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I am joined this week by nutrition coach, Briana Theroux and nutrition researcher, Alex Leaf, on the topics of body acceptance, fat shaming and health at every size. Several months ago, Alex made a post on social media with regard to body acceptance and it got a lot of feedback both positive and negative. We dive into the nuance of these topics in today’s episode. There are so many different avenues we could have taken these ideas and I think you’ll find the perspectives here worth diving further into. To learn more about Briana, please visit her website at www.brianatheroux.com or you can find her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/brianatheroux and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/liftheavybreatheeasy To learn more about Alex, visit his website at www.alexleaf.com and check out his research work at www.examine.com He can also be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/aleaf45 where you can also see the original post referenced in this episode. To learn more about your host, check out www.jasonleenaarts.com and www.revfittherapy.com You can also like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/revolutionaryou Download, subscribe, share with your friends and please take a moment to leave us an iTunes review.

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How do I celebrate the ten year anniversary of Revolution Fitness & Therapy (RevFit?)

With gratitude and humility.

These ten years have been the most challenging, the most rewarding, the most painful, the most stressful and the most gratifying years of my life. They have changed what I thought I could do, what I thought I could never do and what, somewhat miraculously, has been able to grow year after year.

As you read through the list below, I will give the disclaimer that what you see with this business is not accomplished by me. It is accomplished by the clients, by my staff, and by my family who ultimately are both the benefactors of RevFit’s success and the ones who sometimes get caught in the crosshairs of a slightly insane business owner.

I owe EVERYTHING to the three parties mentioned above.

But this list is mine alone. A small glimpse at some major mistakes and major successes that at any point could have gone either direction for me. When I failed, it was my failure to own and be responsible for. When I succeeded, it was because others gave me the ability to succeed.

If you are in the fitness industry, I hope some of this is helpful for you. I am well aware that RevFit has survived LONG after most trainers can remain in the industry. That is a gift I wake up every day grateful for.

Without further ado…

Five Things I Got Wrong

1. I Didn’t Get My Finances In Order Early Enough. It’s easy to think “I can add, I can subtract, therefore I can handle my business finances. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Certainly in my case. The first three years of my business were the most financially treacherous. I had to borrow thousands and thousands of dollars from my family to keep the ship afloat. When you don’t have the money to hire an accountant, you have to find ways to “trim the fat” of your expenses. I struggled with this greatly and my parents had to help me. At the end of that financial experiment (circa 2012), my mother (on the heels of my father’s passing) said in no uncertain terms “I cannot help you any more. If you cannot get this business to work you will either have to find a second job or shut your doors.” That was my shit-or-get-off-the-pot moment. I had enough money at that time to hire an accountant who could oversee my taxes, profit and loss statements, etc. It also helped to have an external perspective to help me understand how to balance income versus expenses. My tax professional is the office of Deb Anzelc (Anzelc & Associates.) To Deb, I say: Thank you for being my client, my friend and the person to help me with this. Your office and your staff have been exceptional to me and I am so thankful to have you in my corner.
2. I Spent Too Much Time And Money On The Wrong Type Of Marketing. After spending 16 years working for other businesses and in management roles for 13 of those 16, I thought I had my marketing plan down pat. I did not. Virtually nothing I did from the traditional viewpoint of marketing helped my business. I put out flyers, I had terrible looking mason jars where people could put their business cards in for free sessions, I put flyers on windshields, I paid for print advertising, I tried damn near everything that worked so well for other businesses and they were almost worthless for me. Hundreds, then thousands of dollars were spent early on just trying to get someone in my door. The return on investment never came back around for these efforts. I DID, however, find some marketing avenues that worked for me but you will have to read the successes down below for that part. Unfortunately for many in the fitness industry, we are misled by savvy marketers who try to convince us their method is the best way. This did not work for me and my bank account suffered for it.
3. I Had A Sense Of Entitlement. You know those participation ribbons that people get just for “showing up?” Yes, I hate that concept too. But for some reason, I felt like it didn’t apply to me. There was a stubborn part of me who felt that since I was the new business on the block that everyone should come train with me. Nope. It doesn’t really work that way. Personal training is “personal” for a reason. Clients want to build a relationship with someone they are going to pay their hard earned money to in efforts to help them reach their goals. Just having a shiny new business card in hand and being nice isn’t going to make the crowds flock to your door. It didn’t work that way in 2009 and it definitely doesn’t work that way now. Referrals have always been what keep us alive and thriving but the clients still had to get the results. Ultimately, our clients are our walking advertisements. If they succeed, we succeed. But I was entitled to nothing. I still had to work my ass off for every single person who came through my door (and I still do.)
4. People Got Hurt. This is a painful one to admit but it’s the truth. When you are pushing the physical limits of a body, as strength training is designed to (in appropriate doses), you run the risk of injury. By and large, for how much our clients push, the injury rate here is fantastically low. I am proud of that. But after 10 years of business, there are two clients of note who were injured to a degree that it may always affect their ability to exercise. This is something that still rattles me to this day. Both injuries occurred during my watch. One of which I believe I could have been more pro-active with to prevent, the other I am not sure I could have changed the outcome of. Many conversations have occurred with each of these individuals and I still (to this day) rake myself over the coals about how each turned out. If there is any silver lining to these incidents it is that it taught me how to ask more questions about pain, recovery, level of intensity and rehabilitation. I believe these scenarios have directly affected our ability to keep the injury rates low here. But when you’re in the business of improving the lives of others, it’s a difficult pill to swallow when you know that two people will likely never be able to have exercise in their lives the way it was prior to injury.
5. There Was One Who Got Away. It can be a slippery slope of running a small business. You want growth, more profit, more clients, more results, more happy people spreading the word to all of their family and friends about their experience here. It’s all great when that happens, right? Until…it’s not. One downside to growth is that a client who may have once had more direct contact with you now sees less of you because other clients are vying for attention. A smarter business person than I would have had a solution for this. But as our business grew, I had a client who felt lost in the shuffle. This was my fault. My attention was elsewhere and with others on the floor. Had I been more on top of this, I could have kept up dialogue with this client to make sure they were getting the time they needed with me. We operate a semi-private atmosphere here which means that usually others are training at the same time (albeit on different training programs.) Most of our clients are acclimated to this approach but I lost a good client because I didn’t have the right systems in place to make sure all of our clients were equally cared for. Once I realized where I slipped, I brought my staff together to troubleshoot this so that the likelihood of a re-occurrence was minimized.

