mental clarity – Tammy Gunn

The Biggest Challenge I Danced Through was Not Breast Cancer…

By tammyg | September 10, 2025 | Comments 0 Comment

One of the biggest adjustments in my life after cancer is not the cancer itself surprisingly but the lymphedema in my right arm from having my lymph nodes removed

Let us refresh on what exactly is Lymphedema?

Think of lymphedema like this:

The lymphatic system is basically the body’s sewer system. While we go about our day it is quietly whisking away excess fluid, waste, bacteria and viruses. When it’s working properly, we don’t notice it at all. In fact, I didn’t even understand it existed at all until I had part of it removed! When it’s not working… well, imagine our sink drain is clogged up with hair or food or something else nasty. The water (in this case, lymph fluid) has nowhere to go, so it starts pooling where it shouldn’t.

That’s lymphedema! A stubborn, unwanted pooling of fluid under your skin. Your limb puffs up like it’s a balloon-animal, but instead of being a cute giraffe or a poodle, you just end up with a swollen leg or arm.

Important Note: It’s not contagious, it’s certainly not glamorous, but it is persistent! Almost like that one guest who won’t leave the party even after you’ve put the lights on and started cleaning up. Take a hint! It is time to gooooo!

This really is, in my opinion, one of the worst parts of having metastatic breast cancer.

I have been dealing with this for 3 years now and will for the rest of my life. I am not complaining about it…well, some days I am if I am being honest. Like when it is really swollen and even just wearing a t-shirt is the most annoying thing ever.

There are many things I can do to get it back under control such as lymphatic drainage massages either on myself or by a professional. In this type of treatment, it is like mapping the fluid to the drainage ports in our body. Slowly pushing the Jell-O like substance under the skin (aka-Lymph fluid) towards the groin and opposite armpit where the lymphatic system is still intact and can process all the waste. I am sorry for the Jell-O analogy. I know I can’t eat it anymore either after that visual. Blahh…. textures are now a thing for me!

When I first had to learn to manage my lymphedema it was noted that my right arm and hand were what was affected by the lymphedema. Knowing this, I was put into a compression garment for my arm and hand. It has been working great; however, in the last year I have noticed that the fluid is now being trapped in my shoulder and armpit as well as the scapula area.

Fun right? Not really!

Today I had an appointment with Cancer Rehabilitation. Yes, that is a thing! And thank God it is! The appointment consisted of my physiotherapist measuring the swelling in my arm. The crazy part is my left arm is now smaller than my right, but my right arm is smaller than it was three years ago!

So, what does that even mean?

Well, it means that I am managing my lymphedema very well in my arm. That is the good part!

The not great part is the uncomfortable pooling of fluid happening in my arm pit and my back area. The good part about today is I learned there are options to support the movement of fluid in this area as well! There are compression bras and padding that can be added to a bra to help compress and move the fluid.

I recommend we all learn as much as possible about our lymphatic system BEFORE we have to learn to manage it like I have. Here is a comprehensive list of things we can do to manage our lymphatic system:

Move Your Body (Daily)

Exercise is #1. Walking, dancing, yoga, rebounding, and swimming are great examples of all that help.
Think: movement = drainage.

Stay Hydrated

Lymph fluid is mostly water…. besides some of that Jell-O like texture. If you’re dehydrated, your system slows down like pouring molasses.
Aim for steady sips throughout the day and make your water interesting by adding cucumber, lemon or even basil!

Massage & Dry Brushing

Lymphatic massage can be a game-changer, especially if you’ve had surgery or radiation. You can do this yourself or with a professional.
Dry brushing (always brushing toward the heart) helps stimulate lymph flow and slough off dead skin.

Deep Breathing

You might think you do this, but I will guarantee that most of us do not!
Your diaphragm acts like a pump for the lymph system. Slow, deep belly breathing is simple but powerful.
Try a few minutes of breathing: inhale for 4, hold 7, exhale 8.

Eat Clean, Anti-Inflammatory Foods

We all know in theory that junk food is bad for us and yet we do it! Now is the time to adjust the sails!
Go heavy on veggies, berries, leafy greens, and omega-3s.
Avoid processed junk and too much salt, which can make your body hang onto fluid. Sorry salt! I have loved you for too long!

Sweat It Out

Saunas, steam rooms, hot yoga are all activities that encourage sweating, which supports detox.
Just remember to rehydrate like a champ afterward. What goes out, you need to replenish back in!

