What is an addiction?
An addiction is when one is physically or mentally dependent on a particular substance, thing, or activity. One cannot stop without adverse effects- withdrawal symptoms, physical or mental changes, cravings, and being dependent on it is causing some type of negative effect- spiritual, emotional, and/or physical.
top 10 addictions
1. Coffee
2. Sugar
3. Food
4. Tobacco and Nicotine
5. Alcohol
6. Illegal and Prescription Drugs
7. Sex
8. Gambling
9. Screens- TV, Internet, Social Media, Video Games
10. Work
Holiday Statistics?
The most common roots of addiction are chronic stress, trauma, and a family history of addiction. According to the Center for Disease Control, 80% of Americans report having more overwhelming stress during the holidays, over 25% of Americans report feeling more depressed, and 62% moderately anxious during the season. Both depression and anxiety directly contribute to increased addictive behaviors. Studies have shown alcohol alone to increase by 29% during the holidays and sugary treats and food become the focal point with an increase of 440 calories per day. Studies show that addictive behaviors started during the holiday season continue the first 3 months of the year - for example increase in calorie average goes up another 450 calories with a total increase of almost 900 calories compared to the July to November average.
What is a Coping Mechanism?
Difficult experiences from our past can leave an impact on the way we perceive and react today. In response to these stressful situations, we may have learned to behave in ways that “protect” us from pain. These are known as coping mechanisms and happen automatically through our Autonomic Nervous System- specifically the sympathetic side. Coping mechanisms are often helpful in the short term to lower stress - a cigarette, an alcoholic drink, or a piece of chocolate but can become unhealthy patterns that cause more stress, pain, and suffering (aka: addiction). Even though addiction is usually not good for us, we become attached to the coping mechanism as part of who we are and our own personal worldview and rarely see it as an addiction.
If you are struggling with an addiction, it’s important to know that recovery and healing are possible, and with it comes greater freedom, joy, and well-being.
Below I share resources to help you on your journey from addiction to freedom.
Releasing Addiction with Peace & Calming Essential Oil Video
21-Day Journey Trauma to Safety
❤️Shawna Cale, PT, LCTI, CHHWC
21-Day Journey Trauma to Safety
❤️Shawna Cale, PT, LCTI, CHHWC
Stress Expert
P.S. In January the theme of the Exceptional Holistic Health Masterclasses is Freedom From Emotional Eating and Addiction.*
*Become an Exceptional Holistic Health Member today by starting with the 21-Day Journey Trauma to Safety course and receive all January Masterclasses for FREE. Go here to learn more: https://shawnacale.com/21-day-journey
Do you ever feel like your body is at war with you? It's more common than you think. We live in a world where our bodies are the first thing we look at when we wake up and the last thing we see before going to bed. Through social media and advertising, it's easy to get caught up that there is only one way for our bodies to look or be. You may even obsess over your body size or appearance as a way of taking care of yourself, but doing so can sabotage your efforts to feel good about yourself—especially if you're comparing yourself (unfairly) against others.
Our bodies are not the enemy.
Your body is not your enemy. Your body is a gift, a sanctuary, a safe place - it wants what's best for you. Sometimes we don't like what our bodies are telling us because society has taught us that our bodies aren't good enough. But your body is good enough. Your body is an incredible and powerful thing, and it deserves all the love in the world.
We are more than just our external body.
So often we just look at our body from an external perspective. We are much more than just our external appearance- we have an internal physical body and we are spiritual and emotional beings too. When we can look at ourselves from a broader perspective - what our body has done for us, what it allows us to do daily on this earth, how it houses our spiritual being and emotional being and connects us with ourselves, others, and God we can see who we truly are.
Peace with our bodies.
