Sometimes you just need chocolate in your life.
It has been one of those weeks, a heart-heavy week.
Double chocolate paleo muffins helped a bit.
I suggest you make them too <3
Okay, yes these muffins are INSANE and you def need to make them. The perfect texture, melty chocolate and just so totally soul warming (yes, just like my paleo chocolate orange cake) but let's do a little bit of real talk.
Real talk, it's been a sad week or two with what has been happening in the media. What has happened to those that some have looked up to.
In light of the recent suicides of both Kate Spade and the beloved Anthony Bourdain and sadly the countless other lives who we have heard nothing about, I thought it would make the most sense to write some words on body v. mind.
So, I graduated one year ago from George Mason University with a degree in Social Work. Through my path of social work I have worked with both our aging population (in a very personal way dealing with family) and our youth. Both populations are obviously extremely different, but both populations are also quite similar.
Body v. Mind.
We grow up learning how to take care of our bodies. The importance of taking showers and brushing our teeth is something we also learn. We get physical check-ups and are taught to put band-aids on cuts so they won't become infected. We spend tons of time and money on our physical health.
From such a young age we are taught to value our bodies, which we SHOULD. But what about our minds?
We know how to maintain our physical health, but what do we really know about maintaining our mental health? Our mental health can impact our lives in such dramatic and drastic ways and we are injured more psychologically than we are physically.
Something I see in the aging population is isolation. Isolation is so so scary. When you are aging, it can make or break you. As an older person you decline greatly over time and more quickly than they would if surrounded by people, had daily conversation and stimulation.
This doesn't just happen within the aging populations, but all populations.
Loneliness creates a wound that alters the way we perceive things. When we are lonely we believe that the people around us care less than they actually do. When we feel lonely and disconnected, we are afraid to reach out because we are already fearful of rejection and heartache and you can feel socially and emotionally disconnected.
Loneliness can risk your longevity, just like cigarettes, sitting all day, vegetable/canola oil (SO BAD GUYS), but loneliness and mental health don't come with a warning label.
You can't just "shake off" a mental illness, heartache, loneliness, failure or rejection. Can you just "shake off" a broken arm? Probs not my friends, probs not.
It is time that the gap between mental and physical health is closed. It is time we make them equal.
Also happens to be the time to make these crazy delicious muffins that will soothe all souls!
PIN TO SAVE FOR LATER!
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