July 6, 2023 • 29 mins
As someone who suffered from anxiety and postpartum depression, Amy found great relief with CBD. After seeing the difference in herself, she knew she had to help others understand how plant medicine could help in their overall wellbeing and spearheaded her journey to become a CBD Educator. Calm Better Days guides CBD Curious folks on how to assess the benefits of plant medicine. In this episode, Amy will educate you how CBD works in our body, understand the nuances of different delivery methods, and how to determine your ideal dosage.
I don't come to Cannabis with much lived experience, and my largest takeaway after speaking to Amy is “do your homework!” It’s obviously done wonders for her and how she shows up as a mom. The healing properties of plant medicine, if consumed correctly, may be a natural path towards total well-being.
You can learn more about Amy and Calm Better Days from her website:
Connect with Calm Better Days on Instagram @calm_better_days
Cashing our Trillions is Hosted and Produced by Common Solutions Media and Yvonne So. You can connect with me on Instagram @yso_mom, LinkedIn @yvonnecot, or e-mail me at cashingourtrillions@gmail.com
Sound Engineering by Tiezheng Shen. You can reach him at dacapopresents@gmail.com
Cover artwork graphic design by Jessie Li. You can reach her at jessieli.pers@gmail.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Hi, their family. Welcome back to Catching Our Trillions. I'm
your host, Yvonne So I'm a full time Saint Home
mom of three boys, and this podcast is a space
to value the trillion dollar economy of unpaid labor shouldered
by moms. We're wrapping up this season focusing on mom's
(00:29):
mental health for the next two episodes. It's a topic
that's come up in every one of my conversations so far,
from speaking more openly about postpartum depression to addressing anxiety, depression,
and loneliness. These are all common threads in every single
conversation and it's really no surprise because us moms are
(00:51):
literally at lists holding up the world. And while we
need to organize and advocate for structural and systemic change,
we also need to prioritize ourselves, which starts with caring
for our own mental wellbeing. Today I speak with cannabis
(01:16):
coach and founder of Calm Better Days, Amy Chin, and
you're going to want to grab a pencil and paper
to take notes for this episode because our conversation ended
up being so much more technical, scientific, and prescriptive than
I could have ever imagined as someone who suffered from
anxiety and postpartum depression. Amy found great relief with CBD
(01:38):
after seeing the difference in herself. She knew she had
to help others understand how plant medicine could help in
their overall well being and spearheaded her journey to become
a CBD educator Calm Better Days guide CBD curious folks
on how to assess the benefits of plant medicine. Amy
will educate you on how CBD works in our body,
(02:00):
understand the nuances of different delivery methods, and determine your
ideal dosage, all things we discussed in this episode. I
didn't come to cannabis with much lived experience, and I
got admit, my mind is opened. My largest takeaway after
speaking to Amy is do your homework, because it's obviously done.
(02:21):
Wonders for her and how she shows up as a mom,
and the healing properties of plant medicine, if consumed correctly,
maybe a natural path towards improving mom's total well being. Amy,
can we start by getting to know you personally a
bit like tell us a little bit about yourself. Your
life is a mom and your business comm Better Days.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Yes. Absolutely, I'm Amy Chin. I am the founder of
combatter days and I am a cannabis coach. I am
born and raised in New York City, first generation Chinese.
All my life, I was living on a natural high
until probably my mid twenties when adulting got hard, and
(03:06):
it was there that I found cannabis and that was
my first love and I've been consuming cannabis ever since then. However,
it wasn't until probably about nine years ago, when I
was diagnosed with anxiety and postpartum depression that I was
introduced to CBD. It was actually my marriage therapist. She
(03:31):
was the one who actually diagnosed me. She was like,
are you aware you have anxiety and postpartum depression. I
was like, no, but thanks for letting me know, because
now I can do something about it. She had suggested
it because I was leaning toward a more holistic lifestyle
after becoming a mom. I didn't want to use prescription drugs,
and at this time CBD was still illegal, so you
(03:53):
actually had to get a medical marijuana card to get
the non japoor part CBD from the dispensary. I did
get my card, I got my CBD, and it worked
wonders in helping my anxiety and postpartum depression, and once
I saw the change in myself, that was when I
(04:17):
knew I had to work with the plant and let
others know, especially moms, all the therapeutic properties and all
the benefits from the plant. I feel like.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
When you see the changes like right away and how
you momed.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
I probably saw it within a week. This was probably
when I was really deep into that anxiety and postpartum depression.
So I was not a happy person at all, not
even a happy person to be around.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
How old are your kids at this point? You have two?
Speaker 2 (04:49):
I have two kids and they were at the time
probably like three and an infant.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
You're like in the muck of it. It was not good.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
I was not the mom I imagined to be. I
didn't like how I was becoming, and I didn't know
that anything was wrong except I just had this rage.
So I was really thankful to be diagnosed because I
knew something wasn't right, but I thought it was just
like this is how it was as a mom. Moms
are so busy doing everything mental low, taking care of
(05:22):
lack of sleep, and try to make sure your you know,
your babies and your your children are kept alive. You
don't think that maybe that's what it is because you're
just going through it. Especially in Asian culture, you're just
expected to suck things up and just keep on going.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
And you're just in survival mode, Like it's just all
about like getting through life. Like when you have a
toddler and it infant. Yeah, you brought up so many things.
