Join host Nyomi Banks and resident therapist Dr. Will Washington on this deeply personal final Mindset Monday episode of The Season of Self Love Podcast as they tackle one of the most universal yet rarely discussed challenges: managing anxiety before medical procedures. As Nyomi prepares for her explant surgery, this vulnerable conversation provides essential tools for transforming medical anxiety from paralyzing fear into empowering preparation.
What You'll Discover: • Why medical procedure anxiety is completely normal and actually healthy • The difference between past trauma-based anxiety and current procedural concerns • Three essential practical tools for managing pre-surgery stress • How to distinguish between mind, body, and heart responses to medical anxiety • The importance of nervous system regulation during high-stress medical situations
Nyomi's Vulnerable Sharing: Nyomi courageously opens up about her current 2 AM wake-ups filled with surgical anxiety, despite knowing her decision is right and trusting her surgeon. She also shares her powerful story of severe anxiety attacks during pregnancy - complete blackouts, shortness of breath, and psychosomatic reactions that required roadside emergency stops with her young daughter.
Understanding Medical Anxiety: Dr. Will explains that anxiety around medical procedures is natural because it represents a moment when "your control is in the hands of someone you've just met" with outcomes you cannot control. The uncertainty triggers normal human responses - if you weren't anxious, that would be more concerning.
The Anatomy of Anxiety Attacks:
Dr. Will's Three Essential Tools:
Practical Techniques Covered:
Episode Highlights:
Episode Note: This episode was recorded while Nyomi was experiencing BII symptoms including the dry cough that affects
What You'll Discover: • Why medical procedure anxiety is completely normal and actually healthy • The difference between past trauma-based anxiety and current procedural concerns • Three essential practical tools for managing pre-surgery stress • How to distinguish between mind, body, and heart responses to medical anxiety • The importance of nervous system regulation during high-stress medical situations
Nyomi's Vulnerable Sharing: Nyomi courageously opens up about her current 2 AM wake-ups filled with surgical anxiety, despite knowing her decision is right and trusting her surgeon. She also shares her powerful story of severe anxiety attacks during pregnancy - complete blackouts, shortness of breath, and psychosomatic reactions that required roadside emergency stops with her young daughter.
Understanding Medical Anxiety: Dr. Will explains that anxiety around medical procedures is natural because it represents a moment when "your control is in the hands of someone you've just met" with outcomes you cannot control. The uncertainty triggers normal human responses - if you weren't anxious, that would be more concerning.
The Anatomy of Anxiety Attacks:
- Psychosomatic Reactions: When the mind and body disconnect, leading to physical symptoms
- Dissociation: The mind says "I'm out" while the body tries to keep functioning
- All-or-Nothing Thinking: One of ten types of distorted thinking that can trigger severe anxiety
- The Loop Effect: Anxiety as separation from the present moment, like "fishing with no water"
Dr. Will's Three Essential Tools:
- Bring Support: Have someone with you to help process medical information and share the emotional load
- Do Your Research: Don't mystify the situation - learn about recovery, connect with others who've had similar procedures
- Create New Engagement: Start a journal, hobby, or skill during the process to channel energy constructively rather than destructively
- "We all have our own mental illness loop - some are bigger circles, some are smaller"
- "Stress is the number one killer, but anxiety opens up your awareness to stress"
- "The goal is to learn your mind, body, and heart as three different people"
- "Nervous system regulation is key - it doesn't know how to reset without proper grounding"
Practical Techniques Covered:
- Grounding through awareness of room, relationships, and internal temperature
- Ice therapy and temperature regulation for nervous system reset
- Breathing techniques and guided meditation for pre-procedure calm
- Journaling as a tool for processing and documenting the healing journey
Episode Highlights:
- Nyomi's honest admission about 2 AM anxiety wake-ups despite surgical confidence
- The powerful story of pregnancy anxiety attacks and roadside blackouts
- Dr. Will's explanation of dissociation and psychosomatic reactions
- The connection between past trauma and current medical anxiety
- Practical tools for building a "calm kit" for medical procedures
Episode Note: This episode was recorded while Nyomi was experiencing BII symptoms including the dry cough that affects
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Season and Self Love Podcast. I am
your host, Namibank, saying I am thrilled to have you
joined me on this transformative journey. You see, every day
we dive into a powerful conversation about self discovery, healing
and empowerment. This podcast is brought to you by ax
Naomi and Elevate Me Self Discovery. What we believe that
(00:21):
loving yourself is the first step to living a fulfilling life.
You can expect insightful discussions, practical tips, and inspiring stories.
Plus were occasionally welcome special guests who will share their
unique perspectives on self love and personal growth. So get comfy,
grab your favorite beverage, and let's embark on this journey together.
(00:44):
Because it's time to embrace the beautiful person that you love.
So let's elevate our lives one episode of time.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Now let's get started.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Well, all right, my beautiful people, Well, welcome to the
Season and stelf Love Podcast.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
I'm your host.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Now, I'm Mean Banks, and this is our final Mindset
Monday of the season. Yes it is, but also this
is as we continue our July series of preparing for Transformation. Well,
today we're addressing something that I know that many of
you can relate to. And that's something that I personally
(01:23):
has been navigating right now, and that's anxiety around medical procedures.
Whether you're preparing for surgery like I am, or you're
just facing a diagnostic procedure, or just supporting someone through
their medical journey.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
This conversation is for you, all right. So before we get.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Into this conversation, let's take a quick break. All right,
It'shugurty Gouy is on your bank, Say on the Season
and Stuff Love podcast and we'll be right back.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Washington wells into two focuses on healing. Always for me,
if I look good, then I feel good. If I
feel good, then I share the good. If I share
the good, then I celebrate the good. If I celebrate
the good, then I live the good. So I can
be paid to be my greatest. But I have to
learn the good to be the good.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
So what does it take to be the greatest.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
It's as simple as a free fifteen minute consultation.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
Be kind to yourself, and he'll always.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Hey, it's your gird. You got it? Now me banks,
and make sure.
Speaker 5 (02:22):
You tune in every three Thursday ninety as Namig have
podcast were we talk about everything you love, sex, relationship,
culture differences, and so much more by bridging the gap
between them all.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
And we even talk about the spanial of comping.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
You need to stop buy mean dot commot as well.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
As the BETG three. You have some amazing guests that
come from You'll never know. Just make sure you tune
me at Thursday nine six pm.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Six percent of time go to ask Lama dot com un.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Tell them ninety All right, man, beautiful people will welcome back.
You know.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
So, as I sit here just weeks away from my
expan surgery, weeks weeks away, I have to be honest
with you all. The anxiety has been real. I'm gonna
tell y'all something I get up. For the past month,
I've been getting My body has been waking me up
at two a clock every morning, every morning, and.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
I just be sitting there. I don't know.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
I'm so serious when I say this, and I know
you're looking at me back the re're like really, yes,
Like I sit there, I know the.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Decision that I made and why I made that decision.
I can even see what I look like afterwards. This
is how visually.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
But that anxiety just get in there, and it had
me up and just thinking about what, just thinking about what,
thinking about what I'm telling y'all.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
Eve.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Though I know that this decision is right for my body,
I even know that I trust my surgeon.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Even though my intuition is clear, there.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
Are moments when my mind spirals into worry. So what
if something goes wrong? What will recovery be?
