Welcome to Living Well Daily, the newsletter serving up tips to help you live a healthier, happier life.
In todayās edition:
šLongevity & Wellness: Maintaining Your Eye Health
šMental / Emotional Well-Being: The Hidden Cost of āHolding It All Togetherā: High Functioning Burnout
š§ Inner Reps: Inner Smiles and Gratitude
āļøSelf-Care & Connection
š±Trauma Healing: Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fawn: Spotting Your Dominant Stress Responses (Day 2)
š And more good stuff!
Todayās Edition
What do you and antimatter have in common? Both of you are out of this world!Ā
Ā Maintaining Your Eye Health
Your eyes are important, and as you age, eye health and function can deteriorate for many people. That is why it is important to take action to keep your eyes functioning well and feeling good.
A healthy diet helps to support eye health. Eat a diet rich in leafy greens, colorful vegetables, fish high in omega-3 fatty acids, and foods high in vitamin C and vitamin E. These nutrients can help protect against age-related vision loss.
Other ways to protect your eyes and keep them healthy:
š¶ļøWear sunglasses with UV400 protection.
š„ļøLimiting screen time.
šļøPractice the 20-20-20 rule: look 20 feet away every 20 minutes for 20 seconds (especially if youāre looking at a screen for long periods).
šUse protective eyewear during risky activities.
šļøRegular exercise boosts blood flow and nutrient delivery to the eyes.
šAvoid smoking since it increases the risk of developing eye diseases.
Also, regular eye exams can be a good idea as they can detect conditions like glaucoma, cataracts, and macular degeneration early.
With healthy habits and professional care, you can sustain good vision and eye function well into older age.
ā Action Step: look at the list of ways to keep your eyes healthy and see if you can implement at least 1 thing you arenāt currently doing.
he Hidden Cost of āHolding It All Togetherā: High Functioning Burnout
From the outside, youāre on top of everything, meeting deadlines, showing up for others, maybe even smiling through it. Inside? Youāre running on fumes. You could be experiencing high-functioning burnout: when youāre still performing, but at the expense of your well-being. Itās sneaky, because the signs often hide behind productivity and perfectionism.
Signs you might be in high-functioning burnout:
š¤ Youāre exhausted even after rest.
š You keep saying ājust one more weekā until you slow down, yet you never do.
š You feel like youāre performing energy you donāt have.
ā Your joy, creativity, or patience feelsā¦ dulled.
What helps:
šæ Micro-rest. Build in short recovery moments daily, not just on weekends.
š¤ Be honest. Share with a trusted person that youāre struggling, it lifts some weight .instantly. (Heck, you can even reply to this email and let us know!)
š Re-evaluate. Ask yourself which commitments truly matter right now.
š Downshift before you crash. Reduce output in small ways before your body forces you to stop.
ā Action Step: Today, decide to either 1) add a micro-rest to your day to start caring for your energy, and/or, 2) pick one commitment you can pause, delegate, or downsize. Give yourself permission to protect your energy before burnout makes the decision for you.
Todayās Mental and Emotional Workout:
Your brain rewires based on what you repeat, Inner Reps help you repeat what supports you feeling great.
When you canāt see the next step, come back to hope. Even a small light shows the way.
šJournal Prompt:
Is there an emotion you want to make more time for in your life right now? Whatās one accessible thing you can do to bring more of that emotion into your life?
šSpark of Joy:
Stretch your arms overhead ā like that first, delicious stretch after waking from a perfect nap.
š¦Weekly Connection & Kindness Challenge:
šŗBring Flowers to Someone
Handpicked wildflowers, store-bought, send an emoji, or homegrown. A little something to say Iām thinking of you. Not a flower person? Try a nice rock or a pretty leaf. As August is coming to an end, letās connect with nature to share the love.
Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fawn: Spotting Your Dominant Stress Responses
These four responses are your nervous systemās ways of protecting you when it senses threat.
Day 2: Why They Exist
These responses evolved to keep humans alive. Trauma can make them activate even when youāre not in actual danger.
ā°Theyāre not ābadā ā theyāre your bodyās alarm system.
š»These response systems were once designed to keep us safe from life threatening dangers. While the dangers we face now are often not life threatening, the stress response can come online all the same.
šSometimes the alarm is too sensitive after repeated stress, this can be especially true for those who have been through trauma.
šA sensitized alarm system may take small unknowns, or tiny signals that remind us of past threats and turn the alarm on full to try to save us.Ā
š¦When we learn our dominant responses, we can learn to work with our system towards gentle healing.
Darling, donāt give up on yourself, youāre so worth it. Sending love š
Thank you for being here!
Before you go, let us know what you thought of todayās edition and if there are any subjects you would like us to cover in the future reply to this email and let us know!
What did you think of today's edition?
With love and care,
Lola & Joshua | The Living Well Team
Living Well Daily is for educational purposes only and is in no way a substitute for professional medical and mental health advice and diagnosis. Please consult a qualified professional for care unique to your needs.
Remember: Itās okay to ask for help. Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988 (Canada & US).