Shannon is an RN by trade who became a SAHM to 4 kids and entrepreneur with an ecommerce business to encourage other moms to live with courage in whole body wellness.
What we discuss in this episode:
Resources and Links:
Connect with Lynn on instagram @HappyMamaWellness. Looking for more support with parenting and motherhood? Check out the Happy Mama Wellness Community here!
Shannon is an RN by trade who became a SAHM to 4 kids and entrepreneur with an ecommerce business to encourage other moms to live with courage in whole body wellness.
What we discuss in this episode:
Resources and Links:
Connect with Lynn on instagram @HappyMamaWellness. Looking for more support with parenting and motherhood? Check out the Happy Mama Wellness Community here!
I remember the first day my wife went back to work after my daughter was born. I was two weeks postpartum, and I held it together until my wife walked out the door, then I burst into tears. In the moment, I didn't understand why the tears were flowing, but they were flowing hard. And I cried for almost 10 minutes. And then my daughter started crying. So we went to the couch for a nursing session. After I got my daughter latched, and we were in a good rhythm with the session, I realized I hadn't grabbed my water bottle, and I was so thirsty. So I started crying again. Because for the last two weeks, I had been able to call for my wife and get help. Now I was completely on my own. As the days and weeks went on, I figured out logistically at least how to do all the things on my own. feed myself and my kid, do the laundry, keep the house clean, take care of the animal's meal plan, grocery shop, changed the diapers give the bath. My days are so full of things. I went to bed at night feeling exhausted. But looking around and wondering, what did I actually accomplish today, like the house didn't look any cleaner, it didn't look any more organized. There was still a team, you know, loads of laundry that didn't get done. Even though I felt like I hadn't sat down and taking a breath all day. Now that I'm a few years out, it's very easy for me to recognize that I like almost every other mom in the world was stuck in survival mode. And I didn't even realize it. The very first time I did have this realization was this one particular morning when my daughter was about six months old. Again, my wife had just left for work. And I walked over to our speaker system and I started playing one of my favorite songs by the amazing will Evans of course, and I started to dance. I picked up my daughter and we started dancing together. And the look on her face was priceless. See, before my daughter was born, I would dance around our kitchen like no one was watching, I would sing in the shower, there would music was everywhere. laughter was everywhere. And this particular morning stuck out in my head because it was the first time since my daughter's birth that I had danced with abandon and broke out into this full belly laughter with her. And it was the first time since her birth that I realized I was just going through the motions of life. I wasn't actually living life. I reached out and I got help for my up until that point, undiagnosed postpartum anxiety. And I started incorporating small pieces of self care into my day, I made it a point to laugh and connect and get out into the world a little more. I also decided to become a certified childbirth educator so that I could regain some of that passion, that spark that I had had as an individual before I became a mom. And so this episode is for all of you mamas who are just realizing like I did that you're stuck in survival mode. It's for those of you who are starting your journey out of survival mode. And it's a reminder for those that went back into survival mode when the pandemic hit, self care and whole body wellness isn't about expensive spa days or lavish lunches with friends, although it can be sometimes it's just a really awesome kitchen dance party where you're just dancing like no one's watching. Sometimes it's a really big belly laugh with your kid over something so ridiculous. You can't even really remember what you're laughing about. It's about being intentional with your time and energy and caring for yourself as you would care for your partner or your child. It's about looking at your whole self and creating wellness. And that's what our guest today is going to teach us all about. Hello, and welcome to redefining motherhood, the podcast for Mama printers who really love their kiddos but are overwhelmed and burnt out from the day to day of motherhood. I am Lynn Turcotte-Schuh Mama mentor, founder of The Happy Mama Wellness community and your host redefining motherhood is all about letting go of society's expectations and digging deep to figure out what you want your motherhood experience to feel like and you're not doing it alone. My guests and I are here to inspire you, motivate you and help you be a truly happy mama. Our guest today is Shannon Wright. Shannon is an RN by trade who became a stay at home mom to four kiddos and an entrepreneur with an E commerce business. She encourages other moms to live with courage in whole body wellness and that seems to be the theme of our season two is really like looking into our entire being and making sure we're getting what we need to be well and joyful. So Shannon we are so excited that you are here And I can't wait for people to hear your story because it's incredible and inspiring. And I just love it. So Shannon, welcome.