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Like?
Speaker 1 (04:21):
How would I feel when I wake up? What if
the precision doesn't resolve my healf issues? When I'm telling you,
it goes in my mind. Man, it goes in my mind,
and I'm gonna tell you. And I know Doctor Will
can probably help me on this as well, because last
week we talked about fear and intuition about making that
life changing decision. And I understand that that decision that
(04:44):
I made, that it's going to be changing my life
for the good. But then there is that old version
or that old mindset of mind that will come in
and whisper of anxiety that would try to convince me
that I am not strong enough or I'm not a
prepare enough for what is coming. But here's what I
learned through processing, through my work with doctor Will. The
(05:07):
anxiety before medical precision is not only normal, it's almost universal.
And more importantly, we are not powerless against it. That
we can prepare mentally and emostly, just as thoroughly as
we prepare physically. But today we're going to explore on
how to transform that anxiety from something that paralyzes us
(05:28):
into something that empowers us, how to move from feeling
like a victim of our circumstances to feeling like an
act and participant in.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Our healing journey.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Well, I enjoyed by my guy, my doctor, doctor Will Washington.
You know, he specializes in everything from anxiety to health
related stress, to coping strategy, to healing modalities, modalities and
all of that. Hey, hey, doctor Will, welcome to the conversation.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
I'm excited to do this with you because this is
this a big deal. This is the season finale.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Yeah, yeah it is. And you know because I'm getting
ready to say something, but let's do this.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Let's ground ourselves, because I'm like, if you only know,
I'm on my tippy toes, sitting over here, my toes
like this like ready to go. Let me ground myself
right now, right, So we're gonna do a nice little
grounding situation.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
What we do all the time.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
If you ey could just close your eyes at this moment,
at this time and get comfortable, take a deep breadth
in hold it gently and ex sounds slowly, allowing any
attention to middle wing. I want you to feel your
body settle into this moment. Feel the support beneath you,
(06:47):
the chair, the floor, the earth is self holding. Now
I want you to visualize a calming light that surrounding
starting at the top of your head and flowing through
your entire body. This light is anchoring you in peace
(07:08):
and wrapping you in safety and love. Now as you
continue to bring slowly and deeply invite a sense of
calm and confidence into your mind about it, and repeat
suddenly after me, I am safe, I am supportive, I
(07:30):
am controlling with my journey. Now when each breath, feel
this truth setting deeper and deeper inside your beauty. You
are exactly where you're need to be, and you have
everything within you to navigate whatever lies ahead. And when
(07:51):
you are ready, gently bring your awareness back to our conversation,
carrying this sense of groundness with you. All right, my
beautiful people, thank you for just being in that moment
with me right now, with us. And if you're new
here to the season and Stephalo podcasts. It's something we
do every day Monday through Friday here too. Again, just
to ground us before we get into the topic of hand,
(08:13):
because I needed that grounded for a moment because I
was there, all right, So doctor will before we dive
into strategies. I want to normalize something for the listeners.
You know, feeling anxious about medical precisions. It doesn't mean
that we're weak or we don't trust our decisions. Can
you speak on why anxiety is so common and actually
(08:33):
quite normal?
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Yes, you know, just in general, anxiety can mean so
many different things. When people say they have anxiety, I'm
thinking about nervousness, uncertainty, fear, lack of information, not knowing
right attachments. There's so many different reasons that people have anxiety.
(08:57):
And when it comes to medical procedure, especially like this,
you have to understand that this is a moment in
your life where your controls in the hands of someone
that you've just met or someone that you don't know.
Is in the hands of someone that is supposed to
have their best intentions within you, and the uncertainty is
(09:18):
that we can't control how well things you're going to go.
You can't control how things are going to be, and
so that uncertainty is a normal response. If you were
completely okay with it, I'd be worried about it, right,
And so it's very human to be unsettled with something
that is uncertain.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
You know.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
I love that you say that, and I and let
me say this also to my listeners, is that the
anxiety that I feel now is totally different from the
anxiety attacks that I used to have before.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
And I don't know if I ever shared this with you.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
It started off with my second pregnancy, and I remember
I was on bad rest the whole entire time, and
so really I wasn't supposed to be really driving, but
I will drive. But like I lived in Indiana and
my grandmother lived in the suburbs of Illinois, and I
was like right over the borderline right there, like a
twenty minute ride, twenty thirty minute right. But my oldest daughter,
(10:13):
she went to school in Illinois because I didn't like
the school system in Indiana. So I would get up
every morning and drive her back and courth you know,
to school, and I would just wait, you know, at
my grandmother's house with it and I would drive her back. Well,
on our way back home, it would always be dark,
and I wouldn't take the expressway. I would take the
streets because I would have these anxiety At tax well,
(10:36):
I would have to pull over.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
I would become short of breath, like I could.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
Not breathe, dizziness like dizziness where I couldn't and then
all of a sudden, I will blackout. So it was
like I would get a signal to let me know
that that's happening. It was like I get like a heat,
like a flash of heat that would come and I
knew at that time I need to pull over on
(11:04):
the side of the road. So can you imagine a
woman that's seven eight months pregnant with a nineteen year
old in the back seat on the side of a
dark road, you know, And all I could do is
just tell her to keep talking because I can hear
her when I couldn't see her. You know, my mom
and my grandmother on the phone. And this went on
(11:25):
for the whole entire pregnancy.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Wow, it was crazy. It was even one time that
I made it home. We made it home.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
And I was walking through the front door and I
just collapsed. And when I woke up when I saw
I heard them. I saw my daughter called nine one one,
the amalyza. Everything came, you know, came there and I
could just hear everything, but I couldn't see. And they
(11:56):
said my eyes were open, but I couldn't see any
It was like the whole body.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Just shut down. And the doctors couldn't tell me what
that was. It was like, well, that's an anxiety attack
that you have.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
It.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
I remember it felt like I was having a.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Heart attack as sometimes, and I didn't know what that was.
And when I got pregnant with my third child, the
same thing.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Wow. Yeah, And so you experienced a psychosomatic reaction, right,
Some people just become mental, but some people they can.
They're so powerful that it can go to their body
and their bodies will completely dissociate, and it's kind of
like it's like fireflight mode, but like your mind says
I'm gonna stay here, and the body.
Speaker 4 (12:41):
Is like, well, I'm going to keep moving. Yeah, I'm
not waiting on you anymore.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
Usually, either the mind goes the body chases where the
mind goes. Right, But when your mind says I'm out
and your body's like no, no, no, no, the instinct
is here.
Speaker 4 (12:54):
That's a complete dissociation.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Mmm.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
So we just associally have more than realized we do,
and people don't talk about it. But we just associate
a lot more than realizing.
