Stewarding Your Health

Live Magazine interviews Dr. Kate Witheridge

BY RENÉE JAMES

make any effort to work out, be physically fit, eat well, take care of their skin (not just to be pretty, but to ensure that they are not at risk of skin cancer).

Busyness can lead to saying “I’ll do X (health related behaviour) later…” I often talk with clients who view nonwork activities as extra. Exercise, rest, fun, hobbies aren’t important or productive compared to the to-do list of life.

So many of us don’t view our health (physical, mental, emotional) as one of our most precious resources and a gift to steward. Or we don’t consider it as important as stewarding our money, talents and or spiritual gifts. Why this disconnect?

Sermons I’ve heard about the body and physical health all emphasized not using substances and not being sexually promiscuous. The messages of “you are made in God’s image” and “your bodies are God’s temples” seem to centre around sexuality, substances, and gluttony and not at all about taking care of our physical and mental health.

Depending on the generation, women’s bodies have also been viewed as the stumbling blocks of men. If we’ve communicated to women that their bodies are “sinful” in some way (“cover them up”), then why would women

We’ve placed mental, physical, and emotional health on the periphery compared to spiritual health. In addition, we focus on our bodies wasting away versus taking care of the bodies that we have no matter which stage of “wasting away” we may be experiencing at any given moment.

If you had to preach about stewarding your body and mind, what would you preach?

What are we consuming? What does mental health look like – for you? We can use our bodies to help other people. We are made in God’s image, so how do we take care of God’s image?

What are the barriers (personal, systemic, cultural) today, in Ontario and Quebec, that prevent women from really putting their health first?

The “Should’s”

Women live with explicit or implicit “shoulds” that lead them to prioritize other people (partner, children, family) over their personal wellbeing. Cultural expectations of women as caregivers, sacrificing for others, taking on emotional labour – these are all “shoulds.”

Prioritizing health and wellness, including adding in times for rest can be seen as “selfish,” either by the woman herself or by others. Women can be made to feel guilty for taking time for their physical health. I think of friends training for marathons or triathlons and the comments they receive like: “Don’t you feel bad about being away from your kids for training?” In general, men are less likely to be asked about this.

The Gendering of Household labour

If women are the ones who cook, clean and provide most of the childcare, there is less time and energy for physical activity, or space for mental restoration and personal reflection.

Culture

The idea of being “healthy” has been contaminated with diet culture and expectations of a certain body image. Being healthy is no longer about balance. Exercise has been framed in terms of going to the gym, Pilates classes or running versus just moving our body in whatever way supports our physical health journeys.

Safety and Equity Issues

Women grow up with explicit messages about needing to protect themselves from men who may harm them. Messages like, “carry your keys…bring mace/bear spray…don’t go out after dark…alone…etc.” Some women don’t feel safe exercising due to harassment, catcalling, assaults. Black or Indigneous women, or women of colour, may also not feel welcome in exercise or fitness spaces. Health disparities and inequity in access to health services may lead to women not seeking out healthcare, more severe disease, and poorer health outcomes.

Tell us about the connection between mental health and exercise. Emotions love emotions and objects at rest stay at rest. So how do we counter this? Exercise and taking care of our health helps us shift out of both these cycles. If someone is feeling depressed and has low energy, her lack of physical activity can contribute to ongoing low mood, fatigue and a lack of interest or enjoyment in life. For mild to moderate depression, exercise can be one form of treatment (depending on the underlying reasons for the low mood).

Anxiety is our body’s “fight-or-flight/threat” response, or as I say to my clients, “how our body responds when we’re being chased by a bear.” Taking time to exercise and “burn off” that fight-or-flight response can be really helpful.

Mental health concerns begin when there is an imbalance between activities that take energy and those that restore energy. We use the image of a bank. We need to put money into our bank because life is constantly withdrawing from it. Without those “deposits” we’re overdrawn and can feel more depressed, tired, anxious, burnt out, irritable (the fight part of the “fight or flight response).

