Balance wanted: apply within.

Perhaps it sounds "crunchy" but, I truly believe that a healthy life is all about balance.

I am slowly regaining mine or, maybe I actually was never truly in balance before?

Cancer survivors often talk about a "new normal" post-treatment. For me, I am working on balance in my body, mind and spirit; a holistic approach. This is my "new normal"; finding happy.

Currently I am pursuing my studies as a Holistic Nutrition Practitioner/Consultant. I am more aware now of my actions and their effects on myself and the people and world around me. I am more aware of how my body runs as a complex machine and how to fuel it for peak performance on physical, cognitive an emotional levels. I love learning about the neurological and physiological relationships that exist in our bodies and how nutrition impacts and supports these interactions and functions. It is like magic and science all rolled up in one.

And it really does prove; you can not pour from an empty cup.

After my first baby arrived in 2012, I had brought up some physical symptoms I was experiencing to my family doctor in Montreal but, they were brushed off as something else because I was so young and had just given birth. This type of "dismissal" quite common for young adults because what could be wrong with us? Right? Wrong.

In 2015 had made an active choice to work on boosting my general wellness through nutrition and fitness after having my second little girl. (I had struggled with bad post-partum depression with my first baby and I knew these things could help me reduce or avoid it happening again). I also advocated for myself and asked my new doctor here in Edmonton for tests for my symptoms that had continued since 2012. Then, four months after giving birth was when I had was told that I had cancer. I wonder now how many years I had cancer slowly making a home in my body...eating through my colon...blooming like a mushroom?

And, as some of you may know, cancer can really kick things into a full blown "holy shit" type of ride really fast.

Six months after my cancer diagnosis and, armpit deep in chemotherapy, I made a choice to try medication to help me fight off the darkness. My anxiety was off the charts, I was depressed, I was feeling rage and uncontrollable sadness. I had been hesitant to try medication before because of many things such as the stigma behind mental health problems, fear of potential side effects, fear of being seen as 'weak'... But, I was tired of feeling so sad and overwhelmed and angry. I knew I deserved better, and that my family deserved better. I knew there must be some kind of "normal" out there that existed where you were able to feel happy for more than a few minutes at a time; like a sunbeam cutting briefly through the clouds. I knew I needed extra help during this cancer journey.

It has been over a year now since I started medication (with several dosage adjustments), regular therapy, and access to a wonderful group of young adult peers via #YACC. I have also been cancer free for a year now. I am still a work in progress as I learn and grow. And, I will never stop working on balance.

Making the choice to explore different treatment options like medication in tandem with focusing on proper nutrition, positive mind set and self-care, and surrounding myself with positivity and positive people really has personally helped me to find balance.

My anxiety attacks are lessening, my mood is lighter, I feel less overwhelmed and less angry. I feel like my body and mind have some space to breathe.

I am slowly feeling more like "myself".

I am grateful.

I am a beautiful work in progress..

I am excited to finish my studies and use my knowledge and experience to continue to grow and to heal... and, to help others and support them in their own journeys toward health, wellness and balance.

We are all different. We all have different bodies, minds and experiences. A holistic approach respects and acknowledges this; it is never a "one size fits all" and we look for the root cause and don't just support the symptoms.

Would you like help finding balance or getting started? Please contact me.

I look forward to working with you,

xo

Krystal