5 Things I Got Right

1. Networking. Around my first year of business, I was fortunate to be accepted into a business networking group in the area. This was a pivotal time for me. I had access to many of the professional movers and shakers (realtors, bankers, accountants, attorneys, etc.) who congregated for the sole purpose of referring business to one another. Upon acceptance into the group, I did everything I could to refer business to as many of the members as possible. Once the group realized that I wasn’t involved simply for my own sake, the members of the group either signed up to train with me or sent other business my way. I am proud and honored to say that even though I stepped away from that group around 2013, I still train two people who I met in that group back then (Thank You, Mike and Brandon.) Learning how to develop a deep network of business professionals has been immensely helpful to me over the years. I now have a pool of talent I can refer out to when my clients need it.
2. I Built A Community. I owe this to the advice of Steven Ledbetter (Coach Stevo) and the team of Habitry. I started a virtual community on Facebook. The first was more open forum so I could push content (blogs, podcasts, etc.) and the second developed for current clientele so I could dive further into nutrition, pain points of dieting, etc. This became a place where the advice I wanted to put out into the world had a forum and it gave current clients a base of support for one another when they struggle with the process. But within these four walls, the right demographic of clients started to form. A group that even if I imagined it, it wouldn’t have had the power and impact that they do today. Recently, a client told me: “I don’t think you realize the positive impact you have on people.” While I greatly appreciate the sentiment and I hope I get more right than wrong, the real impact of RevFit is the camaraderie and support of our clients. They never cease to amaze me. If I did anything right, I gave them the environment where they could thrive, be themselves, be supported and succeed.
3. Pictures, Pictures, Pictures. Who knew that the single best piece of marketing I could align myself with would be 100% free? I started posting pictures of my clients several years ago on Facebook and later Instagram. Facebook is still my platform of choice but being able to show off the weight loss, the personal records, the smiles, the celebrations and the progress of my clients has been monumental for this business. Every time a client allows me to tag them in a post, their network sees them do great things. That snowball builds over time and pretty soon, people start asking questions: Where do you train? What is it like? Are you happy there? Honestly, it lets me project happiness and positivity into a platform that is often wrought with complaining, negativity and otherwise unproductive ranting. Sometimes I just look back through the hundreds and hundreds of pictures we’ve amassed and say “Wow. Look at all the things our clients have done!”
4. I Had The Right People At The Right Time. I have been very fortunate that I have only employed a small handful of people over the time we’ve been in business. Some of them were let go, some left of their own accord. Regardless, I believe I had the right staff at the right time. When you run a business like this, there are so many personality dynamics to mesh with. Every client has their own set of obstacles, goals, and dreams. Having the right staff in place, since I cannot work with every individual exclusively has been immensely helpful for me. It’s helped me understand how to be a better boss and a more effective coach. Currently, I have my team of Mike and Luke who have been with me for over a year now. They’re fine young men, they do everything I ask of them and I hope, that in return, they’ve had a good experience being a part of what we do. I want to thank each and every person who has worked for me over the last 10 years because, when they were here, they were crucial to our success at that time. For that, I am sincerely grateful.
5. We’re A Team, We’re A Family. Where RevFit is currently, with the stable of clients that we have, is far beyond my wildest dreams. Several years ago, I wanted to give new clients a personalized RevFit shirt when they joined. Part of it, obviously, was to advertise the business. But the other part was to make our clients feel like they were part of a team. Much like sport jerseys, I put the last name of each client on the back of their shirts. It was my affectionate way of saying “You’re one of us. You’re part of a team. And a team succeeds together.” This practice has continued to this day. I even stretched out into the guests I bring on my podcast. They all get RevFit shirts as well. The RevFit family officially is an international presence and that is a very awesome thing to see. There’s another element to this as well. When you own a business, every person who is a patron not only helps you keep your doors open, they help you support your family. I have a beautiful wife, I have two beautiful sons. My clients help me feed my family and keep a roof over their heads. For that, I am so very grateful. If you are someone who helps me support my family, YOU are family. So, it’s not uncommon for me to introduce a client to my boys and say “Say Hi to Uncle John, Say Hi to Aunt Laura!” Yes, my boys have a lot of aunts and uncles right now, most of whom are not blood relations.

