).png)
The Place for Connection
Welcome to The Place for Connection, where I believe that connection is the CURE – the podcast where soul meets science, and healing takes centre stage.
Hosted by clinical & forensic psychologist, breathwork practitioner, and all-around vibe curator, Melissa Beaton, this podcast dives deep into the art and science of connection – to yourself, your community, and the big beautiful world around you.
Each episode is a juicy mix of expert wisdom and heartfelt stories from psychologists, bodyworkers, doulas, yogis, spiritual guides, breathwork facilitators, doctors, nurses, and more. We’re here to inspire, uplift, and get real about what it takes to live a connected, purpose-driven life.
This isn’t your average self-help podcast. It’s a space where radical authenticity meets practical tools, where curiosity replaces judgment, and where the real work feels less like a chore and more like a calling.
Why listen?
Because you’ll leave every episode feeling seen, heard, and ready to take the next step in your own healing journey. Whether you’re a professional, a healer, someone seeking growth, or just here for the good vibes – this is the place for you.
Want to work with Melissa?
Reach out via the website contact page at www.zensohouse.com or instagram @zensohouse
The Place for Connection
"Your Body Isn't the Problem, It's the Solution" with Dr. Anthea Todd
What if your body isn't betraying you, but actually trying to send you a message?
Dr Anthea Todd, founder of Female Fundamentals and best-selling author of "What's My Body Telling Me," joins us for a fascinating exploration of body wisdom and the four fundamental pillars that can transform your health when conventional medicine falls short.
Drawing from her background in chiropractic care and dual master's degrees in women's health and reproductive medicine, Dr Todd shares her personal and professional journey of discovering what happens when we get caught in what she calls "the space between" – where you're not sick enough for medical intervention, yet far from feeling vital and alive. It's in this space where so many women struggle with symptoms like fatigue, skin issues, hair loss, and mood disorders despite being told all their tests look "normal."
The conversation takes unexpected turns as we delve into practical strategies for reconnecting with your body's intelligence. Learn why doing things that genuinely make you feel alive is more important than ticking wellness boxes, how morning and evening sunlight exposure dramatically impacts your hormones, why electrolytes might be more important than that supplement routine, and how balancing blood sugar could be the missing key to your energy and mood issues.
Dr Todd explains complex concepts with refreshing clarity – from how ketosis generates 400 times more cellular energy than carbohydrate metabolism to how our "default mode network" keeps us trapped in unhelpful stories about ourselves. Her perspective on symptoms as messages rather than problems to eliminate offers a paradigm shift in how we approach health challenges.
Whether you're battling unexplained symptoms, feeling overwhelmed by contradictory health advice, or simply seeking to optimize your wellbeing, this episode delivers both scientific insights and practical wisdom to help you tune into what your body is really telling you.
Connect with Dr Anthea Todd on Instagram @dr.antheatodd or visit her website www.femalefundamentals.com.au to learn more about her work, hair testing, and group programs designed to help you implement the fundamentals in your daily life.
Our host is Melissa Beaton, Clinical & Forensic Psychologist, Founder of Zenso House.
Would you like to work with Mel?
Check out her website: www.zensohouse.com
Or follow her on instagram @zensohouse
If you enjoyed this episode please leave a review & share it with your friends, it helps us spread the word to more people. And more than anything, thank you for listening and for your support!
Hello and welcome to the Place for Connection podcast, where I believe connection is the cure. Today I'm joined by the incredible Dr Anthea Todd, founder of Female Fundamentals and best-selling author of what's my Body Telling Me. Dr Anthea Todd has a background in chiropractics, anda, dual master's degrees in women's health medicine and reproductive medicine. She's built her career on helping people to reconnect with their bodies, empowering them to take control of their health in a fun, approachable way, so I'm super grateful to you for coming on. I know that time is often our big like most, I guess, precious resource, so I'm really appreciative. But I guess what I'm really curious about is what personal experiences led you to writing this book what's my Body Telling Me and really pursuing, I guess, a career in helping particularly women come back to the wisdom of their bodies.
Speaker 2:Well, thanks so much for having me on the podcast. Should I say, yeah, there's a few things that led me to writing it, professionally and also personally. So, professionally, I became a chiropractor first, and I was out when I was in my early twenties, and both my parents are chiropractors, so I knew what to expect. I grew up with it. My older brother was one, my younger sister's subsequently become one, my younger brother's just about to become one, so I knew what to expect, and well, at least I thought I did. And then when I was out working, I would be seeing a lot of these patients that happened to be mostly women that would come to me and say I'm feeling really tired, even though I've slept throughout the night, or my skin's breaking out, and I'm in my 20s and I didn't have any acne when I was in puberty. What's going on here? Or my hair seems to be falling out, or I've got this chronic iron deficiency, and no matter how many times I get an infusion, it just seems to be coming back. And I'm not vegan or vegetarian and I'm not losing blood. So what the hell's going on?
Speaker 2:So I was doing what I was trained to do as a chiropractor and treat people how I was trained and then, when I couldn't, I referred them out to their GP and what I found was that when I did that, a lot of the times they'd do all the tests and, thankfully, the tests would come back and say that everything's fine and everything's normal. So from a GP and medical perspective, they'd done their job and from my perspective as a chiro, I'd done my job in quotation marks, because I'd referred out but what I found was there was these women that were lost in this space between. There was no part of healthcare that was there to actually catch these people where you're not bad enough to need medication or surgery, but you also don't feel alive either. And that's where a lot of us get confused with this common and normal where so many of us feel tired. When we wake up, we feel like our hair's falling out and we go and get all of this hair-strengthening shampoo or we're thinking, okay, what am I meant to do in this health and wellness industry? Someone's saying do a detox thing. Maybe I'll go and study, breath, work myself, because that'll help me regulate my nervous system. Like, what am I actually meant to be fucking doing in this space between? And this is like sort of where that this trillion dollar wellness industry has come about. And it is overwhelming and confusing when we look for the answer outside of ourself, because there's always going to be someone that's trying to sell us something and there's so many tools that are amazing. But when we look for it outside of us for the answer and we're not able to connect inside for the answer, it's overwhelming, it's confusing. We feel like we're wasting so much money and time. So that's one side of it.
