Episode 53
Table of Contents:
In this episode:
Khara struggled with stomach pains and digestive issues for three years in college, only to be told that it was a virus. When she finally got properly diagnosed, the doctors told her that she had advanced Crohn's Disease, and should avoid the stress of medical school, as she would have to deal with being ill for the rest of her life.
After several surgeries, Khara finally turned to Reiki, essential oils, and alternative medicine for healing, which brought improvement and led her to Functional Medicine.
Stress
Stress is not just one thing.
Eustress - good stress counts too!
Distress - bad stress can stay and compile and lead to chronic stress, in turn leading to illness.
Gut-Brain Connection
Of course there is a connection!
50% of dopamine is made in the gut, as is over 90% of serotonin.
It is not just brain health, but full body health. Including emotional.
We are not one dimensional!
Holding stuff in can derail health!
We can handle acute stress in about 90 minutes.
We are living a life of convenience today which leads to rushing and stress.
Mindfulness
Your ability to be fully present in the moment.
We need to slow down!
There is no such thing as a quick fix!
Being mindful is a PRACTICE!
Pause, Breathe, Reflect!
JOY - Vitamin J
Joy is essential
We need to have little moments of fun! It will lead to being more positive and less stressed.
Little small things, minute by minute present opportunities to tune in and be mindful.
Relax down to the cellular level.
Ask yourself...what is the one thing that my body says it needs right now?
After several surgeries, Khara finally turned to Reiki, essential oils, and alternative medicine for healing, which brought improvement and led her to Functional Medicine.
Stress
Stress is not just one thing.
Eustress - good stress counts too!
Distress - bad stress can stay and compile and lead to chronic stress, in turn leading to illness.
Gut-Brain Connection
Of course there is a connection!
50% of dopamine is made in the gut, as is over 90% of serotonin.
It is not just brain health, but full body health. Including emotional.
We are not one dimensional!
Holding stuff in can derail health!
We can handle acute stress in about 90 minutes.
We are living a life of convenience today which leads to rushing and stress.
Mindfulness
Your ability to be fully present in the moment.
We need to slow down!
There is no such thing as a quick fix!
Being mindful is a PRACTICE!
Pause, Breathe, Reflect!
JOY - Vitamin J
Joy is essential
We need to have little moments of fun! It will lead to being more positive and less stressed.
Little small things, minute by minute present opportunities to tune in and be mindful.
Relax down to the cellular level.
Ask yourself...what is the one thing that my body says it needs right now?
Other Resources:
Connect with Khara' Jefferson
Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Julie Michelson: Welcome back to the inspired living with autoimmunity podcast. I'm your host, Julie Michaelson. And in today's episode, we're joined by Khara Jefferson. And we're talking about the gut brain connection and the role that chronic stress plays in illness. Kara's healing journey is beyond inspiring and led her from working in the ER to functional medicine, where she empowers patients to have more control over their health.[00:01:00]
[00:01:00] Khara shares how we can all bring mindfulness to our day to day in order to keep in touch with what our bodies need and have better lives all around.
[00:01:10] Khara, welcome to the podcast.
[00:01:12] Khara Jefferson: Thank you. It's so nice to be here.
[00:01:16] Julie Michelson: So I am so excited for you to share with us today. And I love to have listeners get to know you a little bit. I know most of us don't decide when we're youngsters, that this is where life is gonna take us and, and how we're gonna spend our time. So I would love for you to share a little bit of your journey with listeners and, and specifically, of course, you know, what brought you to the functional medicine realm?
[00:01:46] Khara Jefferson: So, yeah, you're exactly right. I was a college student many years ago and I thought that everything in my life was going great. And then. You know, I had some stomach pains. Like everybody else, you have a [00:02:00] little bit of stomach pain. You have a little bit of diarrhea. You think you have a stomach bug, you move on.
[00:02:04] Cuz that's what I was told that I actually had for three years. And then in my senior year of college, I started having worsening belly pain to the point that I didn't wanna leave the room. I couldn't be far from the bathroom. I. 10 pounds in less than a month, went to the doctor. And I was told I had a stomach virus and I knew I didn't have a stomach virus.