Speaker 4 (13:07):
And I think a lot of.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
People of color associate so much that for them it's
just a part of their natural life because they just
they cannot believe that what they're experiencing is the reality
of what's currently occurring, Like that's a real thing. And
a lot of times people that have anxiety, that dissociation
is usually fed by an irrational perception, right, or distorted thinking. Right,
(13:31):
there's like ten types of distorted thinking, and like one
of them is like they all are nothing, right, So
one of the ones, So one of them is all
or nothing. So if someone perceives I will, if I
can't do all of it, then nothing matters. Then they'll
end up just cutting out and tuning out everything else
that's possible because they couldn't see, they couldn't understand anything
(13:51):
other than all right, it's okay to have some and
still be meaningful, but for them, it doesn't matter.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
So everything shuts off. Nothing doesn't matter.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
You can't talk through it, you can't feel through it.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
It just time just has to pass.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
And that is a very debilitating moment in life, very debilitating.
Speaker 5 (14:09):
Mm.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
Wow, that's that's something really deep there as you were
saying that about because I was kind of like back then,
all of nothing type of feeling.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Really yeah, I was.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
Like I was probably worse then that I am now
being a perfectionist, but also of planning things, you understand
what I'm saying. So that second pregnancy for me, it
wasn't planned. The one, the pregnancy right before then was planned,
but this one was not planned. And what I mean
(14:44):
by that it was a miracle baby because with the
baby before her, I actually had to go get shots
fertility drugs.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
I went through a whole fertility thing to help.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
And it was always told to me that I couldnot
have any children unless you know, any more children, and
unless I did that. And and this is so funny.
With my first husband, we were separated, we had broke up.
I had to abort the baby because it was causing
me so much pain in Westerland. So we had to
abort the baby then, and so we had broken up.
(15:21):
It was gone, and one drunken night, I'm just gonna
tell you one directing night from the club. I wanted
some and I knew You're the only person that I
could trust that I could do it, and so I
went and we did the do find.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
Out Christmas morning. Wow I was pregnant. Yes, wow out
Christmas morning.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
So and that whole year I had I was on
bearrist that whole entime, when I say.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
It is on bare rest. My legs were swollen on
my feet and it was like they didn't want me
to move anywhere.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
It was like the I had sister's size of football,
so that was in my wound along with the baby then,
and so it was very.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
They had wanted me to.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Abort early on, and I said, no, we're going to
go ahead and do this. We're gonna go ahead. And
but when I didn't get that support, you know, that
I needed, and I was like, Okay, I can't go
through this. And then I'm like bad, you know, And
so that's why we did all the doctors. We was like, okay,
this will be the best decision for that, and that's
(16:30):
what we did. And that was all in the same year.
So I'm thinking, I'm good that had happened. That was
like in March or April. Or something that had happened.
So here we come for a force in October. It
was on my birthday, October birthday.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Said that, right then here she comes. You know.
Speaker 1 (16:51):
Then this is what I found out about her. And
the doctor was like, look, you cannot go to work anymore.
You have you cannot drive, you cannot do you can
do anything. But I knew I still needed to do life.
I still had a nine year old that would be
tend so that I had to get her, you.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Know, going, I knew life had that happened.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
But I was that all enough and like, okay, you
and I can see it now that as you see
and I'm like, wow, that is what that was and
that's what my body just did.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
Oh yeah yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
So so the fact that you understand your body in
that way, like you can have that psychosomatic reaction, you know,
that is a grounding that there's a grounding that's needed
because you know, a lot of times when I have
people that have those type of anxiety attacks, I have
to ground them when I teach them what to do.
Speaker 4 (17:41):
I always start.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
Out with awareness, like three levels of the awareness of
the room, the relationship to what they're connected by things,
and then and then I do internalized by by temperature
out of temperature control on the back of the spinal
cord to the back of the neck here to help
reconnect with people.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Yeah, and like I said, it's better. It's so much
better now. It's nowhere near that now. And I think
because I have been going through the process of understanding
what is around me, of accepting of my life or
what it is, you know what I'm saying a break
or and so I'm not in denial.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
You understand what I'm saying, and I'm of life.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
It's a whole totally different thing that was back in
when I was thirty. I'm fifty two years old now,
so that was twenty two years ago, and that life
has happened for me. So now I'm like, Okay, even
the last one that you know did it was a
life changing.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
I was leaving the industry, you know.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
And I had I didn't have all of my ducks
in order like I wanted to. They were getting in order,
but it just came just like you know, and I
was upset, like y'all told me I couldn't have anymore. Okay,
I don't have no such you know, Like what the
heck right. And then I stopped and I said, Okay,
what is this?
Speaker 2 (18:55):
God? What is this is?
Speaker 1 (18:57):
Because you I would, I said, whenever you were ready
for me to leave, I'm gonna leave. And I guess
it's time for me to leave. And that caused me
to do the retirement to retire, and so from then
I took that. I just remember going through that entire
nine months, and that was some deep deep healing, the
(19:18):
beginning of deep deep healing process for me. Like really,
I couldn't go anywhere. I had to sit in it.
I had to go in my closet or crawl in
my closet, so I had to be there and sit
in it and understand what everything was.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
And when I think about it, that was really the
beginning of my spiritual journey.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
I didn't actively do it like I wanted to, because
I remember just going and going to get rebaptized all
over again to help cleanse you know, everything that I've
been in the past, you know, every years that I
was in the industry. You know, I shaved my head.
I shaved my head like everything. But it was like,
I don't want to cleanse you in that way. That's
(19:57):
not what we're doing here. I need you to understand
who you are. And I believe in these past five
six years is where the real awakening came because I
started to do my spiritual healing, you know, actively and.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Intentionally.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
So now when I get I wake up in the
morning at two o'clock, now I'm like, okay, why am
I up?
Speaker 2 (20:27):
What are my concerns? So now I know how to
ask my.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
Body that And I truly thank season and self love,
I think for for the courses and the classes that
I have taken, because otherwise I wouldn't have known any
of that. I probably would be on the floor somewhere disconnect.
Speaker 4 (20:46):
Yeah, and that's and I think that's the goal.
Speaker 3 (20:49):
Though. The goal is to learn your mind, your body,
and your heart as three different people, so that when
you sit in the center of all three of them,
you can make a decision that balances every scale. That
is the goal, right, Like to know what your mind does,
and know what your heart does, know what your body does.
(21:09):
It's so important that someone so many of us are
so disconnected or we think that's all just one thing.
It's like no, like, these are three different experiences that
you're having and you need to figure out which ones
in the most need of you. Right now, we don't
even know how to tend to ourselves the way we
need to do with self care.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
Yeah, yeah, you know.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
So that's one thing is I'm very grateful for my
whole journey.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
I am, because.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
If it wasn't for that journey that I wouldn't have known,
I would not know that you understand what I'm saying,
and I would still be, you know, going to the hospital.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
We're doing all kinds of.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Things, you know, for that, and so I'm able to
connect more with myself mm hmm.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
Yeah. Yeah, And I think that's it comes to anxiety.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
It's a separation of the present moment, right You're you're
you're anticipating something that it's like it's like going fishing
and there's no water.
Speaker 4 (22:07):
In the fish.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
No, there's no there's no fish in the water, you know,
And so it's like you're just sitting there waiting for
something to pool and it's like no, like and I'm
telling you, there's nothing there, but your body's like in
a loop. It's just it's a loop. So it just
you just keep looping and looping and looping, and a
lot of us don't realize that we all go through
(22:29):
our own mental illness loop.
