Struggle Care

You have probably heard me say, “You can’t save the rainforest if you are depressed.” The truth is that eco-shame and eco-perfectionism can get in the way of our taking steps toward better functioning. If you have ever felt guilty for not being “eco-friendly enough,” this episode is for you! Rebecca Gray is an environmental epidemiologist. With her master’s degree in public health, she studies disease, the patterns of disease, and health at population levels within communities and countries. She also studies how factors in the environment impact health by causing and promoting disease. Rebecca works with government agencies like the EPA and CDC to develop water guidelines to keep pollutants out of the water supply. Show Highlights: How Rebecca has experienced forms of eco-shame in her profession How some people push the environmental movement in ways that are able-ist The trap we fall into to “embody the archetype” of the space we occupy How social media plays into the eco-perfectionism pressure we feel Why functionality matters more than the morality of what we do in care tasks, eating, the environment, etc.  Rebecca’s view of today’s environmental movement Why we should ask ourselves how an eco-behavior affects our health and well being What really does need to happen to prevent climate change How our capitalistic society colors what we can do to be eco-friendly How differing narratives make us feel pressured to make individual changes and collective changes to “save the world” How to identify what we need to function well, fill in gaps with eco-friendly behaviors, and learn how to conserve our energy How to take a more reasonable–and less stressful–view of sustainability swaps Actions that have the least impact and the most impact on environmentalism Rebecca’s advice about letting ourselves off the hook for the decisions we make Resources:Connect with Rebecca: LinkedIn Connect with KC: TikTok and InstagramGet KC's Book, How to Keep House While Drowning Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, we are diving into executive functioning, which is a popular term being bounced around in mental health communities. I want to take a closer look at what it means and how it shows up in people’s lives. Join me to learn more from today’s guest!Dr. Lesley Cook is a psychologist who does a lot of work with ADHD and other neurodivergencies. Born and raised in Hawaii, she now lives in Virginia and works with children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families. Dr. Lesley and I met on TikTok, and I’m happy to have her here today!Show Highlights: A common-language definition and explanation of executive functioning How executive function deficits show up in someone’s life How shame, guilt, and inconsistent performance are clues to executive function problems The difference between motivation and task initiation Why the underlying issue with lack of motivation is more about what a person values How a person’s sense of self is affected when they believe their authentic self is “bad” Why external supports are necessary when an internal system is down Why rhythm is better than routine for those with executive function disorder How neurotypical people experience interruptions with executive functioning on a regular basis because of overload and anxiety How blips in executive function occur in neurotypical people with predictability and response to intervention—as opposed to someone with a diagnosis How someone with ADHD can have incredible deficits in executive function on days when everything is going their way–and won’t respond reliably to normal interventions How to build into each day differing levels of acceptable outcomes–and give yourself permission to choose what fits your needs at that moment Lesley’s advice to those who think they have executive functioning issues Resources: Connect with Dr. Lesley: TikTok and InstagramConnect with KC: TikTok and InstagramGet KC's Book, How to Keep House While DrowningFind great resources about executive functioning:  www.understood.org, www.psychologytoday.com, and www.chaad.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to another episode of Struggle Care! In our first episode, you heard my conversation with Dr. Lesley Cook about executive functioning. Because she has so much great information and wisdom to share, I decided to bring her back to discuss how to navigate care tasks specifically for ADHD adults and kids. Join us for the conversation with Dr. Lesley!Dr. Lesley Cook is a psychologist who does a lot of work with ADHD and other neurodivergencies. Born and raised in Hawaii, she now lives in Virginia and works with children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families. Show Highlights:How to find the balance between the message of self-compassion and the need for better life management and progressA basic understanding of self-compassion from Dr. Kristin Neff’s writingsA closer look at shame and how we experience it in relation to self-compassionHow to gently shift shame into self-compassionHow self-compassion can become a learned behavior that we pass down to our childrenResources: Connect with Dr. Lesley: TikTok and InstagramConnect with KC: TikTok and InstagramGet KC's Book, How to Keep House While Drowning Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meet KC Davis! Struggle Care is a podcast about self-care by a host that hates the term self-care. Therapist KC Davis, author of the book How to Keep House While Drowning talks about mental health, care tasks, and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices