Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: Welcome back to Integrative Lime Solutions with Dr. Carl Feld.
[00:00:05] Speaker B: I am so excited about the show that we have ahead of us. We have some phenomenal information that could save lives. I am Dr. Michael Carlfelt, and with.
[00:00:16] Speaker A: Me, I have my co host, Tanya Hobo.
[00:00:19] Speaker B: You're going to need to tune in to what's going on today. The information is impact. So, yeah, don't step away.
[00:00:29] Speaker C: So excited. Let's go ahead and get this started.
Welcome to Integrative Lime Solutions with Dr. Carl felt. And today we're going to change things up a little bit. We're coming near the holidays, or we are in the holidays, I should say. And we just want to talk a little bit about the extra stresses that we go through during this time of year, talk about the extra things we need to do to support our bodies, support our mental health as well.
So hopefully you guys will get a lot of great tips from this show.
[00:01:11] Speaker B: Yeah, we're excited because usually, obviously, we have a guest that we interview, but we feel it's so important for people to be armed during the holidays. It can be a time of a lot of joy and a lot of wonderful things, but it can be a lot of stressors there as well. And sometimes we start to kind of slip away a little bit from our daily habits. So we wanted to kind of go back and forth and discuss a little bit what you can do to kind of be able to sail through the holidays better. But obviously, this does not apply just to the holidays. This applies to every day, making sure that we have the habits that we need in order to be able to sustain ourselves.
[00:01:57] Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely. It is always good to talk about during the holidays, but for us that suffer with Lyme disease, it's certainly something that we need to think about year round.
[00:02:08] Speaker B: So, Tanya, I'm curious. Obviously, I've worked with Lyme patients. I see Lyme patients, but I've never had Lyme. So I'm curious, from your point of view, what are some of the struggles during the holidays that you would have liked to have a little bit more clarity of?
[00:02:28] Speaker C: Oh, gosh, I think just all the thoughts leading up to the holidAys, and that is so many things.
Thanksgiving time brings, all the food issues that we have, Christmas as well, the financial struggles. If you have families that you're trying to provide gifts for for Christmas.
One of my big issues was I wasn't able to be around very many people because I couldn't even have a conversation with one person and have a TV going on in the background. So that was huge for me.
And I know that I'm sure a lot of people, a lot of us have a lot of the same symptoms, and that was a big thing for me. So just worrying about being, am I better off staying home? Am I better off showing up for an hour?
And then the struggles for, I know many out there, how is your family going to react to that?
Along my journey, I feel so thankful and so blessed that just my family and my friends were just amazing. And I know not everybody has that support, but it definitely just kind of adds to everything.
If you're a healthy person, the holidays are a stressful time. So when you're suffering with Lyme, there's a lot more added on to that.
[00:03:56] Speaker B: So I'm curious, because obviously, family wants to see, even if you're struggling with Lyme, the family wants to see you in some fashion.
But then it comes to the point also, if you overextend yourself, then you would present yourself in a way that would create worry within the family, and maybe that would cause stress. So do you think it would be a good idea to kind of really set the stage prior to and set limitations and communicate those limitations to your family that maybe I can come between one and two? I mean, come for an hour, and if we might be able to have the TV off during that time, for these reasons, do you think that kind of a communication would be important and would somebody with line be able to have that conversation with their family?
[00:04:54] Speaker C: Yeah, I absolutely think that's important to be kind of proactive about it.
So a lot of us have multiple families. We do multiple events during the holidays. And so I recall during my journey, I would reach out to my family and whoever I spent the holidays with, and I'd be like, I need an agenda. What's the agenda? How many days, what do we have going on this day versus just a Christmas Day? Because I know that there's other events going on during the holidays, and I took that information and I decided what I wanted to do, what I felt most comfortable doing.
