Using your WHY to Overcome Auto-Immune Disease

(Transcript from an interview on the QuantumSHIFT podcast. Pardon typos... AI is not the same as having an actual person doing the work of a typist ;) 

Jessica  2:41  
I was thinking man, oh man, especially in 2020 2021. It's like, we need to really reach down into our inner soul right and really get connected with who we are and what our purpose is on this earth. And I love your intention for the episode because that's exactly sort of my main focus, especially this year in finding my why and in really getting some awareness around my my reason for being here, you know, what's my why on this earth? So I'm really happy to be here and happy to share,

I guess a little bit more about me. I'm originally from Massachusetts, just south of Boston. I know not not far from where you are at. And right now I'm living in New York City. I guess I could officially call myself a New Yorker because I've been here 13 years now. It's Yeah, it's I can't believe it. Time flies. But I live here with my husband. We've been married for next month will be four years and we've been together for 13. So we've been together for a long time. And I'm an actor and a podcast host love fitness all things fitness. And because of my autoimmune disease have been loving everything, you know, health conscious clean eating that whole world. So yeah, as you mentioned, in my bio, I pretty much graduated from high school decided to go to school for musical theater, to be a theatre actor. I graduated from college and my parents said, Oh, we have saved up a little bit of money to celebrate you and your graduation. We could go on a trip to Italy. I said, I just want to move to New York City. Not sure if that was the best choice, but that's the one I took. And yeah, so I packed my bags and I ended up here and I've been on a national tour that was on the national tour feeding the beast for two years and performed regionally. And just in the past few years. I've decided to focus more on TV, film, and commercial so I've been doing that Then this podcast came about. So all things creative, and you know, fun. And I love connecting with people.

KAT  5:08  
Oh, I love that. I like connecting with people too. But I really love your background. Because twofold. One, when I listened to your episode of your podcast, I listened to you too, and some of who you interviewed. But when you said that you're from Massachusetts, I'm like, Oh, she feels like a kindred spirit. Yes. And then also, I am not in musical theater. But one of my stepsons who's older, went to school for theater, and he's in musical theater and has performed nationally as well in his tour on hold because of the pandemic. She sounds so interesting and fun. And yeah, so I love musical theater. And

Jessica  5:42  
that's amazing. Yeah, it's one of those things that I'm sure he feels the same way. It's like you have to be 100%. In You know, there has to really be nothing else pulling at your heartstrings. But because it's a hard, it's a hard, hard road, but it's worth it. And you get to you know, I mean, that feeling when you step out on the stage, or even now, I felt when you step in front of a camera, you know, there's just really nothing like it. So

KAT  6:09  
that's awesome. And you can touch lives with that and make people smile and feel good. And it's just, ah, it looks so rewarding. And so I don't know enough about that. And then you moved into podcasting, which is cool and adventuring in to feed in after years of delay. So I'm just excited for you and your journey, and, you know, is really interested in the autoimmune piece and like, What got you? What got you to be brave enough to share your story on the podcast, you know, your journey of wanting to be a mom, and this, you know, delaying it for you. So I don't know if you can share a little bit more about that with our

