Happy Wellness Wednesday, Garden Fam!
It’s Mental Health Awareness Week, so I wanted to use this episode to offer an alternative perspective to what is often shared in the mainstream. Enjoy and be encouraged! 💕
Focus Scriptures
2 Timothy 1:7
John 14:12-14
Isaiah 61:1-3
Episode Transcript
First, let me start off by saying that I am an advocate for taking care of your mind just as much as, if not more than your body. Mental Health is super important as it is one of the aspects of life that strongly affects the rest! I believe we must be intentional about what we are taking in, such as content and food, and should be intentional about implementing healthy practices overall in order to maintain good mental health. I believe in saying ‘no’ when needed, taking breaks when needed, ensuring we are maintaining healthy relationships and environments, and implementing healthy practices that help us to operate at our best. I DO NOT believe in overriding or suppressing what is going on within, and I think it is super important to address when things may be off within us instead of just pushing through and hoping it goes away.
There was a time when mental health was not much of a thing… when going to therapy and caring for your mind and emotions was taboo, or even thought to be for the weak or faint at heart. That certainly wasn’t healthy and definitely led to the stigma towards mental illness and even remedies for mental health. As someone who has had my own struggles with depression, I was very happy to see the shift take place when the world began embracing and promoting the importance of mental health. It is something that I’ve always held in high regard, even if I didn’t necessarily call it by that name. Our minds are one of our most valuable assets, so obviously we should be caring for them. However, I’ve begun to see another shift taking place, and though it seems ‘fluffy’ and ‘feel good’, I actually believe it is a disservice and detrimental overall…
What I see is that in our efforts to normalize mental health, we’ve actually normalized mental illness. In our efforts to destigmatize mental illness, we’ve embraced it as a normal part of life. Instead of instilling hope and offering curative solutions for mental health struggles, we’ve kinda set up shop here and accepted that mental illness is just something that happens and that we’ve just got to deal with it, potentially for the rest of our lives…
In a world that’s constantly telling you that it’s totally okay and totally normal to be depressed, anxious, bipolar, autistic, or to have attention deficit disorders… In a world where there is heavy emphasis on long-term treatment options instead of prevention and the availability of a cure… In a world where sickness (mental and physical) is celebrated and embraced as a badge of solidarity, while you continue to suffer day-to-day…
I want to take today to offer you a different, more hopeful perspective.
Though no one should feel shame for struggling mentally or emotionally from time to time, or even for receiving a diagnosis for a mental illness for which you've been told there is no cure, I want you to embrace the idea that this does NOT have to be your reality for the rest of your life! I’m going to share a little bit of my own deliverance experience with you and I want you to know that I’m not special. The same healing is available to you and I need you to know that! I pray that you don’t take away from this any shame, discouragement, or stigmatization, but rather hope that if it happened for me, that it can also happen for you!
[listen for my story]
Now, after hearing that, you may be thinking a few things, like “well, yeah, that was just you,” or maybe, “I’m not depressed though..” or potentially even, “what I’ve got going on is a lot worse than a little depression.” To you, I still say, it is possible for you to not suffer for the rest of your life. I know a man who holds the cure to EVERY illness you may ever encounter. This may sound cliche or like something you’ve heard before, but stay with me until the end anyway! I say it now with the experience to back it up and not just from the place of my own belief: Jesus CAN and WILL heal you from any illness, seen and unseen if you ask Him and welcome Him to do so!
If you don’t yet know Him, I encourage you to try Him. Call out to Him today, and see that He will respond. And to those who know Jesus, but don’t yet believe that He can cure your illnesses, mental or physical, I want to encourage you that He can AND that He has given your the authority by His Spirit to heal the sick, cast out demons, and do even greater works than He did while on the earth.