Speaker 2:And then the other side of how I came to this was that, personally, I thought that I was so in tune with my body because growing up we were talking about this off air. Before growing up, as I said, both my parents chiropractors. We would be playing the guess the body part game. We would be learning about the anatomy of the ear. When we'd be on family holidays, I'd get up early because dad would be up early. I'd be doing that with him, so it was just a normal thing. I'd be able to point out oh yeah, that person has a thyroid issue when I was like 10. So this was just stuff that I was like. I know the body, I know it, I love it. I've watched the six rounds of all the seasons of Grey's Anatomy, which is a lot of time for talking about the preciousness of time. So I thought I knew it. But then I had.
Speaker 2:When I was in my 20s, when I first started working, I started to get acne when I hadn't had it before. I gained about 20 kilos not 20 kilos, sorry, 10 kilos and I was like why is this happening? I haven't really changed much about what I'm eating or how I'm exercising and I started to just feel really fatigued and tired and all these things and I'm like, oh well, yeah, I've started a new job, like of course this is happening. But I was also like this doesn't feel normal. So I went and I was studying the two women's health master's degrees and then I was going to GPs and doing all the tests the internal ultrasounds, the fun blood tests, all the things and like you don't have any issues. I'm like I know that I do. I know that my body is telling me something's going on and you can't give me the answers and I'm like so many women feel like this and it's not okay. But the system wasn't helping us.
Speaker 2:So I think there was a component of. I saw it in other people and then I also realised, oh, I thought I knew and was connected to my body, but now really being connected and studying the medical side, studying the functional side, so I also studied some modules in functional medicine and also being a chiropractor and then also doing energetics as well. So I started working actually with a kinesiologist and she was helping me through a lot. She's amazing, but she really, really helped me be able to pay attention to the things that you can't see, that are creating what you can, which is what I think of as energetics. So, yeah, that sort of led me to create this culmination of helping people. Just go, you know your body has the answers. Listen to it and then it will tell you what you need, not your algorithm, not some other person that's going to tell you, like you will know. So I really want to help people understand what their body is telling them.
Speaker 1:Like that process of slowing down and really noticing what's happening inside. For people who aren't familiar with your work, could you explain the four female fundamentals and what they kind of mean?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So whenever I'm listening to my body or helping someone else listen to their body, I'm always using medical, functional, energetic, because medicine is great when you need it. Yes, I was explaining this analogy to someone the other day. I was thinking, you know, when your toilet's broken at your house, if you called the painter and they said there's nothing wrong, is that right? You'd be like, oh no, I called the wrong person for the issue that I have. So when we're always going well medicine, they're going to know, and if they say there's nothing wrong, then there isn't. That's backwards, it's just the wrong type of person and help for the issue that you have.
Speaker 2:So this is where I'm always listening in a medical, functional and energetic way to whatever the symptom is. So, in terms of the fundamentals, this is where the functional lens comes in, because medical is you've got something that you need medication or surgery for. Functional is, you are lost in this wonderful space between, which is really super confusing. Am I meant to be doing this nervous system stuff? What about this detox thing? What about this green juice? What about gut dysbiosis? What about hormone testing? What about, like it's a trillion-dollar industry for a reason, right? So this is where, after all of my learnings, I'm like you know, actually, yes, we can think about oh, it's a thyroid issue, or maybe it's a mold thing, or maybe there's hormones, a hormonal thing, or maybe it's. I've been diagnosed with POTS or endometriosis or polycystic ovarian syndrome, or give me a label for whatever the bunch of random symptoms are that I have, that I don't necessarily need medication or surgery to survive. That's this space.
Speaker 2:So what I have realized is that, okay, yes, we can have all of these different symptoms, but really, when we give our cells what they need, our body knows what to do. So, if our ovarian cells have what they need, if our brain cells have what they need, if our gut cells have what they need, if our liver cells have what they need, we're not trying to pigeonhole and go down different rabbit holes, should I say, of caring for specific parts of our body, because our hormones are linked to our immune system and it's linked to our digestive system. It's not just a gut thing and when you fix the gut thing, then everything's going to be fixed. It's a focus on your cells. Give your cells the fundamental things they need and then move out of your body's way. Your ovarian cells know what to do.
Speaker 2:Your brain cells know what to do, your liver cells know what to do. Just give yourselves what they need. So that's the four fundamentals. So that's the four fundamentals, so that's your nervous system, metabolism, nutrients and blood sugars. So when we care for them, our cells know what to do.
Speaker 2:And then all of a sudden you're like, oh my gosh, my hormonal stuff started to settle down. Okay, my immune system, I'm not so reactive anymore. I don't have this histamine thing that's starting to come out, or this MCAS or POTS or all of these different things. So when or if anyone is listening to this and you're thinking I am this basket case of, I can't tell you how many people come to me and they go. Oh, good luck trying to figure me out. I'm so complex, I've got all of these things.
Speaker 2:So that's interesting, because last I checked you're only in one body, like you don't have 10 different bodies. Everything's related and it's just you miss the little warning signs, which I think of as those energetic signs, and then we ignored it and we ignored it and we ignored it and then all of a sudden they got louder and louder. And then we start to get physical signs that sometimes we unfortunately confuse as normal because they're so common, like period pain, or like when you're washing your hair in the shower and you've got huge clumps of hair and you put it on the screen to make sure it doesn't go down the drain, like how many women do that?
Speaker 1:I do that so many people do that.
Speaker 2:If you don't, you probably clogged your drain and you need to call the plumber, right. So it's about really going. Okay, when you're lost in the space between, look at your fundamentals. Don't worry about trying to find a diagnosis. Worry about well, this is a new thing, go see a doctor. Okay, they've ruled everything out. Awesome, now just focus on your fundamentals. Don't worry about going down different rabbit holes or different things. Focus on your fundamentals and your body will give you feedback. Your symptoms will start to fall away.
Speaker 1:I really I met you through a program I was doing and I remember you came on and you spoke to us even just about chemicals in our cleaning products and I went home and I changed everything in our home and even the products I was using on my face and I guess these are kind of like the small changes people can make right daily to improve their fundamentals. For patients who I might see like who present with anxiety, depression, I see a lot of people with POTS and I guess I have my own understanding of how that operates neuro physiologically. But I'm curious, I'm really interested in POTS and how, perhaps based on the four female fundamentals, how things like POTS can be targeted through the four female fundamentals.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so POTS for anyone listening is postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, which basically means when you stand up you change, change your posture, your blood pressure, your heart rate goes up and then your body goes into pretty much a sympathetic response.
