13 minute read
+ Bad Hair Day on Planet Earth
Bad Hair Day
on Planet Earth
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Submitted by West Hartford Yoga
Barbara Ruzansky is the owner of West Hartford Yoga, a yoga and healing center in Central Connecticut. Although many in the community see her as a successful businesswoman and a model of healthy living, her life was not always this way. For over 30 years, she struggled with eating disorders, depression, and addiction. She was in and out of psychiatric hospitals, unable to work, and dangerously close to suicide. She wasn’t living, but she didn’t know how to die.
“Before I die, I must understand and write it down.” —Barbara, 1985
In the deepest chasms of mental illness, addiction, trauma, and grief, she somehow managed to write it all down. The result was 6,000 pages of journal entries tracking her inner torment, suicidal thoughts, therapy sessions, loneliness, failures, hopes, and heartache. Combined with a trove of found objects—date books, photographs, recordings, artwork, letters, and interviews—she had unknowingly built a collection of artifacts chronicling her illness and the messy, nonlinear journey through recovery, which eventually led to the first phase of the Bad Hair Day Project (BHD Project).
“I would like to carve open my body and drain out the hurt.” —Barbara, 1986
The BHD Project is an all-woman team whose mission is to shed light on the inner struggle of someone in crisis to break down stigmas surrounding mental illness and create a culture of understanding and acceptance. Over the last ten years, the team took the first step in fulfilling that mission by collecting, compiling, and transcribing the aforementioned artifacts; editing down the journals, and designing a multi-dimensional book, Bad Hair Day on Planet Earth. Barbara somehow knew, deep in her bones, that her story was important. That her suffering might someday help others.
“I hardly know what I ‘feel’ because all the masks and pretensions I use to distort and repaint myself have smothered the real feelings. I feel sliced up into hundreds of fragments all competing for attention. Nothing matches. The puzzle does not fi t. My pieces are in battle, opposing each other.” —Barbara, 1985
Don’t mistake Bad Hair Day on Planet Earth for a self-help book. Or even a traditional memoir. And “I have a hole in my heart. It has been there since I was a little girl. It’s so big; it’s like a vacuum. Huge sadness pours through it every day.”
—Barbara Ruzansky, 1990
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despite the fact that it presents every cringeworthy moment of Barbara’s life both unapologetically and earnestly, this is not simply, “the story of Barbara.” Instead, it’s a story told in real-time with minimal reliance on memory or the wisdom of the present, offering a rare glimpse into the mind of someone who feels out of control. In its essence, it allows the reader to experience what having a mental illness might feel like. It drowns in sadness and dances with humor. It is both despondent and hopeful, allowing a glimmer of understanding as to why someone may do/act/ present while in crisis and perhaps nudge the reader towards compassion rather than confusion. The book also invites readers to observe how Barbara sloppily navigated strained and tenuous relationships with her family and friends. For those who cannot understand the pain of depression, the grip of eating disorders, or the ravages of addiction, watching a person you care about in the midst of torment without the means to help or “fix” them, can be devastating. In the case of Barbara, she felt abandoned and misunderstood, whereas her family felt perplexed and helpless.
“This messy life provided me the opportunity to close my eyes and breathe, to develop courage to listen and to learn.” ~Barbara, 1997
The overall intention of the BHD Project is to shed light on the inner struggle of someone in crisis. To spark a conversation and allow space for people to talk about mental health. On a deeper level, Bad Hair Day on Planet Earth offers a new perspective on mental illness. About the dualistic existence that haunts so many people so that we can perhaps forge a new path of awareness, understanding, and compassion.
“More than anything else, I want a sense of purpose. I want to give. To make life better for others. To help in some way.” —Barbara, 1990
Yoga was one of the factors that helped Barbara along the path of healing. It was not a linear path, but rather, one filled with ups and downs, relapses, pain and grief, plenty of questioning, and nuggets of hope along the way. But once Barbara connected with and committed to yoga, her daily practice helped to ground her physically and emotionally. She is honored to welcome the community into her studio, West Hartford Yoga for a book signing event on Saturday, January 21, 2023. Meet Barbara and the team, discover how the book came to be, and take the opportunity to ask questions during a brief Q&A.
