Anna Marie Frank - reprogramming your brain to be the happy whole you

Hear how Anna Marie Frank, reprogrammed her own brain to overcome years of depression, and became a Doctor of Naturopathy so that she could help others do the same.

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Transcript

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Arwen Bardsley: 0:00

Okay, so Hi, everybody, I am really happy today to have another wonderful guest for you. I have Anne Marie Frank joining me today. And she is a naturopath, or a doctor of naturopathy, as they wonderfully are able to be called in the USA, where she is from, and a coach and an author. And I'm really interested to hear Anna's story as I am about all my guests. But in particular, Anna has an interest in the brain and mental health. And we all know that that is, unfortunately, a big and growing issue at the moment, especially coming out of the pandemic. So she was a guest that I was really keen to have on because I'm sure that we'll all get some beautiful information from the interview. So welcome, Anna, I'd love just to start with, I always love people to just tell us a bit about their origin story, you know, why you are where you are now and doing what you're doing? How it all started for you. And you know, what, what drove you to to be offering to the world what you are now that would be wonderful.

Anna Marie Frank: 1:28

Yeah, well, my journey, I mean, started a quite a few years ago. But ultimately, I struggled with mental health. And I didn't realize essentially what it what it really was. Since I was little, I never felt like I was good enough. And I didn't know if that was because I was bullied or if I was born with that. But then in the high school, I probably wouldn't be labeled depressed. But back when I was in school, it wasn't depression, anxiety, all that that was thrown around and used so loosely as it is today, or, you know, the awareness around it. And you'd look at my life and be like, well, of course, she's happy. I mean, what she's got it all together, right? Because you just never truly know what someone's going through. And I went to university and got through that. And then in my early career, I found myself very, very depressed. I didn't, I didn't realize what I know now. But you know, could it have been, you know, all the sports I played? And you know, getting my head hit over and over again? Could it be just something I was born with? Could it be because of the emotional aspects that I've been through? Nevertheless, right, we all have our brain type. And we go through so many things in our life. But I found myself very depressed. And I thought, Oh, I'm supposed to go to a doctor, right? Because that's what you do, especially in the US, you go and you ask for a pill and a pill is going to solve all things, right. So I went to this doctor, and I literally spent 10 minutes with him, after filling out all the paperwork. And he put me on three mind altering medications. And they didn't work for me. And so there was a period of time where I kept going back to the doctor being like this, this medication is not working. And then I was so focused on the medications. And luckily, there was this little light inside of me that was like wake up, you need to choose your own happiness, you need to heal yourself. And only you can do that. And so this is obviously simplifying it. But that sent me forth on the journey to heal my own brain. And I went into all the holistic modalities and visited different practitioners and just really was open to different ways of healing. And I can proudly say that my brain is well functioning. I understand how my brain functions, so I can have different tendencies, but I know how to navigate that. Yeah, and I'm just I'm happy and I'm so glad that I found ways to heal myself because medication made me suicidal and it didn't work for me and medication works for some people, but it shouldn't be, you know, the first and the end all and it shouldn't be the only thing.

Arwen Bardsley: 4:17

Absolutely. And so did you Did the doctor at the time recommend any kind of therapy as well as the medication?

Anna Marie Frank: 4:27

No

Arwen Bardsley: 4:27

It's amazing, isn't it? It's just crazy.

Anna Marie Frank: 4:29

yeah, I look back at it. And I mean, that was I was in my early 20s. And so it's just really fascinating. But I know I had to go through that to get to where I'm at now where I help people and I work you know, with a lot of people on mindset and how their brain's functioning and and everything but it is it is troublesome because knowing what I know now and having the training that I have in terms of how you know with the brain, your brain is not even fully developed till maybe you're 25. Right. And so here I was 22 years old being put on three medications, and I don't even have a fully functioning brain. And so it's just, it is troublesome when I think back at it, and then even today, you know, I see clients all the time - and I have kids, you know - 5,6,7 years old, and they're on 20 milligrams of Adderall and different medications. And, you know, even though I don't prescribe or diagnose, I do find it helpful to provide parents and individuals with Holistic Health modalities and things that they can do to support their brain function. And then it's up to them to work with their pharmacist and their doctor, with their medications.

Arwen Bardsley: 5:46

Yeah, so yeah, I mean, we're certainly not saying that medication is wrong in all circumstances. And certainly, in my experience, it can be great for somebody to have medication for a short period of time to kind of get them to the point where they can then do all this other work and work with other modalities to help them you know, heal in a whole way again. So when you were when this happened, had you done your naturopathy qualifications?