 

I wish I could say I have solved every problem in this business. I wish I could say we are a well-oiled machine that never breaks down. Neither statement is true. What I can say, is that by and large, we keep improving and I can’t imagine it any other way. If you would have asked me ten years ago where this business would be, I wouldn’t have had an answer. In looking forward to the next ten years, I’m still unclear on that too. All I know is, we’ve been given a gift to help every person who has walked through these doors. Many times we succeed, many times we stumble. But we keep trying. We will continue to do so.

On behalf of myself, Mike and Luke, thank you to everyone who has made this journey possible. You could be training at any of the many other fitness options available to you and you picked us. It is my hope that we are making you proud of that choice.

You give us the ability to emphatically proclaim that: We Make Great People Greater.

 

Joining me for his third time, it’s always a pleasure to have Josh Hillis back on the show. You can check out his previous episodes (#71, #121) if you haven’t already heard them for more great insight into his work. This go-round we talk about what he has been up to since he transitioned away from the One By One Nutrition team so he could focus on school, clients and his next two books. This episode is a further dive into the things that work and don’t work for emotional eating and how to conquer it. To learn more about Josh’s work, pick up his book co-authored with none other than Dan John called “Fat Loss Happens On Monday” and visit his website at http://www.losestubbornfat.com To learn more about your host, check out http://www.jasonleenaarts.com and http://www.revfittherapy.com You can also like our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/revolutionaryou Download, subscribe, share with your friends and please take a moment to leave us an iTunes review.

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Several weeks ago, I started posting videos of myself on my Facebook wall covering songs by artists I like. 

Many of my readers may already know this, but long before there was a RevFit to speak of, it was all I wanted in this world to be successful as a musician. I started recording albums when I was in high school and my last recording of note was shortly after Marissa and I started dating. 

And I didn’t start posting these videos recently because I want to be back on stage. I don’t know that I do. The videos became a point of accountability to pick up my guitar a few times a week, knock the cobwebs off and try to regain some of my former skills. 

For the record, I was never a great guitar player. I can’t play a solo. I can’t read music. I play chords and I sing. That’s it. 

But by leaving my guitar in it’s case and barely picking it up, I lose the dexterity in my hands and my voice doesn’t fare much better. 

