Despite the fact that the data indicates the majority of the country has voted for this decision, it feels as though I am alone in a crowd. It seems everyone I know, everyone I live with, all my friends and many of my family members, voted for Kamala Harris or declined to vote at all, and many saw this as a dire life threatening situation. Truly, life threatening. 

However, despite the discourse, despite what my friends and family have done, I did not vote for Kamala Harris. Nor did I sit this election out in protest. I, as a lifelong leftist, voted for Donald Trump. 

It’s unfortunate for me to say that I genuinely believe that me coming out as a Trump supporter will permanently alter my relationship with many of my friends. I could be wrong, but I don’t think I am. Of course, I have to ask myself how much I really want to be close with people who feel this way about me. Who would be so quick to dismiss me after having known me for years, because of a personal choice I’ve made. 

I do not do this in shame or in silence. Rather, I wish I could shout it from the rooftops. However, for certain reasons I don’t think this wise. I think it could have a negative impact on some of my future job opportunities, and developing business relationships. So for this reason, I will be loud where I can.

I may come to regret this. Trump may bomb children in third world countries, start major wars, and block progress that I am desperately hoping for on the health front . However, I have voted not against Kamala Harris but rather for Donald Trump and the things he claims he is going to do. 

I believe that Trump and Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again campaign may be the single most important campaign a presidential candidate has run on in my lifetime, and maybe even my parents lifetime. I believe that as a country, making Americans healthy again should be our number one priority. This will raise a future generation of happy, healthy, adults who can make level headed decisions, thus continuing to run our country as it needs to be run. As it stands now, I think the children of America are headed down a dark path. I am hoping Kennedy can change that. 

Never in history, to my knowledge, have we seen so many democrats changing their tune and joining the republican party in support of Donald Trump, never before has a member of the Kennedy family teamed up with the republican party to endorse a republican candidate. The team up of Robert F Kennedy Jr and Donald Trump is unprecedented and amazing. 

Kennedy is not perfect on every issue. In my mind he’s too pro-isreal, which could easily result in an unnecessary war, however, I can’t think of another man (at least one this mainstream) better suited to fixing the health of the American people. The man has brought the issues of vaccines, flouride in the water, the corruption of Anthony Fauci, the obesity epidemic, the poison in our food, all into the mainstream and I could go on. It is my opinion that he has single handedly made this a priority in the Trump campaign. 

Never before have I seen a candidate who is this intent on prioritizing the health and wellbeing of the American people, in such a genuine and authentic manner. He is a man who will not be suppressed by big pharma, and the powers that be. He is a man who will serve the American people first, who has, seemingly, joined a man who will do the same in his presidency. 

Being for the people means putting the people first even in times when it is not easy, when it may be uncomfortable, and when it may mean teaming up with people whose ideology doesn’t perfectly align with yours. Kennedy and Trump have paved the path for this. 

And then, when we thought it couldn’t get any better, we get Tulsi Gabbard, Elon Musk, and the cherry on top of the Sunday, the last minute endorsement from the man himself, Joe Rogan. 

All of these people are incredibly influential lifelong democrats. None of them are perfect, all have done things I disagree with, and supported policies I would not vote for. However, I think they are united by one very important thing: Putting the American people first. Putting the American people above profits, above the lobbyists, above big business. 

Now, the make America Healthy Campaign is the number one reason I voted for Donald Trump, but not the only reason. 

To set the record straight, Trump has said numerous times that he does not want to instate a national abortion ban. Abortion numbers are actually up since the overturning of Roe v Wade. Additionally, Kamala Harris does not have the power to reinstate Roe V Wade. Lastly, The queen herself, Ruth Bader Ginsburg supported the overturning of Roe V Wade because doing so would put the power back in the hands of people, making it a democratic issue that the people could vote on. 

Additionally, Trump does not have any plans to take rights away from LGBTQ+ people. Trump, like many others, does not support gender reassignment surgery, or hormone blockers, for minors, and guess what? Neither do I. I believe Trump is the candidate who will do the most to protect our children. 

Lastly, Trump has been time and time again compared to Hitler, called a fascist and a dictator by the democratic party and their supporters. We’ve been told democracy is at stake. However, I am of the opinion that the party who stages a coup to remove the sitting president and usher in their preferred candidate without a vote is more of a threat to democracy. 

I could go on. There are many more points to make, however, again, the biggest reasoning for me is the Make America Healthy Again movement. 

This will not be a perfect presidency. Trump is not a perfect man. There is much work to do and I am desperately hoping that progress will be made in the right direction for a healthier, happier America. 

It is for these reasons that I proudly voted for Donald Trump for president of the United States.

Women operate on a 28 day hormone cycle composed of four phases, the menstrual phase, the follicular phase, the ovulatory phase, and the luteal phase. 

Most women are probably familiar with the menstrual phase, and the ovulatory phase but many are not taught about all four phases in school, or how they affect the body, and each phase can affect the body in very drastic ways. Women can go through life feeling completely different week to week without even knowing why. If you’ve ever experienced the feeling of being on top of the world for a week, and then down in the slumps the next with no real logic or reasoning behind it, odds are you’re just transitioning from your ovulation phase to the luteal phase. These phases can go so far as to alter our face shape, in addition to our weight, and mood, so no, it’s not all in your head. 

I was one of those women who grew up not knowing about each of these four phases or really having any understanding of how my body worked and what it was designed to do. It took years of my adult life to learn this information and get in tune enough with my body to embrace these changes that we go through every month. 

I’ve broken down the four phases of the menstrual cycle below. While researching for this article it became clear to me that we are still learning about a lot of this information. Women’s health has not been researched or studied the same way men have. It just recently became known that women do in fact need more sleep than men, and the amount of sleep they need may vary at different times of the month. It seemed clear to me through my reading that the human body is complex, and this is a fluid cycle with some phases overlapping each other, some phases shorter, some longer but all equally important. 

