Believe Big Podcast

55-Karen Dubs - Stress Management & Self-Care

May 02, 2023 Ivelisse Page & Karen Dubs Season 1 Episode 55
Believe Big Podcast
55-Karen Dubs - Stress Management & Self-Care
Show Notes Transcript Chapter Markers

Today’s podcast episode features Karen Dubs, a fitness and wellness expert. Karen shares her insights on managing stress and implementing self-care practices in daily life.

We discuss the importance of recognizing the signs of stress, such as 

  • fatigue, 
  • difficulty sleeping, and 
  • irritability, and taking steps to address these. 

She emphasizes the role of physical activity in managing stress, recommending activities such as stretching/movement, strength training, and cardio workouts.

She also shares tips for incorporating self-care practices into daily life, such as making time for hobbies and activities that bring joy, getting enough sleep, and maintaining healthy eating habits. She stresses the importance of setting boundaries and prioritizing self-care, even in the face of demanding work schedules or other obligations.

Connect with Karen on her website:
https://flexiblewarrior.com/

Suggested Resource Links:


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Ivelisse Page:

Hi, I'm Ivelisse Page and thanks for listening to the Believe Big podcast, the show where we take a deep dive into your healing with health experts, integrative practitioners, biblical faith leaders, and cancer thrivers from around the globe. Welcome to today's episode on the Believe Big podcast. My name is Ivelisse Page and it's an honor to spend this time with you. In today's fast-paced world, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and stressed, especially if you are in a crisis like cancer. Stress can have a wide range of negative effects on our physical and our mental health. We all know this, but how can we practically reduce and manage it in our lives? On today's episode, my very dear friend Karen Dubbs is here to share with us practical strategies for managing stress and building resilience. Karen believes that everyone is a warrior on some level. Whether you are a professional athlete trying to recover faster and improve flexibility, or a corporate executive wanting to reduce stress or chronic pain, a cancer survivor on the journey to regaining health or a stay-at-home mom trying to stay healthy, calm, and energized. After being diagnosed with Lyme's disease and Hashimoto's Karen learned many self-care techniques to support her healing. She graduated from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition as a health coach and is the founder of Flexible Warrior. She is certified through the American Council on Exercise and has been in the fitness industry for over 30 years. Karen has worked with the Baltimore Ravens, the University of Maryland's men's basketball team, and so much more. Welcome, Karen, to the show.

Karen Dubs:

Thank you, Ivelisse.

Ivelisse Page:

We are so excited that you're here. And as always, we always like to start with our guest's favorite health tip, and I know you have many, but can you share one with us?

Karen Dubs:

I absolutely can, and it does resonate with me all of the health tips that all of your people share on these podcasts. Of course, there are endless ones, but for me, I will share one of my favorite sort of sayings, and that is that self-care is healthcare. So even though, the pace of this world is fast and there's so much overwhelm and anxiety and fear and all the things we can do little things each and every day, whether it's making a smoothie or taking a brisk walk with your dog or something that brings you a sense of health and joy. So I think that self-care is healthcare to fill our self-care cup so that we can give from that, that place of fullness.

Ivelisse Page:

Yeah. I, believe in that. I think that's right on, I've never heard self-care is healthcare. I love that. I've always told people self-care is not selfish.

Karen Dubs:

Yes.

Ivelisse Page:

We as women have a hard time with that. We think we're being selfish if we're taking care of ourselves, and we put ourselves last. Men too, they're working so hard and pushing so hard. And we need to step back and take care of ourselves so that we can be the best for our families, for our friends, and our community. So I'm so grateful that we're gonna be talking about that on today's episode. I love the flexible warrior approach, which is about finding the balance between challenging yourself versus practicing self-care. So can you briefly share about this as it relates to your personal story?

Karen Dubs:

Absolutely. I think you can also relate to this, that the flexible warrior, my, my business just like Believe Big, was born out of a challenging time in my life when I was diagnosed with both Lyme and Hashimotos. And at that same time, I, by nature, am a type A. Warrior mindset, more is more, push, achieve great things in this world. That's what we're here for, right? And I'm struggling to try to get healthier and overcome this disease that I was diagnosed with, but at the same time, trying to crush myself with trying to achieve a lot. And at the same time I was working with a lot of athletes and, they too, and my clients even now are Type A warriors and that's amazing. These are my favorite people on the planet. These are people that are doing things. But however, what I discovered for myself is that pushing was not allowing me to heal. Trying to continue to do all the things that I had always done prior to the diagnosis wasn't working for me anymore. And so I had to learn the hard way. But it gave me this experience to now share this with others, that the self-care is what was gonna allow me to recharge and heal. And so that's where I came up with the Willpower, Chillpower. So Flexible Warrior, it's a balance of opposites. And I think it resonates with so many people trying to find balance in this crazy world. And so it's about doing hard things and challenging yourself, absolutely. But it's also balancing that out with things that restore us and fueling your cup, filling your cup, as you mentioned that self-care is not selfish. It's actually the opposite of selfish. I truly believe it. Because if we are not taking care of ourselves, we're depleting ourselves and not putting ourselves at the top of our list. We can't be of service to others.