Sleep & Stress Management

Poor sleep and chronic stress both throw your lymph system off. Trust me! I have experienced this one firsthand and it is no fun at all!
Restorative sleep and stress-reducing practices (meditation, journaling, nature time) keep your immune and drainage systems in sync.

There you have it! Some great ways to support that beautiful system that keeps our bodies healthy and our immune system happy! I hope you never have to know what life is like to live with a broken-down lymphatic system but know that if you ever do, I have you covered!

This Girl Is On Fire (Part II) The Extinguisher

By tammyg | July 30, 2025 | Comments 0 Comment

Well, here we are, one month later and I have left you hanging in a hot sweat wondering why you are having that hot flash! Sorry about that, my marketing team tells me that I can’t ramble on too much in one month. They say that blogs are meant to be 700-1000 words. I bet they have never experienced a hot flash and needed relief! They are right though, I could really go on and on about this topic. That is why I have broken it up into a two part series to keep you engaged and me coachable to the process of blogging!

Now that we got that out of the way, let’s dive in, shall we?!

What is triggering that nasty “burning you up from the inside out” hot flashes?

To be honest, there are quite a few things that can trigger them unfortunately and women respond differently to certain triggers. There are some though that are common for us all. The most irritating thing, in my opinion, is that at one time your body was totally fine and welcoming to all these things. In fact, some may have been your favorite thing ever!

Here is a Top 10 list I have gathered in no particular order:

Heat – Hot weather, saunas, warm rooms, or even too many blankets can bring on a flash faster than you can say “menopause.”
Spicy foods – Delicious, yes. But your body might treat that jalapeño like a flamethrower. I am a HUGE FAN of spicy food which makes this so disappointing and sometimes I just fight my way through the hot flash and tell myself I am enjoying it!
Caffeine – Your beloved coffee or energy drink can make your internal thermostat glitch. This one I switched to mushroom coffee to deal with and as gross as that might sound, it tastes EXACTLY like coffee! I will share more about this another day!
Alcohol – Especially red wine. What is crazy about this is your Doctor will tell you that if you have any alcohol your best option is red wine for health reasons and yet it can make you feel like you stepped on hot coals on first sip!
Stress or anxiety – Emotional surges often lead to physical ones. Fun, right?
Tight clothing – Restrictive clothes can trap heat and make your body rebel. This year I have taken on being in my flowy dress phase of life to combat this.
Smoking – Not only unhealthy overall but also a notorious hot flash enhancer.
Sugar or high-carb meals – Can spike insulin and mess with thermoregulation. Great! Not even a chocolate bar can help you out of this hot mess!
Exercise (right before bed) – Yes, it’s good for you, but close to bedtime it may rev up your engine too much. Besides, who wants to work out right before bed? Not this girl!
Hot drinks – Even tea or soup can be a sneaky trigger, especially in a warm environment. This one I find though could go either way!

There you have it! If you avoid all of these things you may be able to reduce or eliminate your hot flashes. You may also lead the most boring life! Unless you are someone who knows you can embrace giving up all of this and find new happiness living in the Arctic, eating bland food, while sipping on water, meditating in a baggy dress (and cotton underwear) while reading a book before bed.

Okay, all joking aside, you do not have to give all of this up. You just need to figure out what it is for you that sets off your hot flash. It is a lot of trial and error to get to the point of knowing what your triggers are but if you keep at it, you will find relief. I promise you!

Lastly, I hear people say that aging sucks but I like to think that the alternative to aging is worse. Being six feet under! We have to find ways to embrace these new stages in life and remind ourselves that not all get to age, so even this is a privilege. It is a hot and sweaty burning you up privilege but a privilege all the same! The more we talk about these topics the more we can see we are not alone and we have community to reach out to.

Let me ask you, what would you like me to blog about next?

Send me an email and let me know!

Until then, stay COOL my friends!

Much love,

Tammy

That ONE Thing

By tammyg | May 26, 2025 | Comments 0 Comment

Well, here we are… another month of 2025 nearly in the rearview. I blinked and somehow we skipped half the year. As I write this, it’s a Monday morning and finally the sun is out after what felt like three weeks of straight gloom.