Motherhood is so stressful and the structure that we're operating
in is just really not designed to support moms. I
think that's the whole prem on my podcast, right, I
(06:01):
talk about it all season with my guests about like
the social and structural changes needed to support moms. How
do you think like medicating with CBD kind of factors
all into this.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
It definitely helps moms. And as a mom, we're constantly
on the go. We take on a lot, probably more
than we should, and there's that mental load we never stop.
And when we never stop, that's when we have a
dysregulated nervous system because we are not meant to be
(06:36):
in this fight or flight mode. Twenty four to seven.
I'm lucky if I get five minutes alone in a bathroom.
You want me to go meditate for our forty minutes? Like,
I don't have time so knowing that I make sure
that I take CBD on a daily basis to prevent
(06:56):
my body from breaking down. After consuming CBD, I felt
a sense of peace in me and I was more patient,
I was more kind. I was able to interact with
my kids and be present at the moment and enjoy them,
which was the most important part. Through that transformation within myself,
(07:21):
I started looking more into the plant and trying to
learn more because I was just amazed at the results.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
So amazed, Amy started exploring how to spread the gospel.
When Amy started consuming, she had to apply for a
medical card to purchase CBD products, and the process was
mired in paperwork and dispensaries were not very accessible. In
twenty eighteen, however, the Farm Bill passed, effectively legalizing CBD
made from hemp, making it more available and convenient for
(07:53):
public consumption. This is also when Amy started to notice
more people experimenting with CBD, and she saw an opportunity
to educate the CBD curious about how to maximize the
effects of plant medicine through education, Amy explains further.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
The Farm Bill was passed, which meant CBD was everywhere.
It was now legal to sell it so that meant
you saw it at the gas station, on Amazon, at
your bodega, and then because it was also everywhere and
talked about. I then saw a lot of people giving
CBD a try, and after they would try it, they
(08:32):
would say, oh, I didn't feel anything. I think it's
snake oil. I saw, Wow, there's a real need out
there for people to learn the basics, understanding how it
works in your body, Understanding the different delivery methods, meaning
a tincture versus a vaporizer versus an edible, how fast
(08:53):
does it kick in, how long does it last for right,
and also knowing how to find your dose because everybody's different.
I was determined to help people figure that out, and
so I started my own company, cam Better Days, and
through there people can sign up for a consultation. We
(09:15):
meet virtually, I walk them through the basics and I
also offer customized treatment plans.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
So how did you get to this point to become
a coach?
Speaker 2 (09:23):
I did take two certifications. However, we are still finding
new information daily, which means that my study doesn't stop.
I continue to always know what is going on within
the industry, So you have to keep up on trends,
what are the newest innovation in terms of formula or
even new studies found of different cannabinoids. When you know
(09:47):
the different cannabinoids and the terpenes that are in the product, right,
that determines the specific effect. So if a person is
suffering from chronic fatigue, she's going to want to look
for cannabinoids or terpenes that provide like an energizing boost
like limonine and also CBG or CBC. And let's say
(10:12):
a person actually needs sleep, right, they don't want that,
They're going to want to look for a CBN and
lino L is a terpene that provides that calming effect.
And I don't expect like people to know the cannabinoids
and terpenes, and that's why I'm here to do the customization.
But how to effectively consume is what I really want
(10:35):
them to understand and to know when they start diving
into their plant medicine journey.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
You're like a CBD pharmacist.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
I was like a little apothecary that yeah, yeah, right.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
So I read your quote. I think it's a New
York City women. You say like when people understand the
CBD basics, they can maximize the results you talked about
a little bit before, But can you just run through
the basic terms real quick, like for CBD curious moms, right,
like what are we trying to achieve with the use
of CBD? And like what what are we treating?
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Those are the two top questions one should think about.
So once they know what they're trying to treat, then
they can find the right product. If I need to
address my insomnia, I'm going to want to find a
cannabinoid called CBN to really target sleep issues. CBN works
like a sedative. The things that you should know within
(11:36):
the different delivery methods is that each and everyone is different.
So a tincture which is CBD suspended in MCT oil
usually right, and when you consume a tincture, you want
to place the underneath your tongue, hold it there for
sixty seconds and then swallow. That allows it to be
(11:57):
absorbed into your bloodstream and will take effect into I
need to forty minutes and will last for four hours,
versus a vaporizer which lasts for about two to four
hours depending how much you take, works within five to
ten minutes, which is great for people feel a migraine
coming and they need something fast acting. And then let's say, Okay,
(12:17):
I need that immediate relief, but I also know that
I need to be out and about today. Vaporizer only
lasts two to four hours, so I'm going to take
a gummy with me. A gummy takes thirty to ninety
minutes to kick in, but lasts four to six hours,
so the longest within all the different delivery methods. Let's
say I'm a woman suffering from endometriosis, right, there are
(12:39):
CBD suppositories for endo or any pain, hemorrhoids. If you
know the delivery methods and the time span it lasts for,
you can create your routine, which is no different when
you go to a Western doctor and the doctor says, okay,
you're on anti anxietyment and then you have your heart medicine,
(13:02):
except now instead of a doctor telling you what to do,
you are now in charge of your own health. They're
always in such a hustle mode. We don't usually hear
our body until it's screaming.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
And it's so interesting the way you described it sounds
so much more scientific than how it's.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
How you imagine it in your brain.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Right, Because like now, as CBD is becoming legalized in
all these states. Everyone's like, here, you want a gummy
and you can feel better, right, And it's like the
way you describe it, it's like, well, there's different methods
to deliver different results and to treat different types of
ailments as well.