Ivelisse Page:

A hundred percent. And for those that are on the podcast listening and aren't familiar with Hashimotos, can you just share really quickly what Hashimotos is?

Karen Dubs:

Sure. It's an autoimmune disease that goes after the thyroid. Many autoimmune diseases, there are many, they attack different organs in the body. And so Hashimoto's is autoimmune, thyroiditis was an inflammation of the thyroid.

Ivelisse Page:

What are some common signs and symptoms of stress and how can we recognize them in ourselves and others?

Karen Dubs:

Unfortunately stress is chronic in our society now. There's the parasympathetic nervous system and the sympathetic nervous system, the fight or flight, and the kind of image that is overused, the tiger chasing us, that immediate response that we have when we're in a place of danger and it's okay. That's what our God-given bodies are there to have that, to flee in a dangerous situation, but unfortunately we've gotten ourselves into a position that people are in a chronic state of stress. And it can be, stress can be anything from you have a stressful day at work, you have a speech that you're gonna do or presentation, or a test coming up. And stress can be good cuz it can allow us to do things study hard for the test or train hard for your race day. And so it can be a good thing. And exercise is one of those kind of good stress things that builds strength and lung capacity and all of that. But it can also be the opposite when it comes to chronic stress. And so if you're dealing with depression, anxiety, fatigue, sleeplessness those are some of the things that can come up when you know someone's in a place of chronic stress.

Ivelisse Page:

Yes. And so what are some ways to incorporate movement into our daily lives for someone who is not a gym person or isn't involved in a team or something like that, what are some simple ways that we can incorporate movement?

Karen Dubs:

Certainly. Yeah. And I often say that it doesn't have to be expensive. So self-care, yes, it should be our number one priority, but it doesn't have to be expensive. It can be a hot bath, a brisk walk, gardening, those sorts of things that are free, that don't have to be very time consuming cuz everyone's that's the number one, I don't have time. I know, but we don't have time to be sitting in the doctor's offices either, or time to be sick. And so I'm a big 10 minute per day person. So if you can just do something for 10 to 15 minutes, it gets you what I like to call the upward spiral. And as opposed obviously to the downward spiral. And little chunks of time like that and healthy habits that you do on the daily basis can make a huge difference. It can be something as simple as making a smoothie and it'll take five minutes. And it's not a big time commitment, but it does add up over time. And I often say too, 10 minutes a day is better than one hour a week. Because it's the consistency that's the key. A lot of times too, the three A's are attitude, alignment, and action. So attitude is huge, right? It's the, I always say it's either you have the warrior mindset or you have the victim mindset. The warrior mindset is obviously I can and I will, the victim is I can't, poor me. There's nothing I can do. But you can do something and it doesn't have to take a lot of time. Alignment is not only physical alignment, this is something we can do right now. Everybody's sitting, listening, you can stand taller if you're walking right now. If you're sitting at your desk, if you're driving in your car, sit up taller, be in good physical alignment. But also it's about alignment from your thoughts and what you want to your actions, which is the huge thing. It's all about the action, right? So you can talk it to death, but until you're actually taking these little steps, it's what really makes the change possible.

Ivelisse Page:

I agree and I'm one of those individuals that has to find those moments to exercise and plan it into my day. And if you don't plan it many times, then it doesn't happen. So I also don't go into the gym and things like that, all my kids Jimmy does. But it has to be simple and it has to be easy, and for me I do 20 minutes a day and I found the Peloton app was just amazing. And we have no connection with Peloton, but I just love that for$15, even if you don't have a bike, you are able to work out with thousands of instructors and classes that they have available. I love it cuz I can also take it with me when I travel. Yeah. You can use it anywhere. And then also I feel like something as simple as walking with a neighbor. I have a walking buddy and we meet up at least once a week and walk around when it's nice out. And it just, not only is refreshing for our bodies, but for our souls'cause we're in community. So simple things like that. I, remember one physician saying that sitting is the new smoking. Oh And so that to be able to make sure you're getting up at least every 30 minutes and many of us who are sitting all day working shouldn't be doing that.