If we want to live in peace and not at war with our bodies we need to start by making peace with ourselves. The first step is awareness- asking our body questions like, "How do you feel?", "What do you need?" And then listening to what it tells us. When we make peace with our bodies, we can see we are a beautiful creation of God. We can appreciate the way it moves and feels, and how it enables us to do all that we need to do in this world. When we are at peace with ourselves and others around us, then true love will flow freely.
Regardless of what your relationship with your body is like today, you can change it. Start with small steps like teaching your body that it is safe and supported with somatic exercises and then move into self-care activities to show your body how much you truly care and love it.
❤️Shawna
If you are ready to take the next step and have more PEACE IN YOUR BODY.
. 
Join me in this masterclass to learn the #1 reason you are not at peace with your body. How this one reason increases your risk for diabetes and heart disease and it’s not a lack of exercise or your diet. You will leave with a clear path on how to feel more peace in your body after this experiential session.
Cost: $10
Cost: $10
*Free to all Exceptional Holistic Health Members
Become an Exceptional Holistic Health Member today by starting with the 21-Day Journey Trauma to Safety course and receive all 6 December Masterclasses for FREE. Go here to learn more: https://shawnacale.com/21-day-journey
How adaptable are you?
That's not a question I would have asked myself 10 years ago.
Now I ask myself this question a lot and here is why.
Healthy people that thrive in a world that is constantly changing, adapt quickly and efficiently.
My desire is to be healthy, how about you?
What is being adaptable really mean?
We have this awesome autonomic nervous system with this alarm in our brain stem called neuroception- it’s our threat detector that tells our body whether we are safe, in danger, or if something could be life-threatening.
Stressors are what we call threats or triggers that may set off our alarm. Now, not all stressors are big and bad. There are positive stressors. Like doing something new: for example, getting married, having a baby, or going on vacation. All of these are exciting, but they can be stressful to our body.
There is also what we call eustress which is like exercises- exercises are any action that is done to improve your health or help you grow- this could be spiritually, emotionally, or physically. Again, this is considered a good stress- but it is a stress on your body.
There are also dangerous or toxic stressors this could be chemicals, heavy metals, molds, viruses, and even emotions.
There are internal stressors, and there are external stressors.
Today I will not dive deep into stressors but I will share more about them in the future.
For now, I want you to understand that stressors turn on the threat detector and lead to stress in the body.
Of course, how adaptable you are affects how quickly your body feels threatened. The more adaptable the more stressors you can handle before going into a stressed state. The more adaptable the less time you spend in the stressed state.
Stress is a natural response.
Staying stressed is not.
It's a sign that your system is maladaptive.
Too much stress, stress for too long, or stress that comes on too fast can lead to trauma- this response causes us to move into the Freeze State- which is a parasympathetic shutdown state. And causes what is known as the cell danger response.
When our cells move into the cell danger response for too long, we have symptoms. Signs that our body is no longer adapting to stressors and is now turning on the symptom alarm to get your attention.
Symptoms that continue because of the cell danger response- inflammation, pain, fatigue, metabolic issues, depression, fog, and rashes then lead to chronic diseases. Unless you become more adaptable.
This brings us back to the question.
How adaptable are you?
Most of us like to see something that tells us how adaptive we are, I know I do!
That’s why I love using bioenergetic scans like the Zyto Insights that use voice frequency and kinetic response to generate what is known as a spark- it’s like your fingerprint in time.
This spark is then put into an algorithm, which measures your body's ability in real-time to adapt to different common stressors and then gives you an adaptability index score.
The lower the score the less adaptable you are.
The higher the score the more adaptable you are.
If you are curious to learn your adaptability index score. I am happy to help you. Just click learn more below.
If you would like to learn more about adaptability and using the Zyto Insights scan to support your body through the holidays, I have a Masterclass that you can watch on YouTube with more information to help you on your health and wellness journey.
How do you feel about your body?
Do you feel connected to it? Safe in it? Or do you feel disconnected, unsafe, and unhappy with how it looks or functions?
If the latter is true for you, I'm here to tell you - you are not alone.