The menstrual phase: 

The menstrual phase begins on the first day of your cycle and lasts anywhere between 3-7 days. Typically 3-5 days is considered healthy, 7 days is normal. Any longer than that is an indicator that your hormones are unbalanced, or a symptom of a greater problem. The menstrual phase is the shedding of the uterine lining to rid the body of the unfertilized egg. 

We’re all familiar with this. We often feel cranky and exhausted because our body is working over time. That being said, the menstrual cycle doesn’t have to be a time of extreme pain or discomfort. With a healthy diet and lifestyle, cramps can be eliminated. This is a great time to rest a little more than you usually would. Maybe do some yoga rather than a HITT class (although if you have the energy for an intensive workout, by all means go with the flow) This is a great time to get an extra hour of sleep at night or even take a nap if your lifestyle allows for it. Warm easy to digest foods can be a comfort during this phase of your cycle. 

Unfortunately, we live in a world where most people are forced to work all day outside the home regardless of the phase of their cycle, and they are constantly going against their body’s intuition, and are often expected to perform at the same level as they would in their follicular or ovulatory phase when their energy levels are higher. 

It is my personal opinion that this has created a generation of women who are both entirely out of tune with their natural cycles, and also deeply hateful towards their natural cycles, thinking of them as something to be suppressed and avoided at all costs instead of what really is- the ability to create and grow life, which is undoubtedly the greatest gift.  

During the menstrual phase the body is shedding its uterine lining to release your body’s unfertilized egg. It is common during this phase to gain weight, although it is mostly water weight and will come back off in your follicular phase. 

Follicular phase:

Your follicular phase is the longest phase in the menstrual cycle, it begins on the first day of menstruation and ends when you begin ovulation. On the tail end of your follicular phase, after menstruation ends you will likely notice your energy levels start to rise again. Your follicular phase is responsible for your egg being released from the ovaries for fertilization. One egg will reach maturity faster than the others and will be released from the ovarian follicles, through the fallopian tube. During this time, your body transitions into ovulation, and the egg is either fertilized and you become pregnant, or the egg dies and is released during your period. 

Ovulation phase:

This is typically your highest energy time of your cycle, and obviously, when you are ovulating. Your ovulation cycle is actually the only time you can get pregnant during your cycle, and your ovulation phase is typically around six days. During your ovulation phase your body is releasing an egg from your ovaries to allow it the opportunity to be fertilized. This time period is only 24-48 hours generally, and if the egg is not fertilized in this time, it will die, and be released during your period. The entire ovulation phase lasts about 6 days. Sperm can last in the uterus for up to 6 days before it dies, and if you have active sperm in your uterus within your ovulation window, then there is a good chance your egg will be fertilized. 

This is important for cycle tracking and syncing. If you’re using the family planning method of birth control, it is imperative to know when your ovulation window is so you know when you are most at risk of getting pregnant. 

Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your current situation, this is when women naturally have the highest libido. Your body is quite literally preparing itself for sex, because this is the time when you should have sex in order to get pregnant. Try as you might, biology can be hard to fight. You may notice your libido increase during this time, your discharge may become thinner, and there may be more of it, and if you track your body’s basal body temperature, you’ll notice a slight increase in temperature around this time. 

Ovulation typically takes place 14 days before menstruation, in a healthy 28 day cycle. As previously mentioned, this is typically the highest energy phase of your cycle. This is a great time for intensive cardio or HITT workouts. Women often talk about feeling “unstoppable” or “on top of the world” during the ovulation phase, many women experience an increase in dopamine, and overall happy feelings. 

Many women, even those who are not particularly in tune may notice a difference in their appearance, or feel more attractive during ovulation. We’ve all felt the menstruation slump, feeling kind of blah right before or on your period but not everyone is in tune enough to experience the opposite while ovulating. But if you have ever experienced this- it’s not just you, and it’s not all in your head. There’s a kind of aura one radiates during ovulation- an aura of fertility. On a biological level, fertility is very attractive to people. It’s a sign of health, youth, and vitality. You’re less bloated, we experience an increase in estrogen, which can quite literally make your skin “glow” some women even notice a very subtle change in their face shape, and if you have a partner who is very in tune, and you live a natural lifestyle, they may even be able to smell when you’re ovulating as our pheromones can change slightly, making us smell better to certain people. 

Luteal phase: 

The luteal phase is the last phase of your cycle occurring after ovulation. The uterine lining and cervical mucus thicken to either prepare for pregnancy or to be shed and the egg is released into the uterus either for fertilization or to be released from the body. This is the phase of your cycle where you’re likely to experience PMS symptoms. Estrogen and progesterone levels rise. At this point either the egg is fertilized and ready for pregnancy, or you shed your uterine lining and begin the process over again. 

As this is the phase where you experience “PMS” fatigue, irritability and bloating are all common symptoms of this phase of your cycle. Taking B vitamins regularly leading up to your luteal phase and through your period can help alleviate some of the worse symptoms of your luteal phase, including mood swings and premenstrual depression. Eating a balanced and diverse diet full of whole foods and vegetables, and generally living a healthy lifestyle can also help eliminate these symptoms. If you do all these things, and still find that you are fatigued or drained during this time of the month, that is common and even normal. An extra hour of sleep or an afternoon nap if possible can help with this. Sometimes the best thing you can do is listen to your body, especially if your body is generally functioning at healthy optimum levels. 

BIrth Control:

Just in case you were wondering- hormonal birth control negates ALL of this. Hormonal birth control doesn’t even allow for ovulation. 

In fact, hormonal birth control only works because it prevents the natural process of ovulation, making sure the egg cannot be fertilized. There has been all sorts of research to indicate that hormonal birth control can radically change our bodies’ natural cycles, and affect us in radical ways, down to who we’re attracted to. 

