Robert Kress Functional Pharmacist, Newburgh, MI (2025)

12/08/2025

We talk a lot about “protecting our time” in healthcare.

But how often do we talk about protecting our inner real estate?

Your mind and your emotions are private property.
You decide what gets in.
You decide how it affects you.

If every news alert, patient crisis, staff challenge, and inbox ping gets unrestricted access to your nervous system, burnout isn’t a matter of if—it’s when.

Strong boundaries aren’t cold or uncaring.
They’re what allow us to stay present, grounded, and effective with the people who need us most.

Today’s check-in:
• What are you currently letting in that doesn’t deserve full access?
• What filters or rituals could you put in place to protect your mental and emotional bandwidth?

12/07/2025

Discipline over dopamine. 🧠⚔️

Most guys think this is just about willpower…
But it’s actually about your nervous system.

When your nervous system is dysregulated, your brain is constantly hunting for quick dopamine hits. 🍬
Scroll. Drink. P**n. Another show. Another “just checking my email,” reaching out for s*x to your partner when she might not even be in the mood.
Each one is a tiny escape from what you know you need to be doing.

That stress lives in your sympathetic state:
🔥 High negative: anger, agitation, irritability
🧊 Low negative: apathy, depression, overwhelm

And because of old habits, your brain has been trained to reach for numbing + distraction instead of regulation. Even “healthy” things like excessive exercise can become just another way to run from what you feel.

Here’s the reframe:
• A stronger nervous system makes discipline easier.
• Daily discipline (even small steps) actually helps down-regulate your nervous system.

It’s not either/or. It’s a two-way path.

👉 First step: build awareness.
Notice the moment you feel the urge to distract, to check out, to numb.
Recognize your usual go-to habit. Is it pouring a drink? Reaching for your phone to scroll? Opening that tab you always regret? Reaching for s*x when what you really need is regulation, not stimulation?

🚦Then: pause.
Give yourself 6 rounds of:
• Inhale for 4 (through the nose)
• Hold for 2
• Exhale for 6 (out through the mouth)

Now remove yourself from the situation:
Step away from the bar cart.
Put the phone in another room.
Change your physical state so your brain can choose a different path.

Tiny acts of discipline teach your nervous system, “I am safe. I can hold this. I don’t need to numb out.”
That’s how you become the man who chooses purpose over impulses.

⚔️ Discipline over dopamine.

—

12/06/2025

Energy has a consequence, what you put out you get back. ⚡️

Read that again.

One of the simplest ways to see this is to just become an observer of life.

Watch the people around you.
You can feel the quality of energy they send out… and you can usually see the quality of energy that comes right back to them. Their vibes get met.

I’m seeing this play out in real time right now.
Look at the political circus for 5 minutes and you’ll see men coming after Candace Owens with a kind of aggressive, emotionally unsettled energy.

We can disagree. We should be able to debate.
But when the energy turns vile and unhinged, there’s a consequence.

One “influencer” in particular has been relentless in his attacks. Recently he reported a drive-by shooting at his house. I’m not here to say who did it or why, and I’m definitely not saying anyone “deserves” violence.

What I am saying is this:

When we live in a constant broadcast of rage, instability, and attack… why are we surprised when chaos, instability, and attack start circling back into our lives?

Most of us get stuck in the mental loop:
“Who did this? Why would they? What’s wrong with them?”

A more powerful starting point is:
What energy am I putting out?
And then:
What energy is consistently coming back?

That formula is usually very simple.

It’s not just about anger either.
If I’m putting out fear, scarcity, and lack… what do I keep getting?
More reasons to feel afraid. More proof that there’s “never enough.”

If I’m broadcasting grounded strength, honesty, and respect… what tends to find me?
People and opportunities that match that signal.

Today, be an observer:

👁️ Notice the energy people are putting out.
👁️ Notice what keeps coming back to them.
👁️ Then turn the lens gently on yourself and ask, “What am I broadcasting… and am I willing to shift it?”

Because energy has a consequence.
What you put out, you get back.

12/06/2025

Most people want to grow a functional medicine practice…
while standing in a pile of unresolved life p**p. 💩

Unfinished projects.
Chaotic jobs.
Messy workflows.
Family/friend drama.
A calendar that owns them instead of the other way around.

Then they wonder why there’s no space for their practice to actually take root.

Here’s the truth I’ve been reminding my clients of (and myself):

👉 First, you clean up the p**p.
Then, you use it as fertilizer.

Your current job?
Your frustrating pharmacy workflow?
The family dynamics that keep surfacing?
The house projects you keep walking past?

They’re not just annoyances.
They’re information and training:
• Teaching you how you don’t want to practice.
• Forcing you to build systems and efficiency.
• Showing you where your boundaries are weak.
• Revealing what drains you vs. what feeds you.

The lesson inside the cleaning up
is the fertilizer for what you want to grow next.

If you’re serious about making functional medicine real in 2026, this is the move:

1️⃣ Get honest about what needs to be cleaned up.
2️⃣ Extract the lessons from where you are right now.
3️⃣ Use that clarity to design a practice that fits your actual life, not your fantasy calendar.