Shannon Wright:Thank you so much for having me. I am super excited that I'm here. And then it goes right along with your theme that is so cool. So I guess would you like to share any pieces that you're comfortable sharing of your your kind of origin story, like what made you leave being an RN? And kind of start this new journey that you're on? Yeah, sure. So I was an RN for 10 years and circumstances changed as far as our life, our family, our lifestyle. And I could not find crazy enough, a nursing job that would fit the lifestyle that I wanted at the time, I really wanted to be a stay at home mom, and just work a little bit. So that the cost of childcare for that little bit of time didn't really work out. So I decided to be that stay at home mom, it was a big hit to my identity until I really learned who I was, which has nothing to do with nursing. That's a role that I played. And I was able to figure that out and step into being a mom. And then that led me on and about six years of being a stay at home mom, I did dabble in an Etsy shop, I still have that. And needed, I realized I needed to be productive in my own way as well. Not that being a mom is not productive. But I just needed something in other areas to fulfill my heart. But then just about a little over two years ago, a project crossed my desk about wellness. And so I was able to step into that. And I realized that doing that project and still working on it now really is a perfect match. To go with being a mom and my nursing heart of caring for people helping people. That's my true heart. And I'm able to do it in such a flexible way that makes it so easy to do both well and not just feel like I'm trying always trying to balance it goes really well together. So that's where I am today, I'm staying home with my four kids. Now two of them do go to school, but I don't homeschool them. But yes, I'm doing that and running my business and being a wife and all those things. I love that so much. You said a couple things in there that I just want to stop and let the listeners like soak in for a moment because I think we skipped over stuff that there are universal experiences, like we just like and this and that. And then we just keep going. And I want to just give it a second to kind of honor that universal experience, because you said number one that you needed an identity outside of being a mom. And that like a being productive outside of being a mom. And yes, being a mom is a full time job. And it is like even when you're not feeling productive, you are overly productive. And I think that for so many of us, there's this huge layer of guilt that comes when we even think to ourselves, nevermind say out loud. I'm not completely fulfilled by this role. Right? Like we there's this like story, we tell ourselves that if we say that out loud, that it means we're a bad mom, or we don't love our kids, or like it just has all these falsehoods that start coming up. So I just want to hold space for that for a second, because I guarantee that all of our listeners either feel that way consistently or have felt that way and just the guilt to go over the limiting beliefs took over. So I want to repeat from myself too, because I had a similar experience, right? But just because you want to have an identity outside of mom, that makes you feel really valuable and like you're serving the world and a greater picture that does not make you a bad mom. And you should not feel any guilt over it. So I just wanted to do honor that for a moment because I am so excited and proud of you for just being like and this is what it is. And I have no guilt about it. And I just wanted to highlight that for a moment. Yeah, I think we're all given so many gifts and talents and abilities. And when you come into the season of motherhood, it's not the time to just put them all on the wayside and say, Okay, I'm going to step into this role as a mom and do it the best that I can and forget all that God As placed inside of you of how you were made, the mom role is so, so vital. But it is not your identity, it's not who you are. It's a role that you play, even though it might be the important role. It's the role that you play. And so you have to use your gifts, talents and abilities to, and sometimes it's finding creative ways to do that. And sometimes it's finding ways to do that in motherhood. But sometimes it is stepping out and finding another avenue to do those things at the same time that your mom, a lot of I do see a lot of people put everything on hold, and say I'll get to it in 18 years. And it's just kind of sad, because I do see them just like pouring themselves, empty selves into motherhood. And when you're not living, how you were made to be and for your purpose, then then they it's like everything is kind of exhausted. It's everything is running out of exhaustion because you're not living from that piece from that piece. Actually, yeah, yes. I love that piece as the double entendre piece. Yes. Love that piece of piece. Yes, yes, yes. Okay, so I'm gonna go off on a little, little tangent here, because this is gold, but I'm gonna bring it right back in to our our topic, which is whole body wellness, right? And the little tangent I'm gonna go off of is that we, we ask it, like, go back, even when we were kids. Everyone always say, Oh, what do you want to be when you grow up? What do you want to be when you grew up? And I have intentionally changed that language when I'm talking to kids. And I say, What do you want to do? When you grow up? What What career Do you want to have? Because your being is completely separate from that, right? So we think of the different tasks that we do as a parent, as the job. Those things can be outsourced, if needed, right. Like if we needed to, we could outsource cooking, we could outsource house cleaning, we could outsource the driving around. Right? The important part of motherhood is the being, it's the relationship, it's the safety that you provide is that connection that you give your kids. And you can do that without draining yourself completely, you can do that and still have your own identity. Like, I think that might be where our disconnect is, is that we associate and define that being part of motherhood with the tasks of motherhood. And that does not set anybody up for wellness in any way, shape or form. Exactly. Yeah, that's right. Um,
Lynn Turcotte-Schuh:so. So let's use that segue into what have you discovered? On this journey of whole body wellness? Like, where can Where were you? What was maybe not your breaking point necessarily, but like, where did you start from? Because I bet there's a lot of listeners that are like, I'm like in survival mode, like I don't even remember like showered last. Yeah. So I like explain your origin. And then kind of what's the journey that you took on your own your own experience to get to that place of wellness or closer to it? If I don't know that ever, we can never really achieve complete whole body wellness vote, you know, we can get closer to it.
