
Words of Wellness with Shelly
Do you get confused by all of the information that is available regarding ways to improve your health and wellness? Do you often become frustrated or overwhelmed with decisions on how to be your healthiest? We all know and understand how important our health and wellness is to the vitality of our lives, however navigating the wealth of health and wellness information available can often feel overwhelming. Understanding the significance of our well-being in leading fulfilling lives is crucial, yet determining what steps to take that are essential for our health can often be confusing.
Welcome everyone to "Words of Wellness"! In this podcast, hosted by Shelly Jefferis, M.A., a seasoned health and wellness professional with over 35 years in the industry, all of your questions will be answered and clarity will be provided through personal stories, education, tips and inspiration. Throughout her profession, Shelly has always had the heart and desire to help others feel their best and live their best lives through her supportive and compassionate approach. Through engaging solo and guest episodes, several topics will be addressed, questions will be answered and clarity will be provided in an effort to lead you to a healthier, more energetic life. With a master’s degree in kinesiology, extensive experience as an educator, speaker, coach, and entrepreneur, Shelly brings a wealth of knowledge and a genuine passion for empowering others to feel their best. By featuring industry experts and relatable individuals, the podcast promises personal stories, practical advice, and inspiration. She is excited to come to you weekly sharing all she has experienced, learned and discovered through the years. Whether you're seeking to elevate your well-being, gain practical insights for personal health, or simply be inspired to live a high quality vibrant life, this is the podcast is for YOU! Be sure to tune in weekly and join us along our "Words of Wellness" journey and embark on a path toward a healthier and more fulfilling quality of life full of happiness, energy and joy!
Words of Wellness with Shelly
The Hidden Struggle of Trichotillomania and Finding Healing Through Nutrition: Marci Lorentz's Journey to Self-Recovery
What happens when the medication you've relied on for decades becomes a prison? And what if the compulsive behaviors controlling your life could be addressed through something as fundamental as nutrition?
Marci Lorentz's story begins with a confession few people make publicly—for years, she compulsively cut her own hair, a condition called trichotillomania, until she had visible bald spots requiring wigs and extensions to conceal. This obsessive behavior became all-consuming, destroying her self-image and isolating her from others. Simultaneously, she depended on high-dose Adderall for 23 years, creating a chemical dependency few discuss openly.
The raw vulnerability of her journey shines through as she describes standing for hours before mirrors, desperately trying to "fix" her hair, canceling social plans due to shame, and hiding evidence of her compulsion like someone concealing addiction. When she finally attempted to break free from Adderall, the withdrawal symptoms were brutal—skin crawling sensations, depression, and physical distress that her doctor's only solution was to prescribe yet another medication.
But Marci's transformation began with reluctant nutritional changes that unexpectedly improved not just her physical health but her mental clarity. "My brain feels better" was her first realization—a profound insight into how targeted nutrition affects cognitive and emotional wellness. Through adaptogens, nootropics, and comprehensive nutritional support, she gradually overcame both her compulsive behaviors and medication dependency.
Perhaps most inspiring are her creative solutions—redirecting her cutting compulsion to trimming bushes or cutting her husband's hair, walking daily to visit a neighborhood donkey while wearing a weighted vest to combat depression naturally. These practical approaches demonstrate how persistence and unconventional thinking can create healing pathways when standard treatments fail.
If you've ever felt alone in your mental health struggles or wondered if there might be natural alternatives to medication dependency, Marci's authentic journey offers both hope and practical insights. Her favorite quote captures her message perfectly: "Not all storms come to disrupt your life. Some come to clear your path."
CONNECT WITH MARCI:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marcilorentz
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarciLeeLorentz
CONNECT WITH SHELLY:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wellnesswithshellyj
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShellyJefferis
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Thank you for listening to the Words of Wellness podcast with Shelly Jefferis. I am honored and so grateful to have you here and it would mean the world to me if you could take a minute to follow, leave a 5-star review and share the podcast with anyone you love and anyone you feel could benefit from the message.
Thank you and God Bless!
And remember to do something for yourself, for your wellness on this day!
In Health,
Shelly Jefferis
not a lot of people talk about this. This is why I use my social media platform to talk about all the nitty gritty. Like I am the girl that talks about the good, the bad, the in between all the things I do air my dirty laundry because I don't want someone looking at me and thinking like I just like my highlight reel is the highlight, like my life. Like my life is the highlight. It's not just all the good moments, because we're human and so I really want to drive that home. And I and I feel like you know I felt so alone last year because I never expected um to have withdrawals.
