True Life

Latest Episodes:

13: Your personal relationships are likely making or breaking you Nov 13, 2019

Show notes

In this episode we finish out the four foundational pillars of Functional Medicine with the third episode on Relationships. In episode 11 we talked about the vital relationship between your body and mind. In episode 12, the relationship you have with yourself and the world through hope and purpose, faith in essence. Here then we land on your relationship with - other people. I think we all realize to a degree the positive and negative affect relational health or lack there of has in our lives. But from a medical standpoint and literal pathologies of body and mind, nothing could be less mainstream. If a stressful marriage and your anxiety, anger, or despair is eating away at you and causing you physical and mental abilities, chances are 99.9% that any traditional medical doctor will never ask, address or uncover the root issue but will treat the symptom with a pharmaceutical. And that is exactly what medical school trains them to do. It’s what they trained my co-host Dr. James to do. So you’re left taking a drug to mask and manage a symptom that you have no idea is being caused by relational strife. We have dramatically impacting relationships in our family, friends, co-workers, employees, business partners and more. Great exercise and good nutrition and solid sleep will help you withstand challenging relationships, but ultimately negative relationships will take down even the mightiest of men. And women. So how does it really affect you and what can you do about it? This is our show, right here.

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12: Why you need a prescription for purpose and hope Nov 06, 2019

Show notes

This is the next important aspect in the fourth pillar of Functional Medicine - Relationships. This has to do with our relationship with our life in this world. We could easily label it “Faith”, as purpose and hope are the basis of faith. But let’s get to brass tacks; you could theoretically have a healthy body and healthy mind but languish if you have no specific hope and purpose in your life. In reality however,, with no hope and purpose there is little to no chance you will do what is necessary to have much of any health. Which gives us pause to say this focus right here may be the most important part of our four pillars, or at least sequentially first. Studies have shown the happiest people are those who are actively working towards something, and feeling progress and achievement. They have drive and aspiration. Regarding purpose, it is by far and large realized by being of value to other people. Being needed and desired...and generally in the form of serving others. This is how we find our place in the world and make sense of it. When we talk of hope, we mean the hope in relation to true belief and expectation, not the flitting hope to win the lottery or find a fairy godmother. And when we speak of purpose, it is a core meaning for getting up in the day. It doesn’t even have to be a grandiose, super altruistic purpose. Again, it’s tempting to give this topic the label of faith, but like hope, there are many with a mere fantastical faith that doesn’t result in any forward progress and tangibility to life. Dr Randy James and I candidly cover his experiences around this subject with patients, and the dire need for it in our culture that seems to be losing touch with hope and purpose, and how you can clarify and leverage it in your life.

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11: How your body gets derailed by your mind (and vice versa) Oct 30, 2019

Show notes

The fourth pillar of getting you well is dealing with Relationships, and your foundational relationship is between your body and your mind. We hear plenty about “body and mind” connection but very little that we actually understand how to apply to our everyday lives. We continue to see people pursuing health in their bodies but being derailed by issues of the mind. There is a very real truth to the “physical manifestation of emotional pain”. This is a bad response to...stress. Relationships, trauma, financial issues, and even exciting events can build up to ongoing anxiety that will manifest poorly if not managed well. On the other side we have depression and hopelessness which is almost always treated with a mind focus, while we often find the body in disarray can a primary culprit. Ultimately if our mind is in bad straits it will often play itself out in physical ailments and we can say the same in reverse. When we are properly tending to your mind but your body is in disarray, your mind is compromised. You may have seen much on the gut/brain connection, or come across Dr Bessel Van Der Kolk’s book, The Body Keeps The Score. In this show we aim to simplify the concepts and give you a viable understanding of the “chicken and egg” of mind and body connection.

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10: The hard work of true relaxation and renewal Oct 23, 2019

Show notes

We are only as strong as our level of recovery. Daily there are things we do, with sleep being paramount. A form of meditation is another. But here is a key point, there are many things we do and pursue for relief. Kicking the shoes off at the end of the day. Watching a game or binge watching a show. Reading a novel. Eating out. But do we ever finish these things and feel renewed and refreshed? Do we stand up, stretch our our arms and say, “Man, do I feel great now!” Not usually. How about vacation? Do you generally feel refreshed when you return, especially those of us with kids? Or do you feel inspired by some good experiences, but fairly exhausted, needing a vacation from your vacation? So when do we find actual renewal that truly strengthens us for the long haul? Or as you’ll hear Dr Randy James talk about, how do you go about The HARD work of true relaxation? This is a significant part of the self-care you need understanding of and permission for if you are going to get closer to functioning at your full capacity!

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9: How to best recharge in order to improve your performance tomorrow Oct 16, 2019

Show notes

You are listening to this show because you want to improve yourself. You want to grow and improve and progress and achieve more. And you want to know...how. You are a doer, or an aspiring doer. As such, the topic of “sleep” is not thrilling. Or maybe it’s just me...when I’m sleeping, I don’t feel I’m getting anything accomplished. It feels like wasted time. Regardless, it is absolutely the primary way we recharge. As you’ll hear in this show, my cohost Dr Randy James changes our paradigm by stating that our evening and our sleep is actually how we are starting our next day. How we prepare for sleep, how long and how well are bottom line what are fueling our performance for the next day. All our output, the topic of episode 8, is subject to our rest and recovery. Many of us are not recovering and every day is a dip lower in our ability...or we’ve stagnated at a mediocre performance level, but if we are taking out more than we are depositing, ultimately we’ll end up bankrupt and that’s when we are forced to rest via sickness, disease and disability. I believe you’ll find different information and perspectives on sleep than you ever have and get clarity on what you can do to best support all the “doing” you desire in your life!