Shannon Wright:Yeah, we can't. But we can definitely strive for it. And I think it's very interesting to be where you are, and to look back and see all the dots connect. And so this kind of takes me I realize back Well, I mean, obviously, there's also little spots in my childhood, but I'm gonna go back to college and I, I went to a Christian university for nursing school. And I learned through the nursing school that, you know, our whole body is made up of all these different areas. And they all work together as much as we want as a human to just take a physical ailment and a physical thing and try to Band Aid it and find the solution to it. We cannot do that unless we look at the whole body and the whole person. And I learned that and then I went into the real world of nursing, and that's not how the healthcare field works. So that was a little bit of a struggle for me. But again, I got out I did that for 10 years. I did my part as far as caring for patients and people As I still saw fit, fit. And then I became a mom and grew my family. And on my third baby, I, I was always in tune to, I started noticing myself like, trying to listen to podcasts or books on like, postpartum anxiety or depression. My ears always perked up, because I'm like, do I have this? Like, is this I was always trying to look for something that the, the, the people on the podcast or the author or whoever was saying, that was exactly to my situation, and exactly how I felt. And I was just like, Wait, is that how I feel? I don't know. Like, wait, did I think that like, well, I didn't think that extreme. So maybe I don't have it. Like, I would always play these games. And I'm like, I think even the fact that I'm questioning, if I have it, I probably do have a part of it. Yeah, it was, again, third baby in the in the postpartum time, the very critical first few weeks, where I was actually, I mean, it happened right away. I remember coming home from the hospital and just being in tears. And I could go on with all the things that happened, but I won't, but it was just like, something is wrong. And I, it took having a conversation with a neighbor, which was like, you know, maybe like, four weeks in, and we had a family with for dinner, our neighbors, and I was saying how I felt. And I was like, I feel a little bit better now. But you know, it's just been really hard. And she's like, You need to make sure you have these areas of self care. And it came, you know, I know that is like, you know, moms can't even really wrap their heads around self care, because of the way it's been portrayed and the way that it's been talked about. But she was saying you need to find out for you what helps you feel well, so that you can take care of these three kids now. And I was able to like, very quickly say, I need date nights, I need to be with my husband alone at some point and have conversation, I need to see my girlfriend's like, I need to just have a time when I'm talking about my kids without them there or about life and just girlfriend chat. I need physical activity. And I need time with God. And those were like my four things that I could pinpoint at the time. And that that helped me through that third postpartum. But then my fourth pregnancy came and I was the whole pregnancy, having anxiety. And so it was anxiety during pregnancy. And then I knew that was going to lead to even worse, postpartum anxiety. So me and my doctor were proactive and decided at this time that we would get on medication, and I was pregnant. Basically, the baby was born March 9, so 2020 Oh, boy. We had no idea COVID was coming. But we, I mean, that I'm just so thankful in hindsight that we decided to get on medication, because it was a long decision process, asking lots of people and deciding and so thankful we did, because I don't know what would have happened. Had I not but getting on that. And then really, as much as I could preparing beforehand, for the different ways. And I thought that point was just those four. And then I was like, there's other things that I can do in my areas of whole body wellness, that I didn't even call it that. I didn't really like come to terms with that at the time. But it was just like there's other things that I need to make sure I haven't checked as well. So and I had conversations with my husband about this because again, I was having that anxiety even during pregnancy. So I was like, Yeah, I need to talk to you about this because I need this to happen. Because I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't know how I'm going to take care of for kids in this area. And we talked about it and again, I didn't know COVID was coming in how it would even my plans would switch. So I baby came we had crazy times but I even had the fact that I had the plan in place and had talked to my husband about it and had the medication on board. I was able to implement a lot easier and then learn some things during that time as far as where my peace could come from whole body. Wellness actually like that. having peace means to make whole. And so when you are whole and have your whole body wellness in check, that is peace. And we won't ever come to like full peace. But when you realize the different areas and so it was not just you know