Speaker 3 (13:38):
That's quite interesting.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
I think so much of like society and like our culture.
What we're talking about right now is kind of like
using cannabis as almost as a band aid. Like it's
just it's like to treat a symptom, right, But you're
saying this is like to change your lifestyle, Like.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
Yeah, yes, it's great for overall wellness, and that's right. Yes,
you can use it as a reactive and that was
probably how I first began. However, now I do consume
it on a daily, consistent basis for my overall health.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Can we talk about some of the products that women
and moms are consuming and in what form and for
what purposes?
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Yes, I would say the three main issues that mom
are coming to me with are sleep, stress, Yeah, lack
of sleep, stress, and pain. When we don't address the
stress of the anxiety during the day, it affects our sleep.
(14:50):
And also when that happens, we start having body pain
because it starts coming out onto our body. CBN great
for sleep, and then during the daytime. Well, I have
two different types of tinctures. One is to address the
anxiety written mind where it's very hard to focus because
your mind is everywhere, or maybe sometimes stress comes in
(15:14):
another way, which is just that excessive worrying and you
can't like relax. So I have another tincture that just
kind of helps you relax. And that's why I like
to understand what are the physical and mental symptoms that
you have and want to address, because there's a different
formula for different ailments.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
How about for just like uptight moms like me.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Then I would probably do like the chill tincture where
it's just like, relax a little and then you won't
be so uptight. Now when I am medicated, I'm grounded,
and I see myself handling it with grace, right, I'm like, Wow,
that's amazing, and you realize, oh, yeah, it doesn't need
(16:01):
to be that way, and it's amazing. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Well, it seems like you're showing up differently as a mom,
like the way that you want to write. I don't know.
For me, I feel like my boys need to be
scared of me a little bit. So I don't mind
being on edge all the time, just so little.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
I hear you, I hear you.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
You're listening to cashing our trillions. You spoke a little.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
Bit about changing like the social stigma surrounding cannabis and
making it more like socially acceptible. Are you seeing that
more now or is this is like a movement that
you're part of.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
I would say now that it's legal slowly, However, there
is still a huge stigma. When I say like, oh,
what I do or that I'm a mom that consumes
is usually met with like silence, and you can tell like, okay,
I wonder what they're thinking. I'm very open about it
(17:02):
because if I'm not, then how else can we push
the movement forward?
Speaker 1 (17:07):
And because you're right, because I think about it, like,
there's it's so socially acceptable to be like I'm a
shardonnay mom, right, or like it's it's wine o'clock or
I mom needs a drink, right.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
But then if you're like, oh, I just need to
go home.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
And light up a joint, like like wuld you say yes?
Speaker 2 (17:25):
And or or if I say like, oh, hey, would
you like some you know, you know, because sharing is caring.
Cannabis makes me a better mom, even when I'm around
the kids. I'm not sure if I can say that
around parents who are drinkers. I feel it's a very
different effect for me. It's able to be like an
(17:49):
Earth mom where I can connect with them and connect
with my inner self, which is something that as a
mom is hard to do as well, because we're constantly
doing something. I am a big mental health advocate. I'm
trying to normalize mental health, normalized plant medicine, and normalized
(18:09):
moms consuming the plant, and now that New York is legal,
that needs to be definitely more talked about. I feel
that mental health within the API community needs to be
talked about more.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
According to NAMI the National Lines of Mental Illness, Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders AAPI, compared to those of other
racial or ethnic backgrounds, are least likely to receive mental
health treatment. Only twenty one percent of Asian adults with
a mental illness received treatment in twenty twenty. The reasons
(18:43):
can take an entire podcast to explain, but suffice to
say systemic barriers to accessing mental health treatment exacerbated by
cultural stigma and a lack of culturally relevant care, which
Amy addresses later on, coupled with insufficient research on our
broad and diverse community, which actually encompasses over twenty five
(19:03):
million people with roots in over forty countries, makes it
challenging to obtain adequate samples to paint an accurate picture
of the experiences and needs of my community. We are, however,
making legislative progress. In June twenty twenty three, Congresswoman Judy
chu reintroduced the Stop Mental Health Stigma in Our Communities
(19:26):
Act to provide for behavioral and mental health outreach and
education strategies to reduce stigma associated with mental health among
the AAPI population. Amy continues to make the argument for
traditional medicine to promote total wellness, and she addresses how
she speaks about cannabis to her two daughters.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
To me, it's important. I wanted to introduce like Eastern
healing modalities because I feel that we've kind of lost
touch of it. When we came to America, we had
to assimilate, we kind of lost hold of our roots.
So I'm trying to bring it back to the forefront
because it originated in the East and we should start
thinking about, hey, maybe I can use reiki right, or
(20:10):
acupuncture or cannabis right, things that maybe at one point
we thought was too WU. But it's really not WU
at all, and so I wanted to demystify that as well.
My kids are now seven and ten. I talk to
them all the time. I tell them, this is mommy's medicine,
it's a plan.
Speaker 3 (20:31):
So you're totally open with them about.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
I'm totally yeah, yes, yes, I've always been open, but
I used different words when it was not legal, When
it was only CBD legal, I would only use CBD.
Now that THHC and CBD are now both legal, I
use the word cannabis because I want them to know
(20:53):
what the right terminology is. And you talk to them
just like you would about alcohol and sex. This is
something for adults. You do not touch it until you
are an adult age. And this is mommy's stuff, and
this is mommy's medicine and it helps her feel better.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
They're going to be like little cannabis coaches.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
Maybe I heard from another mom that her kids are
much older now, but because she was always into cannabis,
now her kids don't think it's cool, so they don't
touch cannabis, So I don't.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
Know, and so what do you consider is like maximize results?
