Do you think holistically about your physical AND mental health? May is Mental Health Awareness month, and this show will challenge your thinking about what it means to be mentally healthy, how to cope with the seasons of life, and what you should have in your self-care toolkit.
Dr. Phyllis Hubbard is the Director of BMA Health & Healing Strategies, an innovative wellness program founded in Oakland and functioning within the Campaign for Black Male Achievement. Dr. Phyl (a.k.a. “The Body Whisperer”) is a motivational speaker, Board Certified Doctor of Natural Medicine, an Ayurvedic Practitioner, Life and Mental Health Coach, Qigong Instructor, Reiki Master, and Licensed Massage Therapist (#MA64036). Her wide range of professional education also includes Holistic Health Education, Injury Prevention Training, Therapeutic Nutrition & Movement, Clinical Aromatherapy, and Herbology. Having used holistic healing strategies to reverse a supposedly incurable illness (COPD–Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), Dr. Phyl now facilitates illness prevention and health intervention programs that promote self-empowerment and help restore balance in the mind and body through the use of a synergistic blend of holistic healing modalities. Her straightforward and humorous presentations blend ancient holistic wisdom with cutting-edge research in a way that is fun and easy to understand. She travels nationally and internationally as a Holistic Health Educator and to research indigenous holistic practices to integrate into her healing techniques and workshops.
Becoming a Naturopath
What would you do to regain your health? Dr. Phyl saw the brutal rape of a young child when she was a girl, and a subsequent asthma attack developed into bronchitis and COPD. In her 20’s she felt her health–and her life–slipping away and knew she had to do something. She found a book about Ayurvedic medicine and began the journey to healing. Three months later, the cough stopped and never returned. She became a naturopathic doctor and started teaching others about the pathway to radiant health.
TWEET: “There is no bad part of you, only parts of you longing for love, acceptance, or transmutation.” #ChasingDreams @Getradiant
The Seasons of Life
How do you handle life’s difficulties? Many people don’t realize that the seasons of life are part of the ebb and flow of the cycles we go through. We are supposed to experience a wide range of emotions and not expect things to be the same. The challenge is that we have to understand the process of how emotions move through us and don’t get stuck in us. For example, depression occurs when things get stuck in us and don’t pass through. Dr. Phyl says that our minds are like gardens that have to be tended, pruned, and taken care of.
TWEET: “You have the wisdom and ability to achieve and maintain radiant #health.” @GetRadiant #ChasingDreams
Your Mental Health
What do you do when stress comes your way? We all have trauma and early losses from childhood. Dr. Phyl says you have to go back and visit your childhood with your adult eyes. Other factors that affect mental health are stress, chemical imbalances, weather, and medical conditions. These things shift our perspective and add extra stressors. Look at your life from a holistic perspective. With mental health, there is always something that’s layered on top of something else. Mental health issues can affect anyone and everyone. Dr. Phyl gives the following recommendations:
- Develop a mental health self-care toolkit
- Have a non-negotiable daily practice
- When in pain, refrain
- Perform a pain release exercise
- Do your best to avoid knee-jerk reactions (Breathe, pause, and then speak)
Dr. Phyl also shares the following favorite true-isms:
- You have the choice and power to change your life.
- You have the wisdom and ability to achieve and maintain radiant health
- There is no bad part of you, only parts of you longing for love, acceptance, or transmutation.
OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE:
- [00:15] How we met through a mutual friend
- [3:33] ]Why she became a naturopathic doctor
- [7:27] Understanding mental health
- [16:41] What we can expect out of life: seasons for everything
- [22:32] Why we don’t talk about mental health
- [26:29] Factors that affect mental health
- [29:27] Dr. Phyl’s “experience” with Robin Williams
- [35:28] Tips for developing your self-care mental health toolkit
TWEET: “You have the choice and power to change your life.” @GetRadiant #ChasingDreams
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE:
Dr. Phyl on LinkedIn
Dr. Phyl onTwitter
Dr. Phyl on Facebook
Dr. Phyl on Instagram
Campaign for Black Male Achievement website
Journey to Radiance on the CBMA Website
Dr. Phyl’s Website
Radiant Health Strategies Website
TWEETS YOU CAN USE:
TWEET: If a thought is yours to choose, then why not choose an empowering one? @GetRadiant #ChasingDreams
TWEET: We are continually socialized to not feel #pain and avoid pain at all costs. @GetRadiant #ChasingDreams
TWEET: Mental #health is the wellbeing of our psychological, emotional, and social selves. @GetRadiant #ChasingDreams
TWEET: #Words are powerful. Even in joking, we bring ourselves down with them. @GetRadiant #ChasingDreams