Anna Marie Frank: 6:27

No, all of that all of that came later. Interesting is I was exercising, I was eating pretty well, compared to the average person, but yet I still wasn't happy. So what I learned throughout the decade of my 20s was you can exercise all day long and eat as many salads as you want. But if you don't get your brain, right, you know, it's really you can live a challenging life. And so into my 30s, I was blessed to have a daughter and that something really shifted inside of me when I had her. A few things about me is I would get magazines in the mail, you know, that has these women with the perfect body and airbrushed and I literally was like, I thought that was normal, right? And to be happy, I compared myself to, to these images. And if my life didn't look like that, then there's something wrong, right? Like subconsciously, you know, this is this is going on. And I realized, like, I do not want my daughter and I already had a son. And it was something with having her like I did not want her to grow up and, you know, look at her body and be ashamed or think she's less than and so I started to very mindfully start to change the things that were coming to my house. So I stopped all the magazines, I stopped watching like E-entertainment and just like trash TV, right? Like, I started to really shift those things. And what I started to realize is that my true happiness and healing really started to come when I started to pay attention to all the downloads that I was allowing into my, my being essentially right, so everything we listened to is downloading information to ourselves. Everything we see is downloading information to ourselves, everything we eat, every interaction we have with people, right. And so I think we forget that not only, you know, the structural and the biological aspect of our bodies, but we also forget the energetics, right, and how there's all these things that are impacting us energetically. And so once I started to really pay attention to all of the layers in my life, and not being perfect in every area, but just giving more attention, you know, to the financial wellness, the emotional well being the nutritional the exercise, you know, not overdoing it, I really started to find myself aligning with being okay with who I was. And I think that that's ultimately, you know, what is really important is that we are all unique and beautiful in our own unique way. And it's aligning with our true authentic self, and aligning with our blueprint of why we're here on Earth and what we're supposed to do here. And all that noise around us over the years can really blind us from why we're here and what we need to be doing. And so I love the fact that I'm waking up and I feel like I continue to wake up more and more and help other people to you know, what really does matter and who we truly are and how we are existing and helping each other here in this lifetime.

Arwen Bardsley: 9:44

Yeah, beautiful. And so what were the other modalities that you worked with when you were going through that journey and why did you end up choosing to train as a naturopath?

Anna Marie Frank: 10:00

Yeah, so I used I used biofeedback, I would fly back to Michigan, I live in California and I would fly to Michigan and I would do some work with this lady there. I would do some body work, have people do massages, Reiki things like that. I just really started to pay attention of how I was thinking and starting to rewire my thoughts. I thought, you know, if you can program a computer, you can obviously reprogram your brain. And so that's where like, I just started to think of myself literally as a computer, and what am I downloading, right? Am I downloading viruses, or am I downloading great software. And so it was literally just like, every day, just being mindful of the conversations I would have with people, I started to eliminate people in my life, that didn't support where I wanted to go and how I wanted to be, you know, being mindful of those conversations that you're having on a daily basis. I mean, I was the type of person that I would spill coffee on myself on the way to the office, and then I would be like, Oh, my gosh, I spilt coffee on myself. And then someone cut me off. And I would like complain, and just like, spew out all the things that went wrong for me in the morning. Like, I would tell people this as if it like mattered. And, you know, I started shifting to like, be like, Oh, Thank you universe for this car that I'm driving to work like, This is so amazing. I'm literally in this machine with four wheels, that's bringing me to a location and I just have to push the gas pedal and turn the wheel, right. Like, I started to really practice gratitude for all the little things and look for what was there for me in terms of things that were positive versus always focusing on what wasn't there for me and all the negative things.

Arwen Bardsley: 11:50

And so And where did the particular interest in Naturopathy come from?

Anna Marie Frank: 11:57

So I actually I started working on more of the brain health and the Dr. Amen clinics, and here in the US, I know he has clinics all around, I believe all around the world. And I found it very interesting that there was actually a medical professional that was not all about prescribing medications first, and he's a psychiatrist. And he was all about, you know, looking at you know, what, brain nutriceuticals what are some thought patterns, we can change and let's actually scan the brain and look at where the blood's flowing in the brain and figure out and have someone see how their brain's functioning, right, so that was the start of my journey. And then I just started diving more into herbs and vitamins and how these agents actually impact the your brain and biology. And I had no idea that you need to have the amino acid tryptophan plus vitamin B six to even begin to think about making serotonin in the body. And then serotonin is mostly made in the gut. And so there's all these things that I started to learn. I just wanted to soak them all up. And so over about a four year period, I started to take classes and I just I couldn't get enough. And I started off. Actually, even before Dr. Amen, I started off with an Integrative Nutrition certification, my degree's in exercise science, I have a master's degree. And so I've always done something along the lines of wellness. But it was how can I enhance the tools in my toolkit to support other people, because one of the biggest things I have learned in my journey is not everyone is the same. Everybody has a different brain type. And what works for one person may not work for the next. And so it's just really important to meet people where they are, and help them with some tools and modalities that will work for them in their lifestyle that will make a big difference for them.

Arwen Bardsley: 14:08

And yeah, so you've mentioned brain type a couple of times, so I need to dive into that. Please, if you can. Tell us more about that. I don't think it's an expression I've heard before and I'd love to understand that.