Speaker 2:Do you get confused by all of the information that bombards us every day on ways to improve our overall health and our overall wellness? Do you often feel stuck, unmotivated or struggle to reach your wellness goals? Do you have questions as to what exercises you should be doing, what foods you should or should not be eating, how to improve your overall emotional and mental well-being? Hello everyone, I am so excited to welcome you to Words of Wellness. My name is Shelly Jeffries and I will be your host. My goal is to answer these questions and so much more To share tips, education and inspiration around all of the components of wellness through solo and guest episodes.
Speaker 2:With 35 plus years as a health and wellness professional, a retired college professor, a speaker and a multi-passionate entrepreneur, I certainly have lots to share. However, my biggest goal and inspiration in doing this podcast is to share the wellness stories of others with you, to bring in guests who can share their journey so that we can all learn together while making an impact on the health, the wellness and lives of all of you, our listeners. The ultimate hope is that you leave today with even just one nugget that can enhance the quality of your life, and that you will. We all will, now and into the future, live our best quality of lives, full of energy, happiness and joy. Now let's dive into our message for today.
Speaker 2:Hi, everyone, and welcome back to Words of Wellness. My name is Shelly and I am your host, and I'm happy to have you here, and I'm even more happy to share my guest with all of you today. We actually most recently met at one of our company's events and I just feel like I've almost like known her for years, and she has such a positive energetic light about her. I wanted to share her with all of you and, more importantly, I wanted to have the opportunity for her to share her personal journey and her wellness story with you all. So welcome, marci, to the show.
Speaker 2:Hi thanks for having me Absolutely, and I feel like that's really truly how I feel. I feel like we could chat, and I continue to learn things about you that I'm like, oh my gosh, this is so cool, oh my gosh. And then everything you share on social is just so motivating and you really really are a bright light. So thank you for that. I appreciate it. I'm proud, yeah, and especially you know, I mean, you hear it, I'm sure especially.
Speaker 2:I think we need that all of the time, but even more so maybe nowadays in in the world that we're living in, it's just nice to have the breath of fresh air with someone sharing positive, you know, inspirational thoughts and just really sharing your journey, and it's really positive and inspirational. So I wanted to share you with my audience and have you on so that you could give a little bit of your backstory, because I am learning more and more and it's really really fascinating what you have dealt with and, and it started early, early on, so I guess you could go back to what you were dealing with and and what it caused throughout your life.
Speaker 1:So I, prior to using the holistic nutrition system that I do, you know, I was just riddled with stress. I was a corporate workaholic, and even before I entered the corporate world, when I was in college, I was just always that person that tried so hard at everything that I did, but like I had a learning disability when I was a child and so I had to go to special classes to learn differently, you know. And so when I went to college I didn't have that and things were very different for me, and so somehow, somewhere along the way, my coping mechanism for stress was I would cut my hair out. It started with a bad haircut. Apparently, I had done this. I used to rip my hair out when I was a child. I have no recollection of that. The doctors didn't know what to do with me when my mom took me to them and they said obviously this isn't hurting her, so just let her do her thing and whatever. So apparently I stopped. And then now I'm in college, now I'm stressed out, I've got a bad haircut and I became obsessed.
Speaker 1:It's like an obsessive, compulsive thing, and so this issue that I struggled with it's called trichotillomania. Most people rip their hair out. I compulsively cut. Sometimes I would rip, but mostly cut it, and it got so bad that it was all I could focus on. If you put a nanny cam in the house I was living in at the time, you would have thought I was crazy like a crazy person. My feet would hurt, my knees would hurt because I spent so much time in the bathroom trying to get it right. And it just got out of control to the point where I was almost bald and I did have bald spots on my head, but sometimes it looked cute and and so I go out and people would comment oh, my gosh, who is your hairdresser? I need to know, like, your hair is amazing and and and. So that I had a lot of shame about this and I would say you know, I did it myself. And then they'd want to know oh, are you a hairdresser? No, I'm not a hairdresser. And so there was always just this really awkward thing. And then it just got so bad to the point where I mean there were days where I would call into work and I would make up some sort of an excuse as horrible as that is to say it's the truth Like, like you know, staying at home for a day or two is going to miraculously grow my hair back. That you know.
Speaker 1:It was just like my mental state. I couldn't handle it and and I it just got so out of control that I I would cry, I was depressed, I would decline to go out with people in places because I was so ashamed of what I was doing, I was so ashamed of how I looked. I was just really miserable. And the thing is is I'm not really good about writing in a journal, but I came across some journals that I did try to write in and you know, some things I wrote bring you to tears.
Speaker 1:You know, like, do I do this to keep myself small? Like am I doing this Because I'm just, I hate myself so much that you know, if I make myself ugly, nobody will want to be with me. Like that's pretty deep, like that's pretty deep and so like. This went on for so many years of my life. And then I and I was also on Adderall to help me stay focused. I was on Adderall for 23 years, really high dose, 20 milligrams twice a day. I got put on that in college because I had a hard time focusing.