Speaker 2:It's almost like standing up or gravity is too much of a stress for your body. So there's so many people that I see and you'll probably see online they're like oh, I have MCAS, this histamine thing that's going on, and I have POTS and all this is happening and a lot of it is a dysregulated nervous system is underpinning a lot of it. But they're all related. So if we think about your fundamentals, all the things that you get told in health and wellness in a roundabout way are trying to help one or several of the fundamentals. That's what they're trying to do in a roundabout way are trying to help one or several of the fundamentals. That's what they're trying to do. So when you remove xenoestrogens from your cleaning products or you remove plastics, you do the things that's a nutrient, fundamental, like you're helping to support that. So if we look at what's the core, one thing and this is the interesting thing that I'm really trying to solidify down for each of the fundamentals, like what's the one main fundamental thing for each fundamental? Yeah?
Speaker 2:to do yeah, because we can be like, oh, I see so many people, well, I'm doing the ice baths and I exercise and I eat the protein and I do all the things that everyone's telling me and I still have this autoimmune thyroid condition or still have pots. Like. I'm so much more healthier, yeah, than my friend that vapes on the weekends and just like drinks and does whatever. And they don't have fucking pots. Yeah, they don't react to pollen in the air. They don't do like what the hell? I've cleaned out everything.
Speaker 2:So this is where we can look at one thing for each of the fundamentals. So, with your nervous system, as you know, there's a lot of things you can do for nervous system. The thing that I focus on and the thing that actually helped my skin because I, with I mentioned before, my skin was the main symptom for me I did naturopath acupuncture, different medications, different skin care, cutting out dairy, gluten, alcohol, gut stuff, doing different supplements, doing targeted supplements, like you name it. I freaking did it, yeah, yeah, and some of the things would. It would clear it up, but I wouldn't be confident that my skin would be clear.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'd be like, oh okay, this is good, but I need this thing, and if I don't have that, then, oh my gosh, my skin's going to get worse. Or if I accidentally use the wrong skincare, or I'm staying at a friend's house and I use their thing in the shower, then my skin's going to break out. Or if I don't get my makeup off in the right time, then my skin. I just didn't feel confident that my skin was going to be resilient and vital until my nervous system fundamental. I thought I was caring for it. I was doing the meditation and the yoga and the breath work. I became a breath work facilitator. For goodness sake, right. So when I'm saying this and if you're listening, it's like I've done it as well, I know, yeah yeah.
Speaker 2:But the thing that helped me was doing something that makes me feel alive. That's where I changed my whole vision for my day. It's like you only get one life one. So, okay, well, I'm gonna do the things that make me feel alive, and if this doesn't make me feel alive, I'm not gonna do it. So that was my, because you know, energetically, skin is what it's a boundary. If your boundaries are a bit leaky, what happens? Your skin's going to tell you.
Speaker 2:So I thought I was getting way better at boundaries, but then I was like, oh, okay, I need to change my what is what? Do I actually really want to feel internally? And that's my responsibility to cultivate that. So now that's, my internal compass is okay. Does this feel alive? And I'm not 100% of it. And sometimes there's stuff that I'm doing and I'm like I know I have to do this. And if there's stuff that you have to do, I go how could I make this feel more alive? I have to do it, but how could it feel really good? And that's a lot of the times. I think we're doing all the nervous system things, but we're doing it to say that we've done it. Yeah.
Speaker 2:It's like did you actually feel good when you're doing that? Like, just do stuff that makes you feel good, just do that, because then your nervous system is like, oh, thank you. Yeah, like, just do that. So there's lots of things you can do, but just start with that. And if that is EFT tapping, that's the thing that makes you feel good, do it. If going to a breath work is the thing that makes you feel good and alive, do it. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Or if it's like you know what, instead of going for a walk on the beach today, I'm going to get on my bike and I'm going to ride down. That's what I did this morning. I'm like that feels more alive. I want to do that, so don't necessarily stay in a How's that working for you?
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I really like that and the flexibility to do what feels good moment to moment right.
Speaker 2:And that is listening to your body. Yes, You're not listening to a checklist. Yes, you're listening to what your body is saying. Little things of like oh, I'm really thirsty, I should get some water.
Speaker 2:Okay, have some water, or I'd actually prefer some sparkling water. Oh, have that. It's like your body's like thanks, you listen to me, little tiny things of just listening, and then your nervous system's like, oh, okay, I don't have to keep giving you all these things. And then your nervous system's on edge and a little thing like changing gravity makes your heart rate go into a stress because it thinks changing your gravity is a stress because your threshold is so minuscule. Yeah, so that's where that's one componentS. And then we can think about metabolism and metabolism.
Speaker 2:A lot of people think if you've got a slow one, then you're unlucky. If you've got a fast one, then you're lucky and you can eat whatever you want. Metabolism is more so when you think about it like the engine of a car. It's how well your cells can generate energy. So if you drive your car really well and fast around the block, it's going to get hot. If you can't and it's like not really turning over, it's going to be cold. So if you're someone that's always cold, you've probably got a slow metabolism. If you're cold and you wake up feeling tired and your hair's slow to grow and it falls out and you're like I've got dry skin, my wounds don't heal very fast, I get sick quite easily it's like you.
Speaker 2:You probably got a slow one, and then we can have a fast, which is the opposite. You feel hotter, you feel more clammy. You might notice that your hair grows a little bit more. But yeah, there's different things that can happen with that. So the one thing that I would actually say for metabolism which might surprise you is sunrise and sunset.
Speaker 2:So there's circadian rhythm, there's all the things that people talk about, but think about the different wavelengths of sun. They're hitting your eyes, your optic nerve in your eyes, and that goes straight where your optic nerve crosses. It's called the optic chiasm. In your brain, it hits right where your pituitary gland is, hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis. It's the main thing that controls your hormones. So one of the main things that help my skin also doing things that make me feel alive, and getting out in the sunrise, sunset, because you're getting all those wavelengths and it's actually recharging your cells.
Speaker 2:So think about sunrise, sunset as the ignition to a car. Good luck trying to start your engine without actually the key to have the spark. So light does that. We need it. We need sunlight. Sunlight isn't the devil. In Australia, a lot of people think that sunlight is really bad for you because you can get melanomas and cancers. We're not going to go into that conversation today, but it is very safe. Morning, sunrise, sunset yes, the stuff that burns you is UVB light. That also makes vitamin D. Vitamin D is an immune regulator. It's actually really more of a hormone. It does so many amazing things for your body. So, sunrise, sunset, even if you wake up feeling exhausted, trust me, just start doing that. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and then nutrients. So nutrients there's so many different things that you can do right, but one of the main things is electrolytes. If you're only going to do one thing, electrolytes are really, really beneficial. If you get a sugar-free electrolyte, amazing. So I used to talk about coconut water with a crack of salt and then some lemon, which is really great because it has vitamin C. Coconut water is really rich in potassium, and then you have the crack of sea salt for that sodium level as well, and that's great. But it can throw off your other fundamental, which is your blood sugars, which I haven't touched on yet, because coconut water is really sugary, which is good, but not if it's putting you on a sugar rollercoaster.