Speaker 4 (22:31):
We all have it. Some loops are bigger than others.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
Some people loop, they don't think it's the same loop.
It's just a bigger circle. Some people have small ones, right,
and I and I had to teach people this all
the time, is that we all have our own illness loop.
We just don't know how to slow it down or
know if we're in it or that and that awareness
is so crucial.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Yeah, yeah, you know, I don't mean to go all
the way into the thing, but you actually kind of
just give gave us some basics, uh, with medical procedure
within anxiety or what exactly is happening in our minds.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
So when you talk about.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
The loops and in our bodies, but also I want
to let the listeners know, is that there's still a connection.
I know last week we talked about and I've been
talking about for the past few weeks about our body
telling us something, you know, but our mind telling us
something else.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
So let me ask you this question.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
For anxiety, and I think you did, but I want
it just to be.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
Really clear because you were just speaking on my.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
Story the mind in the body when anxiety has happened.
Does that mean that there's a miscommunication between the two of.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
Them, Yes, okay, so yes, And so what happens is
is that your mind is perceiving a threat or an
uncertainty that that triggers a stimulus that goes outside of
your actual perception of control. And so your body is
turned into like this this threat, either it's a threat
or a worry or some type of triggering that's like
(23:58):
unsafe or unnaw or irrational or something not okay, and
your body is like there's something wrong.
Speaker 4 (24:05):
Oh, oh my god.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
And then your mind might be like okay, I'm done,
but your body's still like I'm still going. I'm still going,
and your body's like wait a second, Oh, I'm coming
with you now, Okay, I just got I'm coming. I
gotta go in there, I gotta jump in the tornado
and so and a lot of times it's it's really
you know, especially when that I have veterans, right when
(24:28):
they have the associations, when they're triggered, they have flashbacks
or you know, it's it's their mind is like I'm going,
and the body's like you're dragging me through this, yeah, right,
And you know, you can't tell between day or night.
You can't tell because your body has believed that it's
in that loop. It's in that moment, and it has
(24:50):
way till the body has to regulate. Which is why,
like when I do hypnotherapy for for veterans, I always
have ice buckets or hot rags the player on their
body because their body is heating up to that. All
this comes down to is the nervous system being untrained.
The nervous like if you want to talk about the
(25:11):
core of things, it really is on the scientific level,
the nervous system not being able to regulate and not
knowing when to regulate because the mind has not learned
the proper skill to ground itself, and so the nervous
system is in a reactive state and it doesn't know
how to reset, and so the easiest way to do
that is to do an ice plunge or to do
(25:33):
something that will snap the body and reset the body automatically.
And that's why that's why we always have those ice
paths and those things to help regulate the body, because
the nervous system doesn't know how to regulate itself. You
can't tell the nervous system stop right, It's like I'm
trying to survive. It's life or death, life or death,
life or death. That's why stress is such an important
(25:54):
thing in life. Stress is a number one killer, but
anxiety opens up your awareness of stress. Stress is literally
the awareness of how difficult a threat is or how
imminent a threat it will be. Right, Stress is very
important to understand, Like we have to start learning to
communicate with our stress is because anxiety is an awareness
(26:15):
of that.
Speaker 4 (26:15):
So you know, stress is aware. It's just so important.
Speaker 3 (26:20):
And I think that, you know, before I check your anxiety,
i'd want to check your stress levels.
Speaker 4 (26:25):
Stress is a.
Speaker 3 (26:25):
Wellness currency and my feeling philosophy, so you know, I
understand stress is something different.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
Yeah. Yeah, let's get into the practical of it all right,
the practical tools. What are some specific techniques that our
listeners can use when they're feeling overwhelmed by medical procedure anxiety.
Speaker 3 (26:47):
Yes, three simple steps. One, have a friend with you,
Have someone with you, having someone else listen to the news,
being around you with the news, it feels like someone's
taking the other load of that of the awareness of it,
all right, having someone there because you think that you
have to memorize everything the doctor's saying in that moment,
so to have someone else there is so important.
Speaker 4 (27:10):
The second thing is.
Speaker 3 (27:11):
To do your own research right, don't mystify the situation,
really look at what happens afterwards, look at other people
that may be going through the recovery. The fact that
you're documenting your work right, it's going to be helpful
for other people to feel more less alone and isolated
because a lot of times our fear is because we
(27:34):
think we're the only ones going through it. And then lastly,
keep a journal for yourself or create a new type
of hobby or some type of thing that you can
get into during this process that you can connect to.
Speaker 4 (27:46):
I always like puzzles, or I always like.
Speaker 3 (27:49):
Building things and being ingrained with something, wearning a new
skill because it's a really good thing to have because
it's new while you're actually going through something different than
you're not used to. So it's a great way to
kind of put and transmit that energy into something constructive
rather than deconstructive. And so cay to slow down and
journal your experiences and have a diary of that too.
Speaker 2 (28:10):
Yeah, beautiful, thank you doctor.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
Will you know you said something earlier, and we talked
about this all the time about listening to our bodies,
and so I just want to be very, very candid
and very just out there. So throughout this whole episode
of y'all can see my voice kind of changing.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
It's a little deep soul through tychic voice. Trust to
believe that's not me doing it on purpose.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
So a part of a lot of the symptoms of
breast excuse me, breast implants illness is is that you
have this dry cough, you know, this very very dry cough.
And I actually honestly have been going through this all week,
even through some of the interviews, and so I know
that we really wanted to get truly deep into this conversation.
(28:56):
But I think that we've kind of given our listeners,
you know, something that they can you know, take with
them right now, and so when we return back in October,
we can kind of finish it up as well as
kind of like the post of you know me with
the surgery and stuff like that. So doctor, well, what
I want to do right now, I want to close.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
Out right now with a nice kind of meditation.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
I'm going out and then we could come in and
excuse me, and say our final words.
Speaker 2 (29:26):
All right, all right, all right, my beautiful people, you
know how we do it.
Speaker 1 (29:31):
If you could just get comfortable right now, just for
a moment and close your eyes, place both hands on
your heart and take three deep breaths, I wan should
feel your heart beating steadily, reliably, keeping you alive moment
by moment. Now, I want you to imagine yourself of
(29:52):
the day of your procedure, with the day you're supporting
someone else. Instead of focusing on fear, I want you
to picture yourself feeling calm, prepared and surrounded by love
and support. See yourself breathing easily, trusting in your decision,
(30:15):
trusting in your medical team, trusting in your body's ability
to heal. Feel the peace that comes from knowing you've
done everything that you can't to prepare you mentally, emotionally.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
And physically.
Speaker 1 (30:37):
Now repeat silently after me. I am safe, I am supported,
I trust my process, and I am stronger than I know.
Hold this feeling of calm confidence in your heart, knowing
that you can turn to it whenever you need.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
All right, thank you, I write, my beautiful people again.
I apologize that we have to cut this a little short.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
But doctor Will, do you have any last words for
our listeners right now?
Speaker 4 (31:14):
Yeah, be kind to yourself and he'll always I.