Research indicates that women on hormonal birth control are typically attracted to less “manly” men, or men who are lower in testerone. There have been instances of women getting off hormonal birth control and later breaking up with their partners because they are no longer attracted to them, having had their preferences so skewed that they were with someone who did not align with their actual natural preferences in a partner. The book “Your Brain on Birth Control” talks more about this phenomenon. 

Each of our hormonal phases serves a different purpose and has value. Modern conditions and health standards have painted a picture of a tortured 10 days of mood swings, followed by bleeding, and cramps. Just because this is the prevailing narrative doesn’t mean that this is healthy or normal. Women can experience pain free periods, and menstruation can be a time to honor your body’s natural gift of bearing children. Even I have a hard time with this, it feels each month when my period comes around I’m once again reminded that I am no step closer to having a baby, and the bleeding isn’t what’d I’d call fun or comfortable, but still it doesn’t have to be a miserable week and you can do everything your normally would, without the need for pain medication or hormonal birth control. Learning about these phases is an important step to getting in tune with your body. 

As the seasons change and the days grow colder I tend to spend more time in the kitchen than the warmer months. The warmth of the oven provides a kind of comfort that somehow previously seemed stifling in the August heat. It’s officially soup season! 

I adore soup season, it is the most comforting nourishing time of year, and while I am a summer girl through and through, I cannot deny that there are few things more satisfying that a good pot roast, or creamy soup. It’s the perfect blend of food for the soul, and fuel for the body. 

So with a season of heavy cooking upon us, soups stews, thanksgiving dinner and more, I’ve decided to break down my kitchen essentials, ingredients and tools that I can’t live without that help define my dishes in their signature way. It’s less extensive than you might think, I’m a simple person at heart. While there are some things that make my kitchen feel like home, such as my pasta maker and my ravioli stamp, they’re things I can live without. However, there are things that I try to incorporate into the kitchens of my loved ones wherever I go so I can recreate the magic. 

Some of these things have to do with my cooking techniques but even more, most of these items are designed so I can recreate the food I usually make with the same health benefits I implement at home. 

Kitchen gadgets

A decent chef’s knife: 

A good chef is nothing without a good knife, right? I don’t think there’s actually a saying like that but I feel someone somewhere has said it before. I don’t bring my knife with me everywhere I go (although I do bring it to Airbnbs when traveling). If someone has a decent chef knife, I can work some magic at a rather efficient pace. A good chef’s knife makes chopping much easier.

A wooden cutting board: 

This is also one that I bring with me when I travel to an airbnb. This may seem a bit much but I’m not a fan of microplastics, and all four of the kitchens I cook in regularly have a stock of wooden cutting boards that I reach for before I ever grab plastic. Generally speaking, a wood cutting board is better for your knife than plastic, and the wood cutting boards have antimicrobial properties. Cutting on a plastic cutting board produces microplastics that are scraped up while cutting food. I prefer my food without the side of microplastics! A good wooden cutting board can be easily sanded and refinished, and will last for years to come.

Cast iron pan: 

If I was a cartoon character and I had an accessory that I carried around with me everyday, it would be a cast iron pan. Very rarely do I cook in anything but a cast iron pan because I can rarely think of a time when it is prudent. Boiling water for pasta perhaps, and on some occasions I will use a stainless steel pan for sauteing but other than that it’s cast iron.

I will not be caught dead cooking on a non-stick teflon pan. If you’ve been living under a rock and don’t know the health consequences of cooking on a teflon pan, the information is readily available on the internet. The chemicals in forever teflon pans cause cancer, and disrupt your hormones amongst other health problems and can flake off and make their way into your food. 

A well seasoned cast iron pan is a thing of beauty, and I use it to my advantage. I’ve gifted some, and made sure that there is a cast iron pan in each house that I cook in regularly. Cast iron pans are so versatile. A cast iron pan can be passed down and well loved for decades to come. 

Instant pot:

An instant pot is not necessary for success, but it is always nice to have when I’m cooking rice or beans or a stew. Instant pots cook much faster, and are more consistent for rice, and can cook a stew in a third of the time. I will bring my instant pot with me on vacation for ease of cooking certain things. It also has a stainless steel pot so it’s one less teflon pan I have to worry about. 

Metal spatula: 

I always prefer metal to plastic or silicone, it’s sturdier and typically lasts longer. With a cast iron or stainless steel pan you never have to worry about a metal spatula damaging your pan. 

Spices and seasonings

The herbs and spices in your food make or break the dish. Really, to make a good dish you don’t need much. You can make an amazing dish with a high quality sea salt, pepper, and garlic if you have high quality food. While a large variety of spices is something everyone should come to aquire, we’ll stick the basics for now.

Black pepper:

High quality, organic pepper corns in a pepper grinder. Need I say more?

Red pepper:

Red pepper is a simple easy seasoning to keep on hand. It can elevate the flavor of any dish beyond your basic black pepper, and add a mild kick. The flavor of red pepper is fairly neutral making it a good option to add spice to a variety of different cuisines. 

Himalayan pink sea salt:

I do my best to only cook with Redmons real pink himalayan sea salt. Other pink himalayan sea salt works. Redmons is generally the highest quality 

Garlic:

Fresh NOT POWDERED garlic is essential for elevating most dishes beyond your basic salt and pepper, and it’s so good for you. Rather sliced, minced, or grated, it can add flavor to the most basic of dishes like eggs and rice. 

Handy kitchen staples

Avocado oil:

I use avocado oil for almost everything. If I had to pick only one oil to use it would be avocado oil. It’s better than olive oil for cooking things at a high heat, and has a neutral enough flavor that it can be used in sauces and salad dressings in a pinch. For this reason it’s the oil that I bring with me when I travel and I use it for everything from frying eggs, to sauteing vegetables, to making roasts. 