Because I thrive on rituals and routines, I made a vow to myself that for the foreseeable future, I would post a new video of me doing a cover song every week. That forces me to sharpen my skills more routinely and regain a former glory, if you will. 

There is an important distinction to make about this and I don’t want to offend anyone by saying it: I don’t put these videos up for your approval. I do them to hold myself accountable. 

Yes, it’s really nice when people like the videos or if they comment with their thoughts on the rendition. It does make me feel good but the videos are my way of showing up for myself and putting the work in. 

I very much doubt that I will pick up new clients because they liked my version of a song made famous by Nina Simone or that I didn’t completely butcher an Elton John classic. 

And that highlights another point I want to mention. 

Every video I’ve posted so far (and every one I’m likely to post) has mistakes. I might flub a barre chord, lose my rhythm, or not hold the key of a note I’m trying to sing. I post the videos to show me, completely imperfect. 

Granted, some videos took more tries than others. There are some songs I’ve wanted to post but, in listening back, there were mistakes so grievous that I didn’t want to release them. Back to the drawing board I go, to put something together that isn’t a complete massacre of a song. 

Thankfully, my playing has gotten better over the last several weeks. My voice, well, let’s be honest. All those drugs I did way back when did me no favors. Things I would have been able to sing with more proficiency before are not the same. I can opt to change the key, change the style or scrap the song altogether. That’s been a bit of a letdown but it’s my reality to deal with. 

All the same, I do this for me. I do it because I truly love singing these songs but that fire that once burned so intensely to be on stage has all but extinguished. I just wanted an outlet and an avenue to put something out there again. 

This is what I want to you to think about with regard to yourself. 

You have goals. You have dreams. You want your body to look like, feel like or weigh (insert goal here.) 

Maybe the kickstart for you was to be more attractive to your spouse or significant other. That’s all fine and good but is it going to keep you motivated on the days when you just don’t feel like showing up and putting the work in? 

People want magic with weight loss and reaching their respective goals. Here’s my tip: the only magic you’re going to get is by doing the uncomfortable when you don’t want to and when you don’t feel like it. The things that come easy are rarely appreciated. If I could wave my magic wand and remove fifty pounds from your frame, would you really change how you eat? 

I don’t want anyone to restore my voice of old. I don’t want the gift of being able to solo like a virtuoso. I want to put the work in and NO ONE,  I mean, NO ONE is going to do that for me. 

My wife won’t love me more or less if I pick up my guitar. In all honesty, I played it more often when we first dated than I do now. And if I’m keeping up with that honesty, the real desire to play my guitar damn near vanished when my Dad died in 2011. He was my biggest fan. When he left this world, almost every bit of energy it took to play a chord or sing a note left with him. His death crushed me. 

But I know that if I leave my guitar in it’s case, I don’t honor the gift that he and my mother gave me. The gift to play, to sing, to entertain and to find joy in these simple pleasures. 

For you, I ask you to show up for yourself. To have a point of accountability to keep you on path. Like me, I ask you to put your imperfect self out there in some way and to find a sense of joy and solace in your process. 

Do it for you. Do it because you matter. Do it because the alternative of feeling like shit about yourself leads to nowhere good. What you do to improve your current condition will frequently not be a perfect path. 

Put the work in anyway. 

Do it even when people don’t applaud your efforts. ESPECIALLY when they don’t applaud your efforts. You won’t get a gold star, high five or pat on the back. 

Put the work in anyway. 

For however many videos I post covering songs of artists you may love or have never heard,  I will feel good about it. I will know that despite the imperfect performances, I showed up, I put the work in and I left it out there, flaws and all. 

Love your flaws, embrace them for making you uniquely you but honor the gift. 

The gift is life.

The gift is health. 

The beauty…is in showing up for yourself. 

That’s where “magic” happens. 

“We Make Great People Greater”

 

 

 

I haven’t done an episode like this in some time but in preparation for this bonus episode of the show, I went directly to our RevFit community to ask what questions they were burning to get answered by Scott Burgett (aka Plant Based Scotty) today. In this episode, we talk about myths and misconceptions about plant-based eating, veganism, raw foods and adequate protein intakes. There is a great deal of awesome information here. To learn more about Scott, check out http://www.plantbasedscotty.com , http://www.instagram.com/plantbased_scotty and http://www.facebook.com/plantbasedscotty To learn more about your host, check out http://www.jasonleenaarts.com and http://www.revfittherapy.com You can also like our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/revolutionaryou Download, subscribe, share with your friends and please take a moment to leave us an iTunes review.