that 12 week period. Well, it went on and I learned it was a long learning process. Yes, but it was like that time was very crucial, and figuring it all out. But it culminated I actually, my oldest sister passed away in that time, so June 2020. So had the baby in March, May, April, May, June. And her Actually, her illness and problems started in a barrel, trying to remember, maybe April. So it was very fast, but I had peace. And that's all I can. That's all I can say to explain it. Because it was even really hard for me to explain it to my family because they did not have it. And you're like you're postpartum and you have a newborn, and you have a homeschool with two kids and a two year old and how are you so calm? And how are you not grieving like crazy? And how are you? And I felt bad about it. But because I could not explain in words how I had this piece. And really, it was a god gift, like God gave me that gift of peace. And I was also. So I guess to go into all the whole body wellness, you have your mental SPIP, spiritual, emotional, physical, financial, I'd even like to add in their social and occupational wellness, and so all the different areas head to toe. And if we're just focusing on one or two, then we're not at full peace. And so and then other times in scenarios, we have to focus more on one, and really pour more of ourselves into that area. So during this COVID crazy time, it was a lot of mental emotional and spiritual wellness, that I was just like, I need more, or I'm gonna go crazy. So I was able to have that peace, because I tapped more into the peace giver. And that is how I made it through. And then I learned and continue to learn how to have your whole body wellness at peace, but even continuing to strive for it as we won't ever reach ultimate completion.
Lynn Turcotte-Schuh:I love sorry, no, I love it. And I'm sitting here like nodding and nodding. So I'm gonna pull, I'm gonna pull a couple of pieces out of their deal. For our listeners, number one, if anyone listening is already a member of the Happy Mama Wellness community. And if you're not yet a member, go go join right now. Pausing go join, what every month, we have a theme, and we put out a workbook. And the very first page, if you will, because there's like the cover page, and then there's a little letter for me. But the very first activity page is we call it the wheel of life. And it's exactly what you're talking about. It's it's Think of it like a wheel. And each of those areas is a spoke. And we talk about the fact that if one spoke breaks, the wheel doesn't function, right? Like you've got to, you've got to look at all these different pieces. And people, people a lot of times will say to me, Oh, I'm having stomach issues, I'm having some issues. And I'm like, Okay, well, where's your stress? Like, let's dive deep. Where's the stress coming from? Where's the like, I'm not a doctor, I'm not a therapist. I'm your mentor. And as your mentor, I have also mentored lots of other people. And I've had my own experiences. And I know that stress from finances can make your stomach hurt like it all like you're saying it's all connected. And so we actually score ourselves every month on that little wheel. And I have people save that one page, so we can go back five months, six months, nine months a year for now. We're like, Wow, look how far we've come. Like look how much more attention we've been giving to each little spoke of our wheel and look at how much we're full it is and how much more functional it is and that's just so yeah, it's so important to make those connections. So I'm, I'm so glad that you brought that that definition into it.
Shannon Wright:We haven't even got enter that, yep. But on my tracker that I made, I have the same thing, but it's a cup. And I have you score yourself so that you can follow up and go back and see if you can make your cup even more full.
Lynn Turcotte-Schuh:I love that. I love it. Oh my gosh, yeah, we're gonna talk about that tracker when we get to the end, but it's so brilliant. It's so brilliant. And then the other piece that I wanted to pull out, and we talked about this, excuse me. We talked about this in our prep meeting. And I remember you asking, like, are you okay? If I talk about God? Are you okay? If I talk about my, my faith, my religion? And my answer was, of course, it's part of your journey. And I just want to again, for all the listeners highlight that, even if it's not God for you, right, like, I'm not a religious person. But there is a spirituality spoke on that wheel that we all need, we all need to feel that connection to something bigger, almost almost magical, right? Like, we need to have that connection and that belief that like, miracles can happen. So for me, that is very much nature, like when I'm out in the natural world. Oh, like, I hear the angels sing. Right? And so I just wanted to, to kind of pull that piece out. Because whether it's God or or God under another name in a different religion, or it's the ocean, like whatever it is, that spirituality piece is, is a spoke on that wheel. And it's so important that we don't forget that.
Shannon Wright:Yeah, you can't leave it out. You can't. And when you decide, Oh, I'm just gonna not then that's your problem.