I’m someone who’s very affected by the weather. On grey days, I basically morph into a blanket-wrapped gremlin with brain fog, a hint of nausea, and the motivation of a potato. I clean a lot. (Don’t ask why. I am thinking it’s my coping mechanism.) But the second the sun shows up? I’m ready to Zumba through the day. Picture me, The Sound of Music-style, arms outstretched, sprinting up a hill, trying to hug the sun. Yes, my imagination is dramatic and most times plays out in a musical format.

Today the sun is shining, I feel like writing, and suddenly, everything feels possible. Winning energy is everywhere. Well, almost everywhere except for the Dallas Stars. GO OILERS! (Had to say it!)

But here’s the real kicker: it’s wild how one simple thing, like the weather, can completely shift how you feel, think, and move through your day. That one thing can really be anything: a diagnosis, a job loss, a text message, finding out you’re pregnant, or even running into someone you didn’t expect to see at the grocery store (while wearing Crocs and yesterday’s mascara). Whatever it is, it has the power to spiral us into joy, panic, grief, laughter. Sometimes all at once which really makes us look sane right?!

But how you respond to that one thing doesn’t make you better or worse than anyone else. It makes you human.

Let’s be real… life didn’t come with a manual or mathematical formula. There’s no equation that says, “If you just do this, everything will turn out perfect.” Unless I missed that class in high school which, to be fair, is totally possible. Pam, if you are reading this, you know right now we are riding around in your car listening to the Cranberries and buying snackwiches at KFC! See, completely possible I, nor Pam, was in math class that day. But I digress.

The point is, life just happens. In the form of weather, friends, family drama, pop quizzes, job loss, medical news. You name it. That is life! And our interpretation of those events becomes the lens through which we survive. For me, it was cancer that flipped everything upside down. Suddenly, all the little things I used to stress about? Poof! They all became background noise. The stuff that truly mattered finally took center stage.

But what about when everything feels like the big thing?

Excellent question, Tammy. Thanks for asking.

The answer? It’s all about perspective. What’s massive to me might not register on your radar. And what feels like a blip to me could be someone else’s mountain. That’s where the most important life lesson of all comes in. Are you ready for it?

BE KIND TO EVERYONE.

Because everyone’s going through something. Everyone has their “one thing.” Maybe just today, maybe this year, maybe for the past decade. We’re all navigating our own stuff, doing our best, and sometimes just holding it together with sheer willpower, humor and a dash of crazy behaviour.

So whether the sun’s out or hiding, whether you’re dancing on a hill or curled up on the couch, remember: perspective matters. Kindness matters. And you, dear reader, are doing just fine.

YOU GOT THIS! And I got you!

Let’s Talk About It

What’s your “one thing” right now? How do you shift your perspective when the clouds roll in (literally or figuratively)? I’d love to hear your thoughts—drop a comment or send a message. Let’s remind each other that we’re not alone in the wild ride that is life.

Struggle Party of One: Why I’m Done Apologizing for Being Human

By tammyg | April 25, 2025 | Comments 0 Comment

Ya know what? I am not sorry for how I’ve lived my life. There! I said it!

Let’s get that out of the way early. I’m done sugarcoating it. I’ve made mistakes. I’ve misread the room. I’ve said the wrong thing, at the wrong time, with the wrong tone more than once. Then stood in the echo chamber of my own mind, torturing myself with the replay. Ugh…Have you ever done this? But here’s the thing: I own it. I clean it up. I do the work.

So why do I still stress in the background about what other people think?

I’ve been chewing on this for a while (and by “chewing,” I mean gnawing on it like it’s the last piece of beef jerky on a deserted island). And all I’ve really come up with is I’m human. It’s what we do. Or at least, it’s what I do. It seems almost too simple.

Maybe this isn’t your thing. Maybe you don’t spiral after conflict or stew in a stew of second-guessing. Maybe your flavor of internal chaos looks more like hiding out, imposter syndrome, people-pleasing, or perfectionism. I don’t know your exact brand of self-sabotage but I’m willing to bet you’ve got something too!

But back to me for a second, shall we…

I genuinely try to live my life as a decent human being. I aim to help others, to lift people up, to be kind. I don’t always get it right. When I screw up and I will tell you right now that I for sure do…I take full responsibility. I acknowledge it. I apologize when necessary. I check in with whoever was affected and ask, “What can I do to make this right?”

Sounds healthy, right? Should be done and over with!