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah, I'm a bit of a sugar addict, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So that's where the other fundamental comes in. So that's where, if you get a sugar-free electrolyte a lot of the times, if you're someone that's like oh, I eat breakfast and then I'm hungry before lunch, are you hungry or is it that you're bored, that you're sad, that you feel guilty, that you have something and the food's giving you that, or is it actually that your electrolytes are low? So try having a sugar-free electrolyte and see it's like oh, actually I wasn't hungry at all, I was dehydrated and my cells needed that because electrolytes if we're talking about your cells, how they work, electrolytes are the things that move in and out of the cell so the cell can function. So your ovaries need that to be able to make hormones. Your gut cells need that, your brain cells need that. Every cell in your body needs them. That's literally how they work. So replenish them and see If you sweat a lot as well. If you're going in saunas or we live in humid Queensland, not so much anymore, thank goodness, being a Victorian, I'm glad to not be sitting here sweating. If you sweat a lot throughout the day, you need to also replenish additional salts to electrolytes. Yeah, and then the final one is the blood sugars, so blood sugars. The best thing is you're trying to help your body be able to burn ketones.
Speaker 2:So a lot of people talk about the keto diet. You can be on a keto diet but not in ketosis. So ketosis isn't a diet, it's a physiological state. You're either in it or you're not. It's sort of like you're pregnant or you're not. There's a lady, Courtney Hunt, who's a doctor in America. She talks about it. She's like you're either pregnant or you're not. It's sort of like you're pregnant or you're not. There's a lady, courtney Hunt, who's a doctor in America. She talks about it. She's like you're either pregnant or you're not. You're either in ketosis or you're not.
Speaker 2:So ketosis is when your body is burning fat as fuel. It's either burning fat that you've eaten or your own fat, depending on if you're in a calorie surplus or not. That's it. When you burn fat as fuel, your cells generate 400 times the amount of energy Wow. So if you're someone that's like I'm sleeping eight hours, ten hours, and I wake up exhausted oh, it's a mold thing, it's a sinus thing, it's a whatever try getting your body into ketosis and see. So sometimes that can be difficult for a lot of people. Other times people can get into it really quick. There's a lot of different variables for that, but just trying having and swapping your breakfast to a fat and protein-rich one and it's three to one ratio, so three times the amount of fat to protein. Okay, which seems weird because everyone's like fat, don't eat fat. But fat is good because that's ketones.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And when you have that, your blood sugars are nice and stable across the day. They're not going up, down, up, down, up down, because a lot of the times when we have anxiety, depression, those things, it can be actually related to our blood sugars or it's like ADHD, all of these things like I'm just overstimulated. What happens when you give a kid sugar? Yes, yeah, like if you, and it's not just calories, because the same amount of calories that are in a can of Coke is in two boiled eggs. You give your child a can of Coke for breakfast or you give them two boiled eggs. Give your child a can of coke for breakfast or you give them two boiled eggs. What's their behavior going to be like? Yeah, extremely different oh yeah yeah.
Speaker 2:So this is where the actual there's calories and there's also the content of the food. So if you forget everything, nervous system, do something that makes you feel alive. Do that, even if everyone's oh, it was on my checklist to do the thing. If your, your checklist is making you feel crap, don't do it. Do something that makes you feel alive, or do the things that you have to do in a way that makes you feel more alive. Then your metabolism sunrise, sunset Ideal if you can get both. When you hear the birds singing, you know that there's this UVA light that you can't see, so they can see it. So it's like, oh, that stuff's the good stuff that's charging up my cells. I want that. Yeah, bare eyes too. I forgot to say that. So if you wear contacts, ideally don't wear them or glasses, so like if you really can't see, make sure you're sitting down. You're not walking around.
Speaker 2:And then your metabolism oh sorry, that was metabolism. And then nutrients sugar-free electrolytes. It's not going to stuff up your blood sugars at the same time and give your cells the good stuff. And then, for blood sugars, just simply fat and protein-based breakfast and see how you feel.
Speaker 1:I remember when you spoke to our group last time, you talked a lot about the amount of protein that women tend to consume being quite inadequate in general, what are your thoughts about how women can start to integrate more protein into their diet in such a way to, I guess, improve their nutrient fundamentals?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think there's a, and this is what I write about in my book, and I'm always constantly learning as well. Yes, we don't typically eat enough protein. It's generally around 2.2 grams per kilo of body weight is the target. Caveat here, though if you are overweight or struggling to lose weight, you're like I've done the whole calorie deficit and I didn't lose any weight. That's telling me that your cells sort of think about again your engine, your metabolism being like the engine of a car. If you have a brand new car, the engine ideally doesn't have any issues with it. Otherwise, send it back right so it's working really well. If you have a 20, 30, 40-year-old car and you've done nothing to the engine, you're probably. Even if both of them have a 60-litre tank and you're driving both of them at 100 kilometres an hour, one's going to be more efficient than the other, right, you're going to get a different distance. Yeah.
Speaker 2:So 60 litres is like sort of having the same amount of calories. You get a different output because the cells are like, hey, you haven't supported me, so if you're someone, that is going okay, I've had the same amount of calories, I'm in a calorie deficit, I'm not losing weight. That's a sign that your metabolism isn't working well. So you need to help your fundamentals. Do something that makes you feel alive, because that's going to actually support. We could get into the science of it.
Speaker 2:Your adrenal glands, your adrenal glands, aren't stressing so much and then, when they're stressed, what happens is they release this hormone called RT3, which is called reverse T3, which blocks your thyroid from working well. Your thyroid, when it's not working very well and it's slow, doesn't want you to use that energy. It wants to conserve it and hold it as fat. So it's like, oh my gosh. I've done all these things and my doctor's even tested my thyroid levels. They don't typically test that one because it's not Medicare covered and all the different things. So we really want to support all of those fundamentals. In terms of protein, yes, aiming for more, but if your cells aren't working well, what can happen is the protein can be converted into carbs in your body, so fats don't.