Lynn Turcotte-Schuh:The wheel brakes. wheel brakes. Yeah. Yeah, it's crazy. Um, so I also had some experiences with postpartum anxiety. And I'm just curious, because I, when I have found when I share my journey, that people start coming out of the woodwork and like, Oh, my God, it was like you're in my head. So I'm curious what your experience was, I, my daughter just turned nine. And I had postpartum anxiety that went undiagnosed for about six months. And then I started to work with therapists and like, peer mentors, and it took me a good like, three, three years, maybe even four to start coming out, like feeling like I was, had a handle on it. And that I was Well, again, right. And then very shortly after that COVID hit. So like you're saying, I, even though my daughter was what six, I think she was like six or seven. I was thrown right back into that pit of anxiety. I had tools, because I had worked through it already. I had my support system set up, because I had worked through it already. But my issue that I was having to work through in that light was that before my anxieties were irrational, right? Like, the things that were crippling me were irrational, and I was able to use this like, ah, is it possible that maybe is it probable? No, like, there was this whole series of things. And then we got to COVID. And within 10 minutes with my therapist on that first session, I was able to pinpoint that the problem I was having this time is that my anxiety was rational. And how do I work through that? Like, how do I work through this, when the fears that I'm feeling are are valid, like valid, they're real? Yeah. And that took me down this whole other path of like, self awareness and self discovery that I again, and just now starting to come out of like, just in the last couple of months, I feel like COVID is not strangling me anymore. And so I just was curious, you, you had three babies before. And then you had a COVID. Baby. I was curious if you felt any, anything like that, or any differences, because there's so many moms that, you know, now have toddlers that started this journey, in the midst of this pandemic. And I'm just I just wanted to throw that out there and see what your thoughts or experiences were.
Shannon Wright:Oh, yeah, absolutely. I think, Gosh, what a crazy time to have a baby and go through something that you already are prone to. And so again, that is why I was so thankful I had the medication, but I had some really great advice and it was so great that I also had my husband there with me. He had maternity leave for the first four, six weeks and then it was stay and work from home. So he was still around. And a lot. And that was great because even though those some of those anxieties were very rational, they still were not helping me. And I was not coping well with them, I did not have the bandwidth to take on anything else. And so what I told him, and the advice I was given was, have him watch the news, have him pay attention to anything that's vital that you need to know going going on. And you stay off even social media channels that you think are going to give you any kind of news that's going to bring anxiety, and just ask him once a day to be like, if there's anything you needed to touch me in on, let me know if not, I'm good for today. And so that helps so much, because in the beginning, I mean, who wants to go back there? But in the beginning, it was like, what's happening today? What's happening? Yeah, what's, what's new. And, and that was too much, because what I needed to remember was that we were all safe in our house. Yeah. This will pass, we will get through this. And all the news. And the constant changing of the news was not important to me. And not helping me. Yes, it was not serving me. So that helps so much, because he was someone that could handle it. So don't do that to someone who also can't handle it. And that will put too much pressure on them. But for him, he was able to handle it and just tell me the facts. I needed to know if I needed to know them. If not, no, you're good. Yeah, nothing, that nothing changed. So, um, that was really good. It was just like it then I could focus more on just taking care of the baby. And that was another thing that helped me during that time with the anxiety versus the other times was. Again, he knew that I was struggling, so to say, okay, the baby and myself are my main focus. And if you could take care of the other three kids. So I don't know if you remember this, but there was that? Yeah, there was fun. Portrait stairs, staircase portraits that went around during this time, like photographers would come? Yes, yeah. So we had that done, oh, I have the picture right here. But we have that done. And I said, I want a picture where all three kids are around him. And I'm just with the baby, because that is our reality. And I want to remember that of this time that he gave me that as a gift. Like he took care of those three kids the best that he could and did almost as much as he could for them while I was able to just focus on the baby and my my own wellness. And that was huge, because of having so many, so many people to take care of when you're not feeling well. So
Lynn Turcotte-Schuh:absolutely. Oh, I love that. Thank you for sharing that. That was a kind of off track a little bit. But I just think it's so important that as moms, especially moms, on the other side, we're close to the other side, that we share our experience because it normalizes it, right? It helps, it helps the other moms that might be listening that are still in it, or maybe beginning it be like, okay, there is there's hope, like there's a there is another side, there is another side that I can get to so thank you for that. You seem to have an amazing toolbox that you pull from. And in these last few minutes here, I would love for you to share some tips or some actual items like what are some of your go to tools that help you address your your whole self, right, so not just physical, not just mental, like the whole self, I'd love for you to share a couple of tools. And then I know that you have some some freebies that will help with this as well. So I'd love for you to chat about those two.