Like what what's like realistic?
Speaker 2 (21:40):
So this is what I do to help people understand
how to find their dose. I first have them do
a self check in check in with your mind and
your body, and write everything that you might want to address.
So maybe that is okay, my anxiety right, And I
(22:02):
always tell them be as specific as possible. And I
tell them to do that because I find that once
you start feeling better, you kind of forget what you
used to have. We only know it when we're suffering
through it. So I also have them rate their symptoms.
So let's say their anxiety right now is out of ten, right,
(22:23):
and then also with that, I have a titan chest,
not in my neck and shoulder blade. Also I've got
let's say, maybe so.
Speaker 3 (22:33):
You can treat all this with CBD.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
Yes, everything. Then I have people take about zero point
five milligrams for every ten pounds. I tell them to
set their alarm for sixty minutes, then consume it, and
once the alarm goes off, go back to yourself check
in list and rate how your symptoms are. And it's
(22:59):
ok if your symptoms are not at a one ten
being worse, one being okay, because we're still trying to
find our dose. And everybody's dose is different because one,
it depends on your genetic makeup what you're treating. Also
your lifestyle have it all those player role too, so
everybody's dose is very unique. And eventually the idea is
(23:23):
to slowly increase until your symptoms go from a ten
to a one. This self check in list works more
for CBD because usually with THC, we know when it
kicks in because we feel that high. But because with CBD,
we're not feeling that high. It's more about making the
(23:45):
negative symptoms go away, because you'll see as time goes on,
when you make it part of your daily routine, you'll
see that all those symptoms slowly go away. I mean
I used to have bad hormonal I used to have
I used to get sick like really easily, so I
(24:06):
had a lot of inflammation. We get coat sores all
the time. Every time I period came, everything came out, migraines,
back aches, cramps. Now that is all gone, even like
the pain in my knees from when I thought I
wanted to snowboard. Those are gone too. CBD is the
(24:26):
key to aging gracefully. It strengthens your bones, it oils them,
your joints.
Speaker 3 (24:33):
You are playing to my vanity right now.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
Let me tell you CBD facial oil is amazing. I
had a lot of scars from the hormonal acne. The
cellular turnover with CBD facial oil is super quick, is antioxidant,
anti aging, and anti inflammatory. So it was great.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
And you're like a calm mama, amazing.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
Yeah, truck me, I cannot. I love CBD and I
take it daily and it helps me stay healthy. Oh.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
I think another thing that I've seen a lot of
media features on moms who shrooms, like there's increased curiosity
about psychedelics. Yeah, I do see, Like you do a
lot of education on Instagram about that too.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
Can you walk us through that really quick?
Speaker 2 (25:26):
So what I consume are micro dose psilocybin with a
micro dose you I mean, of course, everybody's experience is different,
and for me, I did not feel a high. There
was no hallucinating because my dose was very micro I
(25:48):
consumed it every third day for three weeks and that's
like considered one cycle. And this was during pandemic when
my mental health was going really bad, like every day
felt like Groundhog's Day of hell, right, and after the
three weeks because usually even though you're stop consuming after
(26:08):
the three weeks, it's still in your body and it's
still working. And by the end of it, I felt
so much lighter in terms of like my mood. I
didn't wake up feeling like doom, gloom and despair. I
felt like, oh, today's going to be okay. I could
feel like my chest was lighter, I wasn't way down,
(26:30):
and it was just like when you wake up with depression,
you just feel like there's ten steps to get out
of that hole. And after consuming the psilocybin, I didn't
have to do those ten steps to get out of
the hole. And it felt great to wake up on
an even playing field and be like, Okay, this is
(26:53):
my day. And so now I think of it as
psilocybin for my mental health is really bad and I
need like a mental reset and cannabis as my daily maintenance.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
It's so interesting, like every time you've said something, I'm like,
oh my gosh, I get such a more technical answer
than I thought.
Speaker 3 (27:14):
When you read these articles.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
It's like moms who shrooms right, and they're like, oh
this did you talk to this mom who like went
on the psychedelic high? And you're like, this is how
I deal with modern motherhood. But it's like it's a
lot more technical, and it's like it's a way, it's
a different way to medicate.
Speaker 3 (27:30):
You kind of change my mindset on that. That's it's
quite interesting and fascinating.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
It's good to hear that because I think when we
get technical and talk about how to consume, how does
my body react? How does it feel after? And having
realistic expectations helps us understand our body better and empowers
us I feel, to take more of control of our
(27:58):
life and our health.
Speaker 3 (28:00):
Yeah. I mean it seems to have done wonders for you.
Last question, Amy, how will you cash your trillions?
Speaker 2 (28:07):
I would love to buy a house with a huge
garden so I can grow my own garden full of
little cannabis plans, hopefully my own grown vegetables, so we
can have dinner in our backyard watching the sunset.
Speaker 3 (28:24):
That's awesome. That's a great answer.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Thank you so much for your time. This is great. Yeah,
Well really help.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
Yes, I hope so, because moms need it. We do
way too much and this will help you, unfortunately do more,
but doesn't mean that you should be doing more, but
it means that you should be taking care of your
health and self care is very important.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
This episode was produced by me and sound edited by
shensh Our. Trillions is part of the Seneca Women Podcast
Network and iHeartRadio. If you have a story to share,
please email us at Cachingurtrillions at gmail dot com. Make
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(29:15):
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what you heard, please take a moment to rate and
review it. It would really mean so much to me.
Thank you for listening. That's The statements made regarding these
products have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
(29:38):
The information provided in this episode does not constitute medical advice.
All information presented in this episode is not meant to
be a substitute for, or alternative to, information from healthcare practitioners.
Please consult your healthcare professional before using any product.
Hi, their family. Welcome back to Catching Our Trillions. I'm
your host, Yvonne So I'm a full time Saint Home
mom of three boys, and this podcast is a space
to value the trillion dollar economy of unpaid labor shouldered
by moms. We're wrapping up this season focusing on mom's
(00:29):
mental health for the next two episodes. It's a topic
that's come up in every one of my conversations so far,
from speaking more openly about postpartum depression to addressing anxiety, depression,
and loneliness. These are all common threads in every single
conversation and it's really no surprise because us moms are
(00:51):
literally at lists holding up the world. And while we
need to organize and advocate for structural and systemic change,
we also need to prioritize ourselves, which starts with caring
for our own mental wellbeing. Today I speak with cannabis
(01:16):
coach and founder of Calm Better Days, Amy Chin, and
you're going to want to grab a pencil and paper
to take notes for this episode because our conversation ended
up being so much more technical, scientific, and prescriptive than
I could have ever imagined as someone who suffered from
anxiety and postpartum depression. Amy found great relief with CBD
(01:38):
after seeing the difference in herself. She knew she had
to help others understand how plant medicine could help in
their overall well being and spearheaded her journey to become
a CBD educator Calm Better Days guide CBD curious folks
on how to assess the benefits of plant medicine. Amy
will educate you on how CBD works in our body,
(02:00):
understand the nuances of different delivery methods, and determine your
ideal dosage, all things we discussed in this episode. I
didn't come to cannabis with much lived experience, and I
got admit, my mind is opened. My largest takeaway after
speaking to Amy is do your homework, because it's obviously done.
(02:21):
Wonders for her and how she shows up as a mom,
and the healing properties of plant medicine, if consumed correctly,
maybe a natural path towards improving mom's total well being. Amy,
can we start by getting to know you personally a
bit like tell us a little bit about yourself. Your
life is a mom and your business comm Better Days.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Yes. Absolutely, I'm Amy Chin. I am the founder of
combatter days and I am a cannabis coach. I am
born and raised in New York City, first generation Chinese.
All my life, I was living on a natural high
until probably my mid twenties when adulting got hard, and
(03:06):
it was there that I found cannabis and that was
my first love and I've been consuming cannabis ever since then. However,
it wasn't until probably about nine years ago, when I
was diagnosed with anxiety and postpartum depression that I was
introduced to CBD. It was actually my marriage therapist. She
(03:31):
was the one who actually diagnosed me. She was like,
are you aware you have anxiety and postpartum depression. I
was like, no, but thanks for letting me know, because
now I can do something about it. She had suggested
it because I was leaning toward a more holistic lifestyle
after becoming a mom. I didn't want to use prescription drugs,
and at this time CBD was still illegal, so you
(03:53):
actually had to get a medical marijuana card to get
the non japoor part CBD from the dispensary. I did
get my card, I got my CBD, and it worked
wonders in helping my anxiety and postpartum depression, and once
I saw the change in myself, that was when I
(04:17):
knew I had to work with the plant and let
others know, especially moms, all the therapeutic properties and all
the benefits from the plant. I feel like.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
When you see the changes like right away and how
you momed.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
I probably saw it within a week. This was probably
when I was really deep into that anxiety and postpartum depression.
So I was not a happy person at all, not
even a happy person to be around.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
How old are your kids at this point? You have two?
Speaker 2 (04:49):
I have two kids and they were at the time
probably like three and an infant.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
You're like in the muck of it. It was not good.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
I was not the mom I imagined to be. I
didn't like how I was becoming, and I didn't know
that anything was wrong except I just had this rage.
So I was really thankful to be diagnosed because I
knew something wasn't right, but I thought it was just
like this is how it was as a mom. Moms
are so busy doing everything mental low, taking care of
(05:22):
lack of sleep, and try to make sure your you know,
your babies and your your children are kept alive. You
don't think that maybe that's what it is because you're
just going through it. Especially in Asian culture, you're just
expected to suck things up and just keep on going.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
And you're just in survival mode, Like it's just all
about like getting through life. Like when you have a
toddler and it infant. Yeah, you brought up so many things.
Motherhood is so stressful and the structure that we're operating
in is just really not designed to support moms. I
think that's the whole prem on my podcast, right, I
(06:01):
talk about it all season with my guests about like
the social and structural changes needed to support moms. How
do you think like medicating with CBD kind of factors
all into this.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
It definitely helps moms. And as a mom, we're constantly
on the go. We take on a lot, probably more
than we should, and there's that mental load we never stop.
And when we never stop, that's when we have a
dysregulated nervous system because we are not meant to be
(06:36):
in this fight or flight mode. Twenty four to seven.
I'm lucky if I get five minutes alone in a bathroom.