Karen Dubs:

I completely agree. So two things that you said really definitely resonate with me, and that is accountability is huge. So you can add that to the a's, the alignment, the action, all of those. And then we can add in accountability. If you have a friend that's gonna hold you accountable, or if there's an app. I'm not a big app person myself. I guess that's why I'm in business. People hire me to hold them accountable. But beyond all of that too the, joy factor, I feel like so many people anticipate that exercise is gonna be drudgery something they don't wanna do or they have to do. If it's enjoyable for you, whether it's walking a dog or walking with a friend or something that brings you joy. I think that is really one of the things that's a missing element. And it does not only reduce stress, but it gets the good endorphins flowing and allows us to be feeling recharged, which is, I feel like one of the most important things in this world right now.

Ivelisse Page:

Yes. And so eating healthy is also part of a good self care routine. What are some of the food obstacles you identified during your journey and that you needed to overcome for better health?

Karen Dubs:

Yes. Again, another favorite saying of mine when I do my online challenges is less sugar and stress, more self-care and super foods. So if you're just reducing stress and sugar and adding in super foods and self-care, you're on the right path, and it doesn't have to be about restrictions. It's the opposite of that. It's not calorie counting and this trying to feel like we have to get into this calorie burning mindset. It's really just about fueling your body with foods that are nourishing so that on a cellular level you're getting recharged. But beyond that, it's anti-inflammatory with a Hashimoto specifically, but I feel like this is beneficial for everyone, whether you're on the cancer healing journey or just prevention in general, anti-inflammatory diet and super foods are my thing. But I feel like that's good for everyone.

Ivelisse Page:

What are some things that are anti-inflammatory in the diet portion? Because people may hear that and go what's considered anti-inflammatory?

Karen Dubs:

Yeah, great question. Anti-inflammatory in general are unprocessed foods, vegetables, and fruits, preferably organic when possible, obviously non-GMO as well and as close to nature and as close to God created food, not processed food that you would find in a package. Obviously the hydrogenated oils, the sugars, the unnatural colorings and flavorings and preservatives and all those things that they add in to packaged foods. We wanna try to get away from those and get as close to the source as possible. I belong to a CSA organic local farm that I get my vegetables from seasonally. This is spring, summer, fall. In the winter I'm going to the store and doing the best that I can, getting organic foods too. But anti-inflammatory in general are foods that it sounds mystical like what is an anti-inflammatory food? But I just say shop in the produce aisle and as close to organic and clean as possible.

Ivelisse Page:

So if someone was gonna start doing something for healthy eating you saying less sugar, okay, that could be one thing. What is another simple way? Cuz it can be overwhelming even to start. And I feel like when you're in a cancering process, you have to take a complete 180. Yeah. And we have guides of oncology nutritionists that really walk individuals through exactly what to do and what to eat before and after treatment, during treatment. But if you're a healthy individual you actually do have more time to just make a shift. And it doesn't have to be a 180, it could be a two degree shift, like with a compass or a ship, if you just change it by two degrees, you're in a completely different destination a year from now. And so what's a two degree shift that individuals can make that can help'em move towards better health with eating.

Karen Dubs:

I completely agree with you. I am a less is more person and to reduce the stress, just do the baby steps and a year later, and that's what I did on my Hashimoto's healing journey. It was small baby steps I didn't do all at once. Each individual is different, of course, and so it depends on the person, but I believe that just the crowding out of junk food in general, so the more that you can, like a smoothie a day is a great place to start because you're piling in just a ton of nutrient dense, high quality foods and hydration as well into this little easy, quick to make, filling fuel source and if people just think of food as fuel. There's a great quote, I think it's Ann Wigmore. Food is either the greatest form of medicine or the greatest form of poison. And so if you consciously try to make a smoothie a day, that one thing alone can start to shift you into the mindset of, okay, how can I fuel my body with foods that are healing and nourishing rather than filling it with junk food that could be toxic at the very worst, but at the very least it's just unhealthy calories.

Ivelisse Page:

Yes. And, each person individually, like I know I'm very sensitive to sugar, so I have to be really careful what I put into my smoothies, even natural sugars. So I can't put in the pineapples and the grapes and I have to have the low sugar berries in there. But I would love if you could share with us one of your favorite smoothie recipes that we can include with the podcast notes.