Speaker 2:When you went on to the Adderall and you got prescribed that, was it for this reason or not. There wasn't a connection there at that time.
Speaker 1:No, there was no connection, no connection whatsoever. It wasn't actually until I had gotten married. So years later and my ex husband said he saw something on a show and he said this is what you have. It's called trichotillomania there's finally a name for it. I saw somewhere and so I started doing my research. I was like, oh my god, it is.
Speaker 1:I'm just different in the sense that I compulsively cut, but it's the same thing. So, like there's a lot of people that will pick their skin, it's like a body, dysmorphic body, repetitive, like issue, and it's induced by stress, like OCD, and some people will rip their eyelashes out, they will rip their eyebrows out. I mean, you name it. Any hair on your body, it just for me it was like my hair. Yeah, I just did this forever and I was miserable and I made other people around me miserable, because you know, like energy, you can't fake your frequency and if you're like vibrating at a really low frequency, it just rubs off and when you don't feel good about yourself, like that bleeds into literally every area of your life. So it like started disrupting relationships in my life. It started affecting just everything that I did, because it was all I could think about. Like my hair was so all consuming and I don't know if the Adderall being on it made me focus on it more Now that I'm like literally having an epiphany in during this call right now. Maybe it made me focus on it more, because that's what Adderall does is make you focus, and so it's like I have a problem.
Speaker 1:I need to fix it, or so I thought, and so I just kept cutting and cutting and I would describe myself, as you know, like if you had, I guess, maybe an alcoholic or something, and they got all these mini bottles of liquor and they're home alone and they go on a binge and they start drinking and they're getting wasted and then, oh no, somebody is coming home. Time to clean up the liquor. You know, I would clean up, sweep up the hair and put away the scissors and the razors and all the things, and you can't hide that, because if you ever wanted to know how I felt, all you had to do was look at my head. So it was just, it was really, really bad, really bad, and just anything I could get my hands on, like even when I was traveling, like a razor to shave your legs yeah, I would use that too.
Speaker 1:Literally anything, house scissors, you name it. So people should have put like I always joked, they should put a sign with my face on a window of stores that sell scissors and razors and like hair care stores, and say, if you see this person, don't let her in your store.
Speaker 2:I just I can't even imagine, Like I mean, I'm, I'm happy you can, you know, joke about it more, but my heart just hurts for you. I mean for everything that you would have gone through because, like you said, it started when you were little and, thank God, it sounds like you went through a phase as a child and maybe as a teenager, where it wasn't a part of your life. During that phase which I would think that would have been especially in high school and those teenage years that can be so challenging and especially we're our worst critics and we can be so self-conscious of how we're looking and bodies are changing and all of the things. It's amazing that it didn't impact you then and it seemed to kind of rear its ugly head later on in life, right In college.
Speaker 1:And I think that that's because, you know, in high school I mean, yeah, you eventually get a car Most people do, and I did have one, but I didn't have as much money, I guess, to like always go get a haircut right, or my mom was paying for a haircut or something. So when I was in college and I was working, then you know it was on me and it was getting really expensive and embarrassing. I was embarrassed to go back to the hairdresser.
Speaker 1:And I would go back sometimes and say I think my hair is uneven, and they would check and they're like, marcy, it's, it's not. It's like I'm a professional, your hair is even, trust me. And I'm like, okay, and then I started getting really embarrassed about that. So then I just thought, what if I just got my own scissors, what if I got my own razor? I could probably do this. I can fix this every time I get it, and that's so. Then I did that and I was like this is great, I'm saving money, saving money, whatever. But even though it was sucking up hours of my life standing in the bathroom, cutting, cutting, cutting, and then it just got so out of control, like I remember camping one time and doing this in a little compact mirror, you know, like cover girl face powder or something like trying to cut my hair with a razor in a tent oh my gosh. So that is like literally the extent of it. And then so, like you know, that was that part of my life.
Speaker 1:Now, fast forward, I'm introduced to this nutrition that I use, nutrition that I use and I didn't think that I needed it because I um, I didn't need, I didn't, I had weight to lose and I always I thought of it as more of like a weight loss solution and I'm like I, I just needed to feel better, I had no energy and I was stressed to the max.
Speaker 1:So, like I didn't have a nutrition problem, I had an energy and a stress problem. And my friend was pretty adamant about me trying this. And so I'm like fine, like I hit rock bottom after saying no for six months, like please, let me stay on the struggle bus for six months longer than I really need to. Right, fine, I'll give it a try. So I tried it and when I I put these products in my body, I felt like I lit up like a Christmas tree. When I put these products in my body, I felt like I lit up like a Christmas tree. And within my first month, my first remark to my friend was yeah, my energy is better, but my brain feels better.