You want me to go meditate for our forty minutes? Like,
I don't have time so knowing that I make sure
that I take CBD on a daily basis to prevent
(06:56):
my body from breaking down. After consuming CBD, I felt
a sense of peace in me and I was more patient,
I was more kind. I was able to interact with
my kids and be present at the moment and enjoy them,
which was the most important part. Through that transformation within myself,
(07:21):
I started looking more into the plant and trying to
learn more because I was just amazed at the results.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
So amazed, Amy started exploring how to spread the gospel.
When Amy started consuming, she had to apply for a
medical card to purchase CBD products, and the process was
mired in paperwork and dispensaries were not very accessible. In
twenty eighteen, however, the Farm Bill passed, effectively legalizing CBD
made from hemp, making it more available and convenient for
(07:53):
public consumption. This is also when Amy started to notice
more people experimenting with CBD, and she saw an opportunity
to educate the CBD curious about how to maximize the
effects of plant medicine through education, Amy explains further.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
The Farm Bill was passed, which meant CBD was everywhere.
It was now legal to sell it so that meant
you saw it at the gas station, on Amazon, at
your bodega, and then because it was also everywhere and
talked about. I then saw a lot of people giving
CBD a try, and after they would try it, they
(08:32):
would say, oh, I didn't feel anything. I think it's
snake oil. I saw, Wow, there's a real need out
there for people to learn the basics, understanding how it
works in your body, Understanding the different delivery methods, meaning
a tincture versus a vaporizer versus an edible, how fast
(08:53):
does it kick in, how long does it last for right,
and also knowing how to find your dose because everybody's different.
I was determined to help people figure that out, and
so I started my own company, cam Better Days, and
through there people can sign up for a consultation. We
(09:15):
meet virtually, I walk them through the basics and I
also offer customized treatment plans.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
So how did you get to this point to become
a coach?
Speaker 2 (09:23):
I did take two certifications. However, we are still finding
new information daily, which means that my study doesn't stop.
I continue to always know what is going on within
the industry, So you have to keep up on trends,
what are the newest innovation in terms of formula or
even new studies found of different cannabinoids. When you know
(09:47):
the different cannabinoids and the terpenes that are in the product, right,
that determines the specific effect. So if a person is
suffering from chronic fatigue, she's going to want to look
for cannabinoids or terpenes that provide like an energizing boost
like limonine and also CBG or CBC. And let's say
(10:12):
a person actually needs sleep, right, they don't want that,
They're going to want to look for a CBN and
lino L is a terpene that provides that calming effect.
And I don't expect like people to know the cannabinoids
and terpenes, and that's why I'm here to do the customization.
But how to effectively consume is what I really want
(10:35):
them to understand and to know when they start diving
into their plant medicine journey.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
You're like a CBD pharmacist.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
I was like a little apothecary that yeah, yeah, right.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
So I read your quote. I think it's a New
York City women. You say like when people understand the
CBD basics, they can maximize the results you talked about
a little bit before, But can you just run through
the basic terms real quick, like for CBD curious moms, right,
like what are we trying to achieve with the use
of CBD? And like what what are we treating?
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Those are the two top questions one should think about.
So once they know what they're trying to treat, then
they can find the right product. If I need to
address my insomnia, I'm going to want to find a
cannabinoid called CBN to really target sleep issues. CBN works
like a sedative. The things that you should know within
(11:36):
the different delivery methods is that each and everyone is different.
So a tincture which is CBD suspended in MCT oil
usually right, and when you consume a tincture, you want
to place the underneath your tongue, hold it there for
sixty seconds and then swallow. That allows it to be
(11:57):
absorbed into your bloodstream and will take effect into I
need to forty minutes and will last for four hours,
versus a vaporizer which lasts for about two to four
hours depending how much you take, works within five to
ten minutes, which is great for people feel a migraine
coming and they need something fast acting. And then let's say, Okay,
(12:17):
I need that immediate relief, but I also know that
I need to be out and about today. Vaporizer only
lasts two to four hours, so I'm going to take
a gummy with me. A gummy takes thirty to ninety
minutes to kick in, but lasts four to six hours,
so the longest within all the different delivery methods. Let's
say I'm a woman suffering from endometriosis, right, there are
(12:39):
CBD suppositories for endo or any pain, hemorrhoids. If you
know the delivery methods and the time span it lasts for,
you can create your routine, which is no different when
you go to a Western doctor and the doctor says, okay,
you're on anti anxietyment and then you have your heart medicine,
(13:02):
except now instead of a doctor telling you what to do,
you are now in charge of your own health. They're
always in such a hustle mode. We don't usually hear
our body until it's screaming.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
And it's so interesting the way you described it sounds
so much more scientific than how it's.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
How you imagine it in your brain.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Right, Because like now, as CBD is becoming legalized in
all these states. Everyone's like, here, you want a gummy
and you can feel better, right, And it's like the
way you describe it, it's like, well, there's different methods
to deliver different results and to treat different types of
ailments as well.
Speaker 3 (13:38):
That's quite interesting.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
I think so much of like society and like our culture.
What we're talking about right now is kind of like
using cannabis as almost as a band aid. Like it's
just it's like to treat a symptom, right, But you're
saying this is like to change your lifestyle, Like.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
Yeah, yes, it's great for overall wellness, and that's right. Yes,
you can use it as a reactive and that was
probably how I first began. However, now I do consume
it on a daily, consistent basis for my overall health.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Can we talk about some of the products that women
and moms are consuming and in what form and for
what purposes?
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Yes, I would say the three main issues that mom
are coming to me with are sleep, stress, Yeah, lack
of sleep, stress, and pain. When we don't address the
stress of the anxiety during the day, it affects our sleep.