Eggs:

I eat eggs every day. Eggs can elevate a simple dish with ease. A well seasoned brown rice with sauteed vegetables is made much better (and more filling) with a fried egg on top. A couple of scrambled eggs and some good vegetables can make a great breakfast or lunch as well. Not to mention they’re frequently used for baking. I say any good cook should do their best to find good local sourced eggs. You’ll never be sorry. 

Tapioca flour:

I use tapioca flour for dredging before frying, thickening sauces, baking, and even dry shampoo when I’ve been without (irrelevant to cooking but it comes in handy on vacation!) For health purposes I generally try to keep my meals gluten free, and having tapioca flour on hand can be the difference between keeping a meal gluten free and resorting to using regular flour to thicken a sauce. I made southern-approved fried green tomatoes, and fried okra with a cornmeal and tapioca flour mixture, and fried chicken that was eaten by even the pickiest of eaters, all gluten free.

Acids: 

Acids have saved my life in many recipes. Oftentimes you may think a dish needs salt, when really what you need is an acid. I’ve learned this through much trial and error, but generally speaking, when you taste your food, the salt will be at the forefront of your taste, and the acid flavor will be in the after taste. If you need acid in the dish, you may feel the dish is lacking depth in the after taste. This is easily fixed by adding Lemon juice, lime juice, balsamic vinegar white vinegar, or apple cider vinegar. You can also use vinegars to deglaze your pan. While any one of these acids will work in a pinch, typically the type of acid that you use will depend on the type of dish but most commonly I use lemon juice or balsamic vinegar. 

This is only a short list of the things I keep on hand regularly to impress dinner guests, or even just make a comfort meal for myself, but these are some of my best kept tips to success when it comes to how I cook my food. Of course there are many more spices, herbs, and staples I keep on hand, the actual ingredients I use commonly could be a whole separate list. However, if you don’t have these basics on hand, they are good ones to start with. 

I’m about to say something that to some, may seem controversial even though it is a fact of life. 

Men and women are different. Fundamentally, biologically, and naturally men and women are different. There are some things that men are better at than women, and some things that women are better at than men. Neither gender is better, or superior over the other but they are simply different. 

One of the biggest differences between men and women that is hardly ever discussed, is the hormonal difference between men and women. 

Yes of course, hormonally men and women are different. Many would argue that women are more emotional and “more” hormonal than men. But the reality is, men actually have a very similar hormonal cycle to women, as far as the swings that they go through and altering energy levels. However, the key difference is, as many know, women operate on a 28 hormonal cycle. Men, on the other hand, operate on a 24 hour hormonal cycle. 

Men experience a peak in testosterone (and energy) early in the morning typically around 8:00 pm, with a steady decrease over the next 8 hours. They experience their lowest levels of testerone between 7:00-9:00 pm, and then repeat the process of a gradual increase in testosterone over the next 8 hours while they sleep. 

Many women learn at some point in life about their hormonal cycle. Somewhere around age 14 or 15 we start our periods, the world ends, and we’re cursed to spend roughly the next 40-50 years in agony once a month, or so we’re taught to think. 

In reality, the “period” or menstrual phase, is just one of the four phases that women go through each month, with the other three being the luteal phase, follicular phase, and the ovulation phase. Your body is never not in one of these phases, and they all serve different purposes, and have pros and cons. 

If you’re interested in learning more in depth about the four different cycles women go through you can read this article here, but I’ve explained the basics below. 

The menstrual phase: 

The menstrual phase begins on the first day of your cycle and lasts anywhere between 3-7 days. Typically 3-5 days is considered healthy, 7 days is normal. Any longer than that is an indicator that your hormones are unbalanced. The menstrual phase is the shedding of the uterine lining to rid the body of the unfertilized egg. 

Follicular phase:

Your follicular phase is the longest phase in the menstrual cycle, it begins on the first day of menstruation and ends when you begin ovulation. Your follicular phase is responsible for your egg being released from the ovaries for fertilization. One egg will reach maturity faster than the others and will be released from the ovarian follicles, through the fallopian tube. During this time, your body transitions into ovulation, and the egg is either fertilized and you become pregnant, or the egg dies and is released during your period. 

Ovulation phase:

This is typically your highest energy time of your cycle. Your ovulation cycle is actually the only time you can get pregnant during your cycle, and your ovulation phase is typically around two weeks. During your ovulation phase your body is releasing an egg from your ovaries to allow it the opportunity to be fertilized. This time period is only 24-48 hours generally, and if the egg is not fertilized in this time, it will die, and be released during your period. Sperm can last in the uterus for up to 6 days before it dies, and if you have active sperm in your uterus within your ovulation window, then there is a good chance your egg will be fertilized. 

Luteal phase: 

The luteal phase is responsible for the thickening of the uterine lining and occurs just after ovulation. It is the last phase of your menstrual cycle and ends when your period starts, thus repeating the cycle. 

So we see these women go through changes week to week, experiencing higher energy levels at certain times of the month, vs others. Women may experience their luteal phase as being a particularly creative time for them, while their menstrual phase is a time that they need rest. 

All this to be said, it seems in this particular way men are set up to unfair advantage. Men go through all these hormonal cycles in a days time, and find their most productive, highest energy time is during the working hours, with decrease in energy levels during evening hours. Women, on the other hand, can struggle with performing at the same level every single week, with varying hormonal levels, or may be better suited to certain tasks during certain times of the month than others. 

Additionally, women need more sleep than men. It’s always been advised that we get an even eight hours, however, as we do more research and begin to really explore the differences between men and women, we’ve learned than many do better with 9-10 hours a night of sleep. If you’ve ever felt lazy or unproductive for needing these extra hours, you’re not alone, and it turns out it may be what you needed all along. Additionally, women often need more sleep during certain phases of their cycle. Eight and half hours may be suitable during the ovulation phase when you have more energy, but you may need closer to 10 during your menstrual cycle. 