Speaker 2:See, that's so amazing right there, because I think that's such an important point for people to hear, because when we think about starting a nutrition program or some kind of a nutritional protocol, most of the time or the majority of people are starting, like you say, for weight loss or for energy or feeling overall just better in their bodies and we forget how much of an impact it has on our mental health. This is such an important point and it's not to tell anyone or any of our listeners that you know it's a cure all. If you have a mental issue, you definitely want to get medical attention and help. However, it's incredible the impact that it can have on, like you're saying, your stress levels and mentally, like just giving you more mental clarity and helping you to be more relaxed and manage your stress more effectively, right? Is that what I'm hearing?
Speaker 1:That's yeah, and I mean, you know, can't make any claims again, but like, this is my personal story and so for me personally, any claims again. But like this is my personal story and so for me personally, uh, the, the urge when I would get, I used to have knee-jerk reactions. That's what I would call knee-jerk reactions to everything when I get stressed out, and I didn't have that and that's what people noticed about me most at work, like I, you know, I'm five foot tall, not a huge person. To begin with, 13 pounds fell off my frame within the first couple months, so, yes, that was noticeable. But the thing that they noticed most about me was that my attitude was better, I was a lot less stressed, I was more calm and I, I I really did feel like my brain was better and and so it was interesting because over time, the feelings when I would, when I would have stressful situations or I wouldn't feel so great about myself, those feelings, the urge to cut, wasn't really there.
Speaker 1:I mean, this is all my hair. I mean for years I can't even tell you I would wear wigs, I would wear clip in hair, I would, I had hair extensions and even the hair I thought the hair extensions because it's so expensive. I'm a big believer in having skin in the game and you know, maybe the hair extensions would stop me from this cutting nonsense. And it didn't. They didn't, like I cut the hair extensions out of my hair after paying a lot of money and so it was just this awful, awful thing and my husband would cover my bald spots that I had on my head. But now, like, this is all mine and I haven't, like if I get really stressed Sometimes I worry maybe I'll backslide. So my husband lets me cut his hair.
Speaker 2:That's my secret, Like for anybody listening.
Speaker 1:If you have what I had or have had, right, if you have trichotillomania, if this sounds familiar and you just didn't have a name to put to this some things that I would personally recommend that helped me is yeah, cut someone else's hair, like a man's hair preferably, because you can't hardly screw that up, especially it's sort of like a buzz cut. It's very therapeutic. Or, if you have a house and you've got bushes that's what I did I would cut my bushes and I guess I had the most crooked bushes on the street, but that like doing that prevented me from cutting my hair, you know, and it was just like these little workarounds that I would do, and so I started talking about this openly. In 2016, I got into Tony Robbins community big time and he it changed my life. Like I'm not even close to being the same person, and so, um, that whole shift in my mindset, combined with this nutrition, it's like game changer, completely Right. And and I mean the people that we were surrounded by in this community.
Speaker 1:I feel like they're like Tony Robbins community style people. They just want to up-level, help people feel better, do better. Everybody's cheering for each other, no matter what your goals are, and so I felt like I was just so supported. And when I started speaking out about this you know it's a very shameful thing and people were raising their hand, three people in a private community I was in raise their hand, said oh my God, I have that. Like that's crazy.
Speaker 1:This one lady, she was in her 50s and she was a disc jockey for a radio station in Minnesota and she said Thank you for giving me the courage. I'm going to do a radio show on this to raise awareness about trichotillomania, because people don't know. And you know people will make comments, like when she was going to get her eyebrows done at Sephora, like the lady was so rude to her. It's like, well, you got a little carried away with the tweezers. Huh, like, not, like that's. You know people have an issue and they're pulling and and it's a thing they don't, they don't know.
Speaker 1:And then, um, so I I decided to take myself off of the Adderall. I had been on for 23 years 23 and I was at 20 milligrams twice a day, which nobody goes around talking about the medications that they're on. I didn't know that that was a high dose right out of the gate. Truthfully, I could have been on a much higher dose because your body gets used to things and so you know, yeah, it helped me, but it didn't have the same effect as when I first got put on it. So I don't know if some laws changed.
Speaker 1:Things certainly changed with UCLA Health, and when I went to get my prescription filled this is what made me change it. Like I've wanted to get off the medication for years I just I couldn't. That medication had such a chokehold on me and so, um, when they told me they wouldn't fill my prescription unless I got a psych evaluation and I'm like I'm already out of my medication, so I was already feeling panicked and kind of going crazy in my head. I told my doctor I'm like, well, you're not. You're not a very good doctor, because if you were, you would have told your me, your patient, about this new change last month, or a couple months ago, or a couple months ago, instead of cutting me off cold turkey. You don't cut somebody off cold turkey. You're very lucky I'm not the patient that's going to go jump off a bridge and kill myself, Because people will do that with that kind of a medication, and so I think that really got her attention.