Speaker 2 (31:18):
Know that's right.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
I write, my beautiful people, well, this week, I just
want you all to just start building your com kit.
Choose one or two items of practice that bring you peace.
And you know, I hope that you wrote down the
information that doctor Will gave you about having that sup
poor system somebody there that can actually understand what the
doctor is telling or anything else. But also begin incorporating
(31:39):
the tools into your daily routines.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
Practice the breathing.
Speaker 1 (31:43):
Technique, complete the journal props that doctor Will was talking
about about, journally and remember, if this episode has helped you,
please share it with someone who might be excuse me,
who might be see there go again, excuse me, finish
that might be facing their own medical anxiety. Sometimes knowing
(32:06):
that we're not alone and our fears is a first
step towards curage. So trust your process, Your rebirth is happening.
You are so much more supported.
Speaker 2 (32:16):
Than you know. So until October, my beautiful.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
People, Yes, have an amazing and amazing few This has
been an amazing series and an amazing season.
Speaker 2 (32:33):
So again, check the Wheel.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
Thank you to my beautiful listeners and I will see
y'all tomorrow for transfer Tuesday, I see y'all, so have
a good one. Thank you for joining us on this
journey of discovering and empowerment here at the Season and
Silp Love Podcast. Remember, embracing self love is a continuous
journey and we're so.
Speaker 2 (32:55):
Glad to have you with us.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
So if you enjoy it today's episode, please leave us
at review and don't forget to join our community on
Facebook at Season and Self Love connect with like minded
individuals who are also on their self love journey. Now,
if you have any questions or topics that you'd like
for us to explore, we'd love to hear from you.
Email us at Seasonosseelflove at gmail dot com and let your.
Speaker 2 (33:20):
Voice be heard.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
So until the next time, take a moment for yourself
today and remember you are worthy of love, joy, and
all the beautiful things that life has to offer.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
A love
Welcome to the Season and Self Love Podcast. I am
your host, Namibank, saying I am thrilled to have you
joined me on this transformative journey. You see, every day
we dive into a powerful conversation about self discovery, healing
and empowerment. This podcast is brought to you by ax
Naomi and Elevate Me Self Discovery. What we believe that
(00:21):
loving yourself is the first step to living a fulfilling life.
You can expect insightful discussions, practical tips, and inspiring stories.
Plus were occasionally welcome special guests who will share their
unique perspectives on self love and personal growth. So get comfy,
grab your favorite beverage, and let's embark on this journey together.
(00:44):
Because it's time to embrace the beautiful person that you love.
So let's elevate our lives one episode of time.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Now let's get started.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Well, all right, my beautiful people, Well, welcome to the
Season and stelf Love Podcast.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
I'm your host.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Now, I'm Mean Banks, and this is our final Mindset
Monday of the season. Yes it is, but also this
is as we continue our July series of preparing for Transformation. Well,
today we're addressing something that I know that many of
you can relate to. And that's something that I personally
(01:23):
has been navigating right now, and that's anxiety around medical procedures.
Whether you're preparing for surgery like I am, or you're
just facing a diagnostic procedure, or just supporting someone through
their medical journey.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
This conversation is for you, all right. So before we get.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Into this conversation, let's take a quick break. All right,
It'shugurty Gouy is on your bank, Say on the Season
and Stuff Love podcast and we'll be right back.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Washington wells into two focuses on healing. Always for me,
if I look good, then I feel good. If I
feel good, then I share the good. If I share
the good, then I celebrate the good. If I celebrate
the good, then I live the good. So I can
be paid to be my greatest. But I have to
learn the good to be the good.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
So what does it take to be the greatest.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
It's as simple as a free fifteen minute consultation.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
Be kind to yourself, and he'll always.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Hey, it's your gird. You got it? Now me banks,
and make sure.
Speaker 5 (02:22):
You tune in every three Thursday ninety as Namig have
podcast were we talk about everything you love, sex, relationship,
culture differences, and so much more by bridging the gap
between them all.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
And we even talk about the spanial of comping.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
You need to stop buy mean dot commot as well.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
As the BETG three. You have some amazing guests that
come from You'll never know. Just make sure you tune
me at Thursday nine six pm.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Six percent of time go to ask Lama dot com un.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Tell them ninety All right, man, beautiful people will welcome back.
You know.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
So, as I sit here just weeks away from my
expan surgery, weeks weeks away, I have to be honest
with you all. The anxiety has been real. I'm gonna
tell y'all something I get up. For the past month,
I've been getting My body has been waking me up
at two a clock every morning, every morning, and.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
I just be sitting there. I don't know.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
I'm so serious when I say this, and I know
you're looking at me back the re're like really, yes,
Like I sit there, I know the.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Decision that I made and why I made that decision.
I can even see what I look like afterwards. This
is how visually.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
But that anxiety just get in there, and it had
me up and just thinking about what, just thinking about what,
thinking about what I'm telling y'all.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
Eve.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Though I know that this decision is right for my body,
I even know that I trust my surgeon.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
Even though my intuition is clear, there.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
Are moments when my mind spirals into worry. So what
if something goes wrong? What will recovery be?
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Like?
Speaker 1 (04:21):
How would I feel when I wake up? What if
the precision doesn't resolve my healf issues? When I'm telling you,
it goes in my mind. Man, it goes in my mind,
and I'm gonna tell you. And I know Doctor Will
can probably help me on this as well, because last
week we talked about fear and intuition about making that
life changing decision. And I understand that that decision that
(04:44):
I made, that it's going to be changing my life
for the good. But then there is that old version
or that old mindset of mind that will come in
and whisper of anxiety that would try to convince me
that I am not strong enough or I'm not a
prepare enough for what is coming. But here's what I
learned through processing, through my work with doctor Will. The
(05:07):
anxiety before medical precision is not only normal, it's almost universal.
And more importantly, we are not powerless against it. That
we can prepare mentally and emostly, just as thoroughly as
we prepare physically. But today we're going to explore on
how to transform that anxiety from something that paralyzes us
(05:28):
into something that empowers us, how to move from feeling
like a victim of our circumstances to feeling like an
act and participant in.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Our healing journey.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Well, I enjoyed by my guy, my doctor, doctor Will Washington.
You know, he specializes in everything from anxiety to health
related stress, to coping strategy, to healing modalities, modalities and
all of that. Hey, hey, doctor Will, welcome to the conversation.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
I'm excited to do this with you because this is
this a big deal. This is the season finale.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Yeah, yeah it is. And you know because I'm getting
ready to say something, but let's do this.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Let's ground ourselves, because I'm like, if you only know,
I'm on my tippy toes, sitting over here, my toes
like this like ready to go. Let me ground myself
right now, right, So we're gonna do a nice little
grounding situation.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
What we do all the time.