Shannon Wright:Yeah. So I love how when we go through things, and we have our own story, it's for a reason. And it's to share that and to share it for someone else who is going to help. And so I was as I was on the other side, I was like, How can I share this so that it's so helpful to someone else, because when you're in that spot, you're not even knowing that you need help. You're not even, you know, I wanted to be something that someone could grab ahold of maybe before they enter into the really hard spot spot, or so easy that when they're in it, they could easily adapt and use the tools that I had as well. And I actually just had this scenario with my best friend having her fourth baby and she's like I'm losing it like thank goodness the baby is eating and sleeping but I I'm losing it with the other three kids. And I gave her one very simple tool. And again, this wasn't something that I was like, oh, go print this and you can write it down. And I was just like, do this right now one thing. And so I guess that's how I am a resource. If anyone is like in this scenario, and you don't even want my freebie you just want like a friend, a mom, friend who's been there, like, what am I doing right now? Just give it to me DM me. But yeah, she was and it was hard to get a hold of her. Anyway, I know how that is, too. But it did get two minutes to talk for a few minutes. She's like, I need prayer just helped me. And so I said, just put on, you know, she also believes in God. So I just said, just put on a worship song. So it can be chaos in your house. But if you have music going, that is speaking to your soul, it will penetrate even if it's one word in the song, or maybe it's just the rhythm of the song, the the, the melody or yes, okay, is that yes, just penetrate it cannot. And so do if it's such a simple thing that you can do. But a lot of times we're running around. And so I'm just like, hey, Google Play, you know. And so she's like, Oh, that's so good. Because, you know, you just get up and you're going going, going going, you don't need to stop and do it. So as I go through this right now. So otherwise, I did compile a list of 25 ideas that I had, and I call them wellness hacks for busy moms, because they are hacks to get your whole body wellness treated and to find where you can feel a little bit more well in those areas. And so they are simple. But there's some things that again, that we just don't think about because we're we're not well in that area, or we just don't know that that is going to help us be well in that area. So just a few again, I have the seven categories. But I'm one that I think can go again, with the spiritual wellness no matter where you are on that journey is belief cards. So I don't know if you might call them that. Or maybe some people call them affirmation cards. Some people call them. Those are the two names actually, that I've heard mostly, maybe they're called something else in your well, world, but it's a truth about you. And so a lot of times we're spewing lies and negativity. And it may be from when we were five years old, and it stuck in our head and might be from college. And it's there might be a constant thing like a current thing.
Lynn Turcotte-Schuh:Yeah, we call that the crazy lady in the attic. That's what we call her around here. Okay, well, she's not nice. And she's not she doesn't lie as she tries to make trouble.
Shannon Wright:And we need to fight back. Yeah, and out loud. Because out loud is so important. Because when you say things out loud, your words have so much power. And so you put a belief card, you put the truth on the card, and you can put it you know, in your car, on your computer, in your on your bathroom, or wherever your and several places would be great. And several truths would be great. And
Lynn Turcotte-Schuh:but I love that so much not to interrupt you. That's so powerful. Like literally can you imagine waking up in the morning and going to your mirror? And like being haggard and hair? All crazy pants and you look up and it says I am beautiful. Yes. Like oh my god. Oh, my goodness, like does the power is Yeah, I know that crazy lady. Sorry. Go ahead.
Shannon Wright:No, it's so good. And it's best to repeat. You know, repetition. We know this is a scientific fact that repetition is how we believe things if a belief is just a thought repeated over and over and over again. And so and your thoughts become your beliefs become your words become your actions. So if you actually speak the word out loud over and over, it becomes your belief. And so that is that's the power in that especially if you're hearing the lie. So we have to come at it with even more power against it, which would be out loud. We can't just say of the live says I'm not beautiful, but I think maybe I am like No, you'd have to speak it out loud with power. I am or I am a good mom I and a lot of times it might bring tears because you're still struggling with that belief. Like I love my people well. And so there's so many things that you can put on there. You can put Bible verses you could put If you can find your truth. So the way that you started is you just catch that negative thought you can do it around the course of a week and you catch the negative thought. And as soon as it comes, you say, is that true? Is that helpful? Is that kind? If it's not those things, it's negative, and you need to write it down and find the reverse. And so the opposite like it's Yeah, exact opposite. And so that was my huge one. And again, that is spiritual, that's emotional. That's mental. I like hacks that treat a lot of the different areas at the same time.