Visit www.bhdproject.com for more information. See ad on page 25 >
New Year’s Transformation for Your New Year’s Resolution
By Samantha Alzate, LCSW
As the year unwinds and you begin to think about the next year, you may reflect on the years of the past. I wonder what the December 2021 you would say? Maybe you have manifested things you have wanted or feel like not much has changed. When approaching the new year, it’s important to focus on gaining clarity of your intention.
Resolution
Noun: The act of…determining upon an action, course of action, method, procedure, etc. A decision or determination: To make a firm resolution to do something, the mental state or quality of being resolved or resolute; firmness of purpose. I think the problem with resolutions is that they’re really focused on something we feel we do not have. Resolutions can focus on what we need to “fix.” If “fixing” hasn’t worked for you, try this: Instead of focusing on what you don’t want, try to shift your focus to what you do want. And even more importantly, how you will feel when you get there. For example, if you’re not happy with your emotional well-being, you might say, “I don’t want this stress.” My question to you, then, would then be to ask you what is it that you DO want, and how would you FEEL when you get there. Maybe you answer, “I want to feel calm, relaxed, and peaceful.” The next step would be to ask yourself how you can create those feelings within yourself. How can you practice this state of being you are trying to achieve? It could be a simple walk around the block, a warm shower, or a nice cup of soup. We can cultivate the feelings we’re trying to achieve with small moments throughout our day.
Manifest Your Own Well-Being
Our thoughts create our feelings and behaviors. When we realize we can choose our thoughts our emotional well-being changes, and when that happens, we are truly in a state of being able to create our life experiences! To be clear, this doesn’t mean spiritual bypassing or fake toxic positivity. If you’re feeling not so great, this can be hard to do. We need to feel all our feelings to heal and get to where we need to be. The intention here is to explain that when moving through heavy emotions, focusing on the process instead of the results can be a powerful way to get to where you want to be. Through this work of constantly reaching for better feelings and thoughts, your emotional well-being will begin to change. Little by little. If your old way of working toward your New Year’s resolution didn’t work for you, try this process. I like to call it, “New Year’s Transformation.” We often think that when we get something we want and reach that goal, we will feel better. I am here to challenge you by saying that order does not usually get people to the place they want to be. First and foremost, work on feeling better in the now, and that goal will then be much more likely to appear in your life. My integrated perspective on this comes from studying mindfulness and the law of attraction. I believe there are two powerful perspectives that can help us cultivate peace, joy, and bliss in our lives. The real moment is now—there is power in this moment and being able to find appreciation and gratitude for where you are today. From this moment we get into alignment, we can find the balance between action and being. Having a monthly ritual of slowing down and taking time for yourself while being among a collective energy of like-minded people can be a powerful tool in managing the busy mind and creating peace within yourself. As you set your “resolutions,” please know that nothing needs to be “fixed”—come as you are. Instead of focusing on change, focus on the process. Take a mindful approach into the new year.
—Samantha Alzate, LCSW
Samantha Alzate is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who is the owner of Mindful Transformations Therapy Group. Samantha received her Master’s degree in Social Work with a concentration in group work. In addition, she also has received a Master’s certification in Conscious Studies and Transpersonal Psychology. Apart from traditional clinical education, Samantha is a certified Reiki Master and law of attraction coach. She can be reached at mindfultransformations@gmail.com or 860-308-2807 See ad on page 11 >
—Kristina Mozzicato, CH, LMT, BCTMB
Achieve Healthy Weight Loss with Hypnosis
By Kristina Mozzicato, CH, LMT, BCTMB
Obesity is known to increase the risk of various disorders, including stroke, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and many types of cancer. It’s no secret that millions of Americans struggle with their weight. Forty percent of adults in the U.S. are classified as obese, and another 32% are overweight. According to the Boston Medical Group, each year an estimated 45 million Americans go on a diet and spend $33 billion on weight loss products.