[00:02:27] All of those symptoms, you know, night sweats, all of it. And so I remember leaving that office feeling so fired up. I was angry and I called my parents and I was like, I actually need to go see a gastroenterologist, cuz my major at the time was biology premed. And so I also knew that something was wrong.
[00:02:49] So I called the insurance company and they gave me a big, long list. And the wait to get into all of the gastroenterologist was like three to six months and I just called and made appointments and [00:03:00] canceled appointments until I found somebody who could take me ASAP. And I did. I found somebody who could take me.
[00:03:07] I had a colonoscopy and I remember waking up and looking at my parents' faces and knowing something was immediately wrong, but I was too sleepy at the time to recognize it. And then later that evening they were like, Yeah. He says you have one of the most advanced cases of Crohn's disease that he's ever seen.
[00:03:26] He's gonna try to keep you on and keep you as his patient, but he's not sure. So we're gonna just start with these steroids and these pills. So that was the, the beginning of what seemed like a long tumultuous journey. I. Soon had a GI bleed. I had pancreatitis. They weren't sure if it was the medication they put me on or my gallbladder since it had sludge.
[00:03:54] So then they removed my gallbladder.
[00:03:56] Got pancreatitis again.
[00:03:58] Julie Michelson: It wasn't the gallbladder
[00:03:59] Khara Jefferson: it [00:04:00] wasn't the gallbladder. No, it was . It was actually the medication. Was on bunch of different medications, medication after medication steroid, after steroid, then moved up to the biologics. And the one thing that we determined is once I started the biologics, every two years, I was having surgery, my Crohn's disease, which is an autoimmune disease, which affects you anywhere from the mouth to the anus.
[00:04:25] It actually forms strictures. So imagine like your intestines being the size of this, but. Food is only passing through this pinpoint hole. So my stricture would get so inflamed that I had to have. First. I had a Hemi colectomy, and then I had a small bowel section. Then I had a stricter of plasty and a small bowel section.
[00:04:47] Then I had another small bowel restric and throughout all of this, yeah. Permanently broken digestion
[00:04:56] Julie Michelson: So they told you
[00:04:57] Khara Jefferson: Yes. Yes. [00:05:00] Exactly. And so, you know, bowel obstructions, because now I have all these surgeries and all the surgeries form, scar tissue or adhesions. And so then I kept getting bowel obstructions.
[00:05:14] So severe cramping, vomiting, like projectile vomiting. And so finally I remember going and I, he saw me in the hospital and he was like, you need to have another surgery. And I'm like, I'm not doing it. I'm I actually had saw something somewhere about this lady who had had fertility problems and adhesions, and she did this manipulative type of physical therapy.
[00:05:38] And so I said, I'm gonna try that. And the surgeon was like, that's a bad idea, but my GI doc was like, you know what?
[00:05:46] Julie Michelson: Do it.
[00:05:47] Khara Jefferson: Yep. Try it. And so that's what actually started my role to recovery. I did that. My mom is a Reiki master yoga instructor, and hangs out with a bunch of alternative medicine friends. We [00:06:00] put a little bit of essential oils in that mix, and I slowly found functional medicine started employing some of those practices and micro Crohn's disease has been in re.
[00:06:12] Julie Michelson: What an amazing I see. I knew you had, I knew you had a story. I didn't know it was that intense. And it it's one of my, I I've. So many, this isn't supposed to be what the whole interview and it won't be what the whole interview's about, but I have so many questions is this is listeners already know, you know, my mission is that nobody is told they can't heal.
[00:06:38] And that if somebody's told they can't heal, they've already heard enough to know they shouldn't believe it. And. Obviously auto immunity across the board, chronic illness in general, but auto immunity across the board, but Crohn's and ulcerative colitis are like my pet peeve diagnoses [00:07:00] in that. And I'm, so I'm really curious about your story.
[00:07:05] Most of the people I encounter. They're not told to change diet or they're told to avoid things like vegetables, cuz that's dangerous. Or a, and you know, a again, it's that same story that I was told with the RA. Nothing you could do, but take the steroids, take the biologics. It's your only hope. And it it's maybe.