All of these factors, and more, contribute to men and women oftentimes thriving in different environments. Once upon a time, menstruating women used to leave the village and spend several days alone by the river, or with other menstruating women. While to some this may be seen as ostracizing, some think of this as an opportunity to embrace community and allow women to have the rest that they truly need during a time that can be quite taxing on the body. 

Today, however, we live in a world where were told that women can do everything men can do, and that women should be girl bosses who work high demanding corporate jobs. I’m certainly not saying that women can’t hold these positions. I’m simply saying that if you have no desire for such a thing, or if you would rather live a lifestyle that allows you to embrace your body’s most natural cycles that anyone, man or woman, should be able to do that. 

Men and women are not the same, and we may find that our bodies work and feel better if we’re allowed to live in a state closer to optimization. 

The negative side effects of pornography have long been known by psychologist as well as most of the general public. One of the most prominent side effects that men experience is desensitization to the content that they consume. The longer they watch porn, often times the more intense the content has to become in order to achieve the same satisfaction, escalating until real human connection no longer satisfies you, and you’re only left with extremely graphic and intense content just to try and feel something. 

This has been talked about at length, but recently, it occured to me that we’re experiencing this everywhere in all facets of life. Humans are becoming desensitized to their emotions more and more everyday. 

Recently while driving around with my 15 year old sister, she asked me if she could put on her podcast, I said yes, actually excited by the idea of her listening to something besides y2k pop.                 

That excitement didn’t last long as we began listening to a woman recount in great graphic detail the history of a certain famous serial killer while she applied her makeup. I, to say the least, was horrified and disturbed. My sister, on the other hand, was enthralled. 

Now this is nothing new. Obviously this woman has built a following on people consuming this content, no matter how twisted you may think it is, and of course, we’ve been listening to murder mystery podcasts and watching “who done it” shows for decades. But the question is why? I think once upon a time, the idea of the this kind of content consumption would be horrifying to the average person. Only very disturbed people were interested in this kind of information. 

We’ve been discussing since the early 90s the effects of violent video games on a child’s psyche and rather or not violence in TV and video games can desensitize you to real life violence (evidence would suggest yes, it likely does) And now, it seems like we’re only seeing more violence portrayed in media that we were 30 years ago. 

Now this really isn’t about becoming desensitized to violence. It’s much broader than that. I would argue that as a society we’re become desensitized to everything. 

I think the biggest example of this is social media, and the way we consume content. Scrolling on social media releases dopamine by activating the brain’s reward pleasure system. Unfortunately, this is a rather unnatural way to release dopamine, and over time we become addicted to these quick fixes, giving us instant dopamine hits. Just like a regular drug addict, after time we need more and more to achieve the same effect, but this isn’t just “more” in terms of quantity. It’s more flashy, more instant gratification, louder and more dramatic content needed to grab our attention and release the same dopamine hit. 

“Doing things that are hard is one of the best ways to pursue a life worth living, because the pleasure we get afterwards is more enduring,”

–Constant craving: how digital media turned us all into dopamine addicts

The immediate access to instant pleasure is a problem worth talking about, however, I think there’s another deeper layer here contributing to our desensitization that makes this a two-fold issue. 

The number of people on antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and other psychiatric drugs has skyrocketed over the last several decades, and I largely believe that this is a huge contributor to our desensitization. While these drugs are often used for their ability to alleviate depression, these drugs can alleviate all emotions, leaving us a shell of our former self, maybe not sad anymore, but maybe not much of anything else. Unable to feel intense joy, sorrow, or anything in between. 

“This flattening of feelings, also called “reduced affect,” is a potential side effect of antidepressants, especially selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Around half of people taking antidepressants report some degree of blunted emotions, according to research.[1] “

-All About Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs): Types, Side Effects, and More

As a society we have two things working against us at once. Theses drugs, numbing our emotions, and this huge influx of instant dopamine at our fingertips. It’s a perfect combination for an overly addicted, numbed, zombie-like society. 

The questions is what can we do about it? It seems many of these things are unavoidable, and in a way they are. It’s hard to get by in the modern world without a smartphone. 

I think the answer is to start small. Fine offline hobbies, try leaving your phone at home when you’re going somewhere you won’t need it. I often like to leave mine at home when I’m going out with my parents or other close family members. Try a social media detox. I recently did this and found it to be enlightening. You can read more about my experience with that here. Try engaging with your peers in the real world without a screen in your hand, talk to a stranger at a coffee shop. Imagine what life would be like, what you would do if you didn’t have a phone, and then try that. 

I’m not perfect. I can’t tell you how many times I stopped what I was doing to check my phone in the middle of writing this article. As a matter of fact, I’m sitting outside a coffee shop right now writing, rather than engaging with the world around me (sometimes you have to work) but last weekend I went to a party with my family and left my phone at home. Last week I lost my phone and decided to let it be lost when I went to bed. I found it again the next morning, and nothing bad happened. 

Being aware of these issues is, in my opinion, one of the crucial first steps to making changes to the world we live in. 

• Emotional Desensitization to Violence Contributes to Adolescents’ Violent Behavior
• Constant craving: how digital media turned us all into dopamine addicts
• Emotional Desensitization to Violence Contributes to Adolescents’ Violent Behavior

If you’ve noticed an increase in the number of women on social media undergoing cosmetic procedures over the last few years, you’re not alone, and you’re not crazy. 

While social media can make it appear as though “everyone” is doing something, when really only a small number of people are doing something, this is not necessarily the case for these cosmetic procedures. Around 15.8 million “injectable procedures” were performed last year. Neuromodulators were up 9% from last year (2023). Neuromodulators include botox and dysport. Botox refers to the brand name of the neuromodulator. These chemicals act as disrupters between nerves and muscles, relaxing the muscles and reducing the appearance of wrinkles. Neuromodulators are different from fillers, which are injectables that increase plumpness is certain areas, often the lips and cheeks. Both Hyaluronic and non Hyaluronic fillers saw an 8% increase from 2023. 