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I want to credit my friend and client, Ned Parks, for inspiring this post.

It’s been an honor to work with Ned in efforts to help him reach his health goals. And he has apparently been spreading the word about his experience working with us. As a result, his wife and daughter are now training here and we’ve picked up business from friends of their family as well. To that, my sincerest and heartfelt “Thanks” goes to Ned for trusting me and my team with “his circle.”

Ned owns a business consulting firm and drawing from his base of experience coaching others to success, he wrote a small book that I recently had the pleasure of reading. It’s called “The Simple And Easy Manager.”

And there was a tactic used in the book that I wanted to highlight for each of you. I appreciate Ned letting me take some liberties in the reframing of his concepts to help you determine if you truly have what it takes to be successful (finally) at weight loss.

There were 5 points of consideration in the book that were used to help the fictitious team solve problems. I believe they warrant usage with your goals to help you understand how to win the weight loss game once and for all.

1. Training
2. Skill
3. Ability
4. Knowledge
5. Support

When I think about how it is when I first meet a potential client, there is a lot of information I give in the initial consultation. I believe, and I have been told, that the information I give is thorough enough to help someone succeed.

However, it is only information until is it acted upon.

This, in it’s very basic form is the training. (Concept 1)

I help clients understand, in the simplest way I can, how calories and macronutrients (should they decide to analyze both) can help them reach their goals effectively. Not everyone needs to count calories and not everyone needs to examine their macros but this tends to be an enlightening conversation for those who constantly feel misled and confused with the saturation of information available at their fingertips. I offer no fluff, I offer no myths, I offer no magic. This is just “training” people how to eat respective of their goals.

Like a lot of things, learning, unlearning, and relearning how to eat is a skill (Concept 2). Many of my fellow coaches know this. Typically, you don’t just flip a switch and know how to eat for your goals. It takes training and then a development of the skill.

It’s a skill to learn how to meal prep (should you decide to use that skill.)

It’s a skill to use a food tracking app.

It’s a skill to make a pen-and-paper journal of what you eat.

It’s a skill to practice mindfulness in eating.

It’s a skill to learn appropriate portion sizes.

Not every skill needs to be utilized to be effective. Clients generally will find the one that provides the least resistance and stick with that skill set to accomplish each stage of their goal.

As Ned states it in his book: “Skill is what we acquire as a result of practicing.”

Once those skills are learned, a client then focuses on their ability to utilize the skill. For me, calorie tracking is the most beneficial thing I can use with respect to my physique goals. It has taken time to fine-tune that skill for myself and I do not use it every day, only when I have specific goals. When I first started calorie tracking many moons ago, I wasn’t very good at it at first. It took time. Now, it is my preferred method.

However, that is specific to me.

You may find that making a switch of meal prepping for a week as opposed to embarking on a corporate lunch is easier for you and still helps you reach your goals. You learn how to meal prep and you not only fine-tune that “skill” but your efficacy highlights your “ability” (Concept 3.) You get training, you sharpen the skill, then you show your ability to execute.

Ned says: “Ability is the mental and physical ability to do the task.”

At this point, you’ve been learning what tools you can use to succeed. You’ve selected a tool based on lifestyle and personal preference to help you succeed. And you’ve taken time to show your ability to perform those skills consistently.

What about knowledge? (Concept 4)

While there is a certain amount of knowledge you undoubtedly receive during your “training”, you are also learning more about yourself through your selected skills and your ability to perform them. Your knowledge, at this point, comes from understanding why your body is acting or reacting to a given set of changes.

For instance: If you understand that you have to consume 1300 calories a day to lose weight and you’ve been tracking your calories in a food app to make sure you hit that number, do you have the knowledge to overcome your first plateau on your weight loss journey? Do you understand how and why it might be beneficial to raise your activity OR drop your caloric goal? Are you learning how your body informs you that sleep and recovery are positively and/or negatively impacted?

As you are working through the first three concepts, you are gathering data that give a greater understanding of how your body reacts to change. This “knowledge” helps you and gives you feedback so you can correct things in real-time as they happen. If, despite your best intentions, your scale does not reflect the weight loss you were hoping for, have you gathered the right knowledge to understand “Why” that happened?

