I think of each of you as friends, so just like I would with a good friend…here’s a mind dump and an update on life and work and things like that.
I’m currently writing this post from my airplane seat as we are flying from Boston to Atlanta for a wedding. Every so often I get a direct message on Instagram or an email asking me how I’m managing my flight anxiety since I’ve shared that with you guys on social media. Well, I really haven’t been managing it that well until before this flight I’m currently sitting on. I feel like I made some progress this flight. For the past several month (years?) I just tell myself I’ll breathe, pray, and think my through the anxiety. But I found that none of that was really working because I would fight my anxiety the entire flight…especially on take off. And trying to not feel anxious and resisting those anxious feeling actually made me more anxious. And then I was reading up on this theory and found that’s what a lot of therapists said too so I’m going with it.
So I decided I was going to accept my anxiety and observe those feelings instead of fighting them as they came. Hmmm, great idea Robyn since you teach clients to use this skill when eating foods or amounts of food that make them really anxious. So that’s what I did. I felt the anxiety coming as I boarded the plane and I repeated to myself, “I’m feeling myself getting anxious, take some deep breaths.” Then I felt myself even more anxious as we were about to take off and even more so while we were taking off and climbing and I told myself, “I feel my heart racing and my palms sweating. That’s ok. I’m use to this feeling. Take deep breaths. Remember this is the safest way ever to travel. The odds of anything happening are virtually zero, Robyn.” And then I kept deep breathing and just letting the anxious thoughts and feelings wash over me and repeated those things. Did I still feel anxious? YES. But far less distressed than I have in the past. I’ve had panic attacks on airplanes. My anxiety didn’t get this intense until a couple years ago. I realize I could probably get a prescription for Xanax, but I really wanted to try learning to manage this on my own first. I feel encouraged after this flight. My anxiety is a little better when Nick is with me because I know we’ll die together (just being honest here) but I’m almost glad him being there doesn’t take the anxiety away because I need to learn to manage it on my own.
Ok onto happier thoughts. I recently began pursing my CEDRN (Certified Eating Disorder Registered Nurse) credential through the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (IADEP) and I’m really excited about that. I might down the road get my CEDRD – which sounds kind of insane because it’s a big time investment to do both and I don’t think anyone has decided to do that – but I really would love to supervise RDs in the future. I’m starting with the CEDRN first because there’s a huge need for medically focused NPs to be certified and I want to help bridge that gap. So there’s that.
We’re finally settling in here in Boston which happened faster than I expected. So that’s been really nice since it feels like we’ve been in limbo for a really long time between the transition out of New York and into Boston. Being the “new person” isn’t my favorite thing ever, but in order to be the familiar person you gotta start with being the new person right?
I realized the other day I’ve only taken the T (Boston’s version of a subway) here once. Not intentionally, like I’m incapable of taking the T, it’s just that everything here is so much closer together and our main people live within a mile walking distance. I don’t mind walking, it’s actually what I love most about urban living, so if it’s a 30 minute walk or less you can always find me walking. If it’s longer than a couple miles than wherever I’m going is outside the main city area and I just drive. We use to bike around the city in New York (or take the subway) because the city biking system was literally on almost every block but the biking stations aren’t that abundant in Boston. We might buy some road bikes when the weather warms up to take out on longer weekend rides so maybe I’ll bike more then, but really walking is so stress free for me. I know exactly how long it will take and traffic doesn’t exist. The fact that I can walk pretty much anywhere in 15 minutes has my cortisol levels plummeting – the New York subway was 60% of my stress. I’m not sure how long we’ll be able to live in this central location since our apartment is small, but it’s the perfect size for a couple years so for now I’m soaking it up.