But here’s the twist: I still beat myself up about it. I wear it. I wear my guilt and shame like a brand-new pair of stiff shoes. You can see them, they don’t fit right, and they make me walk funny. They blister my toes and heels. They slow me down. And yet, I keep putting them on. A glutton for punishment, I guess!

That’s when it hit me: I’ve internalized the idea that doing something wrong = being wrong. And even when I’ve made amends, some part of me latches onto the belief that I’m not a good person. It’s like this weird addiction to guilt.

“Hey, you messed up! Let’s hold onto that forever! It will be fun!” NOT!!!

Why is that?

Because there’s a part of me that needs proof that I’m flawed, that I’m not enough, that I should stay small and quiet and not take up too much space. I can see that I have lived with this my entire life! And what better proof than a mistake I’ve already cleaned up but can still punish myself for? Welcome to the Struggle Party—table for one.

And here’s where it gets serious: all this internalizing? This energy-sapping shame spiral? It doesn’t just stay in my mind. It shows up in my body. It morphs into stress, inflammation, and disease. I’m not just speaking metaphorically. I’m speaking from experience. Chronic guilt wears down the body like it wears down the soul.

The truth is we are made up of energy. Every thought, every feeling, every moment we give away to regret or fear, it takes a toll. And when I give my energy over to the past or to someone else’s opinion, I’m draining the reserves I need to be well, to heal, to thrive.

So, here’s the hard truth: knowing all this, hasn’t magically stopped me from doing it. But here’s the shift I see now. I name it when it’s happening. I can call out the voice in my head that says, “You’re bad” and respond with, “No, I’m just human. And I’m still growing.” And doing that repeatedly because sometimes I don’t hear myself the first time.

Also, this isn’t a story about having it all figured out. It’s a story about catching myself mid-shame-spiral and saying, not today Tammy. It’s about reclaiming my energy, one messy moment at a time. And it’s about choosing to believe on the good days and the garbage days that I don’t need to apologize for being human.

So yeah, I’m not sorry. Not anymore.
And maybe, just maybe, you don’t need to be either.

Much love,

Tammy

The Mental Weight of Surviving: Cancer’s Invisible Aftershock

By tammyg | March 25, 2025 | Comments 0 Comment

Let’s Talk About Breasts Baby…Let’s Talk About You and Me…Let’s Talk About All the good things and the bad things they could be…Let’s talk about breasts…

I can’t help but write while singing along in my head to Salt & Peppers hit song Let’s Talk about sex…

Yes, this is the way my brain operates day in and day out. And now you are privy to just a taste of what goes on between my ears. This is the “good stuff!”

YOU are welcome my friend!

But it wasn’t always like this. Or perhaps a little bit but there was a time where all that went on between my ears was shear panic that I may die. Like the thoughts of once diagnosed, the next day I would be dead and then a spiral to follow included my family having to deal with my funeral arrangements.

I know that all moved very quickly to death and funerals. I would assert though, that I am not the only person who has had that reaction when diagnosed with cancer. The mind is a very powerful thing and like superpowers can be used for good or evil, so can our thoughts.

Mental health during a diagnosis is crucial and sometimes overlooked. We just assume that first and foremost we need to take care of our physical body. Which is true. However, our mental state can often be the source of much destruction that will affect our overall being long term.

Women and men who go through a cancer diagnosis often talk about it as leaving a lasting PTSD type impact on their lives. While going through it I felt like everyday I was swimming in the deep end of the pool and to be honest, I am not a great swimmer. Every now and then I would go under water and come up gasping for air.

One of the even bigger issues came after all that deep water swimming and I hit land. Or better said, they told me my treatment was done, and they were unleashing me back into the world after years of being poked and prodded at I was left with this sense of “are you sure? What if it comes back? How will I know? What do I do now?” These questions took over the inner workings of my mind and left me fluttering without a paddle and now I was in the ocean!

There are a lot of analogies today I see. Bear with me!

My experience was that there is not a lot of initial information shared with you once you are done all the treatment and seeking out support is crucial. When the doctors and hospitals are done with you it’s kind of like they throw a mini celebration that you have completed everything. In the moment you too have your party hat on and are so thrilled that you did it! But then the dancing and party music shuts off. You take your party hat off and the next stage of your diagnosis sets in.

The future unknown.

A cancer diagnosis doesn’t end when treatment ends. In fact, I believe it has left me with this new sense of not really knowing who I am. I am now in this new body that is navigating what I can and cannot do anymore. I am constantly assessing how I am physically feeling and doing my best to not let the thoughts of reoccurrence come rumbling in.