Now perhaps the craziest thing about this large increase in cosmetic procedures is that the demographic who saw the largest increase in botox were women aged 20-40. Traditionally, women over the age of 40 make up the largest demographic for these cosmetic procedures, and this is still true, however women aged 20-39 saw an 8% increase in these cosmetic procedures. Typically these procedures for young women are called “baby botox” which is preventive botox. It’s been said that starting botox at such a young age can cause the muscles to atrophy, and can cause botox resistance. Young women also saw the largest increase in hyaluronic fillers, with a 9% increase, while older women are beginning to turn to non-hyaluronic fillers. 

Fillers began rising in popularity, really coming onto the scene in 2016 after the launch of the Kylie Jenner lip kit where The Kardashian family began to promote unrealistic beauty standards that could really only be achieved through cosmetic procedures. 

Lip fillers are just that- a filler injected into your lips to make them look larger, and more plump. Women partake in these procedures every couple of months to maintain plumpness in their lips, under the assumption that the lip fillers dissolve and go away after a certain amount of time. 

However, hyaluronic fillers are like a sponge in water that can expand over time making the unit of filler in your face actually expand. It’s been 20 years since the FDA first approved filler injections and we know more now than we did then. The fact that they can expand and stay in your face for years as opposed to the originally thought 6-12 months, is relatively new information for a lot of people. 

Medical experts claim there are no health risks or long term issues associated with fillers, in fact most doctors claim that the fillers will just completely dissolve after enough time however the reality is that we don’t know the long term health effects of fillers because they haven’t been around long enough for us to study the long term health effects. 

While fillers and botox will likely continue to rise in popularity as long as aging is seen a flaw it seems some people are beginning to wake up to the reality of the health consequences that come along with these procedures.

Recently several videos went viral after the contestants on the recent season of Love Island were revealed to all be in their 20s. These women, who look more like bratz dolls than real people, clearly had so much work done that they not only appear plastic and doll like, they appeared to be well into their 40s, not their mid 20s.

Over the last few months Brett Cooper has released a series of videos talking about fillers and botox. What they’re doing to women’s (and mens) faces, the health consequences and how the trends are changing. Over the last 10 years this increase has been steady and rapid. The questions is why? 

One of the interesting theories as to why this could be points to another recent trend on the up and up: Ozempic and other weight loss drugs. Some researchers suggest that the recent increase in fillers and botox is caused by the rapid uptick in weight loss drug usage, as rapid weight loss can cause the appearance of hollowness and saggy skin or “ozempic face” as they call it. 

While other women will point to the “patriarchy” and blame men for setting this unbelievably unattainable beauty standards, I think the reality is more complex than that. Men did not set the beauty standards for women, in fact, men often find the trends and expectations that women set for themselves to be ridiculous, if they even bother to pay attention. If you ask the average man what he thinks is attractive, many of them will say they just want healthy, normal looking women. I think the increase in cosmetic procedures is yet another way for the pharmaceutical industry to push itself on us in an effort to make everyone more reliant on doctors and the system, and less in tune with their own health.

Regardless of the reason, it’s all crazy to witness from an outside perspective because anyone who hasn’t been completely brainwashed can see that these young women who get these cosmetic procedures done do not look good. In fact, they look terrifying, and despite what many doctors say, these fillers do not go away. Unfortunately many women are waking up to the harsh reality too late.

We have celebrities in their 50s who were once prized for their looks in their 20s and 30s and now as they push 50 and 60 they return to the red carpet looking like a disfigured porcelain doll of their former selves. They no longer even look like human beings.

The sinister depths of the beauty industry go down quite far. Injecting chemicals into the skin of youthful 20-something women is one thing, but what about the hidden ingredients in your facials and beauty products that not everyone knows about? 

Recently on social media I came across a video of Sandra bullock talking about the ingredients in the micro needling facial given to her by her dermatologist, along with clips from other celebrities. 

The skin cells in baby foreskins are said to be an active ingredient in micro needling. Apparently there are other facial serums that use this as an active ingredient. 

While it may seem obvious to someone in the holistic health sphere, these toxic (and in some cases, disturbing) ingredients that you’re injecting into your face are not just unsafe- their long term effects are unknown. They haven’t even been around long enough for us to study the lasting long term effects. Don’t be so quick to believe the narrative that the doctors, and companies who produce these products, paint. It wouldn’t be the first time the medical establishment has lied to us. 

Why are we putting toxic additives in products we put on our skin, why are we so obsessed with mainiting this almost unattainable level of beauty and youthfulness.

I think what’s really going on here is that as a society, we tend to view health and vitality as defining characteristics for what we find attractive, because these things symbolize fertility, and we are naturally designed to chase fertility so we can reproduce (like or not, this is biology). 

That doesn’t mean two things can’t be true at once. That doesn’t mean women suddenly hit menopause and become unattractive . Health is an attractive quality that will last you decades. If you prioritize your health from the inside out you will look and feel great for many years to come. 

So maybe you’re wondering what the solution to maintaining your youth is if it’s not injecting yourself with toxins. The answer is simple, although maybe not what everyone would hope for. It’s not a particular regime of holistic beauty practices. The age old saying “beauty comes from within” has never been truer. 

Prioritize your health. Prioritize a clean Whole Foods diet, drink enough water, don’t smoke, avoid chemicals on your skin and the rest will take care of itself.

Aging gracefully naturally is not complicated. It is however, alarming the rate at which women are rejecting natural aging and turning to medical procedures to stop or reverse it. It feels a bit like selling your soul to the devil in exchange for eternal youth. We all age eventually, so why not embrace it.  

