How can you keep yourself healthy enough to live the life you want? Susan Allred shares her journey in discovering that for herself and her family. She mentors adults and teens in mastering the Wellness Triangle. Visit her website to learn more about Susan and her family’s adventures.
Emmalou Penrod 0:00
I’m talking to Susan Allred today. She is the founder of Take Action Mentoring. Susan, welcome.
Susan Allred 0:10
Thank you. I’m so glad to be here. Thanks for inviting me.
Emmalou Penrod 0:13
And it’s always exciting to meet another special ed teacher.
Susan Allred 0:17
Yes, it is.
Emmalou Penrod 0:19
You are currently working from home. And you also have your own mentoring business. So I know you have quite an interesting journey to share.
Susan Allred 0:34
Oh, I absolutely do. Yeah, so I’m a mother of four kids. And I am a special education teacher. I work full time for an online school. Even before COVID I was working with an online school. And my major is psychology. And that special education piece just goes right hand in hand with that. I’m also a mentor. As you said, I’m the founder of Take Action Mentoring. I also work with adults, as well as teenagers in mentoring in the mindset realm of things. But I also work and mentor and advise over teens through the University of Utah extension program. And I also run a mental wellness business, with supplements that help people balancing out their mental wellness as well. And so I’m kind of a busy gal. But through all of that I have found some beautiful ways to help balance out the business of juggling so many hats. And I would love to share that balancing triangle with you today.
Emmalou Penrod 1:42
That would be great. Why don’t you just do that first. Tell us about the balancing triangle.
Susan Allred 1:49
Okay, I’ll just jump right in. So I view this triangle as having you know, triangles have three sides, right? And a triangle is the most stable of all of the shapes that we have in our world. Like if you think about houses, the roof of the house, the most important protected piece of that house is built with trusses. My husband’s a general contractor, so this is something we do regularly. And those trusses are built structurally through different shapes of triangles to provide that support. And if you think about a triangle, I like to label my triangle sides the physical, mental, and emotional. And balancing out those pieces in our life is fundamental to being a well balanced human. So just a little bit of background about me, the physical piece of me. I actually have an autoimmune disorder called Hashimotos. It’s a thyroid disorder that’s kind of coupled with that adrenal fatigue piece that goes along with that. And I had suffered with that for probably a good seven years, before being diagnosed and understanding what it was and what was going on. And those were some some tough years. I mean, to be honest. And you know, through the course of that I tried a bajillion different diets. I tried them because a piece of Hashimotos is unexplainable weight gain, which is not my favorite piece. You know, hair falling out, skin issues going on, tired all the time, brain fog, just overall, I hit a really ugly place with regards to depression, you know, through the course of that. And so just an overall, when you’re in a place of depression, it’s just like, you don’t really give a crap about anything, right?
Emmalou Penrod 3:38
Yeah, yeah.
Susan Allred 3:39
But through that, like I, you know, researched and found a bajillion different diet options out there and ways to make your body healthy, and all of those different things. And through the course of years and hours and hours and days of researching. There’s so much contradictory information out there about what truly is healthy, especially with regard to diet, right? Because you can find science based evidence to support just about any frame of diet you decide you want to take on, whether it’s intermittent fasting, whether it’s, you know, making sure you’re eating six times a day, or eight to 10 times a day, whether it’s eating keto style, or whether it’s completely opposite of that eating vegan, right? All of those are completely research based. And many people find each of them to be healthy, and, you know, find success in them, but they’re all very different and contradictory. And so I’m like, what’s really going on? The one thing that I find common in any diet you research though, they will say fruits, veggies and drink water, right, all of them agree on those little basic fundamentals. And so you know, that was the only foundation like that I really could take a hold of, eating fruits, vegetables, drinking water, and then whatever else my body needs, right? And so I’ve tried so many things, and, you know, elimination diets adding diets, you name it, and nothing really worked. Nothing really seemed to make any difference at all whatsoever. And particularly with the weight loss/weight gain. And I just have, you know, got to a point. After about four years of, you know, very, very. . .Ah, it was even longer than that–very religiously sticking to and doing all of these different types of diets, I finally, just embrace the fact that this is my body, and this is how it’s going to be. And I just need to learn to love myself for who I am. And it’s okay that my body is a little fluffier, than it is allowable in the world of health, I guess, if you will. But recently, I came across a company that advocates mental wellness, and I started doing some research on that company. The company’s name is Amare and Amare means love in Latin. And they are all natural products, and they take those products, and they combine like Eastern medicine and Western medicine together in one approach. And I started taking the supplements that they sell. And it has worked on healing my gut. My gut, and my the biome in my gut was out of balance. And I didn’t know it. I had done a lot of research about that, because that had been proposed to me, you know, years ago, and I had done a ton of research about gut and gut health, and everything I researched. I’m like, no, that’s not me. No, that’s not me. No, I don’t have those problems. And then, when I got to this point that I’ve tried everything else under the sun, and nothing else is working. And then I was starting to see some signs of some gut problems, I started to research it again. And I tried these products and they’ve helped the biome in my gut to become healthy. And they also work on the access that links the gut and the brain together, they call it the gut-brain axis. And there, they have three products, basically, that work together to optimize what’s going on with your health in your gut and brain. And I am amazed that I finally found the piece that my body was missing. With regards to my physical health. For the first time, in years, I have finally been able to release some extra weight. And that has been nearly impossible in the past. For the first time in years, my brain fog is cleared. And I can think through things I can do more than I was able to do in the past, having more energy, and just actually overall feeling good. It’s been amazing. So that is a piece that I love. So even though my triangle, that physical leg of my triangle, I had been very deliberate and very purposeful, about keeping everything as healthy as I could in the past. I finally found that piece that was missing. Now that leg of my triangle is much healthier than it had been in the past. And I feel great and far more balanced.