Anna Marie Frank: 14:24

Yeah, so for example, I would be labeled as having ADHD when I was little like if we were to go back in time. Okay. So I had a hard time paying attention to things I didn't even read well until probably I was in high school. Like I struggled with reading and I it wasn't necessarily reading it was the comprehension. Right. So I could read a bunch of words and I knew that words but it was comprehending and retaining. I would probably also be labeled dyslexic, right. I flipped things all the time. Mmm. And one thing with working with Amen clinics that I found super fascinating is that there are different types of ADHD or ADD, and there are different types of depression. So you know, this blanket approach to say, Oh, you're depressed take Prozac, or to say, Oh, you have anxiety, here's some Xanax, or, you know, you have this. So here's Wellbutrin I mean, it's to me, I find it really interesting, because what I've learned is, you know, there's temporal lobe ADD, and this is where people can, you know, if they say you've played football, or you've played sports, and I've had a lot of head injuries to the temporal lobes, that can really impact your temper and your mood. Right? So I see, you know, men who used to play sports and back in the day, you know, you always give us like, oh, yeah, I had my bell rung a bunch of times, well, getting your bell rung seeing Stars, that's an injury, like your brain is literally the consistency of soft butter, or tofu. And it's encapsulated in this bony structure, right. And so these little, quote, unquote, injuries, compounded over time, can really impact behavior in certain ways. There's also people that have like anxious ADD, they're very anxious, and they have a hard time paying attention. And then there's also people that have issues with depression. And they have anxiousness on top of that, or they have low, you know, really low mood depression. So there's different it's like figuring out how your brain is functioning and what's going on with you. And then going from there. You know, one form of ADD is a sign of it is where people get really annoyed, or it really bothers them certain touches or fabric on their body, or certain noises. So it's like, okay, well, let's take a step back and figure out, you know, kind of pinpoint more, because if you think about it, we have no way of measuring brain chemistry. Right? There's no, we don't know how to measure it. So brain health is really a subjective feedback, and the doctor asks you a bunch of questions. And based on those questions, we're giving out medication. Whereas I love that the Amen Clinics, you can get a SPECT imaging scan to see where the blood is flowing. And can we influence that blood flow? Insurance in the States, of course, does not pay for that, even though it's interesting, because spec imaging has been around since I don't know 70s, at least, right? So we don't even have proper ways to I don't think, thorough ways, if you will, to diagnose people, but even then, I feel like, why, why are we diagnosing kids with ADHD, because they can't sit in the in a school room and sit in a chair for eight hours a day. And they don't learn a certain way that we want them to learn with 40 other kids in the class, because it's just easier. You know, on the teacher and on the school, like, I mean, so there's so there's so many things, and I think there's so much beauty in how everybody's brain is different. But figuring out like your brain type, like, Okay, if you do have tendencies to have ADHD, or depression or anxiety, like, what does that what does that really mean? And what does that really look like? And are there others that bleed into that?

Arwen Bardsley: 18:27

So are there is like a set number of brain types? Or is it you know, it's kind of infinite, because it just depends on all the different things people are

Anna Marie Frank: 18:37

Yeah, so I have this fun little chart that experiencing. I love. So just we'll go with ADHD, there's seven different types. And I have like this little guidance sheet that's really helpful. So when I'm working with clients, like for example, classic ADD is where you're inattentive, you're distracted, you can be disorganized, kind of impulsive, maybe a little bit of hyperactivity, but this is where you have low blood flow to the prefrontal cortex and lower dopamine levels on average. So supplementation wise, you could be supportive with green tea, Rhodiola, l-tyrosine, which is an amino acid omega three fatty acids. Then there's over focused ADD, right, where people get so it's like tunnel vision. And this is also low frontal lobe functioning, increased anterior cingulate gyrus going on in the brain and low serotonin and so there's some different remedies that can help with that. And then even on this, there's different medications that might work well. I found it interesting that some different some brain types, you know, Dr. Amen will provide anticonvulsants to support the brain just because of how the brain is firing and wiring. So So it is interesting that there's these different things and I love that You know, they've found a way to kind of simplify it as well, but also give people not just oh, you have ADD or you have ADHD, right? So, so yeah. And then you know, different diets, you know, someone that has depression, and they really just that low mood depressive disorder, doing HIIT training, high intensity interval training can be very therapeutic for them. But then if you have someone who struggles with anxiety, doing HIIT training, high intensity interval training for them is probably not the best idea. And for them, it's probably better to do Pilates or yoga or something that is, you know, more even keeled. And then the same with kids with, you know, ADHD, there's different exercises that can be supportive for them, as well. So it's just it's figuring out what the person needs, because we are all individual. And so it's my job. When I work with people, I'm like, Okay, how can we support you and what modalities could work best for you?

Arwen Bardsley: 21:11

Oh, that's amazing. Yeah. I mean, I would say I do. I don't struggle with anxiety. Exactly. But I know that I'm more of an anxious type person. And, and certainly, there have been struggles. But yeah, a few years ago, I kind of Yeah, I really did tune into my body and just go, I don't think I shouldn't be doing all this kind of HIIT training and high intensity cardio stuff anymore. I think I do need to do more of the lower intensity stuff. I mean, I think it's from what I know, now, I think it's good for everybody to do, you know, to really get their heart rate up, you know, at least once a fortnight because that's, you know, basically what our bodies were designed to do to run and escape from the the wild tigers or whatever. But, yeah, that's so interesting that that's, you know, kind of, I was actually going with my brain type.