Again, I pray that each of you would be encouraged and that you leave this podcast with even a glimmer of hope that mental HEALTH can be and IS your portion, and that you don’t have to struggle with mental illness, whether acute or chronic for the rest of your life. There IS another way! Know that you can pray for healing for yourself and others and if you believe, they shall be healed, in Jesus’ name! I will leave you with a devotional from my Bible that was super encouraging to me, and I pray that it is for you as well!
I will link a blog in the description that lists all of Jesus’ recorded healing miracles. Read them and know that there is NO case that is too hard for the Master Healer, and know that it does not have to take years, months, weeks, days, or even hours for your healing to take place. God can heal you in an instant if you only have the faith to believe Him!
Even if you don’t yet believe, I want you to declare everyday this week, or more if you need to: “My mind is sound, in Jesus’ name!” If God gives you instructions on what to do next, make sure you follow through!
I love you so much and I will be praying for you to be free from whatever has had you bound mentally! I look forward to hearing your healing testimonies!
Have a healthy and wholesome week!
Epiphani
It's time to COME UP HIGHER when it comes to your health, sis!
Check out today's podcast episode or the transcript below for some encouragement on how to do so!
Episode Transcript
Hi there, Welcome back to the Garden of Epiphani, A Women’s Health and Wellness Oasis. I’m your host, Rhaven Epiphani and I am so glad you decided to join me for another episode. On wellness Wednesdays, we talk about topics concerning our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health from a holistic perspective, and today is no different!
Today’s episode will be a quick one, because I want to leave you with something to think about afterward. I had the privilege of attending a WONDERFUL Kingdom Business conference this past weekend and MY GOD was it life-changing. It’s always a blessing to be amongst like-minded people who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. I can’t say that I had a favorite speaker per say, because every single speaker was super impactful and left me with insight and homework that I brought home to begin implementing! However, I was pleasantly surprised by Coach Rochelle T. Parks’ session.
She focused on the importance of health, specifically on minding what we are putting into our bodies. Many of the things she spoke about were things that I already knew, some I’ve lightly touched on here, but hearing her talk about them did a few things for me.
One, it was confirmation of many things that I knew, but could not yet prove. And more importantly, two, it convicted me about a few things I already knew but had not yet gotten serious about implementing. See, the Bible says that “to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin,” and MY GOD did I have to repent of some things! Though I’ve come a long way in my health journey, I’ve kinda been using that as a crutch or excuse not to have to go further… and well, NOT ANYMORE!
The anchoring questions Coach Rochelle asked were, “Who wins if you win?” and “Who loses if you give up?” Those questions not only convicted and challenged me, but also charged me up to hashtag DO BETTER! If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ve likely heard me share my ‘whys’ for living a healthier life. Not only is it a command from God to steward well over my body and treat it as a temple of the Holy Spirit, but also, I know that I have work to do here in the earth. I know that I need to be healthy and well to do it with excellence and to live long enough to complete my assignments, and to enjoy the blessings God has for me in the land of the living. I know that there are and will be people depending on me to get this health thing right, so that they can too. I know that I want to raise children who are healthy and eat well, and who learn the right ways from the beginning. All of that requires me to be committed to my health NOW.
So, what am I saying? I am saying that it is time to take our health more seriously. It is not enough to be doing better than what is considered “normal.” We must come up higher and pursue a standard of health that aligns with our anointing, assignments, and aspirations. It is worth it and very possible to live a life of wellness that is absent of, or at least nearly absent of chemicals and unclean foods. Coach Rochelle, or Coach Ro, as many call her, emphasized the fact that eating God’s Food, in the form it was created, is the best way to live a healthy life, and even to defeat chronic illnesses. I could have gotten up and ran around the room on that point alone! Lol. For those who don’t know, the Garden portion of our name is in reference to The Garden of Eden, where Adam & Eve had access to everything they needed to survive, thrive, and live a healthy, fulfilled, abundant life. That’s a principle we stand on here, believing that leaning on what God created is the best way to live an abundant life. However, if I am completely transparent, I am not where I desire to be when it comes to that. Yes, it is a journey to unlearn and relearn some things, but as I mentioned earlier, sometimes, we use that as a crutch not to do as well as we really could. To be honest, certain parts of the journey don’t have to be as long or drawn out as we often settle for. There are certain things that I KNOW God has been showing me to let go of, or to start implementing to live a more healthy life naturally, and I’ve done many of them, but still slacked off or made excuses about others. I thank God for allowing me to cross paths with Coach Ro this weekend to remind me of my personal values and the purpose of this blog, and to call me to come up higher when it comes to caring for my temple. And also to speak and live what I know to be true in BOLDness.