Emmalou Penrod 8:24
And what you had to go through to get there. But my goodness, wasn’t it worth it?
Susan Allred 8:30
Absolutely. And I guess you know, it’s really important that even though it’s been a journey, right? It’s been 10 solid years of my life dedicated to figuring out my health. I’m currently 42 years old. And it was at around 31-32 years old when I had my last child that my health took a big decline. And it was gradual. It wasn’t instantaneous, or any of those things and I’m not unusual. I know many, many women who have had health changes and struggles directly related to childbirth. And finally finding the piece that I needed to bring my health to a place that is healthy, if you will, my physical health.
Emmalou Penrod 9:19
So that’s one leg, one side of the triangle.
Susan Allred 9:23
One side of the triangle, next side, emotion. No, let’s talk about mental, the mental part. So during the last 10 year process, in the middle of that, I realized that I was doing everything I could and everything I knew at that time with regards to my physical health, and things were still not okay. And my mental health was really suffering. I was raised by a mother who has bipolar disorder. And needless to say that makes for an entertaining childhood, to say the least. Yes, and at this stage of my life, I’m very, very grateful and very happy. And I feel really blessed to have had those experiences, because they have taught me so much about mental health. And I had gotten to a place in my life where I was severely depressed. A part of bipolar is that depressed piece. And then the other part of bipolar is that mania piece, right? And yes, when I was suffering in that depressed, depressed place, there was a moment when I was in the middle of my backyard. And I was, I had had a really, really rough, rough day. And I had gone outside, and I just collapsed in the middle of my backyard, and I was sobbing, sobbing hysterically. And I could hear the sob coming out of me, I could hear my mother, right. I can hear my mother’s voice in that sob. And I was like, at that time, I was like, No, I don’t want to be like my mother, right? And, that was not the future that I wanted. So that’s when I decided I need to do something different. Where the path that I’m currently on is not getting me the results I want, I need to do something different. And that’s when I really started seeking out some mental health help. And, you know, a portion of that, if a person has a clinical diagnosis, and that the mental piece is directly linked to our physical piece, right? All three pieces of this triangle, they’re all completely interconnected. And there are times that you need medication, right. There are times that medication is absolutely necessary to get that mental piece balanced and in a place that it can function. And I absolutely support that when it’s needed. And in the same breath, I fight taking medicine like crazy. I don’t want to. And so I started looking for other alternatives. Right? And I hired a mentor. And actually, I hired several mentors. And I started working on my mental wellness with regards to my thoughts, and the way I approach the world, and the things that I allowed myself to think about. And I started putting positive things into my mind every day. And I had to learn a lot about myself. I had to learn how to love myself. I had to learn how to accept myself. So one of the best things I ever did was hire a mentor, someone to help me work through the mess going on in my head, because there was there is, but through hiring a mentor, I learned coping skills. I learned strategies. I learned techniques, and things that I can use in my everyday life. When stressors happen, when life happens, and life comes up and you know what it does, there’s no way around that life is gonna happen. No person, no matter how good they are, how rich they are, or how perfect they are, or any of those things, will allow them to escape the trials of Life. Life happens.
Emmalou Penrod 13:19
Yep. And it does.
Susan Allred 13:20
So learning how to handle those things in a more productive way is vital in your overall health. And those are the things that I used to balance out that mental side of my triangle.
Emmalou Penrod 13:36
So all this you have learned, you’ve applied it on yourself. You’ve learned it by doing it, living it. Yeah. Okay.