Anna Marie Frank: 22:14

Yeah, and our body is always giving us information, right? But it's like, we continuously look outside ourselves for answers. And so it is interesting when we get quiet enough and listen, like when I was going through what I was going through, when I got quiet enough to listen to what not in my head, listen, but when in my body, like my body knew, like, these medications aren't for you. Like I knew that there wasn't there had there was another way, right. And so that's so important. Our bodies are constantly giving us information all the time. You know, like, for example, one thing when I meet with clients, whether it's virtually or in person, I look at their tongue, and I have them stick their tongue out, you know, and if they're sticking their tongue out and trying to relax it, but it is going crazy, and it is doing this, you know, that's a sign that there's some adrenal issues going on there, right. And if there's scalloping, on the side of the tongue, you know, that can be a sign of needing some detoxification with the liver, or if they're still their tongue is swollen that they're not getting enough water. So the body is constantly sharing information with us. It's just a matter of (1) are we tuning in (2) a lot of people aren't trained anymore? To look at the body and to understand, you know, that the body giving us information, or what that even means, right? Like what, like when you're losing your eyebrow hair on the side of your eyebrows and your hair's thinning and this like okay, well, there can be some thyroid things going on here. Right? So it's like, listen to your body.

Arwen Bardsley: 23:52

Yeah, there was some there's a lot in the media here at the moment about telehealth, which is obviously, come in so much more with COVID. But then, yeah, I was I heard a doctor the other day talking and saying, Yeah, but if you don't actually see your clients, and a lot of the time, you know, it's just on the telephone, literally not even videos. So they're not even seeing the client, the patient in front of them. And so many things can be missed when you're not actually looking at somebody that you're trying to help.

Anna Marie Frank: 24:28

Yeah, it's so true. I have clients send me photographs up close before if I have a virtual, but the thing I do miss out when I don't see them in person is I do muscle response testing. I also do energy testing. So I test their energy field like it's a really cool thing in energy medicine that I've been learning and it's helped so much. One interesting thing. I would say probably over 90% of the people that I see that tell me that they are depressed or have some type of depression, they have what's called homeo lateral. And there's a little test that I do with them. And essentially, all I do is I put an X above my head, and they have to look up above the X. And then I put two vertical lines above my head. And I do a muscle response test on their arm. And if the X, they're weak with the X, that's telling me that their energies aren't really crossing. And those people tend to be more depressed. And it's so crazy. Once I started doing this with clients, I really have them twice a day for two minutes, they just go through this routine, this routine I give them, it's like super easy, they can sit in a chair and do it. But once they start doing it, you know, every day, they're like, This is so crazy, because I do feel better. Like it's nuts, right? So we forget that. We can take the supplements and we can do the exercises, we can do all that stuff. But at the same time, there's also if we go inside every single cell till we can't go any more, the only thing that's left is energy, right? So we have to impact the energy within the cells, as well as the physical matter. And I think we miss that quite a bit as well, when we work with people.

Arwen Bardsley: 26:11

Oh, so true. Yeah, well, that's, you know, really a key of the work that I do as well, it is energy work. And so with the energy field testing, you're doing it is muscle testing. So it's like kinesiology style testing, is that what you're talking about?

Anna Marie Frank: 26:29

Yeah, so I do two types of testing, muscle testing and energy testing, they look pretty similar, but it's just a little bit different. So with energy testing, some of it, I don't even have to touch the body, I actually move energy around the body, and then I test whereas the muscle testing, you know, if I'm doing the thyroid, I can touch the thyroid, I physically touch it, and then I'll do the muscle testing. So, so yeah, so it's just a little bit different, but ultimately, to the average person is going to look like it's the same thing, you know, and I will say this, I would do want to point out with COVID, and everything that you know, people have been going through, you know, like you were talking about feeling a little bit anxious, we can find ourselves there. And one of the things is when we are in periods of stress, right, that go on for a period of time, when we have that fight or flight response with that sympathetic nervous system taking place. What happens is that limbic system in our brain, there's this thing called the amygdala, it's like constantly firing. And what happens when that's going on is that literally cuts us off from our prefrontal cortex, which is our essentially executive thinking, right? It's, it's to see the big picture. And it is our, our prefrontal cortex is very, very important for us to function and make good decisions and all that. So for a lot of people out there because of COVID, and everything that we've been through over the last couple of years. (1) you need to give yourself a break, but (2) if you do feel that you continue, like you think you're making the best decisions, but then you're like, oh my gosh, that was not the best decision and you're making decisions out of anxiousness. That's when you want to make sure you take a step back, do some breath work, you know, just breathe, calm down, give yourself time to make a decision. And you know, and if you need to work with a coach or a professional, like, definitely do that.