[00:07:29] I don't have either one of those diagnoses never did. But I have a son with celiac who projectile vomited his first four years of life and was super medicated for that and saw the quote unquote, top specialists at the universities, you know, that, and, and nobody ever said. What are you eating when I was nursing?
[00:07:55] Or what is he eating when he was, I mean, it, it just, and now in hindsight I'm like, [00:08:00] okay, it, we all know all of it, and we're gonna talk about this today. The gut is related to, to all of it. But when you have something like Crohn's Sy symptoms, the fact that food is like the last thing they think about just literally blows my mind.
[00:08:20] Blows my mind.
[00:08:22] Khara Jefferson: It. Yeah. So it, it blows my mind too. Like as I go back and I look. Look back at what happened. It wasn't probably until 10 years into my journey that they actually had me sit down. I think I sat with both a dietician and a nutritionist on two different occasions, but that was way later their main message in the beginning was I understand that your desire was to go to medical school, but you actually can't because the stress is gonna kill you.
[00:08:48] Crohn's disease is something that. You will have to live with for the rest of your life. There is no cure. You will be on medication forever and ever. The only thing that [00:09:00] might help you is if you happen to have surgery that you end up with a bag for, you know, for life. And that's the only, that's the only thing I was told in order to keep your symptoms at day.
[00:09:12] You can eat rice. You can eat as much potatoes as you want stay O yes. White bread, white rice. Anything else is going to aggravate your gut vegetables, stay away from them. They will aggravate your gut. And so I did the exact opposite when I was healing, you know, of every single thing they told me, but yeah, that's what, that's what life was like.
[00:09:37] Julie Michelson: Well, and this is exactly why we do this, right, because. Again, I, nobody needs to take that as truth and, and see, it took me so good for you. You got angry right away. You know, it took me years to realize like, wait a minute, maybe they're wrong. You know? I [00:10:00] know 11 years and I was on 10 prescriptions, 11 years in that weren.
[00:10:05] Helping and, and so good for you, although you obviously still had a very tumultuous journey to get to where you are now. How are you today?
[00:10:15] Khara Jefferson: So today I feel good. And I also look back and I think that I made some of the right choices. Even though I didn't know, they were right. So, you know, is stress bad? Yes, it is. It's bad when you have any kind of gut problem, but it's bad for anybody. So it wasn't just the fact that I had Crohn's disease that made it bad.
[00:10:34] But I think back right now, especially every single time I was in pain and I had to go to the emergency department or I went and I saw, they were like, Do you need a prescription for some pain medicines? And I never did. I was, I have a pretty high pain tolerance, and so I never became addicted to any pain medicines or anything like that, but I could see how somebody in my very same shoes, how easy it would be [00:11:00] because you're just suffering all the time.
[00:11:02] Julie Michelson: Yeah. Yeah. And I, I did take pain medications at night to sleep. I was a single mom, so, well, still am a single mom, but with young kids at the time. And so taking them during the day, wasn't an option for me. And I remember it's. So I remember, I mean, those are the two things they're willing to write quickly, right.
[00:11:22] That, and do you need an antidepressant? No, I'm not depressed. Like fix me. like, I'm not, you know, but I remember when I was making changes. And they were starting to work. And I went to the rheumatologist and I said, and, and he said, do you need a prescri, you know, a new prescription for painkillers? And I said, no.
[00:11:47] And he said, well, why not? And I said, well, I don't take them anymore. And he looked at me and he goes, wow. Most PA all my, you know, almost all my patients just [00:12:00] need more and more, you know, higher doses. Nobody ever takes themself off. And, and I remember thinking, I didn't say it cause I was raised well, you know, like, well, don't you think something's wrong with that model?
[00:12:15] like, why is that? The only thing you expect is to have to write, you know? So thank God. I'm so grateful that. Yes, I, I was using them, but I did, I wasn't addicted and didn't become addicted and, and I, I can just see how, you know, it could totally become a crutch and, and, you know, it's, it's not the patient's fault.
[00:12:40] Like it just is just part of, they give them out like PS
[00:12:45] Khara Jefferson: candy. I'm I'm I know guilty. Worked emergency medicine for practically my whole nurse practitioner career. So I
[00:12:54] Julie Michelson: Well, and, and so you understand kind of the behind the scenes too, part of it is, [00:13:00] you know, you, if, especially in an ER, because I went through this, this made me, I, again, I was, don't even remember where I was in, in my journey, but I, I still had pain medication. I was starting to do better. I was riding my horse again.