Susan Allred 13:44
And teaching it. I also teach it to adults and to teenagers alike. Because I’m not the only one going through struggles like this. We all experience it. And you know, we have peaks and valleys. I sometimes, I’m like, life’s a roller coaster. I love roller coasters. And, you know, there’s the ups and the downs, and it’s just part of life. And being able to teach others how to maneuver and to work through the mess going on in their head is one of my favorite things to do. And I do particularly enjoy the teens the most. They’re not always as open as the adults, right? Adults are more likely to come to me and be like, I need help. Teens are like, “I don’t need any help. I know everything.” So when I work with teens, I do what I consider ninja mentoring, right? It’s sneaking those things in in a different way that they don’t feel like this person is trying to fix me.
Emmalou Penrod 14:46
Yeah, right. That can be intimidating.
Susan Allred 14:50
Well, and if a person’s not open and wanting it, then it’s Yeah, there’s no benefit in it for them. So the other piece of the triangle is that emotional piece. Emotional healing has been a very interesting journey for me. Again, it’s interrelated with that mental piece. And it’s also interrelated with that physical piece, right? They go hand in hand. And sometimes it’s hard to really know where one ends and the other one begins because they are so connected to what’s going on. The emotional piece, like when the physiological side of that emotional pieces, you know, looking at hormones that are going on in the body, serotonin levels in the body. And when you have an autoimmune disorder, or lots of other types of illnesses, too, sometimes the balance of those things in our body is off, right. And there is a portion of needing to regulate those things. So you know, another product that Amare sells, outside of the gut brain access products, they also have a product that helps balance out mood. And those emotion levels, it helps your body to be able to create its own natural melatonin. And instead of like putting a melatonin supplement into yourself, and they have products that help with sleep disorders, as well. During some of the struggles of those earlier, like 10 years ago, during that time, sleep was a huge issue for me. And if a person isn’t sleeping properly, they don’t function at all, you know. Backing up to my mother, during her bipolar pieces, you know, during phases of mania for her, she didn’t sleep. Like she wouldn’t sleep for days and days and days. And that’s just not okay. Healthy sleep patterns are super important for our bodies. So the strategies for the emotional parts that I like to use the most is release techniques to help. Journaling is my favorite release technique, being able to begin to open up my mind with a journaling prompt and tap into my emotions, and figuring out what things are going on, what things are triggering me, what things are preventing me from getting the goals I’m working on has been really eye opening really vital in being able to heal myself overall. Getting, you know, to the root of some of those emotional triggers has been really important. And so another portion of the mentoring I do is helping people figure that out as well.
Emmalou Penrod 17:45
Well, that sounds very worthwhile, addressing all three at the same time and the strategies you’ve used. And I totally agree. I view it like a toolbox. You need this toolbox. And the more tools you have in that toolbox, the more effective you’ll be.
Susan Allred 18:04
I completely agree. And there are different tools that help in different circumstances and different situations and different phases of where you’re at and along your journey. Like during the healing process is a journey. I mean, I most certainly have not arrived at the very end of my journey. But I know where I started. And I know where I am now. And it’s a huge, huge difference.
Emmalou Penrod 18:36
Don’t you think that people really create problems for themselves if they feel that somehow they have to reach this finish line. And if you can accept, this is a process. Hopefully every day we’re becoming better.
Susan Allred 18:52
To me the only finish line really is death. And maybe that’s not really where I’m running.
Emmalou Penrod 19:03
Yes. So the growing the growing, you’re still growing?
Susan Allred 19:07
It’s a growth process. It absolutely is. And whenever you level up to the next level, there’s always a next level to get to and then you reach that level and then there’s another level to get to. And that’s Yeah, that’s life. That’s the process. That’s the journey.
Emmalou Penrod 19:24
So right now, you mentioned you are teaching. I’m assuming full time.
Susan Allred 19:30
Yes.
Emmalou Penrod 19:31
And you have your business, your mentoring business.
Susan Allred 19:37
Yep.
Emmalou Penrod 19:39
By the way, I love the name, Take Action. You know, you can talk theory all day long, but until you actually do something. . .
Susan Allred 19:48
I totally agree. I have another great story for about that if we have time.
Emmalou Penrod 19:53
Oh, yes, please share it.
