Posts in Health
A Potentially Life-Changing Hack For Drinking More Water

We like treats. It’s science. The human brain has reward systems. When it gets a treat, it produces the neurotransmitter, dopamine. Dopamine feels great.  

So, although water can be gloriously quenching and treat-like after an intense workout, or at 3 am after a salt-riddled Indian feast, typically drinking the recommended daily amount of water, about 2 liters, is a taxing, annoying, endless, non-treat chore. 

So, I hacked it. 

The typical “water glass” is wide mouthed and drinking from it feels like homework. Don’t ask me why. A wide mouthed glass with water just feels like someone is punishing you for something you didn’t even do. Whereas a frosty cup of something icy and refreshing from a coffee shop while enjoyed with a straw, feels exciting. Like anything is possible. Like you’re finally the hero of your own story.

Read More
Skip The Doctor’s Office And Order Birth Control Online

It’s always been such a hassle to get birth control, and if you’re currently taking or have ever taken it, you know the struggle. By the time you’ve gone to the doctor’s office for your appointment, gotten your prescription, then to the pharmacy to pick it up, the entire day has disappeared. Ain’t nobody got time for that! 

Now you can skip that mess altogether, and order your birth control online and have it delivered straight to your door (in discreet packaging) or to your pharmacy. 

To order through an online service, you’ll just have to answer a few questions about yourself, complete a medical history questionnaire, and add your insurance info (if applicable). Some require video visit with a doctor. But you’ll never have to step foot outside your home, and you can receive your birth control within a few days. Yes, it’s really that easy! Some accept insurance and offer low cost birth control options, so you won’t have to pay much, if anything, out of pocket. You can even order prescriptions for other medications through these same services, like Latisse, tretinoin, hair loss medication, contacts, and lots more.

This is particularly helpful in states with contraception deserts, where reproductive healthcare funding has been cut and access to low cost clinics is non-existent, or for women whose employers have opted out of birth control coverage on religious or moral grounds. In six states (Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, and South Dakota), pharmacies have the right to refuseto fill your prescription for religious or moral reasons. 

Though the United States may still be living in the dark ages when it comes to women’s reproductive rights, these online services make access to birth control a little easier and a lot less stressful.

Check out this list to see which services are available in your area. 

Read More
Do You Know Your Adaptive Survival Style?

In 2019, the word trauma is basically a national catchphrase. 

The news is traumatizing; children being ripped from their parents at the border is traumatizing; reading about the assaults on #MeToo victims is traumatizing; learning about yet another mass shooting at a school, church, or music festival — that’s traumatizing. And yes, living as a woman, an immigrant, a person of color or a queer person in America can increase your risks of trauma a hundredfold or more. But before any of this, there was an event that was potentially much more traumatizing than what you read on your Twitter feed.  

Your childhood.  

Read More
176 Million Women Have This. But It Can Take Up To 12 Years For A Diagnosis. Why?

The truth is, women have been suffering from endometriosis for decades, but their pain has been ignored, making women believe that living in agony is normal. The good news? Experts have finally concluded that “severe period pain is not normal.” What a revelation! But if you want to know why this disease is only now beginning to receive the proper amount of attention and treatment, here are a few truly astonishing and horrifying facts about the medical community’s historic treatment of endometriosis.

Read More
How Dangling From A Trapeze Helped Me Find Strength After 4 Miscarriages

Just weeks after our September wedding in 2010, we discovered we were expecting, but I miscarried just one month later, which devastated me emotionally and physically. As I imagine many women in similar situations would attest to, I went through a long period of wondering what I did wrong. The treatment by an insensitive doctor didn’t help. Compound that with the physical pain that came with the cramping, the excessive bleeding, and a “D& C” (dilation and curettage procedure) that I was conscious for—the high from celebrating our union with more than 200 of our closest friends and family quickly passed. I spent the months that followed our loss working like a maniac to put the loss behind me. But I had hope for the future.

Read More
Let Us Be Very Clear: Sugar Is Poison

We are a culture addicted to sugar. On average, we consume 17 teaspoons of added sugar on a daily basis: that equals 68 grams of sugar or two 12-ounce cans of soda.  

But let’s be clear about one thing; sugar, specifically added sugar, is poison.

This is not fear mongering. This is not a trend. This is not something that we’ll realize in 9 years that we were wrong about. Sugar is killing us, in myriad ways, and the sooner we change our habits, particularly for our kids, the better.

Read More