We all experience stressors in life and our ability to manage stressors may depend on whether or not we have addressed vulnerability factors.

What are vulnerability factors?

Lack of sleep, exercise, healthy eating, substances in moderation, fun and accomplishment are what we call “vulnerability factors.” So if I haven’t slept well, have only had coffee all day, and haven’t moved my body in days, getting stuck in traffic will likely lead to a more intense emotional response than if I have gotten enough sleep, eaten breakfast, and walked for 15 minutes around the block.

Share your top 5 tactics we may use to fight for, reclaim and maintain our health.

1 Set a goal that is manageable and sustainable. I use something called “the 15-minute rule” (the amount of time is not important). If you feel tired, overwhelmed or a task feels like too much, commit to doing an activity for a certain amount of time or a certain number of times, e.g. you could walk for 15 minutes or walk two blocks in one direction and two blocks back.

2 Figure out the activities that restore you. This may be physical exercise, but it may also be reading a book, sitting in silence, baking cookies. Check in on “breaks” that might not help you feel better and instead are simply just ways to disconnect versus restore, e.g. Netflix marathons or scrolling on your phone.

3 View self-care/healthcare as important and serving a purpose rather than something that is an additional stressor or “ask” of your time. If we view rest/exercise/fun as something that is refilling our “bank,” it has a purpose.

4 “Validate the valid.” Acknowledge that your needs, wants, wishes, and health are just as important as everyone else’s. There are times when we may choose to sacrifice our needs for others, but this cannot happen 100 per cent of the time without negative effects.

5 Remember Highway 401. When we are on a road trip, we make sure that we take breaks to stop, buy gas (or recharge our car’s batteries), eat, sleep, stretch, recharge outselves. Just like you wouldn’t want to run out of gas in the middle of a 401 road trip and then be really stuck, you want to take care of your health early on before more serious concerns arise.

What can those of us who have resources and good health do – to make sure health isn’t a privilege, but a right for all women?

1 Address safety issues and advocate for programs that ensure that women can exercise safely and without harassment. Think about culture as well – Muslim, Black, Indigenous women and women of colour may already be harassed so they won’t go for that walk etc. Can we advocate for spaces where women can gather to work out together, eat together? Advocate for gyms where women can wear what they want with fear of harassment.

2 Find ways to come alongside women who want to engage in healthy practices but need support, e.g. be an activity partner; encourage other women if/when they are feeling guilty about taking time for themselves; take care of their kids if they need an hour to attend a class.

3 Identify causes that minimize those vulnerability factors and support overall health, e.g. foodbanks, work training programs for women, community hubs with spaces where women can gather and children can learn, etc. There are community organizations that provide no or low-cost mental health treatment. Donate or support any fundraising efforts they might have.

4 When voting/advocating for causes, check to see if being able to say “no” or voting against something is due to the privilege of not needing that resource as a woman with money/resources/community/support.

What one thing do you want women to take away from this interview?

Inherent self-worth is so key: We are all made in the image of God. We reflect God. God made us. So taking care of ourselves means we are taking care of God’s creation. We are worthy of taking care of ourselves; of respect; of love. This is so important.

What do we need to do so that women truly believe and live that?

At church, we need to celebrate women right where they are at and we need to ask ourselves: What messages do we send when we only celebrate some things and not others? We also spend a lot of time talking about sinful we are, but God created us. Creation is good. If God thought we were irredeemable, He probably wouldn’t have sent Jesus. We gloss over John 3:16 and yet it’s clear: God loved the world so much! He didn’t want that separation to be there! God wanted and wants to be with us.

Truly, I feel this is my job half the time – to get people to believe this!

the University of Toronto. Her work focuses on anxiety, depression, trauma, and difficulties adjusting to new stressors. She is a volunteer leader at Runnymede Community Church in Toronto.