Karen Dubs:

Sure. I'm happy to send one it is individual whether a person is sensitive to sugar, whether they're diabetic or they're just trying to lose weight or whatever it is. But I will share that and we can put it into the notes. There's a sort of a formula with smoothies, right? A balance with fruits, vegetables, the liquid, if you're throwing in the bonus, things like the super food powders or the protein powders, the mushroom, I know you're a fan of Four Sigmatic as well. Those have so many healing qualities in them, right? But very low in calories, high in nutrient density, and I'm a seasonal person too. I don't know about you. I am not a fan of a smoothie in the winter. It just doesn't feel good for me. And so now that it's, we're heading into spring here and it's getting a little warmer it's time to bust out the blenders and dust off the blender and add in the fruits and the vegetables and make a smoothie a day. I think it's a great idea.

Ivelisse Page:

That's great. Yeah, and I'll add mine as well for those who are curious and wanna try one. I actually do the exact same recipe and I've done it for years because I'm like, it works. Why change it? If it's not broken, why fix it? And I don't get tired of it. It's just delicious. So I will include that as well. What three self-care habits are the most important to you personally and why?

Karen Dubs:

Wow. I think number one, since we are talking about stress too, is reducing stress and letting go of the thought process that more is more all the time. Sometimes less is more. And so number one, I would definitely say reducing stress. Number two, probably exercise daily, even if it's 10 minutes. Ten minutes is a lot of times will lead to 15 to 20 minutes. It's just about getting started, right? And getting that daily healthy habit in. And the third thing I was not really mentally prepared to answer this question, but off the top of my head, I will say, cuz I'm doing this right now, is a digital detox. And people might be like, what is that? But I, know you've had past episodes talking about EMF exposure. And more and more I really believe that a digital detox not only will help you reduce your stress, but it will help just bring clarity, get out in nature more, be present rather than taking a selfie and posting it. Not everybody needs to know everything that you're doing all the time. So digital detox is huge. I'm doing one right now. I do one four times a year, meaning I'll clarify that a little bit. Digital detox for me is just a social media break because I'm not off of my phone, I'm not off of my computer. Although I do take little breaks of with that as well, but it's really a social media break for me. I do it four times a year with a seasonal reboot, spring, summer, winter, fall.

Ivelisse Page:

And for how long?

Karen Dubs:

It really varies right now, this one was unplanned. It's funny that we're talking about stress today. I just recently lost, very suddenly lost a dog.

Ivelisse Page:

I'm so sorry.

Karen Dubs:

Yeah, it was very traumatic. So when that happened, I realized, I was like, I need to push, I had all this stuff planned that I was gonna do, and I realized like the most healthy thing I can do right now is push back and take a break from social media and allow myself, my self-care time. Practice what I preach. So I would say definitely taking time off of social media is highly recommended.

Ivelisse Page:

Yes I, agree with you so much. And I feel like for me, I'm actually very sensitive to EMFs and things like that, so I have to be even more cautious how many Zoom calls I'm on. And even tv it's all now through the apps and wifi exposure through your television. It's not like when we were kids and we just turn on the television and it was plugged in. Things in our home have wifi, so I've really had to remove things and limit things. We have to live in this world that is a technology world, but there are ways that we can reduce it and make sure that we are grounded and doing things outside that we enjoy. And it brought me so much joy yesterday. Cuz Jimmy and our son John, were just throwing the baseball outside. And I'm like, we need more of that. We need to just put our phones down, turn off the TV and just go outside and throw a baseball back and forth or go for a walk. So I appreciate your three self-care habits. And I know you do this a lot as well, I know for me, my, my biggest stress reliever is actually prayer. And every morning I pray, and I've learned this year, one of the questions that I ask myself now every morning is, Lord, what do you need me to see and know, and what do you want me to do? And what that allows me to do is to just relieve the things off of my shoulders and life. Life is always gonna have situations, but if we have our hands open and we just say, okay, Lord, tell me today, what do I need to see and know, and what do I need to do with that? And it relieves it because you're not burdened by having to do things in your own strength. And he fills me up each day to have the strength to be able to pour out to others. And I know that meditation is a big practice for you.

