Here are 5 easy ways to go from feeling crappy to feeling happy (for people open to plant medicine). This article is brought to you by Melanie Cross of Crossable Health. (Located in Denver, Colorado)
Go, go, go! Chronic stress. Deprioritizing sleep and joy. We are living our lives in a sympathetic dominant state. By constantly activating our sympathetic nervous system (fight, flight, freeze), our bodies don’t get the chance to heal as they would in a parasympathetic dominant state (rest and digest). When we are allowed to rest and digest, we gift our bodies the thing it wants most- ability to heal. Our bodies are designed to be well and stay well. Being in a parasympathetic dominant state is more important than ever: equip our immune system with the proper tools for battle and ready to take on any threat (i.e., virus) it encounters.
When adding new habits, I ask myself three questions: is it easy, is it fun, is it helpful. If a habit checks all three boxes, I’m in!
1. Start each day first giving to yourself and not your phone.
Most of us do the same thing every day right when we wake up: Reach for our phone. This sends us immediately into reaction mode- many times this equals sympathetic nervous system mode. Instead, take those first few moments of your day, before getting out of bed and give them to yourself. Take 5 deep cleansing breaths in through your nose and out through your nose. Spend 5 minutes meditating and just being with your thoughts.
2. Make the decision to be happy.
This one is the easiest, I think. You get to decide if you want to be happy and in a good mood. Just decide you’re going to do so. The body follows where the mind leads. If you want to be happy, be happy. It’s seriously that easy.
3. Get fresh air and sunlight on your eyeballs.
Make every attempt to get outside early in the day getting fresh air and sunlight on your face and eyes. No sunscreen or sunglasses. Even if it’s 5 minutes and a walk down the street. Some is better than none! The sunlight hits your eyes and fires up mitochondria, which put your energy producing cells to work. This also helps set your circadian rhythm for the day, which can help you have more restful sleep at night.
4. Eat food that grows.
Crap food, stress, and toxins are the root of most of why we feel like crap. I like to see what positive things I can add, and not just take away the negative. Good food=good mood. Try and swap one processed food (anything that comes in a bag, box, can) with a real whole food that grows. And yes, bread in our country is a processed food. An easy one, I think, is putting whatever you’re eating over greens instead of a processed option. For example, instead of eating a turkey sandwich try putting all the things in your sandwich over spinach or arugula.
You’ll quickly realize how these processed carbs (bread, pasta, etc) are weighing you down. The less processed foods you eat over time, you’ll notice how much better real food tastes.
5. Consider adding plant medicine to your day.
This one is my favorite as it really hits my 3 criteria for habit making: easy, fun, helpful. Let’s talk cannabis. Cannabis decreases stress and puts you right into parasympathetic nervous system mode. Seriously, when did you ever see a grumpy stoner. Plant medicine makes everything on this list more easy, more fun, and more helpful.
“If you’re interested in learning more about ways you can specifically go from crappy to happy and talk about how plant medicine might fit into your life, please reach out. Would love to chat.”
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