Gut Health and Focusing on Mental and Emotional Wellbeing

The past couple of weeks have been very challenging for me.?

It’s a shame because,?before that, I felt really really good: energy and strength wise, mentally, emotionally, general well-being, everything.?

I don't know what had made the biggest impact on my improvement. I think it was subtle things like listening, honoring, and adapting to my body's signals and needs, doing things with passion and purpose, the mindset shift of trying to forget and not focusing on the things that I don't want, regular emotional work, etc.

I also think the?consistent work on myself?that I've been doing for the last half a year has started to pay off.?

But then a couple of weeks ago I started the?next phase in my gut healing protocol?that I’ve been working on for the past half a year with my coach Jessica Lamothe from?In Health.

This new “Parasite Protocol”?consists of different herbal supplements to kill the parasites that have been living in my gut.

Parasites?are bacteria that live in the gut digestive tract and can interfere with its normal functioning and cause a variety of problems: from digestion problems, low energy, fatigue, and brain fog, to mental health problems, etc.

The parasites protocol can cause?die-off symptoms: As parasites die, they release the toxins they eat, which can cause the symptoms like bloating, gas, headache, nausea, fatigue, etc.

So the combination of die-off symptoms and gut discomfort can result in low energy, fatigue, brain fog, mental health problem, and also burnout symptoms.

Soon after I started the parasite protocol I started to experience the first negative symptoms (some headaches, feelings of cold, nausea, fatigue), and later on, I started to experience?some burnout-like symptoms: difficulty waking up in the morning, poor energy levels throughout the day, increased stress levels, decreased strength and recovery, lower mental power and concentration, some mental health problems (fear, anxiety, and some low-mood and depression).

This experience reminded me of two things.

1. The importance of gut health?and?the connection between gut health and burnout and burnout symptoms.

The gut plays a?massive part in our general health and well-being?and is one of the?biggest underlying reasons behind fatigue.?

Our gut?breaks down, digests, and assimilates food?that we eat which gives us energy and nutrients for our normal and optimal functioning. If our digestion doesn’t work well and optimally,?we won’t get the energy and nutrients?that we need which will result in decreased energy levels, low mood, and fatigue.?

If our gut isn’t healthy and our digestion doesn’t work smoothly,?it can suck up a ton of our vital energy?and can also?cause a lot of stress, which then further sucks up our energy which can then result in burnout and burnout symptoms.

Another reason why our gut is so important is that?it's in charge of the production of the majority of neurotransmitters.

Neurotransmitters?are chemical messengers that in the body transmit information between neurons via synapses and signals and so "create" our well-being. The main neurotransmitters are?serotonin?(feeling of happiness),?dopamine?(well-being, motivation, and satisfaction), and?GABA?(calmness and relaxation).

If something in our gut and digestive tract is "not right" and doesn’t work properly,?the gut cannot produce a sufficient amount of these neurotransmitters, which causes all sorts of problems: problems with energy, feelings of malaise, concentration problems, mood regulation issues, mental health problems, etc.

More and more studies show that?gut problems, poor digestion, or bad microbiota can cause anxiety and depression, and when these problems are cured, the mental problems also disappear.1

The topic of digestion and gut health is of huge interest to me, so if you’d like to read more about this topic, let me know in the comments and I’ll make it happen!

2.?The importance of the mind?during change and healing

When it comes to change and/or physical healing, we often forget about the mental and emotional aspects of it.

It's just as important to focus on our mental, emotional, and spiritual health as it is to focus on our lifestyle and physical health!?

Change and healing require a lot of energy,?which can cause fatigue and other burnout-like symptoms and problems.?When we experience these burnout symptoms the mind freaks out.?The Ego, which is an evolutionary product of our analytical mind, wants to protect us, to keep us safe and alive.

Our mind controls our thoughts, feelings, and emotions, which influence our physical, mental, and emotional state and how we perceive and operate in the world.

So in the process of any change or healing, we should also focus on steering our minds in the right direction.?

This means supporting and working on our emotions, harnessing the power of belief, vision, joy, passion, and purpose, and working on strengthening our spiritual health.

One of the tools that has helped me the most recently is the exercise called?The Priming Exercise by Tony Robbins: I’ve been doing it a couple of times every week and it’s powerful!?

So if and when you find yourself in a process of healing and change, remember to focus on your mental and emotional well-being. I guarantee you it’s a major factor that will help you massively!

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Take care, talk to you again soon! ????

1 Source: Dinan TG, Cryan JF.?The Microbiome-Gut-Brain Axis in Health and Disease. Gastroenterol Clin North Am. 2017 Mar;46(1):77-89.?https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28164854/)?