(14:50):
And also when that happens, we start having body pain
because it starts coming out onto our body. CBN great
for sleep, and then during the daytime. Well, I have
two different types of tinctures. One is to address the
anxiety written mind where it's very hard to focus because
your mind is everywhere, or maybe sometimes stress comes in
(15:14):
another way, which is just that excessive worrying and you
can't like relax. So I have another tincture that just
kind of helps you relax. And that's why I like
to understand what are the physical and mental symptoms that
you have and want to address, because there's a different
formula for different ailments.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
How about for just like uptight moms like me.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Then I would probably do like the chill tincture where
it's just like, relax a little and then you won't
be so uptight. Now when I am medicated, I'm grounded,
and I see myself handling it with grace, right, I'm like, Wow,
that's amazing, and you realize, oh, yeah, it doesn't need
(16:01):
to be that way, and it's amazing. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Well, it seems like you're showing up differently as a mom,
like the way that you want to write. I don't know.
For me, I feel like my boys need to be
scared of me a little bit. So I don't mind
being on edge all the time, just so little.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
I hear you, I hear you.
Speaker 3 (16:23):
You're listening to cashing our trillions. You spoke a little.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
Bit about changing like the social stigma surrounding cannabis and
making it more like socially acceptible. Are you seeing that
more now or is this is like a movement that
you're part of.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
I would say now that it's legal slowly, However, there
is still a huge stigma. When I say like, oh,
what I do or that I'm a mom that consumes
is usually met with like silence, and you can tell like, okay,
I wonder what they're thinking. I'm very open about it
(17:02):
because if I'm not, then how else can we push
the movement forward?
Speaker 1 (17:07):
And because you're right, because I think about it, like,
there's it's so socially acceptable to be like I'm a
shardonnay mom, right, or like it's it's wine o'clock or
I mom needs a drink, right.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
But then if you're like, oh, I just need to
go home.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
And light up a joint, like like wuld you say yes?
Speaker 2 (17:25):
And or or if I say like, oh, hey, would
you like some you know, you know, because sharing is caring.
Cannabis makes me a better mom, even when I'm around
the kids. I'm not sure if I can say that
around parents who are drinkers. I feel it's a very
different effect for me. It's able to be like an
(17:49):
Earth mom where I can connect with them and connect
with my inner self, which is something that as a
mom is hard to do as well, because we're constantly
doing something. I am a big mental health advocate. I'm
trying to normalize mental health, normalized plant medicine, and normalized
(18:09):
moms consuming the plant, and now that New York is legal,
that needs to be definitely more talked about. I feel
that mental health within the API community needs to be
talked about more.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
According to NAMI the National Lines of Mental Illness, Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders AAPI, compared to those of other
racial or ethnic backgrounds, are least likely to receive mental
health treatment. Only twenty one percent of Asian adults with
a mental illness received treatment in twenty twenty. The reasons
(18:43):
can take an entire podcast to explain, but suffice to
say systemic barriers to accessing mental health treatment exacerbated by
cultural stigma and a lack of culturally relevant care, which
Amy addresses later on, coupled with insufficient research on our
broad and diverse community, which actually encompasses over twenty five
(19:03):
million people with roots in over forty countries, makes it
challenging to obtain adequate samples to paint an accurate picture
of the experiences and needs of my community. We are, however,
making legislative progress. In June twenty twenty three, Congresswoman Judy
chu reintroduced the Stop Mental Health Stigma in Our Communities
(19:26):
Act to provide for behavioral and mental health outreach and
education strategies to reduce stigma associated with mental health among
the AAPI population. Amy continues to make the argument for
traditional medicine to promote total wellness, and she addresses how
she speaks about cannabis to her two daughters.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
To me, it's important. I wanted to introduce like Eastern
healing modalities because I feel that we've kind of lost
touch of it. When we came to America, we had
to assimilate, we kind of lost hold of our roots.
So I'm trying to bring it back to the forefront
because it originated in the East and we should start
thinking about, hey, maybe I can use reiki right, or
(20:10):
acupuncture or cannabis right, things that maybe at one point
we thought was too WU. But it's really not WU
at all, and so I wanted to demystify that as well.
My kids are now seven and ten. I talk to
them all the time. I tell them, this is mommy's medicine,
it's a plan.
Speaker 3 (20:31):
So you're totally open with them about.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
I'm totally yeah, yes, yes, I've always been open, but
I used different words when it was not legal, When
it was only CBD legal, I would only use CBD.
Now that THHC and CBD are now both legal, I
use the word cannabis because I want them to know
(20:53):
what the right terminology is. And you talk to them
just like you would about alcohol and sex. This is
something for adults. You do not touch it until you
are an adult age. And this is mommy's stuff, and
this is mommy's medicine and it helps her feel better.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
They're going to be like little cannabis coaches.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
Maybe I heard from another mom that her kids are
much older now, but because she was always into cannabis,
now her kids don't think it's cool, so they don't
touch cannabis, So I don't.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
Know, and so what do you consider is like maximize results?
Like what what's like realistic?
Speaker 2 (21:40):
So this is what I do to help people understand
how to find their dose. I first have them do
a self check in check in with your mind and
your body, and write everything that you might want to address.
So maybe that is okay, my anxiety right, And I
(22:02):
always tell them be as specific as possible. And I
tell them to do that because I find that once
you start feeling better, you kind of forget what you
used to have. We only know it when we're suffering
through it. So I also have them rate their symptoms.