Everyday, there is work to be done to remind myself that I am awesome, healthy and doing okay. Mainly I must deal with these thoughts at 3 or 4 AM. You know, primetime between the ears for all suspense thriller dramas and viewing pleasure! The mind is a cruel movie sometimes!

Then the question then becomes “How do I support my mental health?”

Great question Tammy, I never thought you would ask! To be honest it has been a trial-and-error kind of phenomenon. There is no one right way to deal with mental health and every person is responsible for finding what works for them.

For myself, I have taken a few different approaches to my mental health and here is my list in no particular order:

Learning to breathe deeply and focus my intentions on breathing deeply. Sounds simple. It is not and takes lots of practice day in and day out.
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. Find a great CBT doctor to support you in learning about our thoughts and how we spiral and how to control it.
Get a Cancer Coach. I didn’t even know this existed at first but there are programs like Wellspring out there that have people who have gone through cancer and are trained to support others going through it to support you after all your treatment is done.
Landmark Worldwide. I took these courses long before I was ever diagnosed. They provided me with a foundation to bring myself back to “what’s so” when my mind would go off. When I completed all my treatment, I reviewed the course again and it supported me in getting complete with all that had happened.

When you hear that it takes a village to support one person, it is true. We also all know that it doesn’t take a cancer diagnosis for any of us to know the importance of taking care of our mental heath and if I am being honest, we all need to take care of it now more than ever. Whether it be a disease you are dealing with or just dealing with what is going on in our world today, it can all be really overwhelming.

Breast cancer taught me to slow down. Appreciate life and not be so wrapped up in what I couldn’t change. It taught me that I can deal with anything and be okay. It taught me that I am stronger than I thought. It also taught me that what goes on between my ears can be both positive or negative within split seconds and there is support out there to guide me through the negative.

If you need support, reach out. You don’t have to do this alone.

Join my community on Facebook and/or Instagram!

Life Post Treatment

By tammyg | January 28, 2025 | Comments 0 Comment

I have never really been one to want to take a bunch of drugs. If I have a choice, I will always choose a holistic approach. A vitamin or supplement approach first before turning to the world of prescription medication.

That being said, I do believe there is a time, place, and benefit to prescription drugs and using it them as a last resort has always been my preference.

Until breast cancer.

It is incredible how two words…one that used to remind me of something sexy (breast) and the other a horoscope (cancer). But when combined become deadly and lethal in an instant and have me reevaluating my whole take on life and prescription medications.

I still use supplements first, however I am now in a position where if I want to live, prescription medications will need to be taken for the next ten years…and to be fair, it is still all a gamble as to whether it will work for me or not…but I am not willing to take the chance to go the road without it.

So, you are probably wondering what am I rambling on about here?

Tamoxifen. This old drug is very effective in treating hormone receptive breast cancers. This drug works by blocking estrogen in your body. Basically, I was told that the estrogen in my body is what keeps producing cancer cells, so we need to block them. Like a bodyguard or the bouncer at a bar so to speak.

Being that my cancer really loves estrogen, the answer is Tamoxifen to help me. Here is the kicker…you know what else loves estrogen besides some cancers?

OUR BRAIN! Oh yes, the brain loves estrogen and without it, I have begun to feel like I am walking around in one big brain fart. I go to sleep at night and honestly wake up unclear what I did the night before or when I went to bed. Kind of like Groundhog Day! This used to be fun when I was in my twenties and had gone out the night before partying. This is not fun in my late forties after having gone to bed at 9pm after a cup of tea and have no reason not to remember what I did the night or day before!

Even some days trying to remember what I wrote about last and then blogging what I think is an awesome topic, only to discover I wrote nearly the same blog a week before. Frustrating and time consuming to say the least! The lack of estrogen to the brain can feel very debilitating at times.

So, how does one live with this?

Well…there are A LOT of checklists and calendar entries. I do my best to write most things down and calendar them. I take all my vitamins and supplements to help with the rest of my body feeling great and I do my best to not make myself wrong when I do honestly forget things and people must remind me or correct me.

My husband is a saint to put up with my brain in the shape that it is. He asks me to do something a certain way and I say “sure!” and then, almost immediately do it the opposite way to what he said. It has taken him some time too to realize that I am not doing this to upset him. I just honestly don’t remember him saying something or I know he said something, I just cannot remember what it was.