Lastly, there is support (Concept 5.) I take a lot of pride in this one. If you’re a client here, you know how the RevFit family supports one another. We are “all in.” Some prefer to stay more quiet and consume content. Others ask questions and try to rally the troops to come to their aid. If you’re not a member here, I’ll forgive you (for now.)

What I would ask you is to find your base of support. You need it. Weight loss is hard.

You need people on your team who understand the difficulties, who support you in moments of weakness and who allow the missteps when they occasionally happen. Support can be a spouse, a parent, a child, a co-worker, or some random person in a Facebook group who shares a similar struggle as you.

Most importantly, your support needs to know your weaknesses and how to come to your aid when you’re faced with them. The journey is never perfect you just have to keep walking the path.

Reading through Ned’s very simple-to-understand concepts as they applied in a business setting made a lot of sense to me in the weight loss setting. I’ll have more to write about this on a future date. I believe when you treat your body like you would treat a healthy, profitable, functional business, you win.

Thank you Ned: for your great results, your great friendship, your sense of humor, the trust you’ve placed in us to help your family and, of course, the inspiration from your book to write a post I hope will help as many people in my industry as you have within yours.

As of the writing of this post, Ned is down 20 pounds. Keep killing it, buddy.

“We Make Great People Greater.”

 

 

 

 

Kevin Larrabee, host of The FitCast and owner of Allied Strength, returns to the show after his previous appearance on Episode #80. In the past two years, he’s watched his own business continue to grow and it’s opened his eyes to a lot of what he sees going right and what could definitely be going better with the personal training experience. We tackle a lot of that here. To learn more about Kevin’s work, visit http://www.alliedstrength.com and on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/allied_strength To learn more about your host, check out http://www.jasonleenaarts.com and http://www.revfittherapy.com You can also like our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/revolutionaryou Download, subscribe, share with your friends and please take a moment to leave us an iTunes review.

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I’m joined this week by Renaissance Periodization’s Gabrielle Fundaro. In this episode, we talk about about the recent science and evidence behind gut health and not only how we can improve it but how it’s affecting our ability to exercise. Gabrielle discusses when and how it’s appropriate to use supplementation and more practical testing to determine how we are affected by the food we eat. You can learn more about Gabrielle’s work at www.vitaminphdnutrition.com and by following her on Facebook (www.facebook.com/vitaminphd) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/vitaminphd) To learn more about your host, check out www.jasonleenaarts.com and www.revfittherapy.com You can also like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/revolutionaryou Download, subscribe, share with your friends and please take a moment to leave us an iTunes review.

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When I first approached our family doctor in the mid-90s with “depression”, he put me on Prozac.

I had recently been kicked out of a band I started with a college friend only to be followed up with my girlfriend (at the time) breaking up with me.

Hell yes, I was depressed.

And Prozac definitely changed things. Just not for the better.

When I started to feel worse despite the medication, I was instructed to double the dosage. Perhaps the first prescribed amount wasn’t strong enough.

And for whatever benefits doubling the dosage should have had, it also led to my first true feeling of wanting to commit suicide.

Which, of course, led to my first hospitalization. This was 1996.

The hospital set me up with my first psychiatrist. They ran their tests and determined that I was manic depressive with a borderline personality disorder. Medication was then prescribed: an antidepressant and a mood stabilizer.

And those medications did something,  just not with the intended effect. They kept me in this relative fog. I was no longer feeling the same type of depression as before. I was no longer feeling anything, really. I was completely indifferent. I had no particular highs and no particular lows.

That is of course until my next episode.

I was hospitalized three times that summer. This was in between my sophomore and junior year of college. My diagnosis became my tagline. People would ask how I was and “manic depressive with a borderline personality disorder” was how I would describe myself…like it was all I had of an identity.

I tried to go back to college that fall and resume normal living away from the doctor who had been treating me and my folks. I was set up with another psychiatrist close to school who added another medication to the list I was on.

My father happened to strike up conversation with a pharmacist around this time. Although my Dad was a lifelong Goodyear employee (through all of my life, that is) his degree was actually in psychology. Something about my diagnosis wasn’t sitting right with him.

During this conversation, my Dad started to list off the medications and dosages I was taking at the time. At one point, the pharmacist interrupted him and said: “I’m surprised your son is even alive. He’s at a toxic level of medication.”