And so whether that be only attend certain events to save my energy for the one that was most important to me. And that to me was Christmas Day with my niece and nephew, because they're like my kids. So that was my important day, was to wake up with the kids, to see that Santa came for Christmas. And so I definitely think kind of laying out that agenda and finding out what your family's plans are, kind of what they're expecting from you, I definitely think it can take off a lot of pressure. And then I also had no problem whatsoever saying I was going to be tired for this or it's going to be a busy morning, Christmas morning. So prior to having dinner later that day, I'm planning on going back and taking a rest while the kids are playing with their new toys or whatever it is that may be. And whether I actually close my eyes or just have some silence in a dark room, I think that that was really helpful for me as well.
[00:06:41] Speaker B: Yeah. And I think it's really important because family wants you to do well and wants you to be happy. And even though they may not fully understand what's going on, and so they will not. I mean, just kind of knowing from my own point of view, I will not be able to understand fully what the individual is going through. And so it is important for me to know kind of the ground rules so that nobody's disappointed and it can be communicated appropriately to me, that would be important.
[00:07:19] Speaker C: Yeah, definitely it is. And the other thing that, in fact, I can look back and, well, I even laughed at it at the time. So for many years, wherever I traveled to, I always kind of brought my own food supply because there are so many things that we can't eat during our journey, and I don't expect my family to supply my food when I'm there. All these restrictions. And I remember kind of the first Thanksgiving I was able to join in during my journey. And my sister in law, she was great. She was always up for, okay, what should we make? What can't you have? What can you have? And I'll never forget that I decided I was going to make.
I don't even know exactly what it is, but cauliflower mashed potatoes. Instead of potatoes, I was going to make cauliflower mashed potatoes. My whole family was on board. We were still having mashed potatoes because they weren't really confident in my skills, in how good this may or may not be. But we made them, and I'm sure we did something wrong because they were horrible.
So I'm glad that they had their backup for that. But it also can be looked at in a positive way, kind of like a fun new adventure. Let's try something different. Who knows? Maybe you can come up with something really yummy that will replace something during the holidays. Because as many of us know, so much of our food is just so toxic anyways, so it's never going to hurt us to kind of clean up our diet. So whatever you do, just have fun with it and don't look at it as a curse. Be blessed that you're able to get over to your families, to be able to enjoy the holidays.
[00:09:07] Speaker B: And I'm betting that that would have been kind of like a cool little window for them to step into your world and experience your world a little bit. To here we're doing mashed potatoes together. And yes, it was horrible, but you guys did it together, and they get to experience your world in a little bit.
I'm betting that that was because I.
[00:09:27] Speaker C: Still had to eat them. I couldn't have the potatoes, so I still had to eat them. But, yeah, it definitely is another way to help them to kind of see what your everyday life is that you go through and that the struggles and a lot of times that will help them to even kind of be more patient because people are kind of high strung during the holidays and extra stressed out. And so something that may not normally get under somebody's skin may during the holidays. And I think it's just good for them to kind of see that this is our everyday life. This isn't just a holiday thing for us. And the flip side, maybe it will make them feel even more blessed that they have their health.
[00:10:15] Speaker B: And then you can support. So there are a lot of kind of nutritional supports you can do in relationship to the holidays. Adrenals, obviously, are your stress handling gland. So a few tips then, to do.
There are a number of herbs like ashwagandha.
Kind of helps to calm the nervous system down. And so you're able to deal with stressor better, less anxious. You also have passion flour. It's very kind of calming to the nervous system. So these are two great herbs. Then you can also bring in a little bit energy to be able to deal with stressors. You have the different ginsengs. Like Siberian ginseng is great. It's a little bit energizing, but it also enables you to deal with stressors without it impacting your body as much. And then you have Korean ginseng or any kind of Chinese red Chinese ginseng a little warmer. And so that will bring a little bit more fire into your body. And then you can do like adrenal desiccated will also help to give you a little bit more energy to get through the holidays. And you can also add some people, add a little bit of DHEA, which is a kind of precursor to your adrenal hormones and also to your steroid hormones. And so these are different things you can do to be able to kind of bring up your energy level to be able to deal with some of even happy stresses. And that's the thing, is that activity is activity, and it requires energy, whether it is happy or whether it is sad or stressful, when you sometimes have family that you may not agree with, and then it can become stressful, but even happy joyous, like with your nieces, that's very joyous. But you'd like to have that energy to be able to engage with them fully. And these are some tools that you can bring in.
