My story as a parent
Being a mom is one of the most important roles, but it’s NOT always the easiest. When our kids struggle, we do too, especially when we can't find the right solution. No matter what age or whether or not they have a diagnosis, it's hard.
Years ago, I struggled with STRESS—advocating for a child with ADHD without any REAL solutions or support, working a corporate job & juggling a busy family schedule.
My Anxiety would increase with the stress, and before I knew it, I found myself in a state of emotional, physical, & mental exhaustion, trying to do it ALL.
I had ZERO stress RESILIENCE! I was on edge & triggered by the littlest thing. I felt it & my kids felt it too. It breaks my heart when I think back on all the moments I could’ve handled differently.
Stress can be an invisible gas if you don’t keep it in check.
I knew I needed a BETTER way to manage the effects of my always present STRESS.
I turned to nutrition, exercise & yoga (earning my yoga instructor certification in 2012) since I did not want to go on meds. These lifestyle strategies helped, but I always joked—If I could only be on my yoga mat 24/7!
This time last year I discovered the science of the gut-brain axis and how it helps manage stress, anxiety, depression, ADHD, & more!
Balancing my gut & getting it to communicate with my brain has honestly given me my life back.
My stress is still there as most of us—But, what’s different is I now have the RESILIENCE to be more RESPONSIVE instead of REACTIVE.
My brain fog lifted. I’m less anxious, less irritable, & find myself more at ease with my day-to-day busyness.
Eamonn's Story
My son was on Ritalin, Adderall, or some other medication to treat his ADHD all through his school years because he needed 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 to focus.
His experience in school was truly a roller-coaster of trials and tribulations. He was a happy, normal, fun-loving kid who was tormented internally by his inability to succeed academically. He had to work so hard to master the smallest task. There was a definite disconnect between being able to pay attention long enough to absorb in-class lesson plans, take notes, and then apply it to homework and tests. He was barely getting by even with the help of an IEP and special learning assistance. His existence was literally being defined by this thing called Attention Deficit Disorder.
I brought him to countless specialists, therapists, and doctors - they all had only one solution - harsh pharmaceutical medicines. I felt hopeless as I continued to search for other natural solutions.
Because I wanted him to succeed in school and was being told I was doing him a disservice to not medicate him, we went down the path of experimenting with a variety of ADHD meds. In the early years, he could not swallow pills, so I would crush them and sneak them into his food and/or drinks - but there was always a tug of war to get him to take them since he HATED how he felt on them.
Every single option had its host of horrendous side effects - sleeplessness, loss of appetite, zombie-like state, flattened personality were the main ones. I remember at one point he was taking one drug that stimulated him for focus and then another drug at night to allow his brain to shut off in order to go to sleep - insane, right?
Seeing my happy, energetic, animated, creative, musically talented kid with no personality and creativity made me feel that I was failing him as a mom.
Fast forward, my son is finally off his ADHD meds—the “solution” that came with more side effects than benefits. By NATURALLY treating the ROOT cause instead of masking symptoms, it got his brain to function as it should & allowed him to have his best results EVER during his senior year in college. He is feeling and performing at his best, and in my opinion, has returned to his best self after all these years - MY BIGGEST WIN AS A MOM FOR SURE!
How I can help
If you look worldwide to other countries like Japan or New Zealand, they use natural ingredients for Anxiety, ADHD and Depression, before they prescribe Prozac, Ritalin, Adderall, or other meds.
However, in the United States, we typically look to prescription meds as first-line therapies. Unfortunately, these come with harsh FDA warnings, horrible side effects, and they mask the symptoms, leaving the root cause unsolved.
I have found a Natural protocol that rebalances the Microbial ecology (Microbiome) that lives within us and optimizes the gut-brain connection. By rebalancing the microbiome, it helps rebalance the chemistry within the brain.
(What happens in the gut does not stay in the gut, it travels up to the brain).
When we do this, we are actually able to experience psychological benefits such as feeling happier, more focused, motivated, calm, and resilient.
My mission is to pay it forward by sharing our story & experience in hopes that it will help other parents navigate the overwhelm of finding better and safer solutions for their kids.
I am here to help, so please let's have a conversation!
Colleen
My son, Eamonn
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