That was all Dad needed to hear. He came down to school and removed me from that doctor’s care so he could put me in with someone else. It’s my understanding that he reported this person to the board to have their license removed. I am not sure what the outcome was of that.

Nevertheless, I was back in with another psychiatrist in short order. More tests were taken, more medication changed and prescribed. At this point, we tallied all the medications in less than a year to 13 or 14 different ones.

I had not improved.

In fact, I had become so flustered with my own progress despite the medications, that I made my transition into street drugs.

It was that combination that forced me to finally drop out of college and return home. I just couldn’t function.

Two months later, I was back in the hospital.

It was at this time that I was introduced to another psychiatrist. He looked at my charts, ran more tests, and informed my father: “Your son isn’t manic depressive. And he doesn’t need medication. He just needs someone to talk to.”

Little by little, he weaned me off of everything. I stayed up with my sessions and was able to understand slightly more about my lack of coping mechanisms to deal with life as it came to me. My psychiatrist didn’t approve of my increasing appetite for street drugs but I think he realized I wasn’t going to stop taking them either.

I thought the time off would help me and in 1998 I attempted to go back to school.

I didn’t last one semester before I was back in the hospital again. This time, I was on a floor with patients who had mental disorders and substance abuse problems.

I stayed there for two weeks and had to drop out of school again.

Amy Winehouse had a famous line “They tried to make me go to rehab, I said ‘No, no, no.”

Well, I went to rehab. And I was not ready to quit.

Quitting would take another 8 years.

Fortunately, I got enrolled back in school to get my associate’s degree first then onto my bachelor’s after I cleaned up and dropped the street drugs. I finished college in 2008 (three time’s a charm.)

I have not been on medication for nearly 20 years.

I look at my life now and there is a small part of me that says “Wow, look at all I survived.”

Maybe there is some truth to that statement. I’m certainly not a “better” person because I got off of medication. I am a very different person though.

My non-medical advice, taking only my personal account into consideration, is that sometimes you need more than one opinion on your current set of challenges.

Sometimes, the medication does NOT work.

And sometimes, the medication is what keeps you even keeled.

It keeps you functioning.

It keeps you alive. (I like this outcome.)

Several years after the fact, my mother met that psychiatrist face-to-face for the first time. When she put two and two together, she introduced herself: “I’m Winnie Leenaarts. You saved my son’s life.”

Being off of medication may have afforded me some slight luxuries, namely more lucidity. But being off of drugs AND medication opened my eyes up to more that was happening inside my head.

I tell people, somewhat half in jest, that I have some un-diagnosed OCD and ADD issues I probably need to sort out.

There is the part of me that recognizes these things and can have a laugh about them and the part of me that asks “Would I function better as a human being if I got a proper diagnosis and was on the right medication for them?”

I don’t believe I am above seeing another professional to get those things considered.

But if you’re reading this and you’re not happy with your mental status, please know (if you don’t already) that it affects every area of your life. You may really believe that diet and exercise can sort out problems A, B and C in your life. However, your mind can have a great deal of sway in those outcomes.

Get a second opinion, get a third, get a fourth. Get whatever the hell it takes to be satisfied that you’re in the right hands with the right plan. If you have to be on medication temporarily or permanently, THIS IS OKAY.

Just remember all that my Dad had to go through to get a light at the end of the tunnel to shine for me. I saw several psychiatrists (5 in one year), endured several medications (13-14 in less than a year) and survived several (5) hospitalizations just to see an end in sight.

Much of my problems that came afterwards were solely self-inflicted.

You deserve better.

There’s so much life left to live.

“We Make Great People Greater”

 

 

 

I very nearly let too much time elapse since Dan John had debuted on the show back at Episode 100. He has just released yet another in a long line of excellent books, this one called “40 Years With A Whistle.” I had some points in the book that I wanted to talk to him about and we even got to touch on some more personal subjects that the book didn’t go into as great of detail on. It is always an honor to share time with Dan and I can assure you he will be on again in the future. To order your copy of his new one, please go to http://www.otpbooks.com/product/40_years_with_a_whistle To sign up for his weekly newsletter, please go to http://www.danjohn.net and click on the tab for Wandering Weights. To learn more about your host, visit http://www.jasonleenaarts.com and http://www.revfittherapy.com You can also like our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/revolutionaryou Download, subscribe, share with your friends and please take a moment to leave us an iTunes review.

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