[00:12:22] Speaker C: Yes, absolutely. And Dhea was actually one of my favorite things to take back then. So as far as people, and, like, what I struggled with, too, was the overstimulation from too many voices, too many lights, that type of stuff. I never did nail that down during my journey until I got well, what are some of the things that people can do to, because it really, like, you know that when we suffer with Lyme, like, our body is always in that fight or flight mode, so we're always like a revving engine inside nonstop. And it just heightens when you have a lot of voice activity around.
What are some of the things that people can do, even at home for free, possibly to prepare themselves or when they step away and maybe take a little rest during the day. What are some of the tips you would recommend to help with that?
[00:13:24] Speaker B: Well, so going back to some herbs, the Ashwagandh that I mentioned would be really good when you feel a little bit overstimulated.
Passion flour. Another one that I mentioned, passion flour, I would just have it in your bag as an extract, and it's hard to overdo passion flour. You can just do like a dropper in your mouth, right when you're kind of feeling a little bit anxious or overstimulated, and then you can assess yourself again in about 30 minutes. And if you feel you still need more, then take another dropper and do that every 30 minutes. That's a great way to calm down the nervous system, and it supports the production of neurotransmitter GAbA and GAbA. Is that calming neurotransmitter?
[00:14:12] Speaker C: That one's a good tip. I like that. Something that you can do every 30 minutes. And you know what? There's always been a lot of talk about the placebo effect. I don't care. Placebo or not, if I feel better, I'm going to feel better, and I'm good with that. So I like that that you can kind of not really micro dose, but do it and then wait and see 30 minutes how you're feeling. Do it again and it's not something that you can really overdose on.
[00:14:38] Speaker B: Yeah, that one's great. And obviously, CBD has become more and more common and each individual can kind of see how they respond to CBD.
Passion flour tends to be kind of a, I haven't seen really anyone that has had any kind of reaction in any way that is not favorable.
So those are great herbal things. And magnesium is helpful, but it's not as immediate all the time. You can do like a magnesium three and eight that will get into your brain a little bit faster and that will be calming. You also have the amino acid, ltheanine. So these are different options. Doesn't mean that you have to do all of them, but you can kind of play around and see what works for me and how do I respond to these different things. And then you have them as tools in your tool chest. Another one that I like a lot is lithium oritate. And that also, I call it the chill pill. Doing like.
[00:15:41] Speaker C: I like that.
[00:15:42] Speaker B: Yeah, we like chill pills. So those are great things.
And then, like you mentioned, just stepping away, dark room and doing a little bit of breathing exercise where you're just kind of focusing on your breath. And so that way your mind just gets focused on one thing and instead of then having to kind of take on everything, so you can just kind of feel the sensation of breathing. And usually when I teach people how to meditate, you just kind of breathe in and out through your nose and you feel kind of the sensation on the tip of your nose as air is passing by. When you're breathing in and out and you just try to focus on that, obviously your mind is going to go in different places, but each time you notice that it does and just kind of bring it back to that sensation. So you have kind of a one point of focus. And if it's hard then to just keep that focus, then each breath, you can then count. So that way your brain can stay busy with counting while you're focusing on the breath. So you count from one to ten and then ten to one. And you kind of go back and forth like that with each breath when you're stepping away and doing that. That's a great tool. Another one that I'd like a lot, and there are plenty of YouTube videos out there and I think even on my website, thecarifulcenter.com, if you kind of type in EFT in the little search bar that we have, and EFT stands for emotional freedom technique. And it's a little tapping technique where you tap on different acupressure points. And it's a specific pattern that you do and that just helps to kind of reset the nervous system in relationship to the stressor. And so that's something that not only during the holidays, but anytime when you're feeling pain or you're feeling anxious or you're feeling, whatever, digestive upset. And you can tap on these different acupressure points while you're then focusing on the stress search. You can go my website and you can find that. But there's plenty of videos on YouTube as well.
