Ways to Detoxify Your Life

Working towards wellness is not easy. There are many contributing factors that can create hurdles towards our health and life goals. Living and thriving requires a conscious change in mindset and small wins to get the momentum of change on your side. These will not be temporary changes, but lifestyle changes that are deeply rooted. There are different areas of life that can create toxicity, and we must find pathways to cope. If you find yourself getting overwhelmed, feeling lethargic, experiencing anxiety, struggling with a flare-up, remember that everything is temporary. I hope you find the courage to start over and let go of your limiting belief to detoxify your life.

1. Stop eating Junk Food - Food is the fuel that runs our body. Food is associated with good times with family and friends. Food could be your go to comfort when you are feeling down. Food could be what you look for when you are feeling bored. This vital life source needs to work for you and your body in the most efficient way possible. And your body for the most part does an incredible job of extracting that source and converting it into energy, muscles, enzymes, etc. for daily functions regardless of it being a tub of ice cream or soup. However the differences in quality of fuel and maintenance on your body can mean quality of life (ex. sick vs healthy)

There is a reason we crave junk food especially when we are stressed. Because our bodies are designed that way. Under stress, the body is preparing itself for fight or flight. Traditionally this would mean fighting from a bear or running as fast as possible away from the bear. Naturally we would need the most amount of energy as fast as possible and this would be sugary drinks and snacks. However when we are experiencing stress from a project deadline, unsatisfying job, or harsh criticism, injecting extra sugar into the body doesn't really solve your underlying problem and only offer temporary relief that creates extra effort for the body to process.

One of the best ways to tackle this problem is to plan ahead. Meal planning means planning for what you are going to eat before getting hungry, having a stocked kitchen with the ingredients, and setting aside time to making food. This way you avoid skipping meals, binging on unhealthy snacks.

2. Limit TV time - Set a time frame before turning on the TV, because two hours in front of the TV can pass very quickly. Don't watch anything 1hr before bed. The abundance of information provided on television from the images to the sound can be overwhelming. Videos are a great and condensed way of receiving information quickly, but the brain takes time to process and filter what is presented. Reading the same information can take a whole book and even then it takes time for the information to really sink in after a good read.

3. Set times for Online and Social Media - Create intention before browsing the internet or phone. Are you setting a time to respond to emails, catching up with social media updates from friends, stalking your exes, or getting updated with the latest news. Like TV, mins and hours can pass very quickly on the internet. Set a time limit and create intention before starting.

4. Focus on yourself when dealing with Negative People - This is hard for people who are naturally more empathic. You can not change or control anything but your own actions. Put your most important task in the morning and complete them without being affected by others in your day. Negative people are unavoidable. And their impact on you may be great especially if it's someone you really care about. Disengage. Negativity is a reflection of who they are. If you find yourself being that negative person, before you judge, think if you can do any better than what you are criticizing, if yes then do it.

5. Swap out products with harsh chemicals - Try switching to more natural products once you use up your current one. This is anything that goes on your body to cleaning supplies. The skin is the biggest organ that interacts with the world directly through touch. Look for products with the fewest ingredient list possible.

6. Choose Natural clothing (Cotton, linen, silk, wool) - Synthetic fabrics such as polyester, acrylic, rayon are made from various chemical processes or petroleum bi-products. Since clothing are treated with so much chemicals, then its not impossible that these same chemicals can be absorbed by the skin.

7. Choose non-plastic - The history of plastic is pretty interesting as it too is a byproduct of the oil industry. It brings us many conveniences especially in the medical field, but plastic is very stable and cannot biodegrade for a very long time. When shopping, bring your own reusable bag.