And now, with this episode, I am paying it forward and calling you to come up higher, sis!
There are things that God has for you to do on the earth, and sickness, disease, and fatigue aren’t a part of His vision or plans for you. We talk about this often, but I am calling both you and myself to get more diligent and be more selective about what you allow in and around your body. Just because something is “normal” in the world or in your family, does NOT mean it’s meant to be normal by God’s standards. Just because something is good TO you, does not mean that it is good FOR you! In 2023, we have access to so many clean options when it comes to food, cleaning products, menstrual products, and more. And even if those aren’t desirable, we still have access to the basics, like fruits and veggies for food, and baking soda and white vinegar for cleaning. Yes, we know that much of our food in America is laced with harsh chemicals, carcinogens, and genetically modified ingredients, but we still have the choice to choose wiser! Why should we continue to make poor choices out of convenience, tradition, or laziness? Perhaps your excuse is that learning all of the necessary information is overwhelming to you… Well, that’s what we’re here for. I do my best to research natural alternatives and remedies to give you a starting point, but you DO still have to do the work to implement what’s shared, and further your research to dive deeper for what you need in your specific situation. Realistically speaking, if you don’t have time to prioritize your health, it is time to reevaluate your priorities and shift some things around! You only get one body, so take care of it, or you won’t be able to do everything else on your priorities list anyway!
Earlier this year, I shared a video asking you about your ‘why’ and I will link that in the description for those that want to go back and check it out, but today, I want you to ponder the two questions that Coach Rochelle posed to me this weekend: “Who wins if you win?” and “Who loses if you give up?”
Come up higher and don’t give up, sis!
I love you bunches and will talk to you again on Faith Friday, God willing!
Have a healthy & wholesome week!
Listen along via podcast 🎧
Happy Wellness Wednesday, Garden Fam 🌸
We are in the final week of our Stress Awareness Month Series. So far, we’ve chatted about ways to avoid and alleviate stress, healthy practices for work-life balance—which, if you heard that episode, you know we are now calling work-life flow—and lastly, how to manage stress in busy seasons (we know that it can look different than more quiet seasons).
Today, we’re wrapping up the series with creating an anti-stress lifestyle. I’ve shared tips and key pointers in the other three April episodes that I believe can also contribute to today’s topic, so be sure to go back and check those out, whether you need the information now or may need it in the future.
In this last episode, I thought it might be nice to just speak candidly and share a few of my experiences and what I learned from them as it pertains to living a stress less life. Overall, though there were seasons where I was more tired than others (naturally), I am thankful to say that very rarely did I find myself feeling “stressed.” I definitely owe the credit to God for empowering me in every season and allowing me to lean on Him. There were also tangible things that I did (or didn’t do) that supported my anti-stress lifestyle.
First, let’s chat mindset.
Before I even get into my experiences, I will say that as cliche as it sounds, mindset truly does matter SO much! When it comes to stress, I intentionally fostered a mindset of “I get to” rather than “I have to,” and I could definitely feel the difference when I was not intentionally approaching life this way. For example, I loved teaching, but in the hard moments, I would remind myself that it was a blessing to teach, engage, and have a hand in cultivating the minds of little ones.
