Mindful Healthy Balanced Health Coaching

09/20/2025

The Estrangement Epidemic: Health, Wellness, and Aging Gracefully

1. Estrangement as a Cultural Norm

-Once rare and stigmatized, estrangement is increasingly normalized among Millennials and Gen Z.
-Reframed as “boundaries” or “self-care,” it can be either self-preserving or avoidance-driven.
-When normalized, family bonds shift from unconditional to conditional, altering the very foundation of family life.

2. Short-Term Estrangements

-Often arise from conflict, hurt feelings, or boundary-setting.
-Wellness impact: short-term estrangement can cause stress, anxiety, sleeplessness, and lowered resilience.

Aging gracefully response: Care for your health now. Move your body, nourish your brain with food, protect your peace. Don’t put life on hold waiting for reconciliation. If it comes, let it be a bonus — not your lifeline.

3. Long-Term Estrangements

-Can last for decades, often without resolution.
Wellness impact: Chronic stress leads to higher inflammation, poor sleep, and increased risk of cardiovascular problems.

Research findings:

Mothers estranged from adult children report poorer self-rated health compared to those with positive ties (Ohio State, 2025)【pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39866525】.

Family estrangement is statistically associated with worse mental health outcomes across generations (SAGE, 2025; Wiley, 2024).

Aging gracefully response Protect your well-being. Build new support systems, create new traditions, and focus on peace. Recognize that if an estranged child resurfaces late in life, motives may not be about reconciliation — protect your health and legacy.

4. What Children Lose

-Heritage and traditions.
-Family stories and shared wisdom.
-Medical history that can impact their health.
-Emotional closure — grief and regret often appear too late.

5. What Parents Need to Protect

-Emotional well-being: Avoid letting grief and regret consume your health.
-Physical health: Chronic stress from estrangement accelerates aging.
-Peace of mind: Accept what is beyond your control and prioritize your daily wellness.
Legacy: Choose where your traditions, stories, and values live on.

6. Historical Parallels

-Families have fractured before: Industrial Revolution, immigration waves, wars, the divorce revolution.
-Difference today: past fractures were mostly external; estrangement now is often an internal choice framed around identity, autonomy, or mental health.

7. The Grief Loop

-Parents grieve children still alive.
-Children grieve parents as if they are gone.
-When death comes, grief compounds: regret, missed time, unanswered questions.

8. Aging Gracefully in the Midst of Estrangement

-Estrangement doesn’t have to destroy health, peace, or legacy.

For short-term estrangements: Focus on resilience, don’t hold your breath.

For long-term estrangements: Prioritize wellness, protect peace, and live fully even without reconciliation.

Estrangement is part of today’s cultural landscape — but how we respond determines whether we age with peace or in waiting.

Key Research Citations

“How Intergenerational Estrangement Matters for Maternal Health” (Ohio State, 2025) – [PubMed](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39866525)

“Estrangement between older parents and adult children” (SAGE, 2025) – [SAGE Journals](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/02654075251327874)

“Family estrangement and its association…” (Wiley, 2024) – [Wiley Online Library](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/fare.13063)

✨ Mary Bell, MCPHC
Helping you find your mindful, healthy balance.

09/04/2025

The Smile That Comes from a Productive Night’s Sleep

Sleep is not passive rest — it is one of the most active times for the brain. During sleep, a specialized cleaning system called the glymphatic system becomes active. This system clears away a wide range of metabolic waste products, including proteins such as amyloid and tau, as well as everyday byproducts like lactate and excess neurotransmitters. Without regular deep sleep, these substances can accumulate and may increase the risk of memory decline and other neurological issues.

Sleep also plays a critical role in memory formation. It strengthens the neural connections needed for learning, problem-solving, and creativity, while eliminating less relevant information so the brain can focus more efficiently the next day.
Emotional regulation is another essential function of sleep. Adequate rest helps rebalance stress hormones and stabilize brain chemistry, supporting resilience and emotional well-being.

In addition, sleep prepares the brain for optimal performance the following day. Insufficient sleep leads to declines in attention, decision-making, and reaction time, which explains why chronic sleep loss increases the risk of accidents, brain fog and long-term health problems.
The takeaway is clear: protecting your sleep is protecting your independence. Medications and supplements cannot replace this process. The foundation of brain health begins each night with consistent, restorative sleep.