Jessica  6:48  
Yeah, absolutely. Um, well, to answer your question about why I shared it. And then I'll kind of go backwards. I shared it because the whole reason why I started the podcast was because of my autoimmune disease preventing me from diving into motherhood right away. And I didn't feel like you know, first of all, I already was starting a podcast about something I didn't know anything about, you know, which people are like, what the heck, why are you doing that? Usually you have, you know, thought leaders you have, you know, professional, whatever doctors who are leading something that they're, they're speaking about in their podcast. But like I said, Before, I am a connector, I love collaborating, I love. I love listening to other people. And I thought it would be a perfect opportunity for me to learn. And I figured my audience is not going to come along this journey with me, or understand me and my intention, unless I'm vulnerable with them. And unless I start sharing my story, and so many people were asking me about it that I said, You know what, I just, I have to put this out there. And once I started doing that, it was like, the floodgates opened and I, you know, people want to, I don't want to say buy in because I'm not looking to sell something, but people want to buy into the person, you know, not necessarily the product. And that's that's what happened. Once I started sharing my story, people were more apt to recommend the podcast to keep listening because they want to know what's going on with my journey. So anyway, to back up a little bit. So when I was on that tour that I was mentioning, out of nowhere, I ended up experiencing basically first it was my skin, I started noticing some spots around my skin. And at first Honestly, I thought it was bedbugs. And like, yeah, and And fortunately, you're unfortunately I'm not sure which I feel like I kind of wish that they were bedbugs now, but I'm skipping through a year later into it, I was completely covered head to toe, psoriasis. I mean, you absolutely would not recognize me, I always say that I looked like a monster truly. And it was interesting because I was blessed because I was on the road traveling with an unbelievable cast that supported me more than anything. And I was doing the thing that I loved the most I was performing. And I truly don't know if I had been doing the quote unquote grind of auditioning in New York City while experiencing the start of this illness. I don't know how it would have turned out but luckily I was in a very positive space even though my body was going through something very negative. So anyway, to skip through and I won't go into the whole barrage of it and anyone can listen to Episode 20 and hear more about my story. But basically, I ended up also starting to develop pain, and then developed arthritis. So my full diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis, and the pain was so bad that I had to buy by a cane. I couldn't Wow. Yeah. And after my tour ended, I had to actually move home back to Massachusetts and live with my parents for about six months or so, because I just couldn't manage the streets in New York City, you know, wow. So anyway, because of all of that, now I'm on a medication or two medications, and both of them prevent me from becoming a mom, whenever I want to be, I have to wean myself off of my medication. And so last Was it 2019, September 2019, I decided to really take control of my health and my, my illness. And I just started, I started a clean eating, basically regimen, I went down on an elimination diet and really honed in on my mental state. And my intention was to heal my body from the inside out. And so I did that, yeah. And then last January, I started lowering my medication. And I'm happy to say that I'm basically down to from about 100%, to one 5%, maybe I basically went from five pills a week down to one a week, for my other medication, thank you, my other medications down from every other day to twice a week. So

what the reason why I say my why in healing and autoimmune diseases, because I do truly feel like when you're in the middle of something that's really challenging, you're not going to be able to drastically change your diet, drastically, drastically change your lifestyle, do anything that's drastic, without knowing what your y is. And for me, my y was a baby, my y was a family. And so I know it sounds petty, but it's like, any time I was going to want to do really go grab that cookie. You know, it was like, because I'm gluten free, dairy free, and I only have certain types of sugar. You know, the thought went through my head, like, Is it worth it to grab this, this treat? When that could delay getting off your medication and starting family? So it made it like a no brainer? No, I think that's kind of the missing piece for a lot of people when they're trying to make, you know, these quantum shifts, if they don't have their why, then the shift isn't going to happen.

KAT  12:53  
No, I can appreciate that. And I'd love I wrote something down that you said just about that from your podcast. And I agree. Like if we don't know our why, it's, it's really hard to stick with something. You know? Absolutely. It really is. And, and that why like the work that I do, and have uncovered like for myself, personally, it's a really deep, like, sometimes soul searching personal decision, like you have to block out what everybody else thinks, or their opinions and hone in is like, what do you want for you? And that's what you said, and I had written down that I love you share the do I? And I'm paraphrasing, do I want that sugar? Like right now? Cuz we bought it? And sometimes I do too? Or do I really want to have that baby? Like, what's your big picture? What's your wine, and that's all about focus and mindset, and like, you know, reframing and staying on it, you know, and so you can have an occasional piece of candy. But when, when you're so committed to your why whatever it is, it's much easier to forego or make that choice. And I don't know how it is for you, maybe you can speak to this. But every time when I'm trying to make a change or something like a regular change and stick with it, I have to stop and pause. And this is what I work with my clients and ask that question to myself or ask those filtering questions. And so I don't think it's silly at all what you said. I mean, I think that's powerful. So I appreciate you sharing that.