There are times (really most times) when you have to train your mind what and how to think and literally cancel out negative or unproductive thoughts. I also embraced the scripture that says to “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” That’s Colossians 3:23 and it definitely kept me going in times when I wanted to quit, or complain, or checkout. There were definitely times when I fell short of this as far as excellence goes, but fostering this mindset was definitely helpful, because even when people may have been difficult, it reminded me who I was truly working for, and who was working within me. It surely made all the difference.
Whether you adopt these mindsets or some of your own, your mindset is definitely the first place to begin building an anti-stress lifestyle.
I’ve said this many times before, but you should also filter what you are taking in on a regular basis. We don’t need to know everything that is going on in every city across the world, or what is going on in the lives of every single person we know on a regular basis. We certainly don’t need to be taking in doom and gloom messaging and conversations. It’s important to filter these things out. If it doesn’t align with God’s word as it is written or the things He has spoken to you specifically, filter it out. There’s more I could say on that, but I’ll leave it at that for now. I wrote a blog on this last year, so I will link it in the comments for those that need help in this area, and I’ll likely find myself talking about it again in more detail in the future.
Overall, a healthy mindset is something that is actively cultivated, not passively, so get intentional, “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” That’s Philippians 4:8, by the way. With this, and doing things God’s way, brings the PEACE of God, and stress can’t overpower the peace that God gives!
I can tell you that with confidence because I’ve experienced it for myself!
There have been times that I’ve looked back on and couldn’t fathom how I was not only surviving, but gliding through with grace. That’s not to say it NEVER got difficult, but overall, I’m impressed with all that God allowed me to do. During my time teaching, I was literally teaching full time and all the things that come with that: meetings and lesson planning and grading, and teacher outings, and even at certain points, planning events for staff, and volunteering… Then, on my own time tutoring and doing freelance work, and serving at my church, and somehow still making time for fun and traveling. My mind is lowkey blown just reflecting on it, but it’s a reminder to me and to you that it is possible to not only get a lot done, but to do so with grace and ease and peace. I won’t lie, that grace, ease, and peace may not come and definitely won’t be sustainable without God, but truly, all things are possible with God! Now for the takeaways: When I look back at this season, and the one I will share next, there are a few things that I know aided me in showing up with excellence:
TIME-MANAGEMENT! As someone who helps others manage their calendars, I know firsthand that this does not come naturally to everyone, but man oh man is it important and a major key to creating an anti-stress lifestyle. Whether you use a digital or written calendar, a physical checklist or project management software, you MUST have something that you are accountable to that helps you to plan your days and delegate your time. Disorganization, both physically and with our time, can definitely breed stress! When managing your time, be realistic about how much time you really need for tasks and don’t ever rely on “remembering” scheduled appointments, meetings, etc. Write it down or it’s not real! Lol.
Someone I know puts EVERY minute of their day on their calendar, from eating to showering, to working and working out, you name it! Shout out to you if you’re listening: You know who you are! Lol. I don’t always do it to that extent and I’m not suggesting that you have to either, but if I’m honest, it helps to visually see your time and how it is spent, and also, in busy seasons especially, you can almost create more time in the day by properly allocating time for things. Obviously, we only have 24 hours in a given day, really less when we count sleep, but when you employ the combination of visualizing your time and setting a schedule to adhere to, you’ll be surprised how much you can get done in a day and how much it will eliminate the stress that comes from confusion, disorganization, or not knowing what to do next. In this way, you also find that you have time for rest throughout your day, whether it be short breaks throughout or one long break in the middle.
Long story long on that, manage your time well, and don’t forget to factor in the logistics like travel time, actually cooking, ordering, or picking up the meal you plan to eat, rest, and hygiene. Shameless plug, if you need someone to help you setup or maintain your calendar, I’d be happy to help you through my assistance and organization business, Reorganize with Rhaven! I offer a plethora of services as a virtual executive and personal assistant, and as a digital organizer to help you organize your life, your space, your schedule, and your business. Check out my website reorganizewithrhaven.com and let me help you begin creating your anti-stress lifestyle today! The link will also be in the description.