When people ask me how I started a private practice, my answer is…I just did. I wouldn’t recommend starting how I started – I tend to be more impulsive, less planned out and more learn as I go when it comes to these sorts of things – so I guess it worked out in the end, but I could have avoided a lot of headache and wasted time the first few years if I just took a step back to iron out some details first. But oh well, I feel like I learned a ton the way I did it. But I do love the mentor calls I get to do with students and other professionals because I really enjoy helping them not make the mistakes I did lol. But here we are six years later and I’m so thankful for each of you and the people working alongside me that has made this whole thing possible. Most days, I feel insecure about my ability to lead a team. I never thought I’d be in this position and I’m often wondering…am I caring for my people enough? Am I supporting them enough? Encouraging them enough? Making them feel valued? Making them feel motivated and excited about this mission we’re on? I have no idea what I’m doing… am I even good at this? I’ve realized feeling like that when you’re really new at something is normal. So I think those feelings will get better.
I’ve finished all the content for a course I’m creating on bridging the gap between clinical nutrition and intuitive eating and Health at Every Size. I did a similar talk last fall but I’ve revamped a lot of the content. I want to get it approved for CEUs so that’s my next step. And I want to keep it affordable. We’re going to be talking about how you bring intuitive eating and Health at Every Size into the clinical setting when you’re working with people who have chronic disease, food allergies, autoimmune disease, GI issues and other health diagnoses. So look out for that by Memorial Day – hopefully sooner, but I have no idea how NP job stuff will pan out so I don’t want to create a tight deadline 🙂
And lastly, rosé season is here. Cheers to that people.
Absolutely LOVE the sound of the course that bridges intuitive eating and treatment for autoimmune and other issues. I have graves, Hashimotos and IbS and have to limit my diet quite a bit to minimize symptoms (in addition to conventional meds. It can feel really restrictive and be a bit of a downer to be honest. I feel jealous when I see people being able to eat a much wider ‘intuitive’ diet. So anything that can help people like me would be great! 😊
I hope you enjoy the course and I’ve loved writing the content!!
I have been talking with my husband about intuitive eating and immediately connected how the principals apply to almost everything in life! It’s about listening to our own mind and body’s needs (in all areas). What you practiced on the plane goes right along with mindfulness and can be super helpful for anxiety. They have some great apps if you are interested. I like Smiling Minds which has meditations for kids and adults that are simple and easy to listen to. I have a REALLY hard time just quieting my mind, but even taking the time to do a short mindful meditation really helps my anxiety. I tell clients that it’s important to practice before you actually need it, otherwise it won’t work as well. It’s like playing in a championship basketball game without putting in the practice time to help you perform. Stress management often occurs OUTSIDE of the actual stressor so that the brain is more likely to be able to use a helpful pathway when faced with actual stress.
Oh I will have to check out that app! And I love thinking about intuitive living that encompasses all aspects. Yes yes yes, practice is so so helpful in learning the skills!
I appreciate your honesty and mind dumps.
Heart emoji!!!!
Julie
🙂
Girl, thats so exciting about the certification! Love how you’re always learning and expanding! Also, yes yes, anxiety is all about stopping fighting it. What helps me a lot is visualizing the anxiety as like a cute dog within me thats growling (and causing my anxiety) just because its trying to protect me from possible danger. And so what I do is I don’t yell at the dog or try to shoo it away; I gently calm it down and convince it there’s no real danger. But it almost feels better that I know it’s there then, cause it’s a kind of protector. LOL I know this sounds crazy, but ya know 😉
haha I’ll think of cute dogs 🙂
Love the course idea! I’d be completely interested as I work primarily with diabetics daily in the clinic I am at.Very impressive!
hope you sign up and find it helpful 🙂
I can one up going down with your husband. I feel that way when my crew of 5 are all together on the plane. And when I was pregnant it gave me peace to know if I something happened to me I’d at least have the baby with me when I got to heaven. Oh the mind of an anxious person LOL (: It always made me feel better to hear/read the “me too” stories for anxiety. I have a webpage I love that lists all the symptoms of anxiety. That alone has helped me a ton with panic attacks. I just remind myself that it’s totally normal, just the anxiety causing it & that helps calm me down. And I think of the turbulence as the same as going down a bumpy road in a car.
your mind can ease the anxiety in the craziest ways. It is totally normal and we just need to learn to cope. Everything you said is so helpful.