Arwen Bardsley: 28:34

Yeah, absolutely. So I wanted to hear from you about the nutraceuticals that you've devised, as well. So obviously, and you've already said this, we're highly advocating that people do a whole range of things to help themselves and you know, as you just mentioned before, a lot of people can think you know, yeah, I'm just going to start taking these supplements and then everything is going to be better, but there's probably a number of other things they need to do as well. But I'd love to hear about your nutraceuticals that you've devised for mental health and you know how how they work and what's in them and where we can get them.

Anna Marie Frank: 29:23

Yeah, yeah, so in October 2020 I brought to the market three formulas that these brain nutraceuticals one's called calm, you one's called Happy you and one called Bright you because my company is called Happy Whole You so ultimately, I when I would meet with people, I would make recommendations based on their brain type to go to the grocery store or go to the health food store and pick up you know, half a dozen different supplements, right vitamins and minerals or herbs or things like that. That To mention at my own home, I would have two dozen different bottles of products sitting there. And I'm like, Oh my gosh, like, if only this was in like one capsule, my life would be so much easier, you know? And so I'm like, You know what I'm gonna try if I could get some of the, like the majority of these active ingredients and put them all in one, if it would still be effective, like (1) could I do that, (2) How would I do that? Like, how do I source out good product and make sure that it's authentic and tested and all the things? And then okay, what am I going to put in these. And so I went through that whole process. And the first one I started with is bright you because selfishly, I was taking green tea extract ashwagandha, I was taking resveratrol, magnesium l-threonate, which is a super important magnesium that crosses the blood brain barrier. It's only magnesium that does that. And, you know, I wanted in gingko. So those were like all my anti inflammatory anti aging supplements I was taking, that's five ingredients. And so I was able to put those all in my bright you. And so I have to take three of those pills every day. But I was like literally taking one or two in the five bottles, because you actually have to have when you get the herbs and you get the vitamins and minerals and all of that and you formulate it for it to actually be encapsulated. There's like for it to mix, you have to add something to it, right. So a lot of times you are one you're buying a product that has other things in it. But then also you are spending more money for you know, less product so so solve that problem so bright you was like my number one. And then I formulated Happy You, which is essentially a lot of precursors to help make serotonin. So we have the vitamin B six B 12 in there, magnesium l-threonate, and a holy basil, lemon balm, extract, 5-HTP, and tryptophan all in there, which is really great just to help your body be able to start to make your own serotonin. So you have all those precursors, and then calm you which is a very, very popular one. That is ultimately to take that level or that layer of yuck off of you. So you can think a little bit clearer and just feel like you again. And that is a combination of there's some B vitamins in there. There's GABA in there, there is lemon balm in there as well magnesium l-threonate. What else do I have in there, I think I have some amino acids in there, I'm doing this off the top of my head. But ultimately, the three products that I combined different amino acids that impact neurotransmitters, different vitamins that are essential, and different herbs that have a lot of really great different properties in them. And so those are the three formulas that I share with people now. But you know, some people I recommend still that they go and pick something else up at the grocery store if if it's you know, because everything is not like I said everyone needs different things. But for the most part this really does give a great approach to supporting people in their brain health in their brain type.

Arwen Bardsley: 33:47

And are they available? Like if someone in Australia wanted to buy them? Are we able to do that? Do you know?

Anna Marie Frank: 33:55

Yeah, so you just email us at info@happywholeyou.com or you can go to happywholeyou.com. I've had a few people that were able to process orders but like I just mailed them out to Canada and so you know we figure out a way

Arwen Bardsley: 34:10

Yeah, yeah, okay. Okay, well that's great that you've you know gone to the the time and effort of getting something that puts a whole lot of useful things together in one capsule it's Yeah, cuz I'm like, I takes so many supplements and they're all in individual capsules. Now, you mentioned COVID as well as I did and I know having looked into your, your personal experiences that you did have had the virus yourself. I actually haven't My son has so I've seen somebody who seemed to have pretty mild COVID And we isolated together and I magically managed to not come down with it, but I'd love to hear about your experience, but especially you know what your recommendations are as a naturopath for people who do fall ill, but more importantly, what your recommendations are for the rest of us to continue to not fall ill.