So let's say their anxiety right now is out of ten, right,
(22:23):
and then also with that, I have a titan chest,
not in my neck and shoulder blade. Also I've got
let's say, maybe so.
Speaker 3 (22:33):
You can treat all this with CBD.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
Yes, everything. Then I have people take about zero point
five milligrams for every ten pounds. I tell them to
set their alarm for sixty minutes, then consume it, and
once the alarm goes off, go back to yourself check
in list and rate how your symptoms are. And it's
(22:59):
ok if your symptoms are not at a one ten
being worse, one being okay, because we're still trying to
find our dose. And everybody's dose is different because one,
it depends on your genetic makeup what you're treating. Also
your lifestyle have it all those player role too, so
everybody's dose is very unique. And eventually the idea is
(23:23):
to slowly increase until your symptoms go from a ten
to a one. This self check in list works more
for CBD because usually with THC, we know when it
kicks in because we feel that high. But because with CBD,
we're not feeling that high. It's more about making the
(23:45):
negative symptoms go away, because you'll see as time goes on,
when you make it part of your daily routine, you'll
see that all those symptoms slowly go away. I mean
I used to have bad hormonal I used to have
I used to get sick like really easily, so I
(24:06):
had a lot of inflammation. We get coat sores all
the time. Every time I period came, everything came out, migraines,
back aches, cramps. Now that is all gone, even like
the pain in my knees from when I thought I
wanted to snowboard. Those are gone too. CBD is the
(24:26):
key to aging gracefully. It strengthens your bones, it oils them,
your joints.
Speaker 3 (24:33):
You are playing to my vanity right now.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
Let me tell you CBD facial oil is amazing. I
had a lot of scars from the hormonal acne. The
cellular turnover with CBD facial oil is super quick, is antioxidant,
anti aging, and anti inflammatory. So it was great.
Speaker 3 (24:55):
And you're like a calm mama, amazing.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
Yeah, truck me, I cannot. I love CBD and I
take it daily and it helps me stay healthy. Oh.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
I think another thing that I've seen a lot of
media features on moms who shrooms, like there's increased curiosity
about psychedelics. Yeah, I do see, Like you do a
lot of education on Instagram about that too.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
Can you walk us through that really quick?
Speaker 2 (25:26):
So what I consume are micro dose psilocybin with a
micro dose you I mean, of course, everybody's experience is different,
and for me, I did not feel a high. There
was no hallucinating because my dose was very micro I
(25:48):
consumed it every third day for three weeks and that's
like considered one cycle. And this was during pandemic when
my mental health was going really bad, like every day
felt like Groundhog's Day of hell, right, and after the
three weeks because usually even though you're stop consuming after
(26:08):
the three weeks, it's still in your body and it's
still working. And by the end of it, I felt
so much lighter in terms of like my mood. I
didn't wake up feeling like doom, gloom and despair. I
felt like, oh, today's going to be okay. I could
feel like my chest was lighter, I wasn't way down,
(26:30):
and it was just like when you wake up with depression,
you just feel like there's ten steps to get out
of that hole. And after consuming the psilocybin, I didn't
have to do those ten steps to get out of
the hole. And it felt great to wake up on
an even playing field and be like, Okay, this is
(26:53):
my day. And so now I think of it as
psilocybin for my mental health is really bad and I
need like a mental reset and cannabis as my daily maintenance.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
It's so interesting, like every time you've said something, I'm like,
oh my gosh, I get such a more technical answer
than I thought.
Speaker 3 (27:14):
When you read these articles.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
It's like moms who shrooms right, and they're like, oh
this did you talk to this mom who like went
on the psychedelic high? And you're like, this is how
I deal with modern motherhood. But it's like it's a
lot more technical, and it's like it's a way, it's
a different way to medicate.
Speaker 3 (27:30):
You kind of change my mindset on that. That's it's
quite interesting and fascinating.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
It's good to hear that because I think when we
get technical and talk about how to consume, how does
my body react? How does it feel after? And having
realistic expectations helps us understand our body better and empowers
us I feel, to take more of control of our
(27:58):
life and our health.
Speaker 3 (28:00):
Yeah. I mean it seems to have done wonders for you.
Last question, Amy, how will you cash your trillions?
Speaker 2 (28:07):
I would love to buy a house with a huge
garden so I can grow my own garden full of
little cannabis plans, hopefully my own grown vegetables, so we
can have dinner in our backyard watching the sunset.
Speaker 3 (28:24):
That's awesome. That's a great answer.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Thank you so much for your time. This is great. Yeah,
Well really help.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
Yes, I hope so, because moms need it. We do
way too much and this will help you, unfortunately do more,
but doesn't mean that you should be doing more, but
it means that you should be taking care of your
health and self care is very important.
Speaker 1 (28:55):
This episode was produced by me and sound edited by
shensh Our. Trillions is part of the Seneca Women Podcast
Network and iHeartRadio. If you have a story to share,
please email us at Cachingurtrillions at gmail dot com. Make
sure you subscribe to the show on the iHeartRadio app
(29:15):
or wherever you listen to podcasts, and if you liked
what you heard, please take a moment to rate and
review it. It would really mean so much to me.
Thank you for listening. That's The statements made regarding these
products have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
(29:38):
The information provided in this episode does not constitute medical advice.
All information presented in this episode is not meant to
be a substitute for, or alternative to, information from healthcare practitioners.
Please consult your healthcare professional before using any product.
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