Speaker 1 (06:24):
If you ey could just close your eyes at this moment,
at this time and get comfortable, take a deep breadth
in hold it gently and ex sounds slowly, allowing any
attention to middle wing. I want you to feel your
body settle into this moment. Feel the support beneath you,
(06:47):
the chair, the floor, the earth is self holding. Now
I want you to visualize a calming light that surrounding
starting at the top of your head and flowing through
your entire body. This light is anchoring you in peace
(07:08):
and wrapping you in safety and love. Now as you
continue to bring slowly and deeply invite a sense of
calm and confidence into your mind about it, and repeat
suddenly after me, I am safe, I am supportive, I
(07:30):
am controlling with my journey. Now when each breath, feel
this truth setting deeper and deeper inside your beauty. You
are exactly where you're need to be, and you have
everything within you to navigate whatever lies ahead. And when
(07:51):
you are ready, gently bring your awareness back to our conversation,
carrying this sense of groundness with you. All right, my
beautiful people, thank you for just being in that moment
with me right now, with us. And if you're new
here to the season and Stephalo podcasts. It's something we
do every day Monday through Friday here too. Again, just
to ground us before we get into the topic of hand,
(08:13):
because I needed that grounded for a moment because I
was there, all right, So doctor will before we dive
into strategies. I want to normalize something for the listeners.
You know, feeling anxious about medical precisions. It doesn't mean
that we're weak or we don't trust our decisions. Can
you speak on why anxiety is so common and actually
(08:33):
quite normal?
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Yes, you know, just in general, anxiety can mean so
many different things. When people say they have anxiety, I'm
thinking about nervousness, uncertainty, fear, lack of information, not knowing
right attachments. There's so many different reasons that people have anxiety.
(08:57):
And when it comes to medical procedure, especially like this,
you have to understand that this is a moment in
your life where your controls in the hands of someone
that you've just met or someone that you don't know.
Is in the hands of someone that is supposed to
have their best intentions within you, and the uncertainty is
(09:18):
that we can't control how well things you're going to go.
You can't control how things are going to be, and
so that uncertainty is a normal response. If you were
completely okay with it, I'd be worried about it, right,
And so it's very human to be unsettled with something
that is uncertain.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
You know.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
I love that you say that, and I and let
me say this also to my listeners, is that the
anxiety that I feel now is totally different from the
anxiety attacks that I used to have before.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
And I don't know if I ever shared this with you.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
It started off with my second pregnancy, and I remember
I was on bad rest the whole entire time, and
so really I wasn't supposed to be really driving, but
I will drive. But like I lived in Indiana and
my grandmother lived in the suburbs of Illinois, and I
was like right over the borderline right there, like a
twenty minute ride, twenty thirty minute right. But my oldest daughter,
(10:13):
she went to school in Illinois because I didn't like
the school system in Indiana. So I would get up
every morning and drive her back and courth you know,
to school, and I would just wait, you know, at
my grandmother's house with it and I would drive her back. Well,
on our way back home, it would always be dark,
and I wouldn't take the expressway. I would take the
streets because I would have these anxiety At tax well,
(10:36):
I would have to pull over.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
I would become short of breath, like I could.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
Not breathe, dizziness like dizziness where I couldn't and then
all of a sudden, I will blackout. So it was
like I would get a signal to let me know
that that's happening. It was like I get like a heat,
like a flash of heat that would come and I
knew at that time I need to pull over on
(11:04):
the side of the road. So can you imagine a
woman that's seven eight months pregnant with a nineteen year
old in the back seat on the side of a
dark road, you know, And all I could do is
just tell her to keep talking because I can hear
her when I couldn't see her. You know, my mom
and my grandmother on the phone. And this went on
(11:25):
for the whole entire pregnancy.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Wow, it was crazy. It was even one time that
I made it home. We made it home.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
And I was walking through the front door and I
just collapsed. And when I woke up when I saw
I heard them. I saw my daughter called nine one one,
the amalyza. Everything came, you know, came there and I
could just hear everything, but I couldn't see. And they
(11:56):
said my eyes were open, but I couldn't see any
It was like the whole body.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Just shut down. And the doctors couldn't tell me what
that was. It was like, well, that's an anxiety attack
that you have.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
It.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
I remember it felt like I was having a.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Heart attack as sometimes, and I didn't know what that was.
And when I got pregnant with my third child, the
same thing.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Wow. Yeah, And so you experienced a psychosomatic reaction, right,
Some people just become mental, but some people they can.
They're so powerful that it can go to their body
and their bodies will completely dissociate, and it's kind of
like it's like fireflight mode, but like your mind says
I'm gonna stay here, and the body.
Speaker 4 (12:41):
Is like, well, I'm going to keep moving. Yeah, I'm
not waiting on you anymore.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
Usually, either the mind goes the body chases where the
mind goes. Right, But when your mind says I'm out
and your body's like no, no, no, no, the instinct
is here.
Speaker 4 (12:54):
That's a complete dissociation.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Mmm.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
So we just associally have more than realized we do,
and people don't talk about it. But we just associate
a lot more than realizing.
Speaker 4 (13:07):
And I think a lot of.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
People of color associate so much that for them it's
just a part of their natural life because they just
they cannot believe that what they're experiencing is the reality
of what's currently occurring, Like that's a real thing. And
a lot of times people that have anxiety, that dissociation
is usually fed by an irrational perception, right, or distorted thinking. Right,
(13:31):
there's like ten types of distorted thinking, and like one
of them is like they all are nothing, right, So
one of the ones, So one of them is all
or nothing. So if someone perceives I will, if I
can't do all of it, then nothing matters. Then they'll
end up just cutting out and tuning out everything else
that's possible because they couldn't see, they couldn't understand anything
(13:51):
other than all right, it's okay to have some and
still be meaningful, but for them, it doesn't matter.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
So everything shuts off. Nothing doesn't matter.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
You can't talk through it, you can't feel through it.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
It just time just has to pass.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
And that is a very debilitating moment in life, very debilitating.
Speaker 5 (14:09):
Mm.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
Wow, that's that's something really deep there as you were
saying that about because I was kind of like back then,
all of nothing type of feeling.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Really yeah, I was.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
Like I was probably worse then that I am now
being a perfectionist, but also of planning things, you understand
what I'm saying. So that second pregnancy for me, it
wasn't planned. The one, the pregnancy right before then was planned,
but this one was not planned. And what I mean
(14:44):
by that it was a miracle baby because with the
baby before her, I actually had to go get shots
fertility drugs.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
I went through a whole fertility thing to help.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
And it was always told to me that I couldnot
have any children unless you know, any more children, and
unless I did that. And and this is so funny.
With my first husband, we were separated, we had broke up.
I had to abort the baby because it was causing
me so much pain in Westerland. So we had to
abort the baby then, and so we had broken up.
(15:21):
It was gone, and one drunken night, I'm just gonna
tell you one directing night from the club. I wanted
some and I knew You're the only person that I
could trust that I could do it, and so I
went and we did the do find.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
Out Christmas morning. Wow I was pregnant. Yes, wow out
Christmas morning.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
So and that whole year I had I was on
bearrist that whole entime, when I say.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
It is on bare rest. My legs were swollen on
my feet and it was like they didn't want me
to move anywhere.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
It was like the I had sister's size of football,
so that was in my wound along with the baby then,
and so it was very.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
They had wanted me to.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Abort early on, and I said, no, we're going to
go ahead and do this. We're gonna go ahead. And
but when I didn't get that support, you know, that
I needed, and I was like, Okay, I can't go
through this. And then I'm like bad, you know, And
so that's why we did all the doctors. We was like, okay,
this will be the best decision for that, and that's
(16:30):
what we did. And that was all in the same year.