Speaker 2:So if you're someone that's like, okay, I'm getting all the protein and I'm still not losing the weight and all this is happening, then what could be a beneficial thing to do is go, okay, I'm going to get my body into the state of ketosis. And a way to know that for sure is you can get these ketone urine strips from the chemist. Get 50 of them in a pack for $10, and you wee on it like a pregnancy test and it's going to show you different colours. It's going to be oh, you've got ketones in your urine and you'll notice that you start to feel more energised because your body's burning ketones, which is 400 times the amount of energy than on carbs.
Speaker 1:Yeah, burning ketones, which is 400 times the amount of energy than on carbs. Yeah, I became a massive fasting nerd. I think it was last year and I was probably fasting a bit too much and I actually got depressed at one point Like. I think I had what people would call clinical depression and I've never really had that. I've had more energetic depression where perhaps I'm not aligned and I just get a little slump and then it shifts.
Speaker 1:But I actually went to my own psychologist at the time and I was like, and he just said to me he goes, how's the fasting going?
Speaker 2:Eat some food. Your body's telling you you're starving.
Speaker 1:It's like maybe some time for some carbohydrates Mel. So it's also interesting to see how, when we because I can take things too far Sometimes I can be like, oh yeah, this is really good and I'm really enjoying it, how you can also throw out your fundamentals too right If you're too gun high.
Speaker 2:Well, when the fasting I was the same when the fasting thing came out that was when I first started working as a chiropractor and I was like, okay, well, I'm going to do this intermittent fasting thing, so I won't eat from 7pm until 12pm the next day. And I was working from 7pm until 7pm with patients and seeing like 80 people a day and it was a lot to start out with and I would be so starving by the time lunch came around. I'd eat lunch and then I'd be like, okay, I'm going to have another lunch because I know I'm not going to be able to eat until then and I'm going to be starving, which is just. It was so stressful, didn't work. So if there is this, there is a really great reason for fasting because we need our body to have time where it's not digesting foods and it can clean and detoxify and do all those things. But if we're constantly eating food, then our body never actually can flip into ketosis. So we want it to be able to do that overnight time. So an easy way to think about that is when the sun's up, eat. When it's not, don't. So then you're naturally giving yourself a window of that. Now, obviously that's an intermittent fasting thing. That's not going into. Well, you're doing a three-day fast to trigger apoptosis and clean things.
Speaker 2:There's different reasons for different fasting, but if you're doing that stuff before you know, your body can get into ketosis. It's dangerous for your body. Your body's going to be like what the hell? Now I'm fasting and there's no food because, also, my cells haven't been trained to be able to burn my own fat, which is what's meant to happen when there's no food coming in, when you're actually fasting. So then you're like well, I feel depressed and starved, and now you starve in the land of plenty because you can't activate your fat cells. You know I'm doing this fasting thing but I'm gaining weight because your body's like what the hell? Where's the food coming in? I don't know where it is. I'm just going to hold on to it, hold on to everything, because we don't know when it's coming next, because you haven't trained your body to be able to be okay with burning fat yes, so this is why all of the fundamentals are important, and this is where paying attention to your body is really important.
Speaker 2:Even though everyone's telling you, fasting's the thing to do. Whatever the next trend is going to be is whatever it's going to be, but you just have to be able to go. Okay, yes, all of this stuff is happening outside. Can I actually connect to my body and what feels? Good for me, because the baseline is feeling good? I think a lot of people need to remember that. And then go okay, have I cared for my fundamentals? Good for me, because the baseline is feeling good. I think a lot of people need to remember that. Yes, and then go okay, have I cared for my fundamentals? Have I done those basic things? Okay, great, or maybe I haven't stopped going for these other things that are really fancy and Instagrammable. Just do the fundamental things, do them and then add the other stuff if you want to, because it feels nice, but that's not the stuff that's actually going to give your cells what they need.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I really appreciate your focus on the basics and not overcomplicating things In terms of how you would, I guess, approach someone who presented to you with anxiety or depression symptoms. In the context of the four female fundamentals, where would you tend to see a lot of, perhaps the cause of symptoms like anxiety and depression coming from?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So there's the yeah, let's do the functional side, and then there's the energetic side as well. So, from a nervous system perspective, if we're anxious, then we're thinking often about the future stuff, and if we're depressed, it's often that we're thinking about the past stuff. And you're a psychologist I'm not trying to take words out of your mouth, no, no, no. But having experienced both myself.
Speaker 1:I'm curious to hear your perspective right. Because I think as they come together, it can be even more rich and useful.
Speaker 2:Yes, I think, as they come together it can be even more rich and useful.
Speaker 1:Yes, definitely, I think different lenses have different ways of seeing things, and I myself have benefited from, like a multitude of approaches which is why yeah, yeah, I'm so curious about other people's ways of seeing things. Yes, yeah.
Speaker 2:So in terms of nervous system, often when I felt depressed or anxious, it's been because I'm not doing things that make me feel alive. But there's often a story that's attached to why I'm not doing them. I don't know what the right option is to do. I'm sort of like paralyzed and I'm sort of stuck in the past or stuck in the future and I'm not here right now. So, in terms of that, it's getting into your body in some way, shape or form, and it could be as simple as what can I see right now? Sometimes I imagine that my eyes are like a camera and all like my phone. It's out trying to take a video and all I can see is whatever's on the screen. So, okay, well, my brain is all I can see, whatever's in that. So that's helpful from a nervous system perspective. But in terms of what can actually be triggering that underneath the surface, blood sugars. If your blood sugars are dysregulated, if you're insulin resistant, then you're going to be on a sugar rollercoaster all the time. And also then you will be like, oh, I eat because I'm sad, I eat because I'm anxious, I eat because I'm all these things. So when you actually change to have more fats and proteins, less carbs. You're less on that sugar high. When you're burning ketones, your nervous system fires so much better. It's so much more regulated.
Speaker 2:I have a friend who was like a self-confessed chocoholic and ADHD and couldn't focus and amazing person, so successful in all the things that she does, but just a bit more sort of erratic and always thinking about. She always had to know what her next meal was going to be or plan different things around that and since going okay and she would always wake up extremely exhausted. She's like I'm tired, so I thought I was listening to my body and I'd just sleep more, and she just kept getting more tired and tired. I said, okay, this is going to suck, but I need you to get up for sunrise. She's like well, that's actually good, because if I miss the sunrise, I miss it, so I have to get up. I can't like delay it.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:I have to get up.