This all can be very frustrating to say the least. That being said, the silver lining is I don’t always remember all the bad stuff in life and if my socks go missing long enough, I just buy new ones! Oh and this whole memory loss thing did get me to write a book too so I would remember…You are welcome! See! Silver linings everywhere!

Win Win!

Slip and Falls and Silver Linings

By tammyg | November 24, 2024 | Comments 0 Comment

I have found in my life that looking for the silver linings in any event no matter how terrible can bring about something good IF you are willing to look for it.

Admittedly, I am not a doctor, but I am fascinated by healthcare in all forms. While I lean towards more of a focus on what most call “alternative healthcare” I do take an interest in understanding it all. Read on to discover where it all began…

Once upon a time…okay never mind… I am not Cinderella but this story does have a happy ending…continue…

When I was 19 years old, I was waitressing in a very busy breakfast restaurant. At the height of a busy Sunday rush, I walked into the serving area not realizing the ceramic floor was wet. I slipped and came crashing down on my back with all the plates I was carrying shattering all over. I couldn’t get up right away. I couldn’t move. I felt paralyzed with pain. In that moment, my life and everything I thought I knew shifted.

I saw my medical Doctor the day after the fall and was given pain medication but no real plan on what to do. In the hours, days and weeks to come my condition grew worse. I couldn’t go back to work because the constant walking and then strain of lifting anything gave me horrendous back pain. All I would be given is something to take the edge off the intense stabbing discomfort radiating from my neck and spine.

I wouldn’t work for nearly a year. I literally couldn’t work. I was now dealing with how groggy and unclear the medication made my brain on top of the constant physical discomfort. My doctor told me that my injury to my back was bad enough that I would most likely struggle with back problems most of my life.

My mental health was deteriorating from this news and laying around all day in pain just made the bottomless pit of despair seem to be growing bigger and bigger by the day. I felt helpless.

Was this what the rest of my life now looked like?

After about 6 months of this constant pain, complaining and feeling like a victim of all my circumstances, I was sitting with my employer at the time voicing my upset and he turned to me and said,” you need to see my chiropractor.” He immediately got up from the table, went into his office and made me an appointment for the next day. He didn’t ask me if I wanted to. He just did it and honestly, I was desperate to feel better and couldn’t handle the thought of where my life was currently heading. Pain pills. Chronic discomfort. Constantly feeling unhappy. I knew I had to try something different…Anything!

The next day I was sitting in the chiropractic office that was a small room with a weird looking table in it. A nice (and I could tell right away POWERFUL) woman walked in. She asked me lots of questions. She listened intently to my answers. She took the time to educate me on what was happening with my body and what to expect out of this treatment. She was honest. This wasn’t going to be a one session, and all is well again. This was going to take time and if I did the treatments and the recommended exercise she gave me to do at home, I would get better.

And I did.

That Doctor was Dr. Christine Majeran, D.C.

As I was increasingly getting better, stronger, I still knew I didn’t have enough strength to go back to serving full time. I had to continue to build up strength to lift things. People don’t think about what it takes to be a server. You are on your feet all day and you’re carrying many heavy plates. It is exhausting and hard work to do. Tip your servers well! They deserve it! Trust me!

One day while at my treatment I was so happy to share that I was feeling so much better but still frustrated that I wasn’t strong enough to lift and get my job back. Dr. Majeran turned to me and said “I have an opening for a receptionist here at the office. You will need to meet my husband as well who is the other Chiropractor here but if all goes well in your interview, the job is yours.” I was gobsmacked! This was awesome! How did I just go from being a patient to a possible employee in this GLORIOUS place of wellness?!

This terrible situation I found myself in when I fell is now turning out to be the catalyst to a lifelong journey of learning and being within healthcare. I must admit, I have loved every minute of it!

Working with everyone at the First Chiropractic & Wellness Clinic in Moose Jaw those many years ago was incredible. I learned so much about chiropractic care and the nervous system. I learned that chiropractic is not just for pain but for overall health and wellness! I learned all the different techniques in chiropractic and even became a patient educator at one point. During this time at the office, they began to expand their practice and brought in a Naturopathic Doctor.

There was so much more to learn!

See, once I started to feel better in my body from the accident, I no longer needed the pain medication and I began to feel that I wanted to fuel my body with vitamins and supplements and take on other “alternative” treatments to see how much better I could feel.