[00:13:16] I had fractured my back and ended up in the ER. Gave them, my full history gave them all 11 medications or 10 medications I was taking, including the painkillers. And they a, they didn't find the fracture in that particular ER, and, and I had that like knew something was really wrong. So luckily I had a great doctor and called her and said they just sent me home, but they missed something something's really wrong.
[00:13:49] And so she called ahead and sent me to another ER, and of course, and I had a, I had a fracture and, and which made much more sense, but the [00:14:00] one thing they were sure to do was send, you know, call in a Percocet prescription. And I even said to them, I'm like, but. Have a bottle of Vicodin at home. I don't need Percocet.
[00:14:10] Like this isn't about the PA I'm not pain seeking. like I, you know, or medication seeking. But that part of it is I think their feedback loop that, you know, they can't send you home without good pain control. And that's, you know, that're taught that that's good medicine and
[00:14:28] Khara Jefferson: And when somebody's ha in acute pain, you know, the goal is always, let's give you something to be more comfortable because I, you know, all the times I was in the emergency department and at the time I used to apologize and I actually didn't want my parents to bring me because I was like not to that, ER, because I knew all the people working there and I always felt like I'm so sorry
[00:14:51] Julie Michelson: I don't wanna be a burden. Yeah. Well, and. That story [00:15:00] the, the apologetic, you know, well, behaved young lady plays right into, you mentioned stress. Right? And, and it is interesting to me that that doctors told you even early on like medical school's too stressful. So, so on some level they do understand that there's a lifestyle connection, right.
[00:15:24] Khara Jefferson: but they never said what do what? This is how you actually manage stress. This is how you decrease stress. It was, you can't go to medical school because it's gonna kill you. And so for me, I've always been very driven. So I was like, so what do you want me to do? Because I can't stay home. I recognize that for some people, things get really bad and debilitating enough that they feel like they don't have a choice, but for me, I knew that I still wanted to help people.
[00:15:55] So I did the other stressful thing and I went to nursing school, the nurse
[00:15:58] Julie Michelson: Yeah, cuz that's so much [00:16:00] better. so much less stressful. oh my goodness. So your, your story. So accentuates and again, it's not just Crohn's and UC it's all of us. We have this, this connection with the gut. Anybody with auto immunity, all of us in general health and immunity. I wanna talk about that and bring stress into the conversation since it is, we know such a such, I always look at like chicken or egg, right?
[00:16:36] Like, so they, you know, once you're diagnosed, they say, well, this is too stressful for you. Well, like I wonder if that stress level led to. The diagnosis to begin with. So, and I'm gonna just throw it at you to start wherever you want with that really giant, multi tentacled question.
[00:16:55] Khara Jefferson: Yeah. And I think so there's different kinds of stress. And I don't think that people [00:17:00] really recognize that stress is. Not just one thing, but stress is usually defined as your body's response to any kind of demand. And so there's good stress, which is called UREs. So, you know, you preparing for your wedding or you just got engaged in, or putting together an engagement party or your kid's birthday party.
[00:17:23] Those are examples of good stress because you know that the, in the end you're generally gonna have some kind of good. The problem comes in when our body goes into distress, which is the bad stress and it has a negative connotation and you stay there for prolonged periods of time. So then it's no longer an acute event.
[00:17:44] It is something that is. Chronic. And so that's when you start getting all these little warning signs from your body. And so that's when those symptoms occur, right? Maybe it's a headache, maybe it's belly pain, you know, like sometimes when things don't feel [00:18:00] good, some people get that little sensation in their gut.
[00:18:02] So you automatically know, oh, something's not right here. Those are all your body saying, Hey, look at me. Something is going on. I need you to slow down. And so that's kind of how I tie stress in. The other part is, you know, stress, a lot of people think your brain is completely separate from your gut.