In most cases, overeating, eating a poor diet, and lack of exercise are responsible for putting on extra weight. Many people overeat for emotional reasons. If we are sad, lonely, angry, or stressed, sometimes indulging in sweets can temporarily improve our mood. Some of us, as children, were instructed to eat everything on our dinner plates— to do otherwise was considered “wasting food.” As a guest at a friend or relative’s house, it might be considered “rude” or “insulting” to not finish our meal, even if we feel satiated. These negative feelings often remain in our subconscious minds as adults, being responsible for our unhealthy eating habits. And in our fast-paced world, many of us eat while distracted—while watching TV, working at the computer, or perhaps in a meeting. Before we know it, we have eaten more than we realize. And if we feel famished, we may eat too quickly before realizing that we feel full.
The Addictive Nature of Sugar
A study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine involving research on rats has demonstrated that sugar is more addictive than opioid drugs, such as cocaine. Sugar releases dopamine (a pleasure chemical/neurotransmitter) in your brain. Withdrawal symptoms can include depression, binging, and cravings. Low-fat processed foods, such as yogurt, often contain added sugar with the intention of improving the flavor of the product. Many processed foods, which are marketed as “diet” foods, can also contain corn syrup, questionable chemicals, and are very high in sodium. These “designer diet” foods can also be costly. They are not a good long-term solution to losing weight. According to the University of Pennsylvania’s Weight and Eating Disorders Program, 65% of dieters returned to their pre-diet weight within three years, and only 5% of people who lose weight on a restrictive diet are successful in keeping the weight off. So for most people, diets don’t work. Some people opt to take weight loss medications. These come with their own side effects and are not meant for long-term use. Bariatric surgery is not without risks, and not everyone is a good candidate for this costly procedure. Many people strive to have the willpower to lose weight by consuming healthy foods, portioning, and exercising—but willpower in and of itself is
not enough. Hypnotherapy is more powerful and effective than willpower and can help you gain control of your eating habits and motivate you for long-term success.
Hypnotherapy for Addictive Eating
Hypnosis is a highly relaxed state of focused concentration. It is a safe, natural, pleasurable state in which our subconscious mind can receive positive suggestions and therefore make positive changes in our day-to-day life (the subconscious mind is much more powerful than the conscious mind). In 1958, the American Medical Association accepted hypnotherapy as an appropriate therapeutic technique. Many doctors, nurses, and dentists have been trained in hypnosis to help reduce pain in their patients, and in some cases as a substitute for anesthesia. Patients can easily be taught by a trained practitioner to perform self-hypnosis. Hypnosis has a high success rate not only for smoking cessation, reducing stress and pain, and improving sleep and self-confidence, but also for weight loss and the motivation that it requires. There are numerous studies that demonstrate this. Here are the results of a 2007 comparative study done by American Health Magazine: • Psychoanalysis: 38% success after 600 sessions
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: 72% success after 22 sessions • Hypnotherapy: 93% success after 6 sessions Hypnosis can help you to stop emotional eating and strengthen your willpower to eat healthfully and mindfully so that you can finally lose that excess weight and keep it off in the long term. Hypnosis has been proven to be a safe and effective solution for weight loss, putting you in control without feeling deprived. This highly successful modality is also very cost-effective in comparison to consuming highly marketed “diet” foods and undergoing expensive and potentially risky bariatric surgery.
Kristina Mozzicato is a Licensed Massage Therapist and Board Certified in Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork by the NCBTMB. A 2009 graduate of the Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy, she is also certified in Cupping and ACE MediCupping™. Kristina is the owner of Abundant Health Massage Therapy & Wellness in Farmington, CT and was named a 2020 and 2021 Natural Nutmeg Magazine 10 Best Award recipient in the category of Massage and Bodywork. For more information and convenient online booking, please visit: www.abundanthealthct.com. See ad on page 37 >
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