Self-care is still a concern that women need to fully grasp the concept of. Considering how women are quintessentially the group known for donning many hats and taking on various tasks in day-to-day life. Dr. Melissa Sonners, a well-known diplomate in chiropractic pediatrics, knows all too well about how self-care helps combat some truly challenging health problems. In a conversation with ‘Biohacker’ Gary Brecka, she talked about battling Lyme disease. All this, while juggling being a mother, a doctor, and many other roles.
In 2017, Dr. Sonners found she had a neurological form of Lyme disease that brought meningitis and encephalitis with it. While she dealt with a monster of a health issue, she was also a mother who began prioritizing self-care which changed her trajectory of life.
Speaking to Brecka about how the disease attacked her emotionally, she recalled how she did everything correctly, according to the books. Going through pregnancy, breastfeeding, co-sleeping, and more over seven years, Dr. Sonners unfortunately observed how her emotional stress was at a high.
Not even regular CrossFit exercises, a low-carb diet, or fasting could help with her mental state at the time. Her auto-immune disease had gotten the best of her. This resulted in her needing some tough solutions to help herself and support her family. At that time, she realized that she needed a system instead of a temporary solution in the form of self-care.
“I think there’s sometimes for a lot of women, there’s a lot of guilt around self-care. They think… self-care is selfish…that putting themselves first is putting their kids, or their husbands, or their careers second.”
But one couldn’t fill from an empty cup, and that has been the message that Dr. Sonners swore by ever since. The simplest solution, she suggested, was for women to take off some time to sit with themselves.
Admittedly, this could be difficult. As the human mind tends to let loose a flood of thoughts and emotions the moment one resorts to silence. And instead of doing nothing, they end up in a whirlwind of “should’ves” bombarding their minds.
“What I like to encourage women to do is to have a gateway tool to help us sit, and it’s a book! So what if instead of picking up your phone, which is a negative habit…you replace that negative habit with a positive habit.”
The substitution can be challenging at first, but that shouldn’t stop one from trying their best. Women are in dire need of self-care that goes beyond massages and a scented candle bath. Dr. Sonners also revealed some self-care tools she utilized for her clients as a starter pack.
Dr. Melissa Sonners talks to Gary Brecka about her tools for self-care
Pushing the topic of self-care further, Dr. Sonners also told Brecka about how she tackled the obstacles for her clients. Since it’s tough to navigate through the subject, especially with women, she designed a 31-day plan. This acted as a consistent reminder for her clients to take time out for themselves.
She also encouraged her clients to maintain a journal for a better picture of their mental health. As a part of the daily challenge, they could express their thoughts in the form of word vomit or as creatively as they wanted to.