This discovery of Chiropractic and Naturopathic medicine was all coming at a time where my marriage at 19 years old was falling apart. (That is a whole story for another blog post! Stay Tuned!) There was a ton of stress on my nervous system from the fall and from the ongoing stress of a failing marriage. The glue that held me together became chiropractic and naturopathic medicine. It fueled my soul. Gave me strength to keep moving forward. Gave me strength to move on.

It also gave me a much-needed paycheck! But that was just a bonus to all the other benefits I was receiving!

See, had I not fallen on that floor that day I am not sure what my life would look like today. Also, I love it when someone tells me that I can’t or won’t be able to do something. It pretty much fuels me to prove them wrong!

At 30 years old, I started teaching Zumba full time and for someone who had a back injury that technically “should be” living with chronic pain, I am pretty sure my medical Doctor at the time would be shocked to know I was shaking my hips all over the city! This was definitely not a career path I am sure they would foresee me doing for over a decade now!

I mean, come on! Tell me I can’t DO something!

I DARE YOU!

Like I said, I truly believe that silver linings in any situation DO exist. IF you are willing to look for them!

Looking for a recommendation for Chiropractic care in Moose Jaw or Toronto? (I know, that seems like very random places to to know about…but I do!)

Contact me and I am happy to provide you information.

Do You Sleep Procrastinate? I Can’t Remember….

By tammyg | September 27, 2024 | Comments 0 Comment

My best ideas come in the middle of the night. A 3 AM wake up and my mind is full of great ideas that will solve world problems. Okay, maybe not those kinds of great ideas but things like how to market a book to the masses, what to write about that will have people laughing and support those dealing with so much. Then I think to myself during this 3 AM wakeup “I will remember all of this in the morning and go right to work!”

Only thing is once my eyes open, I have used the bathroom and come downstairs, I have completely forgotten what that magical thing was that I was going to write about and know that I should have gotten out of bed at 3 AM to write about it but that just seems absurd at the time. I always convince myself that I need more sleep and should go back to bed and deal with it later. Only thing is when later comes, I cannot remember what it was I was thinking about.

I have sleep procrastination. Is that a thing? I think it might be.

I refuse to get out of bed because that would be “crazy” to do at that hour but then I am totally lost and accomplish nothing the next day but sitting there trying to meditate and remember what it was that was going to have me get a Nobel prize for what I thought of in the middle of the night.

I think maybe I am related to the likings of Deepak Chopra or Ghandhi… Okay, maybe I am not related to those two…okay, maybe not “maybe”….I am not. By morning I am once again just a prairie girl living out her life under the big city lights of Toronto. But I really do think my amazing thoughts in the middle of the night could possibly solve world problems or at the very least, have you, the reader, smiling and laughing and ready to take on your day knowing that you are not alone.

Please tell me I am not alone in this?

On top of the sleep procrastination I have (that is my term now, no one steal it!), I have brain fog. Brain fog IS a REAL THING! It is caused, in my case, originally by chemotherapy and now by Tamoxifen. I share about this in the book, but I also feel the importance to share about it here. So I don’t forget!

Brain fog is not only caused by medications. As our hormones begin to change after forty (and in some cases before) brain fog can become more prevalent. The term ‘Brain Fog’ is characterized by a persons confusion, forgetfulness, and a lack of focus and mental clarity. When my brain fog is really bad somedays, I imagine there is a little dark rain cloud hovering over my head like you may have seen in cartoons where the character is really sad. Only my little cloud is blocking any genuine clear thought patterns.

I have found that physical activity helps move that little cloud! Exercising in some way, even for 30 minutes can make a world of difference. Maybe a 30 minute walk in nature or cranking the radio and dancing in your living room. Maybe hopping on a yoga mat and stretching out your body. Really anything to get yourself moving can also get that little rain cloud opening up so the sun can shine in! There are also vitamins you can take that possibly your body is lacking that is causing it. For that, I recommend you see a Naturopathic doctor and work with them to discover what is right for you!

If you experience brain fog, know that you are not alone. I completely understand and there is support out there for you. If you experience sleep procrastination, know that you and I are the most BRILLIANT people at 3 AM and it is just too much for the world to handle, so go back to sleep. We will be awesome just for being awesome and we will allow others to win the Nobel prizes.

Tag: mental clarity