[00:18:21] They're not, you're serotonin, you know, 50, 50% of your dopamine producing in your gut over 90% of your serotonin. Produced in your gut. And so people think about those things as just dealing with the brain, but it's not just the brain, it's your full body health. And so the reason that you find that when people are stressed or they say they're anxious, they generally have some kind of gut component to it.
[00:18:50] That's why people who are chronically ill, Crohn's disease, ulcers of colitis, they wanna give you the antidepressant. So I think exactly what you said they're they know that [00:19:00] the medical community knows there's some relationship, just not quite sure how, and it's always easier to throw a pill
[00:19:09] Julie Michelson: Well, and that's the training of the model to, you know, it, it really is. And you worked in an ER, like got, you know, if I had an emergency, if I need surgery, like that's where I'm going is to that Western system. It's great at acute care. I wanted to circle back and cuz I know you see this and I see it.
[00:19:30] And for those listeners that are like, oh, they're talking about stress again. You know, I don't feel stressed out. We don't necessarily, you talked about the signals, but we get, we always get the signals, but often. We're we've become disconnected from them and we don't hear it. So for everybody listening, you, you didn't, you guys have heard me say this before.
[00:19:51] You don't have to feel stressed out. To have chronic stress be affecting your health and [00:20:00] you, you did such a beautiful job, you know, giving us examples of, of the, both the use stress and the distress. And just know like in today's world, it like it doesn't, doesn't have to be one stress that's there.
[00:20:14] Chronically. We have. Countless little stressors that rotate and compile and add up. And so, and that creates that, that kind of chronic stress issue. And that's why some sometimes will support. You know, clients with, you know, gut stuff, real, real significant gut stuff. Where, and I know stress is a player and we're working on stress management and they'll support with some neurotransmitter support.
[00:20:48] And they're like, but wait, why am I on that supplement? And I'm like, well, all this stuff's made in your gut or a lot of it is, and again, chicken or egg it's like which, which imbalance came. And, [00:21:00] and so somebody doesn't have to have chronic diarrhea or constipation. And, and we just were talking about somebody who came into the clinic last week and.
[00:21:11] It people hear I say, are you constipated? Or how's your gut? And people say, oh fine. And I'm like, well, tell me more.
[00:21:18] Khara Jefferson: yes.
[00:21:19] Julie Michelson: tell me more about that. How often are you moving your bowels and what is it like? We don't have to get too into all of it here, but I'll just offer this. What is normal for you? May not be optimal.
[00:21:33] So just cause you've had diarrhea since childhood doesn't mean that's how it should be. And if you're only pooping once a week and you think that's fine, Uhuh, no bueno.
[00:21:47] Khara Jefferson: Yeah. It's not. People think that when I. It's that most people for most people's stress is mostly a mental thing. But even when you're sick, even when you have a [00:22:00] cold, your body is under stress, right? It's still under that physical stress. There's also the emotional stress. If you have a. Undergo any kind of traumatic event, the death of a loved one, even loss of a job.
[00:22:14] There's so many examples that I can give, but every single thing factors in, and we are not one dimensional, like we experience life on all these different levels and all of that combined makes us who we are. But just because we're not thinking about it, just because. I could have something going on in my life right now, and I'm smiling and I'm talking and everything is fine.
[00:22:39] It doesn't mean that I don't have all of this stuff in the back of my head that the minute I stop is not gonna come right back up or I know I need to cry, but I'm holding it all in because I don't want people to see my emotions over time. Holding stuff in is really, it's really detrimental to. And that's a whole, that's like that chronic [00:23:00] stress, because normally if you have an acute stress event, your body is able to take that.
[00:23:04] And within 90 minutes, turn that around. Generally, assuming you're sleeping well, too, but when you're not. It's over and over your system is hit and it's so like imagine standing up marching and every single time, some stressful event hits you. You go down, you go down, you go down. And so then you're not upright anymore.
[00:23:27] Right. You're kind of beaten and worn down. And that's what stress does to you.
[00:23:32] Julie Michelson: That is very, very well said. And, and again, we, you, you mentioned it right in the beginning, but I'm gonna circle back. Stress people hear stress. And, and because we talk about chronic stress and illness or stress and, and health they think, oh, stress is bad. No stress, isn't bad. We need stress. Exercise is stress, right? You build muscles by stressing them so they can repair. So [00:24:00] stress. It's not the stress. It's how we manage it. Or don't.