And here’s the thing:

You don’t have to figure this out alone.
That’s why you need someone in your corner with an objective lens—
someone who isn’t tangled up in your story,
who can help you see the patterns, clean up the p**p,
and build a structure your practice can actually grow in.

You’re not a slave to Kronos time or your schedule squares.
You get to choose what stays, what goes, and what gets turned into compost.

If this hits and you know you’re done just “thinking about” functional medicine,
drop a 💩 in the comments or DM me “SPACE” and we’ll talk about what it would look like to clean things up and actually build this in 2026.

⸻

12/05/2025

I’m not where I "projected" to be in some ways as we turn the corner from '25 to '26.

And in other ways, my life has turned in directions I never could’ve seen coming.

That’s the thing: we show up and we do the work — the meaningful work — with intention and desire… but the timeline and the outcomes are not ours to control.

Over this past year, my 1:1 mentoring and coaching programs — for both men and for pharmacists — have grown exponentially.

I’ve grown in so many ways too.
I finally listened to lessons that were in front of me all along.

I found myself in a new home, and I’ve never felt so at ease, relaxed, and non-transitional in a place before.

The relationships that were truly worthy have deepened.
The ones that were hanging by a thread have quietly fallen to the wayside.

None of these were “goals” I wrote on a vision board last January.

But I think what this year has shown me is this:
when you show up, communicate and connect through gratitude, and lean on what feels meaningful…
doors start to open that you never even knew were there.

The biggest change this year?
I made the decision to stop living in perpetual fight-or-flight, chasing quick fixes.
I didn’t even obsess over a long-term master plan.
I simply got more present to how I wanted each day to feel as it unfolded.

And someone was listening. 🌌

If this message vibes with you…
if you can relate…
and you’re ready to step out of fight-or-flight, regret, and “someday, some way”…

…and instead strengthen your body and your mind from the ground up,
step into the meaningful work,
and stop trying to control every little thing —

so that a year from now *you’re* pleasantly surprised by where you’ve landed…

DM me now.
Let’s make the next chapter a mythic one. 🧭

12/04/2025

There’s a special kind of burnout that happens in pharmacy.

On paper, everything looks “fine” 👀
The paycheck is fine.
The schedule is fine.
The benefits are fine.

But you are not fine.

You’re rich in frustration and low on the hunger that actually moves you to act.
Meanwhile, you watch health coaches with half your training absolutely sending it in functional medicine… and a part of you knows:

“I could do this. I’m BUILT for this.”

If you’ve been hearing:
“Why don’t you just stick with your job?”
“Why rock the boat?”
“Why not do something safer?”

This video is for you.

You’re not trapped. You’re in the tunnel phase. 🕳️
It’s dark. It’s awkward. It doesn’t look like it’s working yet.

But the tunnel is still movement.
You’re in transit between one professional life and the next.

Your job right now isn’t to control the timeline.
Your job is to show up, do the work in front of you, and honor the part of you that knows you’re meant for more than comfortable misery behind a counter.

Watch the video, then tell me in the comments or DMs:
👉 Are you in the tunnel right now?

hashtags

12/04/2025

Any coach can show you the highlight reel.
Perfect mornings. Flawless launches.
Always “crushing it.” Always “booked out.”

Real talk: if all you ever see is the win, you’re not looking at a mentor — you’re looking at a costume.

Any coach or mentor who tries to sell you on their highlight reels of life is not being authentic.
The best coaches will lead through their pains, their challenges, and the lessons they’ve learned — not just in their past, but in what they’re currently experiencing… because they are.
That’s part of this journey.

The coaches I trust aren’t pretending they’ve “arrived.”
They’re still in the work.
They’re still in the tunnel.
They’re still bumping into their own patterns, doing their own healing, and choosing to share from inside the process — not just after it’s polished and packaged.

If you’re looking for support, look for:
• someone who can hold your vision and your mess
• someone who doesn’t flinch at your shadows, because they’ve met their own
• someone who talks about the hard days, not just the beach days

That’s leadership. That’s mentorship. That’s human.

🌀 You don’t need a perfect guru.
You need a real human who’s willing to walk the path with you.

12/04/2025

One of my pharmacists just texted me this evening, as I hit send I know it wasn't just for him.

“Rough day. Didn’t get everything done. My wife talked to a friend who knows a ‘functional medicine health coach who’s killing it’… then told me she feels like I’m hitting a dead end.

I don’t think I’m at a dead end… but I feel trapped.”

Man… this is so common.

Here’s what I told him 👇

You’re not stuck. You’re in the tunnel phase — no longer who you were, not yet who you’re becoming. It feels dark, slow, and frustrating… but it’s not a dead end. It’s a passage.

And for my pharmacists especially: beware the comfort that kills — the steady paycheck + familiar chaos that keeps you “fine” but quietly drains your purpose.

Whether you’re trying to grow your own practice or finally make real changes in your health… you’re not stuck. You’re moving, even if it doesn’t look perfect on paper.