Susan Allred 19:55
So three years ago, I worked at a brick and mortar school at that time. And as a special education teacher, you kind of have two bosses. You’ve got the special education director as well as the principal in your building. And those two members came and wanted to meet with me. So I figured, it’s April. So we’re probably talking about caseload and what’s going to happen next year, and some of those kinds of things. So we sit down, and they proceeded to inform me that they’re moving me to a different school, and that they had given my job to somebody else. And the way they handled it wasn’t great. I felt hurt. Yeah, yeah, I felt betrayed by that. I felt lots and lots of feelings, right. And on my drive home that day, there’s so many emotions, those emotions going on in my head. I’m in the middle of my journey at this point. And I have some strategies, and I have some skills, and I have some tools in my toolbox to use. But man, did that trigger, like it triggered a lot. And so driving home from work that day, as I’m working through all of these new emotions, and all of these triggers that are just like exploding out of my body. And I had a 20 minute drive. But by the time I got home, I felt pretty balanced, because I was really using my tools on the way and when I get there, I sit down. I talked to my husband. And in, you know, a little bit of tantruming still hanging on, I said to him, “You know what, we should just pack up and bag it all. I think we should just pack up the kids and just travel for a year.” And he just kind of looks at me. And we move on with the conversation. And that’s the end of it. And two weeks later, my husband comes home from work. My husband’s a thinker. He is a brilliant, brilliant man. And he is a thinker. And he had been thinking about this comment that I’ve made out of tantruming for the last couple of weeks. And he came home, and he’s like, “We can do it.” Like, “We can do what?” And he’s like, “We can do it. We can travel, and like for real.” And he sat down and laid out his plan and showed me how we could make it happen. And I looked at him, I’m like, “We can do it.” And then we looked at each other. We’re like, but are we going to do it?
Emmalou Penrod 22:18
What is that saying? Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
Susan Allred 22:22
I say that all the time. Just because you can does not mean you should. But we looked. So we spent another couple weeks really thinking about it. And ultimately we did. We decided. Both of us quit our jobs. Two weeks later, both of us. One month later, we bought a trailer. We packed up our kids. We moved out of our house. We moved into a trailer. And we traveled the United States, for it was about 13 months that we were on the road. So just over a year. And we took our four children with us and the education and the learning that they were able to accomplish through that journey. And not just them, me. I mean, I learned so much so much as we took that year and did that. And that is where that take action piece comes into play. Right?
Emmalou Penrod 23:13
I love the way your husband did that! You were just venting, you probably forgot you said it. And yet he got the idea. And think of the grand adventure. I mean, one big long field trip, I’m sure your kids will remember that all their lives.
Susan Allred 23:31
And you know, and they’re not the same humans that they were before that, especially my youngest daughter, she is almost 11. Now, when we traveled, she was eight or nine. But she will have knowledge and from experience that will connect her into the future learning that she has. And she’s gonna know things that other kids her age just don’t know. Because she already has that foundation there. She might not know where it came from, or why she knows all the things that she knows. But I love that, that she has that. And the thing that got us to a place that we could look at each other one day and say, we can do this. Are we going to do this and to make that choice? I mean, that’s a scary choice. That’s a lot of just putting a lot of faith into the universe, right when you pack up and move out of your house and move into a trailer and and quit your jobs. Right.
Emmalou Penrod 24:33
Yes. And yet it seems to me that by making that decision together, that would bond you, you know, you’re in this together.
Susan Allred 24:42
Oh, it absolutely did. But it was because of that mentoring that we had chosen to participate in prior. I mean, if I think of the shell of a human I was 20 years ago, or five years ago even sobbing in my backyard like I couldn’t even make a decision about what to eat for dinner. I couldn’t even go to the grocery store without crying while walking down the aisle, and being so scared about the judgment of other people, and what was going on. So that mentoring, that creating a strength triangle for myself, my husband creating a strength triangle, a wellness triangle for himself, and then us being able to put those together, to support our family and to take our family to do things and to genuinely take action on the things that we want out of life. And we haven’t stopped there. You know, we are back home. We live in a brick and mortar house again. And a portion of that is by our children’s request. They, you know, while we traveled, they missed friends. They missed that connection with peers. They missed the connection with family, cousins, and all of those things. And they wanted to come back home and do that, that piece again. But we intend to travel more. We have a few things on our agenda coming up in the next couple of years. And we have big goals and big plans and lots of adventures in our future.
Emmalou Penrod 26:16
Wonderful, wonderful. And you share the benefit of all your experiences and knowledge. So how do people contact you?
Susan Allred 26:27
Well, you can find me at https://myactionadventures.online/. And from there, you’ll be able to find the take action mentoring hub.
Emmalou Penrod 26:38
Awesome. And it sounds marvelous. You also share information on health and supplements with Amare.
Susan Allred 26:49
Amare. Yes, yep. I have the knowledge and the skills to be able to support any side of that triangle that might be lacking.
Emmalou Penrod 26:58
Awesome. Well, Susan, thank you so much for your time. It has been fascinating talking to you.
Susan Allred 27:06
Oh, it’s my pleasure. Thank you again for inviting me.
Emmalou Penrod 27:08
All right, you have a great day.
Susan Allred 27:11
You, too.