[00:24:05] Khara Jefferson: or don't
[00:24:06] Julie Michelson: and so I wanna talk about that because I always joke, you know, we don't have the podcast just to be Debbie downers and, and sound hopeless. That's that's the opposite of the cause.
[00:24:18] Right? So you're really here to share with us. What we can do about it or what we should be doing about it or what we might do about it. And so if we, you and I can get everybody to believe us, that they all are experiencing chronic stress to some degree, where do we start? What are some things we can be doing?
[00:24:42] Khara Jefferson: So one of the most important things I think that we need to realize is. Our life, especially here in America, but I've ventured to say all over the world has become one of convenience. And so we are rushing, rushing, rushing, which means that we [00:25:00] are putting our autonomic nervous system. It is having to choose between your sympathetic.
[00:25:06] Nervous system state, which is your fight or flight versus your parasympathetic nervous system state, which is rest and digest, which is where we want to optimally be. And so in order to get yourself and get that stress level down, we actually need to be more mindful. And I know people are probably listening to this and they'll say, oh, here we go.
[00:25:29] At that
[00:25:29] Julie Michelson: The eyes just rolled. Yep.
[00:25:33] Khara Jefferson: here we go with that. But really. All mindfulness is, is your ability to be fully present in the moment to be able to feel whatever it is that you need to feel for you to not be overwhelmed about everything that's going on around you. And. Slow down, right? What's your body doing?
[00:25:56] How am I moving? How am I breathing right now? [00:26:00] Because when I usually, when I ask this and I ask this in a workshop that I just did, like, so how are you breathing? And it forces people to actually stop and say, I don't ever really think about breath. And it's not something that people normally do, but I also have seen people who walk around and in their attempt to be swimming, they hold their breath in all the time.
[00:26:24] Like they hold their belly in right. All the time. And when you hold your belly in, you can't fully expand your lungs. So that's still stressing your body in a way that it doesn't need to be stressed. So. Just being mindful. Am I holding my breath in? Do I have tension around my neck? Like just what's going on in your body at this moment.
[00:26:46] Julie Michelson: I love that with the kind of picture that flashed in front of me. When you, when you said you talked about your ability to be fully present in the moment. It is, it's an [00:27:00] art that is almost lost. I mean, it, it does take, we talk about mindfulness practice. It does take practice in this day and age, as, as you mentioned, you know, the way we're in this go go, go society.
[00:27:13] And if you think about, you know, a. I was gonna say a teenage kid, but it's not even it's adults, too. You know, people always on their phones and they're not really with you when they're with you. So we went from like, not even being in touch with what's going on in our bodies to not even being present and connected with those that were with.
[00:27:35] Khara Jefferson: Yes
[00:27:36] Julie Michelson: And so what a gift it becomes for loved ones and friends and everybody, you
[00:27:45] Khara Jefferson: for everybody. Yeah, I think. I, I I'm guilty. So like, you
[00:27:49] Julie Michelson: we all
[00:27:50] Khara Jefferson: though we, yeah, even though we practice this stuff, it still takes conscious effort. And the one thing that I try to tell my clients is that there's no such [00:28:00] thing as a quick fix. Right. Even when you think you're doing something, that's a quick fix, like taking a pill time, there are consequences to that.
[00:28:09] So. Being mindful is a practice. Just like anything else, all of a sudden, you didn't just get good at your job today. It took you doing it over and over and over. And that's what mindfulness is. It's the same thing with, with breathwork because I like to think of breathwork a lot with my mindfulness, but breathing helps to especially breath work.
[00:28:32] It helps to regulate your autonomic nervous system. And so then. It helps you become more resilient so that you just don't fall apart at any time of stress, you can actually just pause cuz I was at something and the three words were pause, breathe. Reflect. And so if you can do that and just pause and really be conscious, some for most people, it's taking a big deep breath and letting it out.
