Once the body has encoded an experience as a threat to survival it is remembered and stored within the limbic system, which allows it to be recalled easily and quickly as opposed to long-term memory.

If the experience stays in the limbic system, for a variety of reasons, then this past experience can be triggered, or ‘lit up’, months or years later with something as small as a sound or a smell, and the victim can feel like the trauma is happening all over again, even though it is not.

If you have been experiencing constant worrying, chaotic thoughts, loss of appetite, inability to focus, disconnection from others or your own body, and/or insomnia, know that you are not alone! The extensive power and water outages, as well as food shortages, last year were a real threat to our survival; hundreds of people did not survive and our bodies know this on a deep, unconscious level. The worrying, disconnection, and sleeplessness are a result of the trauma you experienced last year.

Y’all have probably heard, read, seen or have had first-hand experience with the benefits of meditation. Most can feel a sense of ease or calm after only a few minutes of focused attention on the breath or the body. But when meditation is ‘practiced’, which means it is something you regularly engage in for at least three times a week, the benefits can go beyond feeling calm. For instance, a 2014 clinical review of research found that meditation can improve conditions of hypertension, diabetes type 2 and high cortisol and encouraged more research in comparing meditation to therapeutic treatments like some medications.

Practicing mindfulness can help you shift from internal “why” questions and into your body’s sensations or experiences that are occurring in the present moment and this can give your brain the vacation it is craving. Curiosity can be the key to connect you to the here-and-now, improve relationships with others and yourself and release you from the annoying dialogue in your head.

Essential to supporting the body with over 300 enzymatic reactions in the body, there is no denying that magnesium is essential to our health and well-being. From boosting mood to regulating blood pressure, it’s important to focus on getting the required amounts of magnesium through your diet and supplementation when needed.

Despite its essential nature, 48% of Americans consume inadequate amounts of magnesium in their diets. This trend has been attributed to a decrease in the consumption of nutrient-rich foods as well as an increase in industrial farming and food processing, which reduces the amount of magnesium present in whole foods.

Mindfulness can help us hold some of the heavy feels of 2021 by accepting the current environment as it is. Right now you might know people who are ill; right now you might be fearful of a party or travel plan being cancelled because you or someone else is sick. When we compound this reality with feeling disappointed our ‘normal’ 2019 lives have not returned along with stress around the rising cost of everything, hopelessness can easily set in.