Speaker 2:Yes, so she had that and then also getting her body into ketosis and she's like focused oh, unreal, because ADHD is a label given to a bunch of different symptoms that you're experiencing. So we need to understand why those symptoms are coming out. And when you just look at, okay, let's focus on the fundamentals first and then let's see what happens. So let's just come back to that first and then maybe we do need other things, but let's just come here first, so that's where that can play out. And then, in terms of nutrients, a lot of the times when people have anxiety or depression, we can have a zinc and copper imbalance in our body.
Speaker 2:Okay, so something called pyroluria have you heard that before? Never. So it's called cryptopyroluria is the big fancy word. But basically, when our body breaks down our red blood cells, we produce these things called cryptopyrols as a byproduct. Okay, breaks down our red blood cells, we produce these things called cryptopyrroles as a byproduct. Okay, and these cryptopyrroles, we urinate them out and they are like a magnet for zinc and B6 in our body, yeah, it's a natural thing.
Speaker 2:Some of us produce more of these, so we become more deficient in zinc and B6. So a sign that you might be deficient in zinc can be that you get stretch marks and also you might get white spots. I've got a white spot on my fingernail here that you can see, so if you're seeing those things, it could be like oh okay, I'm actually lowered these levels and if you take zinc and b6 a specific combination of them dosage you will. If this is happening with you, you will typically notice a difference in your mood within three days wow, that that's unreal, isn't it?
Speaker 2:So this is where it's going. Oh, I'm actually giving my body the things that needs to create the serotonin and dopamine, because your body needs those minerals to be able to do it. Yes, and then you don't feel so crazy anymore. And also zinc and copper imbalances can lead to heavier periods in women when your copper's really high, and also immune system stuff. So you're like, oh, I'm the one that has endometriosis, or really heavy periods, painful periods, and I'm also anxious and depressed and I always get sick. Do you have all individual things? Or have you just not cared for the fundamentals and looked at that and then all of these other symptoms fall away, because your symptoms are just your body's way of saying I don have what I need and what your body needs is the fundamentals. Focus on that. And then the last one yet, blood sugars. So balancing the blood sugars is is a thing to look at for anxiety. But then when we look at the energetics, that's where it's like, with things you can't see, create what you can see. And I, without giving you too many different analogies, I think about every person, or everyone's brain, in terms of there's a body part, a story part and an action part, so a lot of neurology circles you'll hear now are starting to talk about this thing called the triple brain network, which is basically where you pull all these different hubs of the brain into different networks. So the technical terms for the body, the story and the action are salience network, which is the body? What's sort of important? Can I pay attention to what's actually happening in my body? Do I need to go to the toilet? I should probably get up and go to the toilet. Or what's my temperature? What are my iron levels, what are my hormones? Like all the things the feedback that part of our brain is getting. That's like the hypothalamus, the amygdala, the pituitary gland, that type of stuff. And then we have the action part of our brain. The action part of our brain is called the central executive network in this technical term, and that's where we take action. It's task, action stuff. So we have to focus on it to be able to do it. And then we have the other part, which is the story part, and this is called our default mode network. If people have looked into psychedelics, if they're doing MDMA therapy, if they've looked into Bessel van der Kolk, the Body Keeps the Score. All this stuff is focusing on the default mode network, because this is the story that we have about ourself and the world and other people. This is how we try and make sense of things. Technical term is a default mode network Default.
Speaker 2:So when we're not in our body and we're not in action, we default to our story. And the thing to remember about our story it doesn't know how to tell time. That part of our brain has no idea how to tell time, none. So if we're in the future, it doesn't know it's the future, it thinks it's happening now. If we're in the past, it doesn't know we're in the past, it thinks it's happening now.
Speaker 2:So if you find yourself in story, meaning you're feeling anxious, you're feeling depressed, how do you, how can you help that? I think, get in body, get in action, one or the other, because if you're in either of them, you cannot be in story. And this is often why, a lot of the times when we do have significant depression numbed, we can't feel our body and sometimes like I don't want to be in my body. Yes, yes, yeah. So this is where doing gentle things to get you into your body or doing an action, I know if I'm like stuck in story or different things are happening. If I go play tennis, that's an action, and my body, yeah, I have to be in my body. I'm breaking a sweat, yeah, and I have to focus on this thing, so I cannot be in story. Sometimes, yeah, I might default back into it, and that's where different techniques and modalities and there's so many things, as you'd know to be able to help with that.
Speaker 2:But sometimes I don't know about you, but when I've tried to think myself out of a hole I dig myself deeper. But when you get out of it and you get perspective and you're in your body or you're in action, sometimes that can be helpful to get perspective there. But if you feel like you're struggling, that's where sometimes we need to care for those fundamentals. Maybe it's a blood sugar thing or a nutrient imbalance thing. Yeah, we're not doing things that actually make us feel alive. We actually don't like our life, and the depression and the anxiety is a message from our body saying, hey, something needs to change. Yeah, I don't like what we're doing. It's not a nice feeling, but then when we can feel a bit more resourced, then it's easier to take an action that gets us out of that reality.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's really. I guess the thing I would see the most of is like when that default network is like telling people the story that they're imprisoned in these ways of being or ways of operating, and I think that can be really challenging for people to face the truth, right that in a way this is their kind of default story and they either have the choice to continue in this story or to try and actively action changes to move into a different story.
Speaker 2:But this is where. So, if we think about that sort of like in a triangle, if you think about it when we're reacting to our reality, so we'll just stay in the same reality that we have. We are going from body to story to action. Our actions are based on our story that we have of ourself, and then what happens is our actions create our reality. So whatever we're doing is reinforcing our story. Yeah, yeah. So it's like oh yeah, of course I'm not a person.
Speaker 2:I did a public speaking thing yesterday and it was to year 11 and year 12 students and I was telling them that I had a story that I was terrible at public speaking thing yesterday, and it was to year 11 and year 12 students and I was telling them that I had a story that I was terrible at public speaking. I hated it. I had this really bad experience when I was in year seven with debating, it was this whole thing, and I passed up being prefect in year 12 because I didn't want to have to get up and talk every week at assembly. I had this story about myself that I'm terrible at public speaking. I also had a story about myself that I was terrible at English. What's happened. Now I speak and write books for a living, which is crazy right, totally, you can grow it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but this is the thing what we do to change our story. I just said it in and of that sentence, we do something different, because when you do something different, then you actually get live feedback from your reality that you actually can now imagine a different story for yourself. But if we stay stuck in the story and we do actions that are based on that current story that we have for ourself, we just reinforce the story, and stories can be helpful. Stories can be really helpful. You can have a story that you're an amazing mom or an amazing friend, or that you're a kick-ass business owner, or that you are mentally resilient and you can do anything that you want. You can have any story that you want.