[00:28:59] [00:29:00] Some people do the box breathing technique, where they inhale for four, pause up at the top for four exhale for four and start the whole process all over again. Whatever you need to do breathing can really help you
[00:29:13] Julie Michelson: It it's so it is one of my absolute favorite. Hacks, if you will, it's not really a hack. , it's an essential tool. But what I love about breathing, I always tell nobody knows when you're doing it. So once you build the practice and that is a tool that you can use as a go to, oh my gosh, the power in, you know, somebody's trying to push your buttons, you can be breathing and it's just not gonna get you to that spot where it could have.
[00:29:42] And so it is so, so powerful. I, I love that. I love the pause. Breathe, reflect. I, I have a friend. I don't know if that's where you were, who has a, that's the name of his, his business is PBR pause, breathe, reflect. So it's, it's [00:30:00] essential. So is that where you have people start is breath or.
[00:30:03] Khara Jefferson: So I think, well, I think it's a, you can start with breath. I don't, I think so. The way that I approach things is there's no. One way fits all for everybody. So people have to start with the thing that feels the best. I generally encourage people cuz in addition to stress stress, we have to work on sleep, which kind of goes in concert.
[00:30:25] And we also have to work on food and nutrition. But the thing that I really want people to do is find some kind of joy. Right. I call that vitamin J that's what I learned from that. So find something that makes you happy. And so whether that's putting on music because you like music, or maybe you're one of these people who likes to dance, get up and dance and shake it like nobody's watching.
[00:30:51] Right. Laugh. Comedy helps a lot of people. So whatever that strategy is for you find something. And when you're feeling [00:31:00] stressed, just make sure that you have these moments like that interspersed throughout your day. So that it's not, oh my gosh, I have this to do I have this to do, and you're not having any fun at all.
[00:31:11] Just a little, those little moments of fun are actually the thing that actually got me out of my head when I was going through this and I encourage it for every.
[00:31:21] Julie Michelson: They are so, so powerful and I love that you hit on how individualized it really does need to be. Just like. Diet and other lifestyle areas, you know, people say to me all the time, just tell me what to eat. You know, what do you eat? I'll eat what you eat. I'm like, oh, but you're not in my body. It's the same.
[00:31:40] I, I joke one of my absolute favorite stress relievers is time with my horses. And I joke cuz you know, some people might not find that stress relieving to be with a 1200 pound animal that. Lives in a fight or flight response all the time. so, but for [00:32:00] me, that's like my Zen, my BLIS, I love it. And so it really does, it is individual and some of it, obviously that's a bigger activity.
[00:32:08] Although they're here at home so I can run out, but Whether it's and the laughter and the joy, I am sure you see what I see it, it breaks my heart. I'll ask people what brings you joy. And so often they don't, they don't have an answer. That's quick. Yeah. And, and so often, and especially anybody who's been experiencing chronic illness for some time, it, it, that is one of the things we do tend to lose touch with.
[00:32:37] So I love that you mentioned that because that's a, it's such a, it's it essential. It, it's not, we think of joy as like a bonus. It's not a bonus. It's essential for our health.
[00:32:50] Khara Jefferson: It is it's essential for our health. And you made me think about overall pet therapy. So for you it's horses for somebody else that might be dogs or their cat, whatever it
[00:32:59] Julie Michelson: I [00:33:00] have four dogs who so far have been quiet today, but
[00:33:04] Khara Jefferson: Pet therapy is real, but you know, other people have other activities. So I'll also share that. One of the other things that I think is finding when I say to finding joy in some of the little things that we do every day sometimes it's a game.
[00:33:21] Like I used to try to play this game with myself, like, okay, I know today is a really bad day, but what's the one thing that I can be thankful. And so if I can find one thing to be grateful for the more you find one thing, the more you, you realize how many things you can still be grateful for, even in your darkest moments.
[00:33:41] Right? So like I still have eyes that can see, I still have feet that can walk. So those little things.
[00:33:48] Julie Michelson: And that's exactly what I tell people. You know, if you're having one of those days where, because for me having a gratitude practice, keeping a gratitude journal is such a powerful tool [00:34:00] and like the breathing, it doesn't take an hour. It, it, you know, it, it can be, I like you said, one thing, I usually I say three, but one is a great place to start.