Jessica  14:22  
Yeah, and I think I want to share too, it's not I'm not just talking about of course my situation was specifically food but it's not just that, you know, it could be that you need to make sure you're getting eight hours of sleep so instead of watching that second episode of Netflix, you you close it, turn it off and go to bed because you know your body needs that time to regenerate. Or it could be like I just put up a reel today about saying no, no, no is a complete sentence you know, and so it could be saying no to something and your why to say no is because you want to spend more time with your family or because you want to you know invest more in yourself. You Want to practice some meditation? Whatever it is. So it doesn't just have to be about food and sugar and gluten free, dairy free, there's all these things around it these days, you know, right. But for you, if that's

KAT  15:11  
decreasing the inflammation until you get to your goal, then it's important, you know, there's a time and a place for that. I agree. And, you know, when I was listening to your story about it, you're there now at a place where you're choosing to eliminate these things, but you weren't always because maybe you can share more, you had first been on a medication? Is it okay? Tomorrow, I'll tell everybody don't go on it. But you developed other symptoms. And what I got out of that is that you believe that the symptoms were basically to me side effects from the medication and medical and personal beefs with that as well, because I feel there are a lot, not all, but a lot of medical providers who prescribe medication don't acknowledge the side effects. And I'm not saying we shouldn't have medication, there's a time and a place for some people, but really, to be aware that that can happen and that listening to your body, and to see what showing up as important. So I mean, maybe you can share more about your experience with that, and how you shifted to a different medication?

Jessica  16:19  
Yeah, 100%. I mean, look, this 2021 the world that we're living in, it's built off of my, my descriptions, my medications and prescriptions, it's built off of that, that's how our providers make money. You know, they get every time that they recommend a medication and you take it, they get paid for that, right. And I'm not gonna sit here and knock it because listen, you look at me, here, my skin is clear, I have knock on wood not had any pain. And a majority of that is because of the medications that some have, not the humera. But the other medications that I had been on, which can also cause a lot of drama, like, not having a baby, you know. So there is 100% a time and place for it. And when you're in that place that nothing, nothing is working. I mean, I tried everything. At first, I went on, like an apple cleanse diet for four days where I only ate apples. I mean, I was doing everything on godly thing under the sun. And I needed that, that, that life that life. What's it called the little tube that they throw you in? It's a very ocean lifesaver. Yeah, I needed that lifesaver to be thrown out to me. Because if it had never been thrown out to me, I don't know if I would have been able to take those steps and change the way that I ate and then hopefully change the inside from the inside out. But yeah, I mean, basically, the way that it happened for me, I got to a place where my skin was so bad. And I was in so much pain from my skin. This is not the Arthritis yet that my doctor had, yeah, prescribed humera, which is a biological medication. And you see all of them on TV nowadays. And you see all of the commercials, and all of the side effects that they run through at a million miles a minute, those voiceover artists are just fascinating with this speaker, hopefully so that they can get it all in and not have you hear half of it. Right. And it was literally cat a year to the day after I started taking humera that I couldn't walk. That's, I mean, there, that is not a coincidence in my mind. Right. And I mean, what I have changed anything. I don't know, because at the end of the day, I needed that I needed to see the lever moving, you know, I needed to see my skin clearing up before I could do anything. But the pain that I was in was excruciating, and I have a really high pain tolerance. And then the second that I started having that pain, my rheumatologist said, Oh, we got to take you off of that Humira white right away. Why? Why do you have to take me off that right away? You know, it's like, if that was your initial response, wouldn't you have thought that from the beginning like that I should never be be put on it. And now the way that it sort of panned out after that, and when I was talking to him about, you know, will in the future, I want to have a family. And his method was well, what we'll do is we'll titrate off of the medication that you're currently on. It's called methotrexate and daps on there, like steroidal prescriptions, basically, we'll titrate off of that. But if you start to notice any pain or inflammation or swelling, we'll have to put you on another medication and that's when I said nothing like that I will, I will do whatever I can to not have that happen, because you can tell me that these other medications are safe for pregnancy. But how much do I really believe you at this point, you know, right. So, I mean, I could I could talk about all of this forever. But I think the most important thing, in the lesson that people can take away from this at any age, with any sort of illness that you might be experiencing.