Karen Dubs:

Breathing moving and breathing, stretching your body out, just being in the flow and being open as you said. I do that same sort of thing and I'm coming off of this sort of trauma time and trying to use journaling and prayer and going inside to say, how can I use this stressful challenge in my life to be of service and, just show me the way, because when we're in the thick of grief, it's real. Whether it's losing a beloved pet or a family member, or you're on this cancer healing journey, or you're dealing with other crisis or injury or whatever it is. It might feel like a woe is me time, a time to be feeling like, why me? And this is terrible. But it often is an opportunity to reach out to get that wisdom as you're saying. But a lot of times we've gotta check out, we've gotta take time away from scrolling the phone and just be open to receive those messages. And I feel like more and more, and there's, we're circling back to the digital detox thing, but more and more people need that time. And even in the car, by the way I, highly encourage turn off the radio, even turn off a, podcasts are amazing, especially yours. And they can be such a source of inspiration and education, right? But a lot of times they can also be a source of overwhelm. Like it's just awareness of I'm not doing enough, or here's another list of 25 things I need to do. So sometimes just turning things off and just using that time to think and to receive messages so that you have that clarity. What should I do next? How can I be of service?

Ivelisse Page:

Yes. I used to do that with our kids. Growing up I used to be the mean ole mom that would only allow them one hour of TV a day, one hour a day, and we'd turn off the TV and that show was Little House on the Prairie, or I Love Lucy or something fun. And then I would just have stuff out that they could do, whether it was Lincoln Logs or go outside. And it was amazing because that time of quiet makes them more creative, made them be better brothers and sisters and just helped them to really enjoy being in the quiet moments. And so I think it's so important, even for our kids to just establish some of those things that you can do. We also did not allow phones at the table or the TV on while we're eating dinner. Yeah. Because that time of community, time of communicating is just so valuable to the family. And you don't know the conversations you're missing because you have that noise in the background that is on.

Karen Dubs:

Yeah. Oh my gosh so true. I just last week was able to visit my niece who moved far away. She used to live local and I visited her and her husband and their two little boys. They got a third little guy coming in July and exactly what you're saying, there was no phone, there's no need for it. We're out playing baseball and just experiencing with these little guys, they're three and five. An animal and a child, nothing like an animal or a child that will get you right in the moment. Unplug your phone and just be right in the moment with an animal or a child, and that will, that is a wonderful stress release burn. It's a wonderful way to just detach from the stress and all of the list of things to do and be present in the moment. What's, more beautiful than that?

Ivelisse Page:

Yes. And that's touching on the last point that I would like for us to discuss today. And I personally feel that there's an important aspect of self-care that isn't spoken about frequently and it's self-compassion. You are one of the most compassion people I know, Karen. And, do you find it easier to be compassionate with others than yourself when you're having a difficult day?

Karen Dubs:

Wow, Ivelisse, that's a big question and it's so true. Yeah. If you're an altruistic kind of person, and I know you and I, we're trying to do things in the world to help others and sometimes that means we're low on our own self care list. I'm doing a better job of it. I know your intention is the same with the words that we've chosen this year and just the actions that we're taking on a daily basis. Yes, it is sometimes easier to be compassionate for others, but I very much do the best that I can to practice what I preach. And I know that when I take care of myself, I truly believe this, and everyone's heard this thing, you put your oxygen mask on first. That is it's, really the number one thing that we have to do, practice that love and that compassion for yourself. Because when you do that, then you're filling your own energy and your compassion spills over then to others. I feel like that, like if you take a cup and it's just empty on your self-compassion and your self-love, then how are you gonna be compassionate with others or love others? You have to practice what you preach. Because if you don't, people know it, right? They can tell too. So it has to be authentic. Self-love and self-compassion has to come first as self-care is number one.

Ivelisse Page:

Yes. And we hear that saying that says, if you can be anything, be kind. And I believe you know that many times we forget about ourselves. And so be kind with how we treat our bodies. Be kind with the words that we speak to ourselves and and then like you said, it will pour out into others that kindness once you've filled your cup as well. Yeah. So Karen, Thank you so much for coming on today and sharing your advice and strategies and how we can all help to build resilience and cope better with the stressors of everyday life. And just appreciate you so much.

Karen Dubs:

Thank you. And, back to Ivelisse. I'm a huge Believe Big fan. You're such an inspiration and I'm honored to be here.

Ivelisse Page:

If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to help support our podcast, please subscribe and share it with others. Be sure to visit believebig.org to access the show notes and discover our bonus content. Thanks again and keep Believing Big!

What is your favorite health tip?
Karen shares her personal Flexible Warrior approach to self-care
What is Hashimoto's?
What are some common signs and symptoms of stress?
What are some simple ways to incorporate movement into our daily lives?
What are some of the food obstacles you had to overcome for better health?
What is considered anti-inflammatory in our diet?
What are some small steps a person can make to improve their food choices?
What three self-care habits are the most important to you personally and why?
Do you find it easier to be compassionate with others than with yourself?