If you feel like you’re in that tunnel phase (or you’re not even sure if you are)…
DM me now. Let’s chat and see if we can take you to the next level. 🚀

12/03/2025

I used to see consulting as a “nice complement” to my compounding work—
basically a way to sell a few more supplements and support what I was already doing.

Then I started spending real time with people.

Not 30 seconds at the counter.
Not a rushed “any questions?”

Actual, spacious time to hear their story, map a plan, and walk beside them.

That’s when I realized something I couldn’t unsee:

👉 Consulting isn’t about selling more products.
👉 Consulting is a model that can save pharmacy.

When you step into functional medicine consulting as a cash-based service:
• Your main “inventory” is your time and expertise
• You’re no longer begging insurance to undervalue you
• You’re no longer complaining about PBMs clawing back your margin
• You actually have the time to move the needle on someone’s life

You stop being “the person behind the counter”
and become the guide people trust with their health story.

And here’s the part most pharmacists miss:
You already have the knowledge.
What you need is a new model to plug it into.

This is the work I do every day—
consulting with clients and patients, building our functional medicine practice with Kay,
and mentoring pharmacists who are ready to step into consulting and create something more sustainable, human, and profitable.

If you’re a pharmacist who feels that pull and you’re tired of playing by the old rules…

👉 Comment CONSULTING or DM me “Consulting can save pharmacy”
and I’ll send you some simple next steps.

💊🧠🔥

12/02/2025

“We can be heroes just for one day.”

Joseph Campbell would call that a clue.
The hero’s journey doesn’t start on a mountaintop — it starts in the most ordinary moment:
by the chair, at the kitchen table, holding a cup of coffee and a quiet question:

“Who do I choose to be today?”

Most of us wait for some big quest to prove we’re worthy.
But the mythic stuff is smaller and closer:
• Choosing honesty instead of numbing out 🧭
• Saying the hard truth with an open heart 💬
• Taking the walk, making the appointment, having the conversation 🚶‍♂️
• Ending a pattern that ends with you 🔁➡️🛑

That’s how midlife becomes a portal, not a slow fade.
Today, this one day, is the threshold.
This cup is the doorway.
Your life is the story. 🌀

You don’t have to fix everything.
Just answer the call in front of you.

👉 If you’re ready to step onto your own healing journey that will take you beyond the purely functional aspect, reach out to me now.

12/01/2025

Contemplate.

I like breaking it down as con-Temple – with the temple.
But the real question is: what is your temple?

For some, it’s a church.
For others, a prayer room, a puja corner, a meditation cushion.

I’m not a church-goer, but I’m highly spiritual.
Back in college, something big shook my life and dropped me straight into contemplation mode.

Many nights I would wander the streets in East Stroudsburg- to get away from the college "happenings" back in my apartment- to be alone, I’d end up at a small church.
No sermon. No mass. No production. I don't know if I even know what denomination it was or even cared.
Just an unlocked door and a quiet, empty space.

I’d sit there and, looking back, I realize:
that was my temple.
Away from the apartment, away from the noise,
it was the one place I could actually hear myself.

Over time I learned: to truly con-template,
you don’t need a church—
but you do need a temple.
A space within you, supported by the space around you.

So if you keep saying you don’t have time to sit, disconnect, and think…
maybe it’s not just a time issue.
Maybe it’s an environment issue.

These days, my temple is the woods.
It’s my front porch in the morning,
breathing in the quiet before the day starts. 🌲🕯️

Your temple might be a park bench,
a corner of your living room,
or the driver’s seat of your car before you walk into work.

Where is your temple—the place that lets you actually be with yourself and truly con-Temple?

and I just realized, after East Stroudsburg, I ended up going to Temple University, 🤯

The messages are always there

⸻

12/01/2025

“I just got this message from a patient…”

“What do you think about intermittent fasting?”

This comes up all the time—especially this time of year when everyone’s chasing weight loss, “resets,” and quick fixes.

The patient I’m talking about in this video is hypothyroid, stressed, and running on a tired nervous system… and that’s where the conversation around intermittent fasting gets real.

Yes, from a primal lens, our ancestors often ate once or twice a day.
Our biology can handle fasting.

But primal man and woman weren’t:
📱 glued to screens
🚗 stuck in traffic
☕ living on caffeine
🔥 burning out their adrenals for years

Today we’re more depleted, inflamed, and exhausted than ever.
So layering a strict fasting protocol on top of a stressed thyroid and burned-out adrenals can be like pouring gas on a nervous system that’s already on fire.

For many people (especially if you’re hypothyroid or wired-but-tired), the smarter move is:
🍳 A real break-fast with protein, healthy fats, and some moderate, healthy carbs
🩸 Stabilize blood sugar
🧠 Tell your body it’s safe to repair and rebuild

Then maybe later, once the system is stronger, you can revisit fasting from a place of resilience—not desperation.

If you’re calling “coffee till noon” intermittent fasting, this one’s for you. 😉

👇 Let me know in the comments:
Are you doing intermittent fasting right now?
How does your energy actually feel day to day?

⸻

Robert Kress Functional Pharmacist

12/08/2025

12/07/2025

12/06/2025

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