Sources:

• What to know about “Ozempic face”
• Do You Need Preventative Botox? Experts Break It All Down
• The Most Surprising New Botox and Filler Trends
• What’s the Difference Between Botox, Dysport, and Other Injectable Neuromodulators?

I pride myself on being virtually vice free. There’s that old expression, “everyone has a vice”. I contemplate this sometimes and wonder what my vice might be. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I don’t even drink coffee, I don’t watch porn, I don’t eat junk food, I work out often, I like to read and I enjoy the sauna, and I don’t even really watch TV. In fact, I don’t even own a TV. I don’t use TikTok, I don’t use snapchat. I used to spend a lot of time scrolling on Tumblr but I managed to kick that habit as well. I don’t look down upon those who don’t do those things, I’m just striving for a life of optimization, and eliminating these things help me feel my best, and allows me to channel my energy into more important things And I’m happy, happier than almost people I know my age. 

But there is that *one* little thing. 

I spend upwards of an hour and a half a day on instagram. 

And I feel really bad about myself when I do. 

I can justify this in a few ways. I’ve moved away from a lot of friends, instagram is a place to keep up with them! 

But am I really keeping up with them? 

My reels are great, they’re full of homesteading and recipe videos!

Yeah but how often a day do the mind numbing videos creep in and take you down a rabbit hole you shouldn’t be in. 

Multiple times. 

And at the end of the day, how much time did you spend on instagram that could’ve been spent doing something more productive. A chapter of a book, working on an article, going to the gym or playing with the dog. 

So I’ve decided delete instagram off my phone for 30 days. 

I don’t expect this to be easy for me, and I don’t know what my plans are after these 30 days are up. I love to post photos like a digital journal to look back on, and I probably will keep doing that. My friends send me videos but I think I can live without them, and I think once I kick the doom scrolling habit, I won’t miss much.

I recently challenged myself to buy no new clothes or house wares for a month and that was difficult at first but then it become sort of freeing, and since then I’ve been much more intentional about what I purchase. 

So if I do go back to instagram after 30 days, I’m hoping that this can serve as somewhat of a mental reset and provide some intention for me when I return. 

DAY 1

Upon day one I was quite sure that I needed this challenge because I realized over several hours in the car (I drive a lot for work) I wanted to check instagram at EVERY red light! A reflex, a switch in my brain, the car has stopped, time to check instagram, and every time I had to remind myself that it was no longer on my phone. 

Sounds a little bit like a junkie if you ask me. 

So now instead I will occasionally check my todo list, or better yet, not touch my phone. 

On day 2 I woke up and journaled, which I usually do anyways, after about 30 minutes of instagram scrolling while sill in bed. I try not expose myself to the light early in the morning by keeping a red light filter on, but if something interesting enough captures my eye, I’ll turn it off, and then I’m even more likely to get sucked into the doom scrolling. 

One day I’d love to start my mornings barefoot in the grass but I live in Detroit and there’s broken glass in my back yard and it just doesn’t quite have the ideal Set up for barefoot mornings and sunlight.

So I started my day without instagram and by 9am I have made breakfast, talked to our route driver and sent the route to her, checked the emails, journaled, made some big batches of ginger lemonade, prepared 3 loaves of bread for the next stage of proofing, cleaned the kitchen, and written this article introduction. 

Honestly, I’m not jonesing for a dopamine hit, nor was I yesterday unless I was at a red light, but I have plenty to do and numerous other outlets to keep myself entertained if the work ever runs out.

Social media and our young people 

Social media has provided some amazing things to our society and overall for the adult population I can’t say rather or not is more of a net negative or net positive, but I know that for young children the addiction to the screen is doing some intense damage to their developing brains. The facts are in, this is not good for our young people. 

I wasn’t an iPad kid. Born in 2001 to a mother of 18, I often felt on the cusp of millennial and gen z but I am squarely in the get z age range. I grew up with cartoons and I had a flip phone at the age of 9. I was 12 when I got social media, and every day I thank god that I didn’t have it earlier. I wish I would have waited longer but all things considered I turned out all right. However, this is so rarely the case today. Abigail Shrier covers this in her most recent book “Bad Therapy: Why Kids today aren’t growing up” Shrier talks about a very interesting phenomena facing young people today. We are the generation with the most access to “mental health resources” and yet, we are by far the most mentally ill generation. Why is that? Many reasons, but a huge factor, based on the most recent research, social media. 

Take this article from Yale Medicine or this one from Mayo Clinic , this from the child mind institute

Really any article from a quick google search will tell you about the negative impact social media has on young people. Unlike certain things this is not information you have to search for. Who’s to say the effect on adults is all that much better? 

Half way update

It’s May 12th, about half way through my instagram free journey. I’m pleased to say my urge to doom scroll has dissipated. I no longer get the urge to reach for my phone and scroll when I hit every red light. 

My screen time is down significantly. From 7-9 hours a day to typically somewhere between 4-5. Nine hours a day is too high, as is five hours in my opinion and it’s not taking into consideration my computer time, but there’s no doom scrolling happening on there and it’s all for work. Ideally my screen time would be between 1-2 hours a day, but I use google maps for several hours a day on route for work or running errands. I also listen to podcasts on Spotify and YouTube and sometimes leave the screen playing on accident, both of these contribute to several hours of screen time a day. 

Anyone know a good way to track screen time that doesn’t account for google maps and other time not actually spent on the phone? 

I no longer spend my mornings doom scrolling and am spending more time journaling and reading, which I already do quite a bit of but am excited about incorporating more of. 

I will confess that on 2 occasions I have looked at instagram messages on a web browser or my iPad. I was expecting (hoping) for a message that never came. Thus making the whole thing, not worth it.  