Lynn Turcotte-Schuh:Yeah, it's brilliant. Yeah, not that our kids should be involved in every decision that we make. But we are huge on modeling around here. And like, what an incredibly powerful thing to be modeling for your kids to get rid of the negative self talk at a really young age, like that is such an incredible skill to give them. So it's like you're helping yourself and breaking a cycle at the same time.
Shannon Wright:And a lot of times the kids they will speak the the negative thoughts that are going on in their head. So as soon as they say something that is negative, you can ask them. Is that true? No. Is that helpful? No. Okay, so let's reverse it right now. And it's a practice. So, yes, exactly. It's great for moms, it's great as a mom, and then physical. i We always a lot of us in the self care, self help world, we always go right to the physical. And yet eating good is great. And getting exercise is great. But again, like, we want to know a busy mom, or someone who's in that postpartum anxiety or in that postpartum time. How the heck are you going to get your exercise? How are you going to eat? Right? You're not even concerned about eating when you're breastfeeding every two minutes, like, yeah, so some things that I that I was able to hack in there? Well, for me with the COVID, it was the getting out and having exercise was my saving grace, like, my gym stayed open. And it was so cool for me to not only see other people, so the group fitness really did help me out in a lot of ways, physically, but just getting out. And then those times when we couldn't just taking a walk with a friend. Yeah, I remember we would walk like far away from each other. And it's like, we didn't know what we were doing. We were like, we just need a walk. So I think we're safe. And then and then supplements that brings in what I do now is my health and wellness store. But there's so many supplements that you can that I have, and that you can take that are so easy to incorporate into your lifestyle, that they take no brain power, they take no thought it and it's giving you so many vital nutrients for your body that are so good on a busy schedule that you will feel well and have the energy and have all the nutrition that you need that you don't have to think about it. And then you can again, pass that on to your kids. And then emotional, this is funny, but not really to go on the whole COVID thing again, a really great way to care for your emotional wellness is just to give someone a hug. Yeah. And a lot of times, we stopped touching people. And even I found this in my own home. Like we were around each other so much that the touching almost stopped because we were Oh, it wasn't the hello and goodbye from your day because no one was going anywhere. And it became a habit so quick that we're like even when we did start going places. It's like those introductions and those by moments weren't there. And I actually have to remember, okay, then now my husband's constantly working from home like all the time and that's what I do. He works remote and and then my kids just go to school for a few hours. So it's like, I have to have a constant reminder just to go hug one of them. Yeah. Help your emotional wellness so much your serotonin, all of it. So your endorphins. So hugging is a wellness hack that any mom can add into her day no matter Yes.
Lynn Turcotte-Schuh:I love it because there's a huge difference between being together and being connected. Like there's a huge difference. I love that so much. Do you have any others or was that your last one? Cuz these are great.
Shannon Wright:So those are here's another I guess here's another one that is easy. But um, occupational wellness is you know doing that doing that do like doing something? Whether it isn't show job or a hobby, or some maybe don't get paid for it, maybe it's a podcast, something that you're doing for yourself and with your gifts, talents and abilities, and something that you can do. And now this takes a little bit more time, but separating your schedule into a red, green and yellow time, this has been huge. And you might, this might not be for immediate postpartum, or immediate in the anxiety. But maybe when you're feeling a little bit more well, is red, green and yellow time and separating that out because we, we really don't want to be so much in. And I guess I'll explain, read read being that time when you are, everything's present. So read would be more off work, no work and all really play life giving time, date, night family time, those kinds of focus times. And then green is your work time, your occupational time, whatever you're doing. And then yellow is multitasking. And so we really want to live in the red in the green and be really present. And in whatever we're doing and to when we're having family time to not be on our phones and to not be trying to think about our job stuff. But to really just be present and knowing that your green time is coming in a few hours. So just be in your read time. So that has been something that I worked on over the last two years. And again, a little bit when you're trying to find more balance of everything, but still a really good hack that people don't tend to do.
Lynn Turcotte-Schuh:I love that I've never heard of that. And I love it. And I might be instituting it. And I love that you pull that out because our listeners are going to be in all different phases, all different seasons. And you've given, you've given some hacks some tips for each season. And I think it's just so wonderful. So thank you for doing that. Oh my gosh, Shannon, I could talk to you forever. Because already for hours, but we have actually gone over our 30 minutes because it was just such a wonderful conversation. So as we wrap up here, where can people find you? Where can people connect with you? Like, how can people work with you or get even more tips and tools just give us all the goods here?