[00:17:54] Speaker C: Yeah, there absolutely are. So the breathing and the tapping, they're great techniques to have. And that wasn't really something that I was familiar with at all during my journey, at least in the biggest part of it.
I did, however, do my own breathing back then, and I know so many people talk about tapping now and breathing and square breathing, and I don't know all these techniques, but what I personally did, and I think I just made it up in my head, but if I took a breath in for 5 seconds, I would release it for seven. And I don't know if that's called something other than Tanya's breath work. I don't know, but it was really helpful to me. And again, like, you know, you can go on your website for the tapping and then YouTube too, for different breathing techniques that seem to be a lot of the talk. And I know that they do some amazing things for us.
[00:18:50] Speaker B: Yeah. And like you mentioned, it's very similar to box breathing, what you're talking about. So the box breathing is to breathe in for X amount of seconds. So usually it's like four or 5 seconds, then you hold your breath for four to 5 seconds, breathe out for four to 5 seconds, and then kind of hold your breath after breathing out four to 5 seconds and then breathe in. So you just kind of do that box. It's a box breathing technique and it's really good to put you in that to stimulate the vagus nerve, to put you in that parasympathetic state which kind of calms down the nervous system.
[00:19:28] Speaker C: Yeah. And again, like you mentioned, these are not just great tips for the holidays, they're for year round. We just need them extra at the holiday because we don't all like our family. Right.
[00:19:42] Speaker B: Yeah. There's always that somebody that doesn't understand us and say something that is off color and put guilt on us or whatever it may, it's always somebody in your family that is going to be that.
[00:20:01] Speaker C: Yeah, there's always something. And we tend to not always react well to things like that because we're sick. People don't understand how we feel day in and day out, and we're just so tired of it. We're so done. We're on the verge of just throwing in the towel, and then you bring the holidays in, and so it just really makes it for just a tougher time for us to go through. And so I know a lot of people are probably dreading this time of year, and I just wish that you could find something that's positive in it and kind of laugh at your epic fails, like the mashed potato, the cauliflower potatoes, and just do what you need to do to get through that again. I know there's a lot of families out there that are not supportive or not understanding, so it does make it tough.
[00:20:59] Speaker B: Yeah. And that's the thing. I mean, you're remembering that mashed potato, right. It's going to be ingrained in your memory. So these failures are what makes life colorful. And so enjoying that and laughing at that and getting to experience those failures with people around you, hopefully, that you love.
[00:21:21] Speaker C: Yes.
A few years later, when my diet wasn't as strict and I wanted to have a dessert or something, we have some of our famous desserts that have been in our family for years, and I made everybody go with all organic. Instead of cool whip, we would make our own whipping cream out of just organic ingredients. And a lot of things have kind of stuck with us over the years. So, again, not all bad things, right? Some good can come from some bad, for sure.
[00:21:54] Speaker B: You mentioned that. So it is good then to, when you step into the holidays and try to minimize the chemicals, try to minimize the inflammatory foods and be aware, kind of like you brought your own food, kind of be okay with bringing your own foods and making sure that you have more living foods that are not inflammatories. So not so much sugar. Absolutely. Stay away from the artificial sweeteners and artificial colorings.
And probably a lot of people dealing with Lyme shouldn't do gluten. They shouldn't be doing either. Even dairy sometimes, but gluten especially and sugar especially. So kind of finding alternatives, and there are lots of great alternatives out there that are delicious, that are gluten free, and that are maybe sweetened with more natural things like raw honey or good quality maple syrup, and kind of use that for the holidays instead.
[00:23:02] Speaker C: Yeah. And there are.