It's a common feeling. Especially for women.
The first step toward healing is awareness.
Acknowledging that there is a problem in the first place and that it's not just "normal" to feel disconnected from your body.
Our physical bodies are one of the most important parts of ourselves. It's how we interact with the world—how we move through it, how we express ourselves, and how others see us.
We think if we just lose weight, everything will be better. If we just got in shape, then we'd finally be happy. But here's the thing: losing weight doesn't fix anything. And being in shape doesn't make you happy either (if it did, every single person who was in shape would be happy).
Your body has been shaped by years of experiences both good and bad: from childhood development through adulthood. And while some parts might be more comfortable than others, there's no part of your body that doesn't deserve to feel safe, supported and loved unconditionally!
So what does actually fix the disconnection?
It's this: Your BODY must "feel" safe.
Not your mind.
Sure we can think and say - I am safe until we are red in the face, but if our body doesn't "feel" safe- we will not resonate with what we are saying- we will continue to feel the disconnect between our body and our mind.
That's why I teach a 21-Day program that helps your body feel safe. Once you learn the simple safety exercises, then you move into supporting your body and then building your capacity to handle whatever comes your way.
You are not alone in this journey of life and I would love to help you and your body feel more safe in this world.
If you have questions or just need to talk, you can text me here: 405-655-5424
Special Note: The picture was taken by my good friend and photographer Sonja Forth. When we first started the photography session I was not feeling good about my body- how I looked. She did such a wonderful job helping me to feel safe and supported and by the end of the session; I felt like a beautiful model. (Nothing changed - I didn't magically lose 25 lbs, my arms didn't get more toned, and neither did my legs.) But, I felt comfortable in my body- I connected with it in a way that allowed me to fully be me.
The messages I have received from the ladies currently in the 21-Day Program are connecting with their bodies in a way they haven't in years- they are feeling safe and they are supporting their bodies because they are learning what their bodies need. That brings happiness to my heart.
WHY are we stressed-out, overwhelmed, and worn-out?
The holidays are coming up fast, and we're so busy! Between work, family obligations, shopping for those last-minute gifts, and just trying to keep our heads above water, It's easy to feel stressed out and overwhelmed. You feel you can't get ahead—you've got so many things on your plate and you don't even know where to start.
But the worst is when we are worn-out and have no energy to do the things we love with those we love.
We often think we just need to drink more water, and eat more food, but the truth is we have no energy because our body is saying "all of this is too much for me." We have moved from the stress state (energy) to the trauma/freeze state (no energy).
We often think we just need to drink more water, and eat more food, but the truth is we have no energy because our body is saying "all of this is too much for me." We have moved from the stress state (energy) to the trauma/freeze state (no energy).
I wish I could say drink more caffeine, eat more sugar, go for a walk and you will have more energy. But, if your body has shut down- those things only stress it for a moment (energy burst) and then you crash again.
HOW can we have more energy for the Holidays?
You can give your body what it needs: safety, support and build your capacity to handle more, and do more. Instead of crashing, you spend more time doing the things you enjoy during the holiday season and all year long.
I have a wonderful course that you can do between now and the end of the year called the 21-Day Journey Trauma to Safety that teaches you the Essential Steps through Your Nervous System to Address Stored Trauma in Your Body.
WHAT my favorite drink is to help me and why?
Once your body feels safe, it is time to support your body and one of my favorite drinks during the holidays is NingXia Red for these 3 Reasons:
- It's Easy!
- It's Delicious!
- All the Wonderful Benefits!
If you would like to know more about the wonderful benefits of NingXia Red click here.
Or check out my Masterclass below where I share all about the benefits and the research on this wonderful drink.
Ready to get started with the 21-Day Journey Trauma to Safety- Click Here.
Ready to get started with NingXia Red- Click Here.
Don't miss the next 3 FREE Masterclasses and Q & A in November- Click Here.