So I'm thinking, I'm good that had happened. That was
like in March or April. Or something that had happened.
So here we come for a force in October. It
was on my birthday, October birthday.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
Said that, right then here she comes. You know.
Speaker 1 (16:51):
Then this is what I found out about her. And
the doctor was like, look, you cannot go to work anymore.
You have you cannot drive, you cannot do you can
do anything. But I knew I still needed to do life.
I still had a nine year old that would be
tend so that I had to get her, you.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Know, going, I knew life had that happened.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
But I was that all enough and like, okay, you
and I can see it now that as you see
and I'm like, wow, that is what that was and
that's what my body just did.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
Oh yeah yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
So so the fact that you understand your body in
that way, like you can have that psychosomatic reaction, you know,
that is a grounding that there's a grounding that's needed
because you know, a lot of times when I have
people that have those type of anxiety attacks, I have
to ground them when I teach them what to do.
Speaker 4 (17:41):
I always start.
Speaker 3 (17:42):
Out with awareness, like three levels of the awareness of
the room, the relationship to what they're connected by things,
and then and then I do internalized by by temperature
out of temperature control on the back of the spinal
cord to the back of the neck here to help
reconnect with people.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Yeah, and like I said, it's better. It's so much
better now. It's nowhere near that now. And I think
because I have been going through the process of understanding
what is around me, of accepting of my life or
what it is, you know what I'm saying a break
or and so I'm not in denial.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
You understand what I'm saying, and I'm of life.
Speaker 1 (18:21):
It's a whole totally different thing that was back in
when I was thirty. I'm fifty two years old now,
so that was twenty two years ago, and that life
has happened for me. So now I'm like, Okay, even
the last one that you know did it was a
life changing.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
I was leaving the industry, you know.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
And I had I didn't have all of my ducks
in order like I wanted to. They were getting in order,
but it just came just like you know, and I
was upset, like y'all told me I couldn't have anymore. Okay,
I don't have no such you know, Like what the
heck right. And then I stopped and I said, Okay,
what is this?
Speaker 2 (18:55):
God? What is this is?
Speaker 1 (18:57):
Because you I would, I said, whenever you were ready
for me to leave, I'm gonna leave. And I guess
it's time for me to leave. And that caused me
to do the retirement to retire, and so from then
I took that. I just remember going through that entire
nine months, and that was some deep deep healing, the
(19:18):
beginning of deep deep healing process for me. Like really,
I couldn't go anywhere. I had to sit in it.
I had to go in my closet or crawl in
my closet, so I had to be there and sit
in it and understand what everything was.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
And when I think about it, that was really the
beginning of my spiritual journey.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
I didn't actively do it like I wanted to, because
I remember just going and going to get rebaptized all
over again to help cleanse you know, everything that I've
been in the past, you know, every years that I
was in the industry. You know, I shaved my head.
I shaved my head like everything. But it was like,
I don't want to cleanse you in that way. That's
(19:57):
not what we're doing here. I need you to understand
who you are. And I believe in these past five
six years is where the real awakening came because I
started to do my spiritual healing, you know, actively and.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Intentionally.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
So now when I get I wake up in the
morning at two o'clock, now I'm like, okay, why am
I up?
Speaker 2 (20:27):
What are my concerns? So now I know how to
ask my.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
Body that And I truly thank season and self love,
I think for for the courses and the classes that
I have taken, because otherwise I wouldn't have known any
of that. I probably would be on the floor somewhere disconnect.
Speaker 4 (20:46):
Yeah, and that's and I think that's the goal.
Speaker 3 (20:49):
Though. The goal is to learn your mind, your body,
and your heart as three different people, so that when
you sit in the center of all three of them,
you can make a decision that balances every scale. That
is the goal, right, Like to know what your mind does,
and know what your heart does, know what your body does.
(21:09):
It's so important that someone so many of us are
so disconnected or we think that's all just one thing.
It's like no, like, these are three different experiences that
you're having and you need to figure out which ones
in the most need of you. Right now, we don't
even know how to tend to ourselves the way we
need to do with self care.
Speaker 2 (21:26):
Yeah, yeah, you know.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
So that's one thing is I'm very grateful for my
whole journey.
Speaker 2 (21:31):
I am, because.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
If it wasn't for that journey that I wouldn't have known,
I would not know that you understand what I'm saying,
and I would still be, you know, going to the hospital.
Speaker 2 (21:43):
We're doing all kinds of.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
Things, you know, for that, and so I'm able to
connect more with myself mm hmm.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
Yeah. Yeah, And I think that's it comes to anxiety.
Speaker 3 (21:58):
It's a separation of the present moment, right You're you're
you're anticipating something that it's like it's like going fishing
and there's no water.
Speaker 4 (22:07):
In the fish.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
Mm hmm.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
No, there's no there's no fish in the water, you know,
And so it's like you're just sitting there waiting for
something to pool and it's like no, like and I'm
telling you, there's nothing there, but your body's like in
a loop. It's just it's a loop. So it just
you just keep looping and looping and looping, and a
lot of us don't realize that we all go through
(22:29):
our own mental illness loop.
Speaker 4 (22:31):
We all have it. Some loops are bigger than others.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
Some people loop, they don't think it's the same loop.
It's just a bigger circle. Some people have small ones, right,
and I and I had to teach people this all
the time, is that we all have our own illness loop.
We just don't know how to slow it down or
know if we're in it or that and that awareness
is so crucial.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Yeah, yeah, you know, I don't mean to go all
the way into the thing, but you actually kind of
just give gave us some basics, uh, with medical procedure
within anxiety or what exactly is happening in our minds.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
So when you talk about.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
The loops and in our bodies, but also I want
to let the listeners know, is that there's still a connection.
I know last week we talked about and I've been
talking about for the past few weeks about our body
telling us something, you know, but our mind telling us
something else.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
So let me ask you this question.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
For anxiety, and I think you did, but I want
it just to be.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
Really clear because you were just speaking on my.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
Story the mind in the body when anxiety has happened.
Does that mean that there's a miscommunication between the two of.
Speaker 3 (23:37):
Them, Yes, okay, so yes, And so what happens is
is that your mind is perceiving a threat or an
uncertainty that that triggers a stimulus that goes outside of
your actual perception of control. And so your body is
turned into like this this threat, either it's a threat
or a worry or some type of triggering that's like
(23:58):
unsafe or unnaw or irrational or something not okay, and
your body is like there's something wrong.
Speaker 4 (24:05):
Oh, oh my god.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
And then your mind might be like okay, I'm done,
but your body's still like I'm still going. I'm still going,
and your body's like wait a second, Oh, I'm coming
with you now, Okay, I just got I'm coming. I
gotta go in there, I gotta jump in the tornado
and so and a lot of times it's it's really
you know, especially when that I have veterans, right when
(24:28):
they have the associations, when they're triggered, they have flashbacks
or you know, it's it's their mind is like I'm going,
and the body's like you're dragging me through this, yeah, right,
And you know, you can't tell between day or night.