If I was going to be sick, I'd much rather be sick now than I was 10, 12, 15 years ago, because there wasn't a lot of that. They have these amazing bakeries that have gluten free. There's just so many really good options out there that are easily findable, that stores that you can go to and get. And so it definitely makes it easier for sure.
[00:23:29] Speaker B: And then also obviously, your digestive system is such a big part of your immune system, of your health, and also inflammation and pain and what's going on in your brain. A lot of that is connected directly to what's going on in your immune system or in your gut. You have signaling that goes right in between the brain and the gut. So they see big similarities between the gut lining and the blood brain barrier. So if the gut lining is inflamed, the blood brain barrier will be inflamed. So taking then steps to support your digestive system while you're then eating out of your norm, eating more of certain foods and maybe trying different foods that you normally wouldn't.
So then bringing in things like sipping ginger tea to stimulate the digestive system or bringing in some digestive enzymes or betane hydrochloride to be able to break down more of the protein to kind of bring in these tools so that you take them with your meals and maybe kind of prepare your digestive system ahead of time so that it can handle a bit more stress. And then also bringing in some good probiotic as well, because the probiotic will help to regulate what's going on in your gut while you're eating foods that maybe you shouldn't.
So just to kind of consider those tools as well.
[00:25:03] Speaker C: Yes, a lot of it. And I wasn't aware about that, about ginger tea. That's good to know.
[00:25:08] Speaker B: Yeah, I love ginger tea. I mean, it's warming to the intestinal tract and your stomach and your intestines, they like heat. So that little warming, it also increases the circulation. So it will speed up then nutrients and transport of things through the intestinal tract also will stimulate production of the different digestive enzymes. So ginger is fantastic. And if you feel a little bit kind of bloated or nauseous, to do like a little weak ginger tea that you sip on, don't drink it all at once, you just kind of sip on it a little bit. And that will stimulate and the digestive system to function better and kind of calm down and be able to process the food that you're dealing with.
[00:25:55] Speaker C: Well, I think that's the perfect version of our hot toddy, right? There's usually a lot of alcohol flowing around the holidays and it can be tempting for us. And wherever you are in your journey, maybe you're somewhere where you can enjoy a glass of wine. Maybe you're not. I wasn't for many years. And so we can just make ourselves a nice cup of ginger tea. Nobody would know the difference of what we're sipping on. I'm thinking it's probably dark. Maybe they're going to think we're going straight for the straight whiskey. I don't know.
And a lot of times it just makes us feel good to feel like we're included and we're part of what everybody else is doing. So a simple thing like sipping on ginger tea makes you feel like you're sipping on whatever they are and you're not. You're giving yourself something good for your body.
[00:26:44] Speaker B: Yeah.
So these little tools, I think it can shift an experience that you may be stressed about towards something that can be really joyous so you can enjoy your family in the appropriate amounts that you feel good about.
We started our conversation is to kind of set the stage for success. And so if you just kind of step into it without any plan, then a lot of times it's hard then to kind of come out on the other side without feeling stressed about it. But if you create the structure and you have tools and you're ready for what's going to transpire, then, yeah, this should be a wonderful time for people.
[00:27:37] Speaker C: I think so, too. Perfect topic to talk about today, right?
[00:27:41] Speaker B: I think so. I think this is great. Well, I hope any other things that you feel that should be discussed?
[00:27:53] Speaker C: We kind of covered the whole range of things.
I just think every day is a good day, but especially at the holidays when we're busy, you've got to remember that you have to take care of yourself. You've got to listen to your body. Most of us out there have discovered on our journey. We have to definitely be our own advocate and we just have to listen to our body. And if your body is telling you no, then it's telling you no. And I know you may get some backlash for things, but that's why I think if you set the tone early, figure out what the agenda is and figure out what you can and can't do, and then that way everybody kind of knows and hopefully they cut you a little slack. If you maybe are just having an extra bad day and can't make an event that you said that you were going to, it's not the end of the world. What the most important thing is to take care of your body and listen to your body.