The doctors are 100%, you know, qualified, and they do their work and their their job, there's a time and place for them. But they are not, God, they are not the high and mighty. And you don't have to do exactly what they say or what they prescribe. And if there's something in your heart, that's telling you that you're not comfortable taking something or whatnot, do your research, take a little bit of time to mentally here, heal yourself, and do what's right for you. And just know that if you decide to take a medication like this, you should also balance it out with instead of you know, feeding your body, the junk, feed your body, some healthy, healthy, you know, foods so that it can work in congruency with this, you know, just because you're putting, you know, old gas like McDonald's or something into your gas tank, your car is not going to run on McDonald's gas, you know, you have to put decent certified gas into your car for it to run well. And it's the same thing with your body.

KAT  21:41  
But sounds like all of this experience was a huge catalyst for you to really take care of your body in a way that you haven't.

Jessica  21:49  
percent. I said I was never one to like, you know, go to all of the fast food restaurants. And I was never one to do that. But I also didn't consider what I was eating.

KAT  22:02  
Yeah, at all our bodies are different when you don't need to all be on the same diet or seamers. But, you know, we have to figure out what works best for our own body. And sounds like you were doing that had another question that came to mind. And I lost it because we're Oh, so with your autoimmune disease? Have you ever gotten to the root cause of what? what is causing it? Do the doctors have any insight to that? Or any you don't have to share? If you're not comfortable? I'm just curious if they even go down that route?

Jessica  22:36  
No, I mean, I'm, I'm 100% comfortable. Um, you know, that's kind of the thing, especially with autoimmune diseases. It's also up in the air. And they will say, Well, first of all, they'll say that it doesn't have anything to do with anything else. Because also, when the time came that I had the psoriasis and then I had the arthritis, I had something else called vasculitis, which was the swelling of my blood vessels. And it was excruciating ly painful. My doctor actually said that those were not related. How are those things not related? They're all happening together at the same time in the same area of my body? I don't believe you. So as far as you know,

I think

you don't know what what brings this stuff on stress. People say a lot of times the primary root that I've discovered is your gut. And so much can be held in your gut. So many toxins can be released out of your gut. And so that's the assumption that I'm going with. And that's how I've decided to treat it. So that's why I'm trying to clean my gut heal my gut. And the food that I'm putting in it is pro gut, you know, as opposed to certain foods that tend to cause something like leaky gut where the toxins can be released into your body. So that's my sort of assumption and conclusion from all of it. But will the doctors ever say anything like that?

KAT  24:20  
Now? What likely are most Well, I've really had to shift my anger around doctors, because I feel like so many of them go in with good intention. Are healers in their own right as well. And then all these other illnesses conversation for another day, the political the economical, all these other factors overtake it. And I've had a lot of unpleasant experiences over the years with doctors not listening to me because I really feel and this is what you're saying, like we know our bodies best, and that it would be great to have practitioners that do listen, but on the flip side, as I've softened and know that there's a time and a place for allopathic medicine, and everything else under the sun down the rabbit hole, it sounds like you went that there are some amazing doctors out there doing functional medicine and integrative medicine and starting to listen to the whole person or listening to the patient when they come in, you know, and, and evaluating all of it like the symptomology the root cause that they can find it and what the patient has to say. So, I mean, I'm really hopeful that as we progress, and people like you share your stories about how you got there, that it inspires other people to look a little deeper or to look for the doctors that are listening to them, at least, you know, because there is sometimes times for medications. And your seemed like a great example of it and your skin is glowing, like audio for most people, but I can see you on the video and you vibrant and glowing. And you You're welcome. And it's also great to hear how much you've weaned off the medication. And that you still look like that, because of all the inside out changes you've made for yourself. And yeah,

Jessica  25:59  
I think I mean it. Thank you. It has to, for me, it has to equate, like, it has to. And I've noticed direct result. When I put something in my body, I noticed that I don't usually have I noticed directly that there's a shift and that there's a change. That's awesome. So yeah, it's just worth it to take the time.

