With every new year comes reflection. With every new year comes 365 new days; 365 new chances.

I'm a firm believer that sharing life lessons helps those that want to learn, grow, and change their lives. Big or small, positive change is good for the soul. I also have been an open book most of my life- and I'm okay with that. I'm okay with the personal 'thank you' messages, the friendships, and the 'ah ha' moments that have evolved from this. I’m also okay with this being a completely different than usual blog post.

​As I look back at 2019, I want to share some thoughts that I believe everyone will benefit from. 

Meditation

​Just 3 minutes of meditation a day can improve your overall health. Simple, right? Wrong! It is incredibly difficult to shut your mind off for 3 whole minutes. However, I challenge you to employ this into your lifestyle in 2020.

While meditating include every single positive affirmation about yourself and your life, including those in it! 

Stress

I don't know a single human being on this earth that doesn't encounter stress. However, it is how you react to that stressful situation that either helps or hurts your health. You can only control what you can control. Read that again. Constantly dwelling and worrying about things outside your control hurts not only your emotional health, but your physical and mental health as well.

​Did you know while you're "stressing" your body is converting muscle into fat? Did you know while you're "stressing" your body is releasing a hormone called Cortisol? Cortisol impacts EVERY hormone in your body. Chronic elevation of Cortisol is not a good thing. Cortisol is supposed to be elevated in a flight or fight situation. For instance, if you're out in the woods and you see a bear, you run faster than you've ever ran- thanks to Cortisol. Are you exhausted when you wake up but can't for the life of you fall asleep at night or stay asleep? Are you irritable, moody, and/or anxious? Are you sick, often? Are you constipated or the opposite?

I could keep going but I think I am already speaking to you, and if I am, contact me so I can help you get back to health.

Relationships

​I personally removed 'friends' that weren't adding value, positivity, and/or growth to my life. Does that sound harsh? Maybe. But your mental health is much more important. If you have increased anxiety before time spent with a 'friend' I urge you to evaluate the pros and cons of that relationship. Does your 'friend' care about your health and well-being or do they care more about telling Janet everything you just confided in them? Does your friend bring added stress and/or drama into your life or do they help reduce it? Do you feel as if you're constantly giving and they're constantly taking? A toxic relationship is just that, toxic. 

​I personally encountered a significant amount of stressful life events in 2019. However, I felt rather cool as a cucumber through the majority. Why is this? (Besides the obvious benefit of me being a Functional Medicine Doctor and a Chiropractor). I must give credit where credit is due to the man in my life. Who you choose as your significant other either improves your health and well-being or drastically impacts it in a negative way.

​I know I’ve mentioned that I live on an organic dairy farm, shout-out to all the farmers out there! However, this means that Derek works hard, long hours. We have two kids to take care of, two businesses, two dogs, and I am not even going to pretend that I know how many chickens, pigs, calves, heifers, or cows that we have. What am I getting at? He has every real excuse to not have extra time for anything. Nevertheless, he makes me a priority. He makes our kids a priority. He makes everything that relates to ‘us’ a priority. The days have come and gone where the woman does all the cooking, cleaning, and child caring. The days have also come and gone where the man does everything ‘man’ related. The world we live in is much different than it used to be. But some things remain the same, you truly need: respect, trust, love, and support. This man is my biggest supporter and one of the main reasons I’m able to change lives through Stittleburg RHC. 

​Now, I got a little off topic but what I’m trying to say is, you only have one life to live. Life is too short to be anything but unapologetically happy. Call out my clique, fine. But seriously, you weren’t put on this earth to just go through the motions and settle for a half-ass happy life. If your significant other isn’t loving and supporting you, sit back, and evaluate why. Have a respectful, adult conversation and get to the bottom of what’s happening. Pushing problems under the rug only leads to worse problems down the road. When you are loved the right way, you will reach your full potential. When you are loved the right way, you will be inspired to greatness.

Your Health

I’m going to pull out the mom card here- I’m a mom, I think about my children before myself, always. However, in 2019 I made a vow to myself that I was going to focus on bettering my health, which in turn bettered my children’s health. It’s now 2020 and I urge you to focus on bettering your health. Being an exhausted, worn out, no sex-drive, hair falling out, acne galore, just gimme 2 shots of expresso- but ‘I’m fine’ mom is NOT FINE! It’s time to take care of yourself.

Have a Happy New Year! And let's make 2020 your year,
​Dr. Taryn