Over all, I’m feeling really good about being pretty much entirely social media free, and am not 100% sure what plans are for the end of this month after this challenge. I love posting photos on instagram and I’ve found that I’m documenting things through photos less than I would previously. This is a side effect that has both pros and cons in my opinion. I love photography and I love documenting moments but I’m on my phone less and in the moment more which I think has benefits, obviously. 

I may start scrapbooking or keeping a photo album so I have some place to document and look back on, or maybe just download instagram periodically to post and then delete it again. There are some instagram accounts that I miss keeping up with. This feels very silly, I’m not missing much I realized I also use instagram to research, restaurants in the area, thrift shops, markets, it seems like instagram has its finger on the pulse of what’s relevant in a way that google doesn’t. And of course, there are the hundreds of recipes I have saved that I swore I was going to make one day. 

I can honestly say that I’m not missing much from my friends or other people I used to follow. I realize I’ve been out of the loop- apparently there’s beef with kendrick Lemar and Drake, I was so out of the loop I heard about this on a Joe rogan podcast. And that’s another thing I miss sometimes, I used to see who was hanging out with Joe Rogan and know who the next podcast guest was, and now I just have to wait until they come out. 

In some ways I worry about losing touch- what are the young people doing and talking about (I’m 23, and even I can’t keep up) what if I become the 23 year old equivalent of a weird home schooled kid (I already don’t have many friends) but at the same time, what’s being in tune with social media compared to being in tune with what’s around me. 

I don’t come home and sit on the couch and scroll anymore. I’ll read or journal, look at my Todoist, or better yet, just get straight to work because there is always another project to do. 

Ultimately why I wanted to give up social media

I have this philosophy in life that leading by example is one of the highest form of authenticity and good. I don’t have kids yet but I examined this first in my younger siblings (aged 15, 8, and 11 at time of publishing) 

Kids are a mirror into our own behavior and I began to see things in my younger siblings that I didn’t like in myself. 

Of course, that’s not to say that it was all bad. They mirrored some good things too. But I began to look at habits and behaviors in my life like this: Is this a good or bad habit, and do I want my future kids to exhibit this behavior or habit? 

If the answer is no, then the next questions is: Why am I still doing this? Could I justify this behavior or habit that I’m exhibiting to my future kids, even though I don’t want them to do it? 

And lastly: What can I do to eliminate this habit and lead by example? 

The greatest example I have of this is drinking. Why am I drinking? Because it’s fun, it makes social outings more enjoyable, and all of my friends are doing it. 

Do I want my kids doing this? No, absolutely not. There are no positive side effects to drinking, and the health impacts are severe. 

Can I justify this to my kids even though it’s something I don’t want them doing? No. Not really. Just because I’m an adult doesn’t make it healthy, worth it, or right to drink, given how I feel about it personally. 

What can I do to change this? I quit drinking. I wasn’t an alcoholic. I didn’t have problems with drinking. But I had nothing to lose and everything to gain by quitting, so I did. 

One by one I went through things like this in my personal life and eliminated (or continue to try) to eliminate habits that I don’t want my kids to have. 

Which leads us here. Do I want my kids to use social media? No! The jury is in, it’s wrecking our kids. They can absolutely live without it and be better for it. Therefore, it’s time for me to start to lead by example. Of course these kids don’t exist yet but my younger siblings look up to me and mirror my behavior. I think eliminating or severely limiting social media is a great way to lead by example. 

Last week 

We’re reaching our last week of no instagram on my phone, although I don’t intend to go back when it’s over. 

At my peak I was able to get my screen time down to an average of 2 hours a day which is pretty incredible in todays day and age, especially considering google maps usage. 

 I would like to continue to limit my screen time as much as possible. I’ve found that when I have my iPad charged, I am susceptible to looking at instagram, I don’t tend to dive very deep into the rabbit hole, but I will check my messages, and check up on those aforementioned accounts I miss and then close the app. 

There’s no longer all this stuff I’m checking up on, and therefore nothing to see. I get bored rather quickly, and while I still find the occasional funny or interesting reel, I don’t receive the same dopamine hit, or crave the next dopamine hit quite the way I did when I was stuck in my addictive cycle. Unfortunately for me, setting an app timer or even getting an external app to limit my screen time doesn’t help me restrict certain apps. I’ll simply bypass the protocols I have set up, and do it anyways. For me, the solution was the go cold turkey until I felt like the addictive cycle had been broken. 

Here are some better habits I’ve replaced with my desire to doom scroll. 

Reading a couple pages of a book when I feel my attention span shrinking from the task at hand. 

Writing a journal entry, I find that one page takes about 3-5 minutes and is a sufficient reset for me mentally. 

Checking my Todoist, and monitoring my progress on important tasks. 

Looking at Pinterest and finding inspiration for current projects or future goals. I’ve been creating Pinterest boards for certain future aspirations and I’ve been enjoying it, but I’m not addicted to it, it doesn’t feed the addictive side of my brain like social media does, and I usually spend 10-15 minutes building a board and then move on to something else. 

One month follow up 

It’s been a month since the end of my 30 days of instagram free challenge and I am here to report that I have not redownloaded the app on my phone. I do continue to check it sometimes and I have come to find that there are some people whose content I enjoy and seek out, but I’ll check on them occasionally and then move on. I no longer feel the need to doom scroll. I still post and keep up with documenting memories for my own sake, but I would still like to start scrapbooking at some point. 

Life is genuinely better since I eliminated my social media addiction, and I now feel qualified and capable to help prevent my future kids from developing the same problem that everyone else in the younger generation has. 

Like I said earlier in this article, the verdict is in. Social media is not good for us, and it’s wreaking havoc on a young generation of kids who have never known life without it. Taking a step back and evaluating the relationship that you have with social media as an individual can be instrumental to see this crisis more clearly, and helping others. As adults, it’s up to us to lead by example and set limitations and expectations for young people. We can do this by consuming content more consciously, as well as limiting our overall consumption of content, and encouraging our friends to do the same.