Speaker 1:She said I'll fill it one last time and then you have to do this. So in my mind, I was like this, I'm done, I'm not jumping through these hoops like a circus act. This is crazy. I kept seeing dollar signs. The cost was outweighing the benefits at this point for me, and this nutrition had already, like several components of it, helped me to be able to focus. So this is where I kind of got the idea. Like you know, maybe I can do this naturally, and so I had started a couple years ago. Breaking my medication in half, wasn't taking it every day, just taking it kind of as needed, and so then, when this happened, I got it filled one last time February 2024, with the intention of not using it, just having it if I needed it. And I couldn't do it.
Speaker 1:And here I am, well over a year later, uh, thriving cognitively.
Speaker 1:I sure I have my moments, um, but it is possible.
Speaker 1:It's possible. I'm not making a claim, it's just my story, um, and sometimes I'm not going to lie, sometimes I do wish I had some good old fashioned Adderall to help me get through some things. But you know, because my brain just feels at times like like like a computer with all these tabs open, and I'm really good at starting tasks, not so great at completing them. So I'll have a whole bunch of tabs on the computer open and, and then by the end of the day I'm like holy bananas or open, and, and then by the end of the day I'm like holy bananas, like I don't even know where to start now, because I am so overwhelmed by looking at everything that I still have to do. It's kind of started but not finished. So that's how I you know I had described this to people but then I take nootropics and it's like focus on demand and I feel like I can open the tab, complete the task, close the tab, open a new one, you know, and move through my day with so much more ease, naturally, naturally.
Speaker 2:And I feel good with that.
Speaker 1:But there was. You know, it was brutal last year because not a lot of people talk about this. This is why I use my social media platform to talk about all the nitty gritty. Like I am the girl that talks about the good, the bad, the in between all the things I do, air my dirty laundry, because I don't want someone looking at me and thinking like I just like my highlight reel is the highlight, like my life, like my life is the highlight. It's not just all the good moments, because we're human and so I really want to drive that home.
Speaker 1:And I and I feel like you know I felt so alone last year because I never expected um to have withdrawals and it threw me into a huge depression. Uh, I was in perimenopause also at the time, so, like that combination, I mean, I couldn't even get out of bed on certain days. I was crying all the time. Um, I packed on almost 19 pounds, even though I didn't change any of my eating habits, even though I can out eat. You know, most people are always surprised by how much I can eat. I'm a total foodie and so it's just like who's this person staring back at me at the mirror? I had no idea who I was anymore and it was crazy and like this community, that we have a people. Thank God, I mean, I have people calling on me, checking on me.
Speaker 1:Mars, it's, get up, go for a walk, get a coffee like I don't really drink coffee, like I don't care go get a hot chocolate, go somewhere, do something, get out of the house. And so there's, um, I started walking. Uh, you know, because when I went to the doctors for a physical, you get on the scale and obviously it was significantly heavier and the doctor said, oh, like, what's going on here? And I said, well, you know, I obviously I put on a bunch of weight and I took myself off of the Adderall. And she was like, oh, my God, why did you do that? That is so dangerous. I'm like I was responsible about it.
Speaker 1:You know, in these doctor's appointments, you know they're like you're just in and out, in and out. It's like a fast food joint. You know, 15 minutes, that's it really no time. So before I was even walking out, she's handing me another script and I'm like, for what? What is this? She gave me another prescription for Wellbutrin. I think is what it was. I'm like, what's that for she goes. That's for your depression, because you're depressed, and it should help be an appetite suppressant, so it can help take that weight off that you put on.
Speaker 2:And I was like so wait.
Speaker 1:So you're telling me, like I just I just took myself off of a medication that absolutely had a chokehold on me that I was addicted to, like, not mentally addicted, like physically addicted, and now you want to go get me addicted to something else. So I'm like, I took the paper script because I didn't know what to do. I didn't, you know, I'd never used it ever and I just I started walking. I said I don't know, like people always say, like you know, like, start walking, get the fresh air, whatever. So I did, I started walking and I bought myself a 16-pound weighted vest and there's a donkey up the street. Gave me something to look forward to every day.
Speaker 1:As silly as that may seem, I still go visit it. But like that was my goal Go see the donkey, feed the donkey, do something kind for somebody else to like, pour into myself. You know, like, helping like the walking, I walked my way out of depression. I did. I bought myself a 16 pound weighted vest and I turned everything around. Naturally, that's what I did. I bought myself a 16 pound weighted vest and I turned everything around.