Speaker 2:The thing is you are not your story. You look at the story and you go is that story working for me or is it not? And when you do that, sometimes we don't. Sometimes you just want to wallow in the story. You're like everyone just leave me alone. I just want to feel shit about myself. Just give me that. I just want to do it. But just know you can do that and you can do that for your whole life if you want to, or you can go.
Speaker 2:What I have one life, like the chances of me being here right now is insane. Like you are so lucky to be here, and sometimes you have fucking shit days, really shit ones, and then you go. Okay, well, there must be a reason. Maybe the reason is I just want to feel good. What would make me feel good? Okay, I'm just going to do that thing. And then, all of a sudden, you start to do things, and the thing that you do might be you decide to clean up your room. Or maybe the thing you decide to do things and the thing that you do might be you decide to clean up your room. Or maybe the thing you decide to do is write a book that you've always wanted to do. It could be any extreme that you want or tell the person that you love them when you've been hiding it. But you're so scared because you don't know what's going to happen and it's like just do it. And it's like what's the saying? Fuck around and find out later. I love that.
Speaker 2:Because that's actually what's going to change a story. And it's like sometimes we're coming from a place of, well, we really hate our story and it's really uncomfortable and we need to take little steps and sometimes we don't necessarily love our story, but it's comfortable, it's okay, like it's fine. And I've found for me, when I'm in that state, it's comfortable, it's okay, like it's fine. And I found for me, when I'm in that state, it's like, oh, this is good, like there's nothing wrong, but it's like, oh, that just feels like there's something like I need, like this doesn't feel right, it's okay, it's fine.
Speaker 2:And I, for me, I've noticed that that's been the hardest leap to take because it's comfortable. You're jumping from something that's comfortable into I have no idea what's going to happen. What are you doing? Like, what are you doing? And everyone in your life will be like, what do you mean? Everything's great, like, yeah, it is, but I only get one of these and, yes, you're grateful for what you have. But also, I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I just think why not see what life can offer?
Speaker 1:I think it's a question of like for me. Often, once you get to the state of where baseline is really good, then how great can baseline be and how much more can I get out of my body and out of life, and I think that feels like a really privileged position to sit in. But yeah, I think when your stories start becoming so kind and loving and nurturing and it's not that there's not other stories I encountered one of my other stories with my own. She's like my yoga teacher, but I guess she's a kind of coach as well. Crystal, I talk about her a lot. Yeah, I even encountered one of my stories and even just sitting here with you is like testament to like that story and then like me trying to really try and tell myself a different story, like, yeah, I can interview Anthea and I don't need to be afraid, but it's interesting how you know. Yeah, there are these kind of automatic stories that just operate underneath and tell you these lies, right.
Speaker 1:Tell you these untruths that also prevent you from doing what you want. I was actually driving here on the way and I listened to your audio book a lot because I think it just helps me to kind of get clear on my own fundamentals, of my own focus. And I was listening to the start of your book actually, and you talk about it just being a miracle to be alive and a miracle about all the cells you know and how these cells are all working together, just so you can hear the audio book or read something or speak and I just cried and I just thought like it's just such a miracle to even be alive and such a gift, and so I am so grateful to you for coming on the podcast.
Speaker 1:I just think your brain is just unreal and you're a beautiful human. I've heard so many lovely things about you from people who just adore you. You're close friends who I also know some of, and I guess in terms of if people want to work with you and they want to learn more about the female fundamentals, how should people reach out to you? What can they do to?
Speaker 2:get in touch so you can find me on Instagram at doctorantheatodd. And then I have a website, female Fundamentals. So we do have something that's called Test your Fundamentals. So it's a hair sample test that you send off. So this is really great for anyone that feels like they've had something going on. They go and get all the blood tests and they've been to the doctor, ruled out that they need anything there and they feel like they're lost in this space. So this is where I would say to start, because that gives you a look at all of these different minerals and ratios and how your cells have been working. So it tells you about your nervous system, metabolism, nutrients, blood sugars and what to do. So that's really great. And then I also have a group it's called 28 day group implementation, where I'm. It's like a private instagram group. I'm in there every day helping people implement their fundamentals and it's awesome. We've got a there's one happening at the moment and it's just so great to see everyone going.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I had that issue too and this is how I overcame it. Or oh my gosh, it's just cheering people on being like oh yeah, I changed my breakfast and I slept so much better, or I've hated getting up for sunrises and now I love it, like, look at this and I'm doing things that I love. So it's just reinforcing a new reality for people instead of going. Well, the healthcare system is where you have to go down this trend. And if the doctor says you don't need any medication or surgery, if they say you need this medication but they're not necessarily saying it's going to fix you, it's just sort of like well, here you go. You're like well, there's something else. I don't know. If you're wanting a different healthcare system to be able to operate, you've probably been thinking this is why I've created what I've created, because I'm like this just doesn't work. It just doesn't work. And also then the health and wellness industry. I'm like this also is just like really baffling and confusing.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, so baffling and confusing it's like, just if you want to be able to come back to your body and have a community of people that are doing the same thing. That's a really great thing as well. And then I also do do one-on-one appointments online. Everything's online so you can access it anywhere around the world. That's one of the main things that I wanted to be able to do, so I do do two-and-a-half-hour deep dive one-on-one appointments, literally review everything medical, functional, energetic and we go into blood tests and functional testing and yeah, so that's more for people that have had chronic things or complex things as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, oh I also do have practitioner training stuff as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I was going to ask about that next because I guess for people like me psychologists, other allied health people yeah, what does that involve?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I have a. It was actually a course that I filmed and I did a live seminar. Oh, that was like 2022, I think, and I'm thinking, oh, there's so many things that have changed. But I look back and I'm like, oh my God, this is really good. So that's online as well. It's an intro course, so any healthcare practitioner can do that. I've also had teachers and different people that are really sort of have their own knowledge of healthcare do it, and they've definitely loved it. Okay.