^^^^yes to reminding myself turbulence= bumpy road. A few more tricks help me to get through. 1. Being told by a pilot that pilots put their own lives first – they don’t want to do anything that jeopardizes the safety of the flight.. 2. Airplanes can withstand MUCH more turbulence than a pilot would ever fly though. 3. “Thousands of airplanes take off in worse weather conditions every single day.” Repeat for duration of flight. Also, never fly Allegiant Airlines…did you see 60 Minutes this week?!!
CEDRN is sooooo needed. Ugh – some of the Nclex questions I’ve seen about eating disorders leave me thinking, it’s no wonder RNs are so uninformed. The one in my mind in particular was insinuating that bulimia is not connected to malnutrition… anyway good for you!!!
oh heaven help – yes much needed!
So glad you’re settling into a church, we moved across country 18 months ago and our church has been the thing that has helped me feel most rooted here. And my best tip for making friends deeper than surface level (not that you asked or you haven’t made friends before, but this move is the first time i’ve successfully built deep friendships on my own as an adult so maybe i’m Not the only one) is to risk being vulnerable first, so people know they’re safe with you.
And yay for progress with flight anxiety!! 😊
Yes I’m alll about vulnerability!!! Wishing you all the best as you transition too 🙂
Happy for you that your anxiety is getting a bit better! I’ve started feeling more anxious myself when traveling (oddly, not during the actual flight part but during the planning/packing part…). Talked about it with a friend who suggested what it sounds like you’re doing. Accepting the feelings and analyzing what the triggers are. Glad to hear it worked a bit for you on this trip and hope it continues to get better!
Awesome to hear about all of the plans you have in the works!
hoping yours gets better too! xx
You are so inspiring Robyn! I love how you are always learning, growing yourself, and growing your business to reach more people. Hope you enjoyed Atlanta!
love to you Julianne!
I can’t wait for the new e-course! I took your last one on clinical nutrition/IE/HAES and it was so helpful! I find it challenging because the practice setting I’m in doesn’t allow for as much counseling/education because of our patient population and even in patients who we do have a chance to educate we have a manager who likes to micro-manage and would definitely criticize if we didn’t provide wt loss diet education to certain patients. It’s definitely very frustrating but an area of opportunity to educate fellow RDs!
So glad you found it helpful! This talk is a bit more in depth and provides more information and more practical implementations that I hope you find helpful if you decide to take it! I feel you on the frustration!
It’s amazing because I think you really learned so much through starting your practice that is enabling you to teach so many others out there that want to do something similar. I know you’re probably one of the biggest inspirations out there for starting a practice Robyn; I tend to be a bit more impulsive like you too, and I’m just humbled how God works things out. It’s been fun to watch you grow and your practice grow and expand with so many more ladies that share the same heart for food freedom, happy movement, rest, healing, and intuitive living.
Also, I know what you mean in a small way by struggling with anxiety on the flight. Especially when I went to Uganda 4 years ago, I was anxious the whole time about the flight going down, not seeing my family again, but wow, the Lord constantly calmed my heart. It is so true that we need to acknowledge the anxiety and not suffocate it, and I’m amazed at how you’re working through it.
I’m happy you found a church; I’ve been thinking a lot about how that would feel because i’ve been at the same church for 17 years of my life. I know I might move some day, and it scares me a bit to meet a new church family, but it’s amazing how God’s family is all over the world, so it’s neat to me that you’re incorporating into a new part of His family.
Love your life (and eats) updates! Keep them coming. <3
Can you give some more details about this intuitive eating? I am really curious about how it could work. How do you distinguish it from cravings?