You can't tell because your body has believed that it's
in that loop. It's in that moment, and it has
(24:50):
way till the body has to regulate. Which is why,
like when I do hypnotherapy for for veterans, I always
have ice buckets or hot rags the player on their
body because their body is heating up to that. All
this comes down to is the nervous system being untrained.
The nervous like if you want to talk about the
(25:11):
core of things, it really is on the scientific level,
the nervous system not being able to regulate and not
knowing when to regulate because the mind has not learned
the proper skill to ground itself, and so the nervous
system is in a reactive state and it doesn't know
how to reset, and so the easiest way to do
that is to do an ice plunge or to do
(25:33):
something that will snap the body and reset the body automatically.
And that's why that's why we always have those ice
paths and those things to help regulate the body, because
the nervous system doesn't know how to regulate itself. You
can't tell the nervous system stop right, It's like I'm
trying to survive. It's life or death, life or death,
life or death. That's why stress is such an important
(25:54):
thing in life. Stress is a number one killer, but
anxiety opens up your awareness of stress. Stress is literally
the awareness of how difficult a threat is or how
imminent a threat it will be. Right, Stress is very
important to understand, Like we have to start learning to
communicate with our stress is because anxiety is an awareness
(26:15):
of that.
Speaker 4 (26:15):
So you know, stress is aware. It's just so important.
Speaker 3 (26:20):
And I think that, you know, before I check your anxiety,
i'd want to check your stress levels.
Speaker 4 (26:25):
Stress is a.
Speaker 3 (26:25):
Wellness currency and my feeling philosophy, so you know, I
understand stress is something different.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
Yeah. Yeah, let's get into the practical of it all right,
the practical tools. What are some specific techniques that our
listeners can use when they're feeling overwhelmed by medical procedure anxiety.
Speaker 3 (26:47):
Yes, three simple steps. One, have a friend with you,
Have someone with you, having someone else listen to the news,
being around you with the news, it feels like someone's
taking the other load of that of the awareness of it,
all right, having someone there because you think that you
have to memorize everything the doctor's saying in that moment,
so to have someone else there is so important.
Speaker 4 (27:10):
The second thing is.
Speaker 3 (27:11):
To do your own research right, don't mystify the situation,
really look at what happens afterwards, look at other people
that may be going through the recovery. The fact that
you're documenting your work right, it's going to be helpful
for other people to feel more less alone and isolated
because a lot of times our fear is because we
(27:34):
think we're the only ones going through it. And then lastly,
keep a journal for yourself or create a new type
of hobby or some type of thing that you can
get into during this process that you can connect to.
Speaker 4 (27:46):
I always like puzzles, or I always like.
Speaker 3 (27:49):
Building things and being ingrained with something, wearning a new
skill because it's a really good thing to have because
it's new while you're actually going through something different than
you're not used to. So it's a great way to
kind of put and transmit that energy into something constructive
rather than deconstructive. And so cay to slow down and
journal your experiences and have a diary of that too.
Speaker 2 (28:10):
Yeah, beautiful, thank you doctor.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
Will you know you said something earlier, and we talked
about this all the time about listening to our bodies,
and so I just want to be very, very candid
and very just out there. So throughout this whole episode
of y'all can see my voice kind of changing.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
It's a little deep soul through tychic voice. Trust to
believe that's not me doing it on purpose.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
So a part of a lot of the symptoms of
breast excuse me, breast implants illness is is that you
have this dry cough, you know, this very very dry cough.
And I actually honestly have been going through this all week,
even through some of the interviews, and so I know
that we really wanted to get truly deep into this conversation.
(28:56):
But I think that we've kind of given our listeners,
you know, something that they can you know, take with
them right now, and so when we return back in October,
we can kind of finish it up as well as
kind of like the post of you know me with
the surgery and stuff like that. So doctor, well, what
I want to do right now, I want to close.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
Out right now with a nice kind of meditation.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
I'm going out and then we could come in and
excuse me, and say our final words.
Speaker 2 (29:26):
All right, all right, all right, my beautiful people, you
know how we do it.
Speaker 1 (29:31):
If you could just get comfortable right now, just for
a moment and close your eyes, place both hands on
your heart and take three deep breaths, I wan should
feel your heart beating steadily, reliably, keeping you alive moment
by moment. Now, I want you to imagine yourself of
(29:52):
the day of your procedure, with the day you're supporting
someone else. Instead of focusing on fear, I want you
to picture yourself feeling calm, prepared and surrounded by love
and support. See yourself breathing easily, trusting in your decision,
(30:15):
trusting in your medical team, trusting in your body's ability
to heal. Feel the peace that comes from knowing you've
done everything that you can't to prepare you mentally, emotionally.
Speaker 2 (30:33):
And physically.
Speaker 1 (30:37):
Now repeat silently after me. I am safe, I am supported,
I trust my process, and I am stronger than I know.
Hold this feeling of calm confidence in your heart, knowing
that you can turn to it whenever you need.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
All right, thank you, I write, my beautiful people again.
I apologize that we have to cut this a little short.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
But doctor Will, do you have any last words for
our listeners right now?
Speaker 4 (31:14):
Yeah, be kind to yourself and he'll always I.
Speaker 2 (31:18):
Know that's right.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
I write, my beautiful people, well, this week, I just
want you all to just start building your com kit.
Choose one or two items of practice that bring you peace.
And you know, I hope that you wrote down the
information that doctor Will gave you about having that sup
poor system somebody there that can actually understand what the
doctor is telling or anything else. But also begin incorporating
(31:39):
the tools into your daily routines.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
Practice the breathing.
Speaker 1 (31:43):
Technique, complete the journal props that doctor Will was talking
about about, journally and remember, if this episode has helped you,
please share it with someone who might be excuse me,
who might be see there go again, excuse me, finish
that might be facing their own medical anxiety. Sometimes knowing
(32:06):
that we're not alone and our fears is a first
step towards curage. So trust your process, Your rebirth is happening.
You are so much more supported.
Speaker 2 (32:16):
Than you know. So until October, my beautiful.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
People, Yes, have an amazing and amazing few This has
been an amazing series and an amazing season.
Speaker 2 (32:33):
So again, check the Wheel.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
Thank you to my beautiful listeners and I will see
y'all tomorrow for transfer Tuesday, I see y'all, so have
a good one. Thank you for joining us on this
journey of discovering and empowerment here at the Season and
Silp Love Podcast. Remember, embracing self love is a continuous
journey and we're so.
Speaker 2 (32:55):
Glad to have you with us.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
So if you enjoy it today's episode, please leave us
at review and don't forget to join our community on
Facebook at Season and Self Love connect with like minded
individuals who are also on their self love journey. Now,
if you have any questions or topics that you'd like
for us to explore, we'd love to hear from you.
Email us at Seasonosseelflove at gmail dot com and let your.
Speaker 2 (33:20):
Voice be heard.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
So until the next time, take a moment for yourself
today and remember you are worthy of love, joy, and
all the beautiful things that life has to offer.
Speaker 2 (33:32):
A love
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!