Speaker 2:And now, later this year and into next year, I'm bringing out more practitioner training so people can understand what's going on. So, from a psychologist perspective, I'm not teaching you how to be a psychologist. I'm showing you how the symptoms that you might be seeing are actually related and how you can support people in a really holistic way. I struggle to throw that word in because I think a lot of people will say, oh, this is holistic and I don't want to be using it in a misguided way either, but I really think holistic things start with the body and the person, not the treatment, and that's when you use your body, not your bias, for what you need. I think that, to me, is the real definition of holistic, because holistic could be.
Speaker 2:You need yes, you need this surgery and this medication, and also let's do these things in the process and let's help you live a life that you really want to live, because that's, at the end of the day, all I want is to make wellness make sense for everyone, so that they can feel alive. That's the point. We're all here to live. You don't want to live longer but actually miss your life. Yeah, that's not the point. We're all here to live. You don't want to live longer but actually miss your life. That's not the point.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, even just something. That? Because I used to be a sleep researcher in a previous life and one of the things I always ask my patients is like have you had a sleep apnea assessment? Something so simple and yet so many people miss. And then they have one and they're like oh yeah, I've got sleep apnea and now I'm sleeping and I don't have any anxiety or depression symptoms. Or I'm drinking a bottle of wine a day and then suddenly they stop drinking and then their anxiety goes away and it's like oh well, could that body, your body, have been telling you that you're craving alcohol, right? Yeah, when you're detoxing from it.
Speaker 1:It's just yeah.
Speaker 2:And this is the that's the tagline of my book your body isn't the problem, it's the solution. This anxiety I know you hate, it's your body trying to tell you something. This endometriosis the label that you've been given for the pool of symptoms that make that up is trying to tell you something. The anxiety, the headaches, the hair falling out, they're all trying to tell you something. It's just your body's way of speaking. Your body doesn't speak in words. Your story does. Your body speaks in how you feel and your symptoms and your signs. So pay attention to them and go oh, this started then. This started when I got in that relationship. This started when I started that job. This started when I started taking these different supplements. Oftentimes, when I start my one-on-one appointments, I'll say okay, so I've read through everything.
Speaker 2:What do you think your body's trying to tell you? And 95% of the time they're 95% accurate. Yeah, okay, it's like we know A lot of the times. We know what it is, but we just don't want to admit it to ourselves. Or we want someone else that has a doctor in front of their name to tell us, because society's told us that other people know better than we do. But my whole thing is I'm going to show you the you know. Connect to what you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I guess in my work a lot of the times I see people more who aren't ready to face, perhaps, the things that are keeping them stuck or maintaining their anxiety or the depression symptoms, because it requires change. I think you speak to this in your book. I don't want to give too much away, but, um, yeah, also that, yeah, sometimes to address these symptoms is going to require us to do things that feel uncomfortable, risky, uh, and can also be curative.
Speaker 2:I think that speaks to knowing and getting a really clear, amazing picture of, like the reality that you want, the person that you want to be. I speak about that in the 28-day group. That's the first thing I get people to do is go, okay, who's the person that you want to be. Because when you can get that clear, when you're like I don't know what to do, you just go. What would that version of me do? Oh, I'm going to do that. So it's a lot easier to do that. But in my book I talk about existential kink, which is the book Caroline Elliott. She's amazing. I love the book, but it's basically I didn't talk about it here.
Speaker 2:But I had heart issues when I was younger and I had to have three different heart surgeries for that and then that was all fixed by the time I was in the middle of high school and I hated the beep test, hate it, but love all other different types of sport besides cross country. You can tell that I just don't like long distance running very much, unless it's chasing after a ball of some kind. So when the beep test came around I'd be like, oh sorry, I can't, like I'd play my heart card, but it's like play a full day of round robin soccer tournaments? Absolutely, yes. Don't sub me off, I'll run way further than I would have in the beat test.
Speaker 2:So there's this thing of looking at going okay, yes, conditions are a real thing, so your symptoms are a real thing. Hopefully, yeah, a hundred percent. And also, how's it helping you? Is this helping you and in what way Do you feel? Oh, I'm exhausted and I need to tell my family that I'm exhausted, so they leave me alone. And you're using your exhaustion as a boundary, because, if that's the case, I can tell you you're going to stay exhausted, because and this is my whole thing and also it's are you using your energy to say yes to things? Yeah.
Speaker 2:Oh, I've got the energy, so I should say yes, Because, and then it's okay. Then what happens? Yes no-transcript.
Speaker 2:And then all of a sudden it comes back around again. You get your energy back and then you do the same thing and you get stuck in this cycle of burnout Instead of going okay, I've actually been using this cycle of burnout and all these things to just keep people at a distance from me or people that were sort of draining me. Do a really clear like just sit with yourself and go okay, are these people, these things that I'm doing, giving me energy? And if they're not, I'm just going to. I have to get really clear on that.
Speaker 2:And it's hard oh yeah, it's so hard. It's so hard, but it's like you can change your life.
Speaker 1:Yes, you can.
Speaker 2:You can change your life, yes, you can and you have many lives in your life if you want to.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've had a few Anthea. I'm just conscious of time. I could literally talk to you for hours. Thank you so much for coming on the Place for Connection podcast. I'm wondering if you were to leave listeners with one thing, or if there's anything that you wanted to kind of say to finish up. Is there anything that you would want listeners to know about self-trust or their body?
Speaker 2:I think when you don't know the answer, you don't know what to do. You feel lost, you feel confused, you feel like everyone's told you there's nothing wrong, or you feel like there is, or you're like, oh, my gosh, I'm trying to dig myself out of this and I'm stuck in anxiety or depression or these things. Just return back to your body Actually your body, not your story about your body, not your. Oh, okay, it could be this or this or this. I'm going to go on Instagram and TikTok and Google and all these specialists to try and find the answer. There's a place for that. But if you're feeling like you've been in that, just come back to your body and go. Okay.
Speaker 2:The other day, I literally just laid on my bed. I'm like okay, I had a sore back and I said what is it you're trying to tell me? And it was. You have a sore back because you've been doing all these things that you've had to do, but you need to stop now. You need to actually give us a rest. And when I was doing that process, I was like oh, is it because of this or this or this? And my body was like shut up.
Speaker 1:Listen to me. Like listen to me. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:So that's what I would leave people with. Listen to your body and do the things that feel good. Feeling good with listen to your body and do the things that feel good, feeling good isn't a reward for your life. It is your baseline. Do the things that feel good.
Speaker 1:I like that. Feeling good isn't a reward, it's your baseline. Yeah, thank you for coming on the place for connection podcast thanks so much for having me, mel.