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8: Increase your capacity for daily output Oct 09, 2019

Show notes

Your daily output is in essence, your work. All of it. The daily tasks and duties in which you exert yourself to fulfill. Personal maintenance, parenting, your job or schooling, relationships, home and life maintenance...everything. Your capacity for daily output is finite, even though we like to think of ourselves as needing to be limitless. How often do you feel spent and you’re only halfway through the day? Or maybe you make it strong through the day but by evening you have nothing left for your family and relationships or a new venture you desire to put effort into? What daily activities, exertions, environments, and mental activities will more quickly deplete, OR… help to better sustain and further your daily output and capacity? This is what we address in this episode.

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7: Discover the daily movements and exercise that is right for you Oct 03, 2019

Show notes

For our body and mind to be as well as possible, it’s imperative we daily move and stress our lungs and muscles. We must realize it is our culture today that requires us to “exercise”, as this concept was unnecessary for the majority of all time in humanity. Daily living used to require us engage in healthful movement. We fetched water from a stream or well and touted heavy buckets around. We walked or rode horses for long distances. We hunted animals and harvested food, then labored to cook meals from raw ingredients. And on and on. Only in recent times can we exist and survive for days on end without ever raising our heart rate or using our muscles for much more than lifting a fork to our mouths. Without proper good stress to our physical bodies, we atrophy. The great myth for those who are not necessarily concerned about physical strength, ability and well being is that our minds can fully function anyway. This is like expecting a beautiful flower to exist when the roots, body and leaves are neglected and malnourished. If your body is compromised, so is your brain and mind. Then the question is, what exercise is best for you. The answer...at least the framework of the answer, you’ll find in this episode of the True Life Show.

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6: What in your physical environment is harming or helping you? Sep 25, 2019

Show notes

What are you coming into contact with on a daily basis? Randy James, MD and I are going to open your understanding to what you need to know. To take an extreme, what if you let a daily dose of radiation wash over you every day. Just a mere second, not too much. But every day, over time, what would happen? Enough would be catastrophic. As our world is increasingly filled with pollution and toxins, the very air is truly suspect. What is touching our skin, what are we smelling in through our nose, irritating our eyes? Allergies, mold, toxins and chemicals. Should we all walk through life wearing surgical masks and radiation suits? Environmentally it wouldn’t hurt, but it might cramp your social life. What DO we need to be on the lookout for? What is most threatening to us? How much of our physiological and psychological maladies are related to what we come into contact with via our skin and the very air we breath? Let’s find out.

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5: How you are programming your brain every day Sep 12, 2019

Show notes

From the moment you wake in the morning you are choosing how you will wire your brain for success, by choosing what you will listen to. Join me, Kevin Miller and Randy James, MD, as we dig into the massive power of our daily and continual external and internal messages. Your very thoughts are literally a voice and do the most benefit and damage. Then the external audio input throughout your day is dramatic as well, and can do much to enhance the good and bad of the internal dialogue. When are you not actively having a thought or bringing in audio sensory input? Never. The real question however is, how much of it are you controlling and being deliberate about? Have you ever seen a food bank, where people donate any sort of food? Would you choose to eat whatever was dropped off? From year old raman to pickled pigs feet to mac and cheese to spam? Probably not. But are you allowing your audio input to be a veritable listening bank? Overhearing news of doom and bloom, office gossip, criticism from a family member and more. And again, even more importantly, what is your internal audio? The voices in your head? Decade old messages from parents and authority figures, siblings and friends, coaches and teachers, that have all had massive influence over what is often now, simply YOUR voice. Is your voice speaking encouragement to you? Saying, “Hey, it’s ok! You can do it! You are worthy and able. You’re a good person.” Or is it berating you? Cursing you out for mistakes and irritations and frustrations? This is big medicine folks.

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4: Control your direction by controlling your visual input Sep 06, 2019

Show notes

What you look at is where you go. As we continue with the first pillar of overall physiological and psychological health and wellness, following the structure of Functional Medicine with Kevin Miller and Randy James, MD, we are talking about INPUT. The good and bad we do and do not put into our bodies. In episode three we covered the huge aspect of what we do and don’t put into our mouths. In this show we address visual input. This is not an area we give much thought or weight to. In all truth, I expected it to be a 20-30 minute discussion, but as you will hear, some of our points really expanded. Just like the food we eat, everyday we choose or allow a steady and full diet of visionary input into our minds. We discuss the effect screens have on us, not just what we watch but the very real issue of blue screens themselves. Ultimately, what cumulative visual input is harming us and taking away life, and what is helping us and giving us life? We have control over the majority of this, if we’ll take it. Videos, news, pornography, social media, ads and consumerism…there is a virtual, visual onslaught and reality in our home and work environment. I think you’ll find your eyes opened, pun intended, and your mind convicted. You can take easy and significant action right away.

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