6-weeks course that walks you through every step of healing and how to hear God’s voice for your root issues.
This course is designed to help you peel back the layers and get to the root of your toxic behaviors, recurring thought patterns, and playbacks from traumatic memories that have been set on repeat. It will provide you with real tools and testimonies to help you be an overcomer and step into your next season with hope and confidence. Stop thinking that you’re not enough, or that you or someone else can’t change and you’re stuck with the label someone or something has given you. There is always an answer through Jesus!
