Latest / The Reformed Tired Girls Club Podcast / Being Brave Enough to Question the Norms
Transcript
- Heather Copfer: Hi, you guys. So today's topic, I think, is going to hit home for a lot of you. And I'm excited to talk about being brave enough to question the norms. maybe you can personally relate to this, but throughout my life and my health challenges, I was constantly told this is genetic, this runs in the family, this is your only option, cough cough birth control for chronic acne, cough cough medication for narcolepsy. You don't have many options. There's nothing you can do about it. And as I sit here as a 31 year old woman who has overcome and reversed a lot of symptoms naturally, I have to tell you that it's a bunch of bullshit. And you know, I truly don't think that people say these things with true malice or ill intention. But I really do think we've normalized having things like painful periods, PMS, really bad energy as we get older and blaming our chronic conditions on family genetics. And you know, it's really easy to buy into that. mean, I did for a really long time. until one day I decided truly that there's no way, there's no possible way that I could live the rest of my life the way I was. I was, I think 25 years old, around 25 years old when I had that realization and I decided to do something about it. And because 25, I was so young, I was so young and I was like, you know what? I literally have so much life ahead of me, at least I hope I do. And I can't live like this. And maybe, maybe you feel the exact same way. And it's scary and it can be very, very lonely, but being brave enough to question and challenge the norms and go looking for alternative help besides the conventional medicine route will change your life. You know, being an independent thinker and advocating for yourself and wanting more for your life is really brave. And you might piss some people off and then they're not gonna understand it and make comments that you're wasting your time. Honestly, let them, let them, even if it pisses you off, even if it makes you like boil, just let them and surround yourself with people who support you and uplift you in challenging the norms. You know, I'll never forget when I went on a vacation once and it was with a large group of people and, you know, I brought my supplements with me. Of course, like, yeah, why not? Who cares? Of course I'm going to bring my supplements with me. And one morning I was taking them with my breakfast and one of the older gentlemen made a comment to me, unsolicited. that me being health conscious the way I was was just only going to prevent me from ending up in the old folks home by a few extra months. and it really took me aback because it was so out of the blue I didn't ask for his opinion at And in fact, I don't ever solicit any health advice unless someone specifically asks me for it. Because not everybody wants to hear it. And not everybody wants to hear those snide comments like that when they're just going about living their life unbothered. And you know, I am getting better at standing up for myself and being vocal in moments like that because I do think it is important for me at least not to let ⁓ nonsense like that slide or be condoned. But thinking about that now, it's just still so bizarre to me and it stayed with me for years. And so if you're someone who brings your supplements with you on vacations with other people and you're always mindful of your nutrition and how you're fueling your body, I hope you know that you're brave, okay, and that you should be really proud of yourself for honoring and caring for your health and your body. because like I touched on earlier in this episode, society has really normalized a lot of things that are not normal. Just because they're common does not mean that they are normal. And if you are one of those people that are brave enough to question the norms, to go against the norms, to advocate for yourself, to stand up for yourself, ⁓ it's really miraculous ⁓ when you have ⁓ so ⁓ many people and these... echo chambers telling you that there's nothing you can do about it, that you just have to live with it. And yeah, you're just brave. You're brave. And I hope you know that. And so I want to leave you with this question. Okay. So what is one area or aspect of your life that you have normalized, even if you aren't happy with it and how can you take steps to change it? You know, for me, for example, one of the things I normalized was taking birth control for chronic acne and preventing pregnancy. And then one day when I tried coming off of birth control, I had the worst side effects. OK, honest to God, it was miserable. And so I decided to hire help to help me get off safely and learn what the hell was going on in my body to cause that. And you know, that really did open up a can of worms and kind of kickstarted my whole health journey and changed my life, truly. And on the flip side of my question, what is something in your life that you have done uniquely that you have done because you have gone with your gut, trusted your intuition and done things your way that aren't necessarily the norm? And really just reflect on that and give yourself a nice pat on the back because, again, being unique and doing things your way and going against the norms. ⁓ Like I said, it's really incredibly brave. So thank you guys for tuning into another episode of the Reformed Tired Girls Club podcast, and I'll see you next week.