KAT  26:23  
I agree. I've had to make a lot of dietary changes over the years and a lot of health changes. And it's an interesting path. And but I found for myself, and that's why I asked you if they found the root cause it's not the only thing for me. And some people it may be the only thing like there's no one right way. Right. But um, you know, the work. And I know, some of what Shawna does as well is uncovering root causes to things, whether they're physical, emotional, spiritual 100%. And we didn't even get into all that. But that goes exactly hand in hand with all of it, right? And that it's all connected, at least for me, like I used to compartmentalize everything like our culture does. And it is so intricately connected. I know from my own healing journey and peep, you know, I've talked to so many people like you, not on podcast, but who've learned to trust themselves and are brave enough to share their stories. And a lot of it is connected. And it's cool how people connect the dots. And I hope that some of our listeners like are inspired to, you know, trust their own gut more, and ask other questions or look for different practitioners that the ones that they're listening to, if they don't feel listened to them, or, you know, really hearing what they need, because I think we are our best. Our best guide, if we if we allow him to grieve, and you have been in your like shining example of that I feel like so. And the other thing I want to say about your podcast I love because so I know you're not a mom yet. So I'm a mom of three who are less than four years apart into bonus children that are much older. I've known them for more than two decades. I didn't do any mama in training before I was a mom, like, you know, and so many of us in this culture don't for whatever reason, it's not a judgment, but in hindsight, looking back, because we have kids between 15 and 31. Um, I wish I'd had more training. So I feel like some of the gifts in your journey is giving you so much information and knowledge to assimilate with your own intuition that you're going to be a fabulous model.

Yeah,

Jessica  28:34  
I mean, that's the thing. It's like, I was just speaking to someone about this the other day and saying, I, this podcast, let me just say has given me so much life, and especially throughout the 2020 pandemic. I mean, it truly kept me going. Because everything in my world really stopped and came to a halt. And it kept me going. But I would have never started it. Had I not, you know, had this autoimmune disease had I not go on that on that medication had. So, you know, our journeys lead us to where we are meant to be. But yeah, it is so fascinating. And people always ask me, you know, so why did you decide to start a podcast about moms and motherhood when you're not yet a mom? And there's many aspects to that story. Number one is I just, I love the idea of motherhood. I love it for myself in the future. And I love it for everybody else. I'm a I'm a you know, birth story junkie, I love that stuff. But when I was sort of, well, well, two things happened. So I was in a place where you know, as an actor, your your career sort of ebbs and flows a little bit, not a little bit, a lot of it a lot. And I was I was definitely an AB right. And I was looking for something creative and also as an actor, you can't really control A lot of what is happening, because you do your best work, and you just hope for the best. And if it works, it works. So anyway, I was looking for something creative looking for something that I could control all of my mom's friends or my friends in general, were becoming moms. And I was speaking with one of them. And I just sort of got this idea. Well, what if I interview moms about their journey and, and then it sort of just, you know, tumbled into this thing. And I just this past April, January through April did a rebrand and relaunch because it was originally called the pumping podcast. But I really wanted to hone back into like we were talking about at the beginning of this episode, like, Where am I in this, you know, where's my story? And I kept introducing myself as a mama in training. And I thought, well, that's what this is about, you know, this, I'm loving sharing. So originally, as the pumping podcast, I was sharing journeys into motherhood. So talking from before pregnancy, pregnancy, and then birth, essentially your birth story. But I was feeling lost in that. And so I was saying, Well, what if I rebranded this, make some shifts, and it's called Mama's in training, I get to learn about motherhood and make this kind of crappy situation that I'm going through positive, you know, focus on the message that I want to deliver, and learn about motherhood before I actually am one, because who the heck does that, like you mentioned cat, you know, we study everything else, but we don't really take the time to study motherhood. And then I can support other aspiring moms and pregnant women on their journey. And we can, you know, I can be their cheerleader. And so that's what I'm doing. And it's just, you know, like I said, a couple of times, I'm a connector, I'm a collaborator. So having, you know, women come to me and saying, Oh, I'm 25 weeks, and I'm curious about this. Do I know the answer? No. Will I pretend to know the answer? Absolutely. Not. Because I haven't been there. And I'm not a pro. But I can guarantee you that I can probably direct you to somebody that I've interviewed. And if I can't, I'll find somebody for you. I'll make that connection. And that's really what I'm trying to build. Yeah,

KAT  32:26  
trying to build that community. And I think that community is so important, because community, and that's like, one of Sean's things community, you know, it's so important for healing. And, you know, when we feel like, we're not alone, in those meetings, and those Aha, it's like, that in itself can begin the healing journey or feel so healing, and then it gives us the courage to, you know, take some steps to make the changes for ourselves, or look at maybe just explore when we can play with it. So, I love that you do that. And I think, you know, when I was a new mom, I was in a moms Club, which was great, it was a lifesaver for me. But especially after I had my third and I had a lot of postpartum issues that were misdiagnosed, and to your story, issues with medications and doctors, and that led me on my, my own journey of by angsting questioning of medicine. So I think what you're doing is beautiful. And there is a lack of understanding. And two of the episodes that I gravitated towards, were about postpartum. And I loved how you talk more about postpartum health, not just how what we hear in the media is all about depression, or the devastating parts after and when we as women take care of our bodies, you know, and before the pregnancy and during the pregnancy, it can be more joyful, postpartum, choose to get the right support, and you know, that you are normalizing a lot of that I think, is really awesome. And so needed in a sculpture. So thank you.

Jessica  33:57  
Of course. Yeah, Episode 65 was the first episode that I released after this rebrand and it was all it is not was it is all about those expectations and the way that you can really prepare yourself mentally, and physically, personally relationally. It's all of these areas, these these things, it's not just about losing weight, postpartum, or you know, postpartum depression, and those things are 100% real, but it's like, how are you relating to your family and your friends? How are you relating to your partner? You know, all these different things that you can kind of talk about before you're even there, and really set up a good support system. No, it's great.

KAT  34:41  
I love it. What are aside from that episode and that thing, do you have any like key takeaways or favorite bits of information you've learned from your guests about being a mother,

Jessica  34:51  
for sure. I mean, I could be here for hours, everything, but I think the top things are advocate for yourself. And that goes for any person, actually any female, advocate for yourself in many different ways, do the research so that you can advocate for yourself. Because like, we've been talking about medicine and doctors, it's the same thing when you end up in that delivery room, you know, you don't have to do everything that that nurse is telling you, you have to do. If you don't want to push a certain way, if you don't want to be in a certain position, you don't have to be that way. And I think that's one thing that women especially who are pregnant, they don't realize that and they just turned to these people who are supposed to be knowing what's best. And it might not be best for you and for your body. So doing the research, advocating for yourself. And lastly, I would say setting up the support and community and setting that up before baby comes. So whether that's, you know, I'm I'm creating an online support group. So I think there's many aspects to the community you need to set up, maybe it's an online support group of strangers, maybe it's a group of close mama friends that maybe you know, and then maybe it's friends and family that can help immediately after, in addition to if you financially Can, can support it, lactation counselor, doula or postpartum doula house cleaner, you know, at least for that first month, like there are all these things that I think can be looked at as lofty. And of course, for some people it is and they can't financially swing it. But maybe instead of asking for that baby, bouncy chair, ask for a month of of housecleaning, as a gift. fabulous idea? No. And I think even those who are listening who are not pregnant, or are out of that phase, you're going to have women in your life who are going to become pregnant. And why don't you offer or ask them, Hey, I want to get you something for your baby shower. But instead of like this, whatever it is, of course, if it's something they really need, but instead of this random thing that you just threw up on your registry, because you wanted to fill it out? How about I send you a two months subscription to a meal service?

Hmm, you think that woman's gonna say no, no way.