Speaker 2:Naturally, that's what I did, it's just so, so amazing, Marcy, and I give you kudos on so many levels, like sharing everything that you're sharing and everything that you've gone through, and it's such a testament to what we can do for ourselves, naturally. And again, this is not to say that there's not a time and place for medication, because there absolutely is. And I, you know, I kind of experienced not not in any way, shape or form close to what you did, but I did the same thing where I was taking they were allergy shots. I was taking some medication because years ago I was dealing with vertigo that was a result of having Meniere's disease, and I did the same thing where I got to a point where I was like what would happen if I just start to gradually get off of this, because is it really helping me? And but I, for a long time I was scared to go off it because I was scared. I was scared that it was helping. But then I got to a point where I went I don't, I don't know if this is really helping me and I got to a point, exactly like you're saying, where I finally like phased everything out.
Speaker 2:And it was around the same time that I was changing my nutrition and adding this nutrition into my daily routine and everything just clicked. And it's like you say. You know, we can't make claims, medical claims, we don't, you know, claim to diagnose or cure anything. However, this is just again another testimony to the fact that when you start taking care of yourself and your nutrition and you're getting optimum nutrition, the body is amazing. Amazing things happen and I'm so blown away, like what you went through and how here today no one would ever know, like we would never know what you went through. I don't know. I'm just. I just can't believe what it was like for you and to see how you are now is just amazing and I don't know what to say.
Speaker 1:I'm just grateful that you had to have me on here to talk about it, because I feel like the more people we can reach through people's stories the better, because so many times we do, we feel alone. You know, and when I was going through the withdrawals I mean in movies, you know, you see drug junkies on the street, movies, right, and they're doing this thing, pinching their skin I had that. My skin felt like it was literally crawling. Uh, my hair was falling out by the handfuls, like it did when I had COVID years ago. It was falling out like crazy, scratching myself so much, I scarred myself and I was bleeding.
Speaker 1:And my husband he said you know what? Why don't you make some Adderall water and see what happens? So take the leftover pill and put it in water, let it dilute, because it wasn't like the capsule, it was like an actual pill that starts to break apart. So we did that and they mix it up and then stick my, stick, my finger in, rub it on my gums. Do you know like literally all the symptoms I was experiencing from withdrawals went away within 15 minutes all of them sane.
Speaker 1:That's the depression, the that. That is how strong that medication was. So like yes, eventually, like over the year, I ended up going through that last prescription refill that I had got, but not because I was taking the pill, it's because I was making Adderall water on occasion to rub on my gums, because that's what helped me.
Speaker 1:It's just so bizarre, yeah, but people just don't. You don't like, people don't know, like, looking at you, I would never know that you had any kind of a struggle. You know, and that's the thing. Like we judge people because we're human, we don't necessarily mean to, but like we form an opinion that, oh, this person's perfect, or their life is so great, or they got it all together, like you. Just no, have you had a conversation like you? Like everybody has a struggle, everybody's got a journey. And I think, like, for me, my social media is kind of like a online diary, because I'm not good at writing in a diary.
Speaker 1:It's kind of like an online diary and in a classroom, like for people that would consider themselves to be students of life and I consider myself to be a student of life forever and like I learn from other people and I feel like there's always something to be learned and gained from someone else's story, no matter what, if you're really listening.
Speaker 2:A hundred percent and I think that's just huge because it's so true. 100%, and I think that's that's just huge because it's so true, and I think that it's so easy to look at someone and like you're saying, go, oh my gosh, they have it all together. But the longer that I'm alive and with age comes wisdom you realize that everybody does have a story and when you hear about it you're like wow, and it's either it's a health wellness journey story, or maybe it's a business story or what have you. I mean, everybody has something and you just, you just never know. But I just really commend you for sharing because I think that's so huge and, like I said, I had never heard of the condition that you had and I think it's so important to get the word out because then anyone else that maybe is experiencing the same thing can be like okay, okay, that's what I have, like I'm not like losing my mind, like there's actually you know this is there's actually a diagnosis for this, you know there's actually a diagnosis for this.
Speaker 1:You know, yeah, there is, and through my journey I have been able to help some other people through it. And if I haven't helped them, I've certainly turned their ears. And I now have eyes on me watching because I feel like I can provide hope. And the bottom line is, you'll never know if anything works for you unless you just do it. Unless you try something new, like you really have no idea if something is or isn't for you, whatever that might be. You know so, like for me. I wouldn't know, like unless I started cutting my bushes that that was a method for me. I love that.
Speaker 2:I just that that's how I help myself. Or like cut my husband's hair.