Anna Marie Frank: 35:18

Yeah. I mean, honestly, it's so important to work on your foundations of health, right, like, so if you do, like I got COVID I, I mean, I felt like I had a really bad flu for a few days. And I think more psychologically, that actually had a greater impact. Because in my mind, when I was going through COVID, knowing what I know, I, it's like, I knew I was going to be okay. But then in the back of my head, I was like, watch, you be the natural health person that something bad happens, right? Because you have all this negativity with, you know, the internet and the news and all of that. So. So there's this huge psychological aspect. And I believe that in the US, the CDC here, this was a while ago. So I remember that this the number one, you had death rates with COVID was comorbidities. The second leading cause of death with COVID was mental health. Which is pretty incredible. So what my family did is, we were taking the bright you all the time, we were increasing our zinc. We were making sure vitamin D levels were up. We were eating healthy. We're eating like my kids every morning. Like they don't even question it. They're nine and 12. They get I give them a shake. And they get a couple handfuls of greens in there. Every all the mushrooms you can think of Lion's Mane, Reishi all of it. And so we put a scoop of that in there, and they get their their protein and I blend it up. And they have that every day. And then they have, you know, a little multivitamin with their D in it. And so just making sure that you're eating, you know, your body is smart, your body knows what to do, although this is a man made virus, I believe, okay, I don't know, like, what everyone else believes. So I think that there is some challenges when a virus isn't evolving organically, if you will. So I do think this virus can kick your butt. I mean, I lost my sister in law. She had just had a baby. And I have my opinions on all of this. She was only like 32. I know that she's struggled with low vitamin D levels for a long time. But she literally got home from having her baby. Unfortunately, at the hospital, they were pushing her to get the COVID vax. And she didn't want to do that. But then they talked her into getting the flu shot. So she did that and got home and just was not feeling well. But she kept attributing it to the flu shot after you know, 40 some hours of labor. And she finally went back to the hospital. And the only reason she went into the hospital to have the baby was because she had side pain. And she was having a hard time breathing. And they said that she had preeclampsia. So they induced her she had the baby. Anyways, she went back to the hospital. And they admitted her because they said, Oh, you have COVID Well, she's in the hospital. Nobody pays attention to the fact that this woman is postpartum. She just had a baby. You know, we all know what happens down there. When you have a baby, she had an infection within a couple of days going on as she is dealing with COVID and all these other things. So So needless to say, she ended up passing away from a blood clot. But, you know, obviously the it's COVID as well. But the whole experience with that was just another reminder. That one, it's never just one thing, right? People are so hyper focused on this one virus that we are missing so many other things, there's so much more missing. And we're not looking at the entire person, we're not looking at the bigger picture with with the people that we're working with. And then this is where it's super important that we have a strong foundation of health and we take care of ourselves and you know, we you know, drinking a lot of alcohol smoking, not getting enough sleep, not moving your body having horrible relationships. You know, all of these things contribute to poor health. So we can sit here and we can blame, you know, whatever it is heart disease, diabetes, um Whatever it may be, but at the end of the day, it comes down to our choices, right? And how we choose to exist in this world, how we choose to take care of our bodies, how we choose to take care of others how we choose to think. And so, you know, it's a very hard thing, what our family has gone through. But at the end of the day, it's like I, I mean, there's like, no words, right? But I just, I think that we're missing a lot with focusing on just one thing, and that with COVID, without COVID, whenever we're hyper focused on just one, like, just weight loss, right, or just one thing, and we miss so much, and it really can eat away at us. So taking care of your whole body, all your foundations of health, your energy field, your mental health, your physical health, it's all so important.

Arwen Bardsley: 40:59

Yep, totally agree. I'm so sorry for your loss. That's just so sad. Yeah, yeah, that's exactly my, my whole practice is the same. Trying to get people to look at everything. So I so my podcast is called 5 Star Wellbeing, but it's also the system that I use in my practice. So the five aspects of food, movement, sleep, your surroundings, and then the fifth one I just call'Being', which is, you know, pretty much everything else, a big dollop of mental health in there, and, you know, spiritual practices. And yeah, just everything else that makes you who you are, and brings you your joy and happiness in life. Yeah. You're You're so right and and the whole Yeah, I mean, well not the whole problem. But a massive part of the problem with allopathic medicine is that focus on the one thing and all these little specialties that, you know, will not look at the whole body that they're treating? It's just the focus on the one aspect that they can deal with? It's just, it doesn't help does it.

Anna Marie Frank: 42:13

I think everybody should have a Western doctor and homeopathic doctor, like, it shouldn't be one or the other. I think that, yeah, it's just it's, it's, it's important. I mean, Western medicine has some great perks. I mean, obviously, it's, there's so many benefits, but then there's also the downfall and the history, if you look at Holistic Health, and how it's been essentially dismantled out of our universities, and you know, what's taken place in the United States, you know, over the last really 100 years. It's very interesting, because sometimes people are like, Oh, what, what is the doctor of naturopathy, and I always, like, I'm a Doctor of, I tell them traditional, meaning I don't break the skin. And like 150 years ago, there were only people like really like me, you know, that we would, we would support our clients or back in the day, we would call them our patients, right? We would go to their homes, and we would support them, and we would find ways to help them heal. And so, you know, I did have one client who works in the medical field. And it's, I always love having people come to me that work in the medical field, because it's just, I learn so much from them. And I feel like they learn from me as well. And it's a beautiful thing. But I'll always have I always get that one person every now and again. Where, you know, I'll tell them, you know, 150 years ago, right there were only like, you know, doctors or people like myself, and it never felt that they'll always be one that says Yeah, but what was the life expectancy then? Right. And I but I'm like, Yeah, I know. But I'm not saying that Western medicine is bad. It's just we literally went from this to the further extreme. Right. And so I think that that's anytime we go to an extreme, you know, it's, it's not necessarily a good thing. But yeah, I just, I just find it really fascinating that it's like, we have to be on one side or the other. And I don't think that we should have to be that I think we should all work together to help people live their most vibrant life.