KAT  37:30  
That's Can I just speak to that that is invaluable. When I was in law school, we had something called moms in need. And we would make a schedule, like a meal train that exists now. But back in the day, it was just like an old school schedule of taking turns making meals for new moms. And you know what, after I had my third child, and I had a lot of postpartum issues, a few moms came and cleaned my house, you know, for me, so creating that network. So to your, to your point, what struck me is we don't have to use lack of finances or funding as limitations to get the support that we need. And I know I did that some but like, in hindsight, seeing how like this group of moms, and none of us, like I didn't know any of them before I joined that club, like, can really bond you. I mean, it can also there's a lot of Yeah, pettiness that could possibly exist, depending but I think if we set our mindset up to find, like our intent is to find support and resources, they don't all have to cost a lot of money and right doing it, first of all, women. I'm forever grateful to have them for my life. And I used to get really excited to make dinner for another mom. And like, you know, I would just make like double or bigger and like, drive it over. And, and it was fun. And I remember dragging my two little toddlers. So you know, it can be a really great way to give back, you know, into the old community without having no, I think to your point like we started this giving yourself permission to start looking like outside the box and open to opportunities and how can I support How can I share and I love that you're doing that. So even before you have before you have children because it's it's such an exciting time in your life. And if you can make it less stress free and feel supported is better for you. But it's also better for your baby and your family. Yeah, absolutely. And that's such a gift you're gonna give to your child and your family. I just like I want to acknowledge and honor you for that because it's it's really amazing.

Jessica  39:28  
Thank you. I also think I might end up driving my husband a little crazy with all the things I'm like, I know this the sweater pot, I did research.

KAT  39:39  
You can find the balance and it for yourself. Exactly. dusted and glowing already and loving. But I think that's exciting. And I think it's really a great service that you provide to moms not just on the pre motherhood but you know, to circle back, you've been through some hard challenges and you've chosen to, you know, probably in your own way, work with it or grieve it, but find some of the gifts in it and support other people with it. And that's just a lovely, lovely service. You know,

thank you.

It really is. Um, before we wrap up, I have one more question for you. But is there anything else you might want to share to the listeners about your health journey, or your podcast or insights that you've gotten?

Jessica  40:28  
I'll just share something that I'm working on, if there is anybody who's listening, who is an aspiring mom, or is a pregnant woman, or if there's somebody who's listening, who knows someone I'm working on, like I said, a community that in the future, probably the end of the summer, will be a little bit bigger and more publicly announced. But right now I'm trying to keep it really intimate. And so it's basically going to be a premium membership of my podcast. But I'm working out a beta version of it right now. So I'm looking for, it's only going to be about 20 members, I have a few slots left. And it's really going to be a group of women who are going to help me create what these women need the most, you know, and the way that we can formulate it and the way that we can develop it from from the ground up. But I I'm not there, I'm not pregnant. So I need the support of women like that. So if anybody either is listening in is in that position, or know somebody reach out to me and send me a message, you can especially in the message, just say beta. And I'd love to see if there's a slot for you to join me and help me with that, because I need help in creating it. And I can't do it on my own. So

KAT  41:44  
we're all in this together kind of thing where we need help and support for many things in life. So that's great. hearing that. So I have a closing question for you. What would you say to someone who found themselves at a crossroads?

Jessica  42:03  
Well, I'm I'm brought back to my word for 2020. So in January, I don't really like to do resolutions, but I like to choose a word. And this year after reading the greatest secret, which is an addition to the secret if you haven't read it, you definitely should. Rhonda Byrne wrote the secret. And then she just last year came out with the greatest secret. And basically the I'll spoil the book for you. But still, it's still worth it to read, let me tell you, the greatest secret is awareness. And so my word for 2021 is awareness. And I think when we we find ourselves at a crossroads, if we take the time, to intentionally connect to our awareness with everything, whether that's that you're on a on a walk, and you're aware of the birds, and you're aware of the sun shining on your face, if it's you know, you're in the middle of a fight, and you're aware of how your energy is rising, and you're not connected to your heart anymore. You know, whatever the situation is. If you're at a crossroads, and you bring yourself back to awareness. And you slow down a little bit, I think it'll really help, you know, in your heart will sort of tell you what, what way to go, you know, what is, is the next thing. And when I started listening to my awareness and becoming more aware, I noticed that my curiosity was really piqued. And I think that's a huge key. Because when you're curious about everything, then doors start to open for you. And so I think first if someone just settles down into awareness, and they become curious about what's coming across their table, what's in front of them, it might open some doors for you.