[00:28:50] Speaker B: Yeah, I agree, too. To be okay with saying no, that's.
[00:28:54] Speaker C: A hard word, but it needs to be said, and it needs to be used, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with it, because if you're not well, you certainly will never be able to take care of anybody else, and so you've got to take care of yourself first.
[00:29:08] Speaker B: The backlash for somebody dealing with Lyme, the backlash, when they push beyond what they can, it's not just that they recover for a day. It can be weeks.
[00:29:22] Speaker C: Yeah, it's not the normal, for sure, and maybe this is a good time to kind of bring this up. It just flashed back into my head, so, I don't know, very well into my healing journey after the fire, as a matter of fact, I started going to some counseling, and it was mostly about the fire and trying to get through that whole scenario, and then I was getting better on my Lyme journey, and so we kind of switched over a little bit into the Lyme world, and my therapist said something to me that I think I will always remember, and, of course, I won't say it exactly the way she did, but I've never been good at saying no. I always love to volunteer. If somebody needs help, I'm there whether I'm sick or not. And that's one of my flaws, honestly.
And she reminded me that if you overdo it and you don't take care of yourself, not only are you down and out in bed, because, like you said, Lyme, you just don't get better in a day or two. She reminded me that it not only costs my time, but it costs my money if I'm having to continue my treatment or start my treatment again, because I've overdone things, it's financially burdening me, and I don't know what it was about those words, but I never thought about it that way. I spent a lot of money during my Lyme journey, and I feel like I'm good and it's never coming back, but you got to take care of yourself, is what I'm going to do. The limits I'm going to push my body, is it going to be worth costing me another $10,000 and another six months in treatment? I kind of think not. So those are strong words to me, and like I said, I don't think I'll ever forget them. They were just a couple of simple words, but it never dawned on me that way. It was just like, oh, I'll just be down for a month. But didn't dawn on me. It's going to hit my pocketbook, too. So take care of you first.
[00:31:34] Speaker B: Yeah.
And that goes to what we're talking about eating as well. So it's not just if you're eating things that are very inflammatory and kind of put you back.
You have to spend all that extra money in treatment and therapies and supplements in order to be able to then recover from that stressor.
That's huge. And that's really important for people to understand kind of the total ramification.
And while you're then down and out for six months, then you're able to spend time with your family less.
[00:32:17] Speaker C: Exactly. Yeah. There's no positive comes from not saying no and overdoing it for sure.
[00:32:25] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, I think these are great tips, and I was really glad that we could do this little different format today and chat a little bit about these topics because I think they're really important.
[00:32:37] Speaker C: They definitely are. And I like to change things up a little bit. Hopefully we got the listeners on board with us. I think we do. So hopefully these have been some great tips for you guys to take along during this holiday journey and then even beyond. Again, not just during the holidays. For us, it's important year round. So we hope you guys have a wonderful holiday, and thanks for listening.
[00:33:00] Speaker B: God bless all of you.
[00:33:08] Speaker A: The Information this podcast is for educational purposes only, and it's not designed to diagnose or treat any disease. I hope this podcast impacted you as it did me. Please subscribe so that you can be notified when new episodes are released. There are some excellent shows coming up that you do not want to miss. If you're enjoying these podcasts, please take a moment to write a review and please don't keep this information to yourself. Share them with your family and friends. You never know what piece of information that will transform their lives. For past episodes and powerful information on how to conquer Lime, go to integrativelimesolutions.com and an additional powerful resource, Limestream.com. For lime support and group discussions. Join Tanya on Facebook at Lyme Conquerors Mentoring Lyme warriors if you'd like to know more about the cutting edge integrative of Lyme therapies My center offers, please visit thecarlfillcenter.cOm. Thank you for spending this time with and I hope to see you at our next episode of Integrative Lyme Solutions with Dr. Carl Fallon.