Speaker 1:I mean better than cutting my hair and I can't really screw that up, so that that's good, um, you know like.
Speaker 2:It's like you discovered these things too, that you can actively do that help you cope like you. So did you ever? Did you go to a professional? Did you go to therapy at any point in?
Speaker 1:time I had. I was so hungry for change that I found this lady online. Her name was Poppy Sprigg and she's like a psychotherapist. At the time she was living in England and I know I think I found her in the Tony Robbins community. I saw a video did and I had no idea that she was a therapist and I had made a comment like gosh, I really wish that you were here and I could you know you could be my therapist. I think that maybe I could really benefit from your work. And I remember the next day I checked my Facebook Messenger and I got a voice message from her and she was like Masi, my dear, she's like I do Skype. Keep that in your back pocket if you want. So I figured out a way with the insurance.
Speaker 1:I had at one point to say it was like out of network, but I was so hungry for change. I was on Skype at 430 in the morning because I was living on the East Coast at the time. I was in North Carolina and I would get up like a couple times a week 4.30am doing therapy and she goes. I've never seen someone so hungry for change, and so she really helped me. She had not heard of trichotillomania either, but you know, know, she helped me with certain things that like, for example uh, I would get paralyzed by making certain making decisions, because I was always afraid to make the wrong choice, always didn't matter what it was, and I would allow stupid little things like getting a new phone to freak me out like, oh my god, I have to relearn something new. You know, I would tell myself a story about why I can't do this or that or why I was gonna suck at it, and it's not. It's all a story in our heads. And she said one of the most helpful things I was like because I was trying to decide if I wanted to be with my husband now and he lived in California and I was in North Carolina and she goes.
Speaker 1:Well, just like, if you love him, go, just go. What I mean? You can always turn around, you can always change your mind. And just because you make one decision in the moment and you wholeheartedly feel that way does not mean that you know, like, maybe two weeks later you change your mind and you don't want to go. That's fine too. You can always turn around. You can always make another choice. You might not be able to come back to the exact place that you were in before. But you can always make another choice, even though you think your back is up against the wall, like there's always a different choice to be made, and from each choice you make a lesson is learned, and so that really helped start taking some of that stress, which would help also stop me from compulsively cutting. It just helped me so, so much. And then I got to meet her live at a Tony Robbins event. She came in for the event and that was interesting, but yeah, she changed a big portion of me and Tony Robbins community changed everything, and this community changed everything for me. So I'm just so grateful, so so grateful, because I don't know where I'd be if I.
Speaker 1:You have to do the work, and it's not fun, it's not. But you got to be willing to try new things. You got to be willing to put in the effort, because results require effort, and I wanted a different result, but I kept doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result, which is insane. So I started really trying some new things. It was like, oh my gosh, I had never even heard of an adaptogen before in my life. I'm like, what is an adaptogen? Now that I know I'm like I'll never go without adaptogens, cause it was like adaptogens, equal life.
Speaker 2:It's so true, I hadn't. When I first started, I hadn't either, and I remember learning about it and waking up, feeling like energetic and like not as stressed out and what's going on. So I had no idea either. And it's again amazing. You make some changes, some lifestyle changes and nutritional changes, and it can just impact our lives in the most incredible ways.
Speaker 2:And going back to what you said, you know you were hungry for change and it's almost like I always say you can go back and connect the dots and go okay, this is why this happened. And you know, nobody wants to go through what you did and nobody chooses or wants to go through any kind of trauma. But again, so much of what we do, experience leads us to where we are today and it eventually gets us to moments like this where you know you're you're, you're healthy, you're feeling good, you've put all of that in, you know behind you and it's just, you're remarkable, marcy, like just to hear everything and to see where you are today, like it's really, it's a beautiful thing and I just I give you so much credit. I really do. And again, testament to the group and community of Tony Robbins you know it's, you just never know again connecting the dots. I mean, that brought you to that community and it brought you to that community and it brought you to that amazing woman who helped you. And it's, it's just a journey.
Speaker 1:It's just a journey, it really is, and it's not always, obviously, an easy one it's not but you know I learned a lot too about the gut, brain access and like you know, so all of that. But then, when I said how, at the towards the beginning, how I felt, like my brain felt better, I mean I really started doing some homework, some really heavy homework, and you know a lot of these um products that will that we both use. They're designed to reduce inflammation in the brain and if you look at depression, it's often linked to inflammation in the brain. So, you know, connecting those dots, it's like, oh, no surprise that I started feeling happier and wasn't so stressed and depressed that I could stop cutting my hair. I mean, you know, so reducing that inflammation, like inflammation just in general, is, oh, still to this day I'm learning tons about it and it's awful. It really affects so many things. It affects everything. It's like at the root of all things. Bad, really.