Unknown Speaker  44:03  
I think you're right. I think you're onto something. I totally aligned with that. And I love that you spoke about awareness and like, slowing down. listening, and curiosity.

KAT  44:14  
that's awesome. I believe it does open doors when we get curious. I yeah, I've seen it and felt it. So I totally agree. And I think the key to that is like when those doors open, have the courage to step into them. Yes. Don't dismiss those thoughts that we get that we're trained to do culturally like you're interested in, right, like you trusted yourself about. And that's, you know, one of the beautiful things about this conversation, you trusted yourself enough with that first medication with the Humira a year later and you couldn't walk like it's this medication. You know, you could have listened to a doctor or someone else tell you no, it's not in state on that and had a totally different outcome. Right. Thanks. Instead of being creative, these great doors for yourself, and you're helping other people in the process, and it's very exciting, I'm so glad to have you here. I love that, you know, some of the other takeaways I've had from the conversations, like, ask questions, get curious, you know, trust your gut, or these are the things I wrote down, but we just send them in. Well, I really appreciate you being here and sharing your wisdom. And I love your background in musical theater, and

how you,

you know, channel that creativity in this podcast, and I can't wait to see how it continues to grow and, you know, support other moms and unsure to blossom even more. And when you do have a baby, where you continue the podcast, where you

Jessica  45:43  
I mean, I would love to I mean, that would ideally be amazing, because then, you know, my whole, my whole, I'll probably have to go through a new shift, you know, I probably won't rebrand again, but I'll probably go through a whole new shift. And the beauty of it is my listeners will be able to go on the journey with me, you know. So right now at the mamas training podcast, you can find someone who doesn't know what, what motherhood is yet, but then you'll be able to go through it with me when I do become pregnant. And then on the other side of it, and it'll shift, my mindset will shift, but it'll just be a different perspective. So yeah, I'm along the journey with me.

KAT  46:25  
Well, that's what this podcast is all about the shift app. So thank you. Where can our listeners find you Jessica? I know you're excited to share them.

Jessica  46:34  
Absolutely. Well, you can find me in the podcast anywhere pretty much that you might listen to podcasts on at Mama's in training, Apple podcast, Spotify, overcast everywhere. And if you want an easy access just to go to Mama's in training.com. Also on Instagram and social on Instagram, it's Mama's and training pod pod. And we also have a Facebook group for moms in training. And you can just search Mama's in training. And then for me, as an actor, and all the other stuff that I do, you can find me at Jessica lorien, calm, but ultimately, it's me everywhere. So just send me a message. Reach out, I love to connect with people and support people any way that I can. And I love to hear from anybody who's listening.

KAT  47:20  
Oh, perfect that I've loved connecting with you today. And for our listeners know, we'll have all the places you can find Jessica in the show notes. So Jessica, thank you for being here today. And if you liked what you heard today, and you've gotten something out of this beautiful conversation with Jessica, you can show some love for our guests by following their social media page, tag them in a quote that stood out for you or whatever feels best to you. The links will, as I said will all be in the show notes. And to support this podcast, you can leave a rating and review us on iTunes. share this with your friends or find us on Instagram at Quantum shift.us. Or if you're curious about how to navigate a difficult road as your own personal journey unfolds. You can join us at the Quantum shift.us or.us and reach out to me or Shawna for a free conversation about what your options are. Brain cat transformational guy walking you on your journey of self actualization. 

48:14  
Until next time, you live fully in love like never before, and I'm so glad and honored that you spend some time with us today.Thanks, everyone for listening. 

Transcribed by https://otter.ai