[00:34:09] And I say, if you're having one of those days, we all know what those days feel like for us. Start with your body. What is working in your body? Like you said, you know, I can see, or I can hold the pen. I, you know, whatever it is. And it does tend to snowball and I'll add because I've had so many clients kind of look at me like you don't think I'm a grateful human.
[00:34:32] No, it has nothing to do with being a grateful human, like the mindfulness it's a practice. And it's a practice that creates new and neuro pathways in your brain. And you, you get to grow and bring in that wellness that the, and like you said, then you see stuff everywhere. Like you can't, you can't get away from it.
[00:34:52] It's
[00:34:53] Khara Jefferson: Yeah. Yeah, you can. It, it, it starts to make you more positive and when you're more positive, you're less [00:35:00] stressed. You may be able to prioritize and organize yourself just a little bit better. And you can also realize, like, you know what, I can stay away from people who are toxic because toxic people are another source of a huge source of stress for most people.
[00:35:21] And a lot of people just kind of deal with it, but you don't have to. The other thing that you said that I, you know, taking things a little bit at a time, I remember people used to tell me things like. Oh, just take it day by day. Actually, I didn't take it day by day. I realized that if I looked at it as taking it day by day, who knows what's gonna happen in that day?
[00:35:43] So I actually started saying, okay, what can I do in the next minute?
[00:35:48] Julie Michelson: yep.
[00:35:48] Khara Jefferson: And then it became five minutes and then it was, you know, and so incrementally, it might be different on different days. It might be today. What can I do this hour? And another day it might be, what can I do in the [00:36:00] next two minutes? That's gonna make me feel a little bit better or just get done.
[00:36:04] So little small things help you to be less stressed because you're in a different mindset. And the whole goal is to help your body to relax way down to that cellular level.
[00:36:18] Julie Michelson: I love it. Relax down to the cellular level. I'm writing that one down. so you just gave us a few. But as everybody knows, I want you to circle either circle back and pick one or add another. What is the one thing listeners can start today to, to start to improve their health?
[00:36:40] Khara Jefferson: So today, if I had to pick one thing, It is just overall. I know it is , it's just overall be more mindful. So when you're feeling like, Hmm, I might be a little bit stressed. What is that one thing that my body is saying that it needs and go with that. Cause it might, it probably [00:37:00] will change day to day, but go with that one thing.
[00:37:02] So if that one thing is turn up the music and dance till your heart's content, do it. If it's journaling start writing.
[00:37:10] Julie Michelson: I love it. And that's where it's individualized. So you guys find your one thing today, which may be different than tomorrow's. We'll have, I'll have all the links for people to find you in the show notes. But I am somebody who loves to list to podcasts when I'm on the go. And so for those that are listening and not looking, where's the best place for listeners to find you.
[00:37:36] Khara Jefferson: So the best place for them to find me is actually on my website, which is KHA wellness.com. They can shoot me over a message or. Are on Instagram and the DMS, cuz I check that pretty regularly and that's at Karaj.
[00:37:52] Julie Michelson: Love it. Carra thank you so much. You have given us amazing gold today. Listeners have [00:38:00] gotten so much value out of this and we have really enjoyed having you here.
[00:38:05] Khara Jefferson: Thank you. I enjoyed being here. This is like my thing. So I thank you for having.
[00:38:10] Julie Michelson: Absolutely for everyone listening. Remember you can get the show notes and transcripts by visiting inspired living.show. I hope you had a great time and enjoyed this episode as much as I did. I'll see you all next week.
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Khara' Jefferson
Khara' Jefferson, DNP, FNP-C is a doctorally-prepared certified nurse practitioner. She is also an Oola life coach and a reiki master. She has worked in emergency medicine, urgent care, and telehealth settings, helping patients of all ages as an NP and registered nurse for over 20 years. Khara' serves as the program director and assistant professor of an online Doctor of Nursing Practice program teaching quality improvement methodology to improve the healthcare system. She has published several articles related to health and wellness.
Khara' is passionate about engaging and empowering patients to have more control over their health and wellness but also emphasizes overall life balance and spirituality. As a result of her own health journey, she turned to functional medicine and is in the process of obtaining certification to help others find the root causes of their chronic gut problems through her virtual business, KAJ Wellness (website: https://www.kajwellness.com/).
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