09/02/2025

08/02/2025

Very impressed with this supplement

07/03/2025

In 2000 I had LASIK surgery. I was 36 at the time & had been in corrective lenses since the age of 13. I was told at the time of surgery to expect about ten years of good vision before the inevitable hit - presbyopia - 10 yrs without corrective lenses sounded like a sweet deal to me so I did it.

By 2010 my eyesight was still decent but I found myself using cheater glasses to read small print. By 2015, I had accumulated quite the collection of cheater glasses & was wearing them more frequently. June 2016, I probably needed a formal prescription but I had bigger problems, which is what prompted me to start a ketogenic diet. As my metabolic and neurological issues started improving, I found I wasn’t needing my cheater glasses as much. I didn’t put too much thought into it as it was NOT on my priority list. But one day I realized, I wasn’t grabbing for them anymore.

Today, I had to renew my licence. I cannot recall the last time I had a formal vision exam but I felt confident that all was well. My suspicions were confirmed when the examiner at the DMV declared me to have 20/20 vision, first try y'all! Absolute perfection.

As of today I am almost 25 yrs post LASIK surgery, 9 yrs post starting a ketogenic diet & my vision is PERFECT. Yes ketosis plays a part but so does getting regular sun exposure, not using sunglasses outside, wearing blue light blockers after sundown and limiting toxins - people included!

With all the healing I have experienced these past 9 yrs- regaining control of narcolepsy symptoms, minimizing cataplexy, reversing dementia, reversing other metabolic conditions, losing 60 pounds and maintaining that weight loss, yet mainstream medicine wants me to believe that ketosis is somehow dangerous. Dangerous to whom? I think we all know.

06/13/2025

Supplements… our “go-to’s” when we’re looking for something other than a medication or sometimes even looking to supplement where our diet might be lacking. For the most part, the supplements on the market are found in everyday foods we eat, so who’s really thinking about sensitivities to these, right?

So I share here an unexpected experience with Turmeric supplement, a spice frequently used in cooking. Turmeric touts a lot of health benefits such as an anti-inflammatory agent (which makes this even more hilarious), an antioxidant, good for pain relief (also hilarious), digestive health and brain health.

So let's address the elephants in the room—am I SURE this wasn’t shingles?? Yes, I am positive this was an allergic reaction and NOT Shingles. Wednesday night when I first suspected shingles, I scoured images upon images of shingles as well as descriptions of its presentation and progression - nothing fit. Thursday morning, suspecting Turmeric, I looked online at photos of hives and description of its presentation - the pieces fell in place. Why didn’t I go to a doctor for a formal diagnosis? I felt fairly certain that I would either be sent out the door with a prescription for prednisone and a generic diagnosis OR worse, be misdiagnosed. And to be COMPLETELY honest, for confirmation of my suspicion, I uploaded a photo of the breakout to GROK who determined this to be some sort of rash. You do you…I do me….

All this being said, consider this a friendly reminder when starting a new supplement: be mindful of potential adverse reactions that might point to a sensitivity/outright allergy/toxicity.

04/28/2025

Research suggests that making your bed each morning can positively impact your day, with benefits rooted in psychology and habit formation. This simple act is often described as a "keystone habit," a small behavior that sparks broader positive changes. In his 2012 book *The Power of Habit*, Charles Duhigg explains that making your bed fosters a sense of control and accomplishment, setting an optimistic tone for the day. A 2017 Hunch.com survey (n=68,000) found that 59% of bed-makers reported feeling more productive, supporting the idea that this habit can enhance daily efficiency.Beyond productivity, making your bed may improve mental well-being. A 2019 National Sleep Foundation study linked daily bed-making to better sleep quality and reduced stress. A tidy bedroom creates a calmer environment, which can soothe the mind and promote relaxation. This aligns with broader findings in environmental psychology, which suggest that organized spaces enhance mental clarity. For instance, a 2013 study in *Psychological Science* found that tidy environments improve focus and cognitive performance, implying that a made bed contributes to a less cluttered mind, indirectly supporting better decision-making and emotional balance.The act of bed-making is low-effort but carries symbolic weight. Psychologists like Jordan Peterson highlight it as a way to impose order on daily life, potentially boosting mood and self-discipline. By starting the day with a small win, individuals may feel more motivated to tackle other tasks. While the science isn’t exhaustive, the evidence points to measurable benefits in productivity, sleep quality, and mental well-being. For those seeking a simple way to enhance their routine, making the bed is a practical starting point. selfcare