Arwen Bardsley: 44:36

Yep. Yeah, that's right. That's really the only way it can work. So you mentioned mushrooms then as well. So tell me more about that.

Anna Marie Frank: 44:47

Yeah, so I've been diving more into mushrooms. A little bit of psychedelics micro dosing. I've looked at that, but ultimately, just like the lion's mane, Reishi It's really interesting because I had no idea that like fungi was like the oldest, literally living thing on the earth. Like, I didn't register that, and the healing properties and the fact that underneath our feet, you can have trees, you know, miles away talking to other trees due to the fungi underneath the earth that are helping with these communications. And I, you know, it's like our neurons in our brain. And so it's really interesting, I can send you a link. There's a company, it's called Real mushrooms. And this gentleman that I interviewed for the for my podcast. Jeff, he is amazing. In the 70s, he actually went over to China to help the Chinese become organic, and because we used to get a lot of our mushrooms from over there. And so he's been like, at the forefront where before mushrooms were cool. He was like, you know, wearing mushrooms, hats and doing all sorts of things with mushrooms. But anyways, he has a business up in Washington. They actually, I didn't know this until I interviewed him for the podcast, that some companies, what they do is they grow the mushrooms on corn stalks. So you're not getting like really the quality of the mushroom and they grow their mushrooms, you know, in greenhouses and outside, so it does make a big difference. So I can send you a link, and it will support his company if you use that link.

Arwen Bardsley: 46:29

And so what do you what are the benefits of mushrooms for people who, you know, may have, most people have probably heard of them, because they're they're everywhere now. But they might not be aware of what they can you know what the benefits are for them?

Anna Marie Frank: 46:45

Yeah, so we take to support our immune system for neurogenesis in the brain, as well as our digestive system. So Chunga is really good for digestive system. Reishi is really good for the neurotransmitters or Reishi is really good for immune system and neurotransmitters. And lion's mane is really good for neurotransmitters in the brain as well. And so my son actually is growing mushrooms at our house. Right now we have two ways he's growing them. One, we drilled holes in a log, so he has little spores that he put in that and then he has this other device that he's growing them. So one, it'll take like six months. The other one, it's going to be like nine to 12 months. And so this is a science experiment in our house, and he's 12. But there's actually a really good I think it's on Netflix, there's a really good it's called I think it's called Fantastic fungi. It's a documentary. I recommend people go listen to that. But my son watched it. And then he took it upon himself to find a TED talk. And he was blown away. He's like, Mom, why don't people know like, like, these mushrooms, like, there's people with cancer, and it helps them? Like, why don't people know this? Like, and you know, here he is. He's 12 years old. And he's processing that, like, why aren't more people talking about this? This is a really exciting big thing, you know? And so, so yeah, so it's just education, right, and just sharing information, sharing resources. And the more we can do that, you know, we ultimately with our dollar we will bring to the forefront and what we really want, by the way we spend our money.

Arwen Bardsley: 48:28

Yeah, so true. Great. So that's a good little introduction to mushrooms, I must watch that documentary myself. So speaking of different treatment options, I did also notice that you have some weird and wonderful sounding things at your practice, like the theta pod and the bio charger. I want to hear a bit about them. And, you know, do you have a favorite one?