The next experience I want to share is one that I know many can relate to, whether now, in the past, or in the future, and that is working full-time while going to school full time. If you are there or have been there, you know that combination packs a PUNCH. I completed my masters program while working full-time in my role as an executive assistant, serving in an ancillary role as the leader of our company culture, and continuing to serve my tutoring students. Now, let me say, busy is not always productive and you don’t necessarily have to be busy to be successful, but I want to offer a balanced perspective that you CAN be successful in living an anti-stress life, even when you are wearing 5000 hats. I know there has been a movement towards doing less, and I support that if that is the season you are in and if that is what you feel is best for you right now, but there are DEFINITELY seasons where God and life will require more of you. Don’t back down! You can charge forth, be super productive and impactful, and still be at peace. It doesn’t have to be either-or. I also want to debunk the idea that you just need to struggle through a busy season to get to a quiet, calm life. Realistically speaking, if you have goals and if you have a calling on your life from God (which we all do, but not everyone answers); if you care about being impactful and moving from glory to glory, you need to posture yourself to thrive and live a good life in every season, and not postpone joy, peace, rest, etc. for some season that isn’t coming or that won’t last. What am I saying? Live well NOW, no matter the circumstances. I think that is one thing that I have learned—to stop holding my breath and struggling through intense seasons, and to embrace each season for what it is, even when I know better is coming. How does this apply to working while in school? Well, I’m glad you asked! Often, when in school, we have this idea that we will just push through this 4 years in undergrad, 2-3 years in grad school, or however many years in a doctorate program, or however many months in a certification program so that we can coast later… but after school ends, then comes looking for a new job or promotion or building a business and the cycle starts all over again. So, what’s a better solution? Create a lifestyle of anti-stress now. Care for your mind, body, and spirit now. Manage your time well and create helpful habits now. Make time for your family and friends, and yourself now. Are there certain things that come after delayed gratification? ABSOLUTELY, but exhaling, resting, caring for ourselves, and truly LIVING should not be a part of those things. Build an anti-stress lifestyle while working and going to school full time by doing some of the things we’ve already mentioned, eating well, making time for rest, setting healthy habits, making time for fun and self-care, managing your time and tasks well, just to name a few. How this looks and how much time is allotted for each thing may need to shift in different seasons, but as we discussed in last week’s episode, you still need to make time for your non-negotiables in every season. And just to clarify, I’m not saying you will be comfortable in every season, because not every season is meant to last a long time, but you DON’T have to just accept that stressful living is your portion. It’s not… or at least it doesn’t have to be.
I will wrap up in saying this: many have accepted that stress is a part of life and I am here to tell you that while that is true, that life does come with certain pressures, it does not mean that you have to be stressed or life a stressful life. You can thrive under and really, over the pressures, and significantly alleviate or even avoid the effects of stress, especially chronic stress, by building a life that is not conducive to it. Go back and listen to the rest of the episodes in this series for more ideas on how you can do just that. You can also grab the transcripts on the blog at thegardenofepiphani.com, if you’re someone who needs to see it visually. As we wrap up April, Stress Awareness Month, I want to challenge you to begin setting up for an anti-stress lifestyle. What things do you need to start, stop, or continue doing? What habits do you need to strengthen or eliminate? How can you foster a better mindset going forward? If you haven’t already, I challenge you to leave stressful living behind in April and enter May committed to God’s grace, ease, and peace, and living a Stress Less life!
That’s the end of today’s episode and the end of this series. I hope you’ve enjoyed it and that you feel empowered to go forth. Leave me a comment and let me know one thing you will start implementing this week to build or strengthen your anti-stress lifestyle!
I love you bunches and will talk to you on Faith Friday, God willing!
Until then, have a healthy and wholesome week! 💕