Shannon Wright:All right, awesome. So I am on social media. I'm on Instagram at sham right five, six. And on Facebook at Shannon right but I you'll have my link there. You can connect with me on it on either social media. I do have a freebie of that free wellness tracker, and my 25 wellness hacks. And I would love to give that as a free resource to anyone who's interested and to also just contact me and ask me you know if you are in that place where you're like I just need help and tell me one thing I can do and maybe it's not the music, maybe it's something else I will give you one easy thing I can be your call for help. I love that. Because I know how that is. And as far as other fun giveaways and free things is right now my wellness store is having huge Black Friday deals which is so fun, best deals of the year you can get and one thing I wanted to say about the wellness supplements is we have collagen which that just I started taking that four months, four and a half months postpartum, the fourth baby and that has transformed my body wellness, physical and even emotional, mental spiritual because so we all need collagen as we are aging because that is the aging process is actually losing your collagen and your hyaluronic acid. And so as a nurse I love talking about this side so I have all the science facts if you want to learn about that. But to put it simply, as we age we need to replace back things back into our body whether that is collagen or just their nutrition that we're losing because of our world as it is today. So I have amazing supplements like that that are on Black Friday special. And one thing that I love to say to all the moms out there is I have it's not full right now but I have my mom juice daily and I call it that because it is what gives me all the nutrition that I need for a busy mom so I drink it on the go. It is 44 vitamins and minerals that my body needs your plant powders. So your greens, your reds, your gold all those plant powders that you need mixed in one drink. And then I also have my brain fuel in there it is actually has brain nootropics in it to help mood focus memory clarity. And so I mixed it all together and it's my dream for the day mom juice like everyone talks about Mom Brain. Yes, I swear This fight against is no more Mom Brain. And if you're saying that, you know, I have those on special, so and then I'm doing a fun giveaway just because I love to give things away. So I'm doing a fun giveaway for everyone who takes advantage of the deals. And it actually is a lot of things for moms and for your wellness and for your whole body wellness. So I have things for your spiritual wellness and physical. Everything, it touches all the categories, I'm giving lots of things away. So you can get into that just from taking advantage of the deals. So that link will be below I think and yes, absolutely. And ask any questions, and I'm here to be your, you know, your personal shopper as well. And, and being a nurse, I will, you know, tap into your wellness journey and help you get the best things for your health and wellness.
Lynn Turcotte-Schuh:Oh, I love it so much. All of those links will be in the show notes. And if it is, after Black Friday, if you're listening to this, and you're like, oh my gosh, Black Friday was like months ago. Yeah. We still have the wellness hacks, which I will be downloading that for myself, just an FYI. And, and I am quite positive that Shannon will be available well after Black Friday to help you with your your wellness solution. So that is so wonderful. Shannon, as we head out here, is there one piece of advice that you would give to like a new mom, that is, you know, maybe he doesn't even know that they're in survival mode, but they're there, they're in survival mode, what would be your one piece of advice to help them have hope that there's a way that there's a different a different way, but it's not going to feel like this forever?
Shannon Wright:Well, I would say to be well, and to get out of whatever we're in and to make it through whatever we're in, takes courage. And you are courageous and you are strong, and you are brave. We just give up a little too soon. And courage is actually taking a step into fear. And so doesn't mean you're not scared. It doesn't mean it's not hard doesn't mean it's not challenging. But when you take that step forward, and you take care of you and your people, that's courageous, and you can and then the more courageous things you do they build on each other and become competence. And then you can walk in that courageous and courageous competence as a mom, full of courage. And then that is where the peace comes from. And that's where your peace starts. So I would say, be courageous because you are and take that step for your wellness for you and your kids.
Lynn Turcotte-Schuh:If I could detach my mic right now and drop it, I would. Oh, it was amazing. I usually have a follow up and I'm like no, Mic drop. Hey, Mama, I know how valuable your time is. And I'm honored you spent some of it with me today. If you love this episode and want even more tools, resources and inspiration, we have a community of Mamapreneur that are working together to redefine motherhood by tackling mom guilt overwhelmed burnout and more. Head on over to happy mama wellness.com forward slash community to join the movement. If you're feeling super inspired by today's episode, take a screenshot and share it on your favorite social media channel. Don't forget to tag me at Happy Mama Wellness that's happy Ma Ma wellness. Even better. If you have a moment to leave a rating and review. It will help me bring you the content that lights you up. Until next time namaste