When you get that unexpected news... it feels as if the whole world stops. Your life is suddenly different in more ways than one.
Going through grief can be a very traumatizing time and our bodies tend to take a back-burner. When my father and brother died, the first three weeks were an incredibly stressful time for my family. I knew that I needed to keep my body healthy while we were navigating uncharted waters and needed to keep our heads clear. This brief article will explain a few things I did to make sure my body was taken care of in the middle of chaos.
First, we need to understand the "fight/flight/freeze" that happens. We learned in school that when our body is under stress, we go to this stress response. Our body is designed to avoid distress. When it goes into survival mode, our body thinks we are literally dying and will do everything it can to keep it protected. When we can't come down from that heightened state of adrenaline, our nerves become fried and we can do a lot of damage without realizing it. When we are in a constant survival mode, that actually weakens our immune system. When our immune systems are weak, we are more prone to illness.
To prevent that from happening, here are a few things we can focus on:
1) Vitamin C
We need vitamin C to help boost our immune system. It helps our body absorb proper nutrients as well as reduce adverse affects of stress. A few ways to get vitamin C are drinking orange juice everyday, adding liposomal vitamin C to a smoothie, or eating bell peppers. I used Mary Ruth Liposomal Vitamin C in my drinks because I wanted a way for my body to quickly absorb energy that didn't make me crash and kept me focused.
2) Antioxidants
Antioxidants combat free radicals which are unstable oxygen molecules. These little guys can cause serious damage to the body so boosting your antioxidant supply will help combat during a very stressful season. Three vitamins that help with that are Vitamin C, E, and beta-carotene. Focusing on food like broccoli, cantaloupe, strawberries and oranges will help you get the support needed. During the initial first days/weeks of grief, I drank NingixiaRed a whole berry puree containing wolfberry, aronia, sweet cherry, plum, blueberry and pomegranate. This helped me keep my energy stable and mind clear when having to go through the business side of grief.
3) Drink Water
I know it seems so simple but truly we need good clean water in our body. When we're under stress the last thing we need is added caffeine from soda and coffee. Water helps flush out toxins that have built up and keeps your body running smooth.
4) Sleep
The first week after my brother and dad died, it was so hard to get sleep. I didn't want the dreams that came or the heavy emotions I felt. But when you don't get enough sleep, your body wears down very quickly. Sleep is when our body goes into "maintenance" mode. During that time we restore and when we don't take the time to sleep you'll be more tired through the day, more easily irritable, have trouble controlling emotions and more. Lack of sleep leads to more health problems in the future. So how to your help yourself get the sleep you know you need?
A few things: reduce your screen time at least 1-2 hours before bed. Limit your caffeine intake. (No iced coffee after dinner!), do supportive exercise like yoga or Pilates, read a book, diffuse some oils.
*For me, the oils helped A LOT before going to bed. I specifically used Peace & Calming II and orange. Plus, I used Tranquil roller too on my shoulders (where I was carrying a lot of burden), lower back and ankles.
5) Get Sunshine
Right now it might feel like the grief will never end. It might seem like darkness will loom over forever, especially when the darkness is during winter. But get sunshine. Let your body soak in the vitamin D. Feel the ground underneath you and breathe in fresh air. The darkness doesn't last forever. The sun reminds me that God is still in charge. He still makes the world spin round. He still grows new life. This grief will hurt, but it won't last forever.
Plus getting sunshine is really good for our bodies! It reduces our stress state, improves our quality of sleep and helps with our mental health. And when sunshine isn't available, make sure to eat eggs with yolks, raw milk, ghee, and even get a vitamin D lamp. (Yes that does exist.)
This list isn't exhaustive by any means. And there will be days that none of these things will apply. What this list it meant to do is help guide you when it's normal to shut down and forget the world. It's meant to be a checkpoint when you're feeling really off and want to come back to center.
Please know that I feel your hurt. These physical things won't take it away. But it's meant to help support you during some of the hardest days of your life. Also... it's totally okay to eat chocolate.
p.s., if you want to try some of the things I shared, you can click here.
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