Speaker 2:It really is. I actually had one of my physicals I think it was not this year but last year. I said, can you check that? My inflammation levels? And I was almost like at a zero and I'm like, okay, I'll take that. And again, I think that was a lot to do with what I was dealing with. I'm sure it was inflammation. And I also know for a fact that I was deficient in some mineral or minerals. And you know, all of that changed and I think it's again goes back to more and more functional.
Speaker 2:Doctors now are looking at more of okay, well, let's go to the root of what's causing these issues. And I always talk about what can we do that's preventative, what can we do now to prevent us from getting sick later? And I always will say, you know, there's never a guarantee, but let's do everything we can rather than just leaving it, you know, to chance. There's so many great things, everything we can, rather than just leaving it to chance. There's so many great things that we can do, that are natural, that can help us feel our best, live our healthiest lives. And I tell you, hearing your story, it's such an inspiration and a motivation to me too, just knowing it's just more again, confirmation of what we have for our nutrition and how much of an impact that has on our overall health, and I'm just so impressed by you and I wanted to share for our listeners. You know, if anyone wants to reach out to Marcy, I mean what what would be the best way for them to contact you?
Speaker 1:Yeah, you can look me up on Facebook. It's at Marcy. M-a-r-c-i-l-o-r-e-n-t-z, marcy Lorenz. L-o-r-e-n-t-z. Marci Lorenz. I think I'm Marci Lee Lorenz on Facebook, or you can call me at 269-598-3792.
Speaker 2:I don't mind, I'm an open book. It's so beautiful because I'm the same way. I was on a local podcast recently and we got on the topic of social media and I said you know, I like to think that I'm the same on social as I am in real life. I mean, there's, I'm not going to hide anything. I'm certainly not going to air all my dirty laundry or whatever's going on, you know. But if someone asks me questions about things I will openly share. People want that and that's how you are people. People are gravitating and, I think, craving authentic people and authentic relationships, and that's what you are. You're sharing from your heart. You're sharing everything that's real about you and your life and what you've gone through. More and more people. That's what they want. That's what we want. We just want to be real and be able to be authentic and be genuine. We won't. We just want to be real and be able to be authentic and be genuine Because, you know, let's face it if someone's not.
Speaker 2:We can. We can pick up on that Right. We know, when people are not as genuine as as they could be or should be or what have you and you're doing amazing things and I just I thank you. I thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me and to share today, because I, again, I just feel like this is huge and for anyone that's going through what you did, you are just again a bright light and just saying, you're not the only one, and this is what it is and there are ways to deal with it and to get better. And and again, you, you give hope for that, I think, for anybody that might be going through the same kind of thing.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you.
Speaker 1:As I, you know, I I feel like hope is a good thing, you know, and I just hope to give hope to other people because I desperately needed it. I I mean, I wish at the time there were more people talking about it. Both things that Philomena and then the Adderall withdrawals and they're really I mean, there's not an Instagram, a lot more. There's a whole community now and I'm like, yeah, this is great for people who are really struggling, Like I could have really benefited from this, but it didn't exist back then. It didn't, but it does now. It's becoming more pronounced.
Speaker 2:So that's good, it's so good and, yes, it's twofold what you went through and what you've shared. It's definitely, it's just huge. So well, is there any last minute inspiration or words of advice you'd like to leave our listeners with today?
Speaker 1:I'll share my favorite quote. So in my hardest of hard times, it's not all storms come to disrupt your life. Some come to clear your path. So just know like whatever storm is coming your way, like maybe it's just making way for something better, right.
Speaker 2:That's beautiful, wow. Thank you, my friend, and thank you everyone for for listening and reach out to Marcy. You can just hear in her voice she has a huge heart and if you or someone you know might be going through something similar that she'd experienced, you know, have them reach out to her. I will put her contact information in the show notes and, as always, take some time for yourself on this day, do something for your own personal wellness and, as always, have a beautiful, blessed rest of your week and we will see you next time on Words of Wellness. And we will see you next time on Words of Wellness.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much for tuning into today's episode. I hope you gained value and enjoyed our time together as much as I did, and if you know someone who could benefit from today's episode, I would love and appreciate it if you could share with a friend or rate and review Words of Wellness so that more can hear this message. I love and appreciate you all. Thank you for listening and if you have any questions or topics you would like me to share in future episodes, please don't hesitate to reach out to me through my contact information that is shared in the show notes below. Again, thank you for tuning in to words of wellness. My name is Shelly Jeffries and I encourage you to do something for you, for your wellness, on this day. Until next time, I hope you all have a healthy, happy and blessed week. Thank you, you.