Anna Marie Frank: 49:03

Oh, gosh, I know everyone always asked me that. So yeah, so it's interesting because not only can I work with people, you know, and do the vitamins and the nutrition and all that. But then I also have my Happy Whole You Wellness Center. We have one here in Bakersfield, California, and one in Raleigh, North Carolina. And this is essentially a human upgrade center. So we have high, we combine high tech pieces of equipment with old school Chinese medicine modalities, holistic health modalities, so you get the best of both worlds. But yes, so I always tell people when I describe these things, it's like I'm talking to foreign language, right like we have a bio charger which is a frequency generator machine. And it essentially gives off infrared but then also these different frequencies that your body will absorb. Or that will get within your energy field if your body wants it or doesn't. But it's a really cool machine. I love it. We have a full body Red Light bed to help with mitochondria function plus just you know, 10-15 minutes of red light can help boost serotonin as well. Plus, it's really great for the skin, anti aging and all that we don't really promote that. But you know, that's just an added benefit. I feel like all holistic health stuff is anti aging, right? Like the more you shine from within, the more you shine outside. And then we have a theta pod, which is essentially this pod you lay in, And so what's the benefit of the turning? With the theta pod? it actually turns while you're in it. And it's a guided Well, it's a it forces you in a meditative state. And so we have ces units that go on your ears are FDA approved for anxiety, depression, insomnia, we can program the pod for whatever PTSD, memory enhancement hormones, and essentially, it's putting you in this state where you're most open to suggestion. And then there's music. And then there's suggestion music with some binaural beats that take place, when you literally feel like you're floating and you can have an out of body experience while you're in there. If you don't want to go that intense, we do have what's called a theta chair. So it's a chair that pretty much assimilates everything except for the vestibular with the turning when you're in the pod, then we have microvascular beamer pad to help increase basal motion in the body eliminate metabolic waste, a medical grade sauna, has the full spectrum of infrared light in it. And we combine that with a lymphatic really shake board. And then also with some red light, we have a detox pod. And I add these headsets for clients, like when they're in the detox pod or the red light bed that are guided meditation head sets. Pretty cool there. And so yeah, so it's really a place where you can come and there's a lot of, you know, technology that is very supportive with the body. And yeah, and then we combine that with other things. Like, what what does that do? So think of it as like lighting up your brain, like, it's the fourth of July, right? You have movement, you have actually, there's a light therapy, your eyes are closed, but it's triggering the optic nerve, you have the binaural beats, so you have the right and left hemisphere of the brain, then you have this the sound going on. So it's like, you know, we all have these neural networks that get cemented in our brains, and they get stronger and stronger as we get older, right? Like, we start to really develop our analytical mind, when we're 7,8, 9 years old, right, we start to realize, you know, I like that person, but not that person, or, you know, we start to make these things up in our head, or this is how things should be, they should not be like this. Whereas before, we were like, thinking of zebras, and leprechauns, and rainbows and all sorts of stuff in our brains when we were little. And we were just imagining all the things and our imagination made us feel like it was real. So we stopped doing that. And so we create these neural networks in our brain. And we stop, we just intensify them. So when you go in the pod, I always envision it as creating new neural networks, right? It's like reminding that there's these other neurons that can connect and play with other neurons. And you don't always have to play with the same neurons, right? So it's like opening your brain up to more suggestion, and people come out of there and have, I mean, they have different experiences. Even after they leave, you know, and they'll, they'll feel different emotions coming up, I'm sure with like, the energy work that you do. You know, it's, it's not always just about that moment with the practitioner. But it's how your body is responding. And things that continue to shift. Everything's always in motion, even after you leave. And that is even more therapeutic than maybe just the session that while you're there, and I think we sometimes forget about that.

Arwen Bardsley: 54:05

yeah, so true. But also, that is why it's so So, important for people to get the whole health concept and you know, not leave and go and drink half a bottle of wine and eat McDonald's like, you know, you've got to support these things to keep working for you. Yeah, great. So We're nearly out of time, but I did also just want to hear about your book,"Stop bullying yourself".

Anna Marie Frank: 54:36

Oh, yeah. So I wrote stop bullying yourself. I think a couple of years after I had my daughter, because as I was going through my mindset shift and essentially reprogramming my brain. I wanted to have essentially a something documented if I anything were to happen to me, for my children, you know, if they ever struggled with that negative voice inside their head, you know, these are some things that mom did to help her. And even in that book, I don't even have all the holistic stuff that I've done, I have to write a whole nother book. But I essentially started just writing out a Google document. And then I sent it to my sister, and she said, Oh, my gosh, she's a counselor. And she's like, You need to share this with people. I'm like, I was like, Who wants to read a Google document? And she's like, No, like, you need to make this into a book. And so yeah, so I wrote the book. I give it away all the time I sell it on my website, I just feel like it's a good, good tool. And it's a good reminder. And it's just I just give suggestions for personal growth in there. Because it does a lot of things come down comes down to how we're thinking, and how our brain is functioning. And so you know, this is I wrote that book before I even was exposed to the Amen clinics, I think my book was, it was published. And then I remember shortly after that, I had someone who got my book, and they're like, oh, have you read this book by this guy named Dr. Amen? And I was like, No. And I picked up his book, and I was like, Oh, my gosh, like, he calls them the ANTs inside of your head. Automatic Negative Thoughts. And you know, I call it the inner bully. And so it was really cool. I'm like, I need to learn from this, this doctor, you know, and so. So yeah, so it's, it's just a tool, right? It's another tool for your toolkit. And I have it on Audible too. So I will read it right to you, you can get it on Audible. But yeah, it's it's I'm proud that I, you know, as a, as a kid who didn't read well, until high school, and as a kid that, you know, essentially, my second grade teacher told me, I would never amount to anything, if I didn't learn to read, and to be a published author to have, you know, the accolades that I have. And to be in a position in my life where I'm proud of the woman I am and what I've accomplished, and I don't I, you know, I'd like it's nothing to be ashamed of. And, you know, it's really interesting to be in that space, where I'm at right now. So I'm very proud of the work that I've been able to do. So far. And hopefully, I'll have many more years to continue to do this work and support other people.

Arwen Bardsley: 57:21

No, you absolutely should be proud. Did you send a copy of the book to your second grade teacher?

Anna Marie Frank: 57:27

You know what's funny is I don't even I don't even know who I don't even remember her name?

Arwen Bardsley: 57:34

Yeah. Wow. Well, that's probably a good thing.

Anna Marie Frank: 57:38

And I think that I cos you remember, like a lot of your teachers names, right. But there's, there's a period of my time where I really don't remember a lot of my teachers names. But that's also another thing is when you're under constant stress, your memory really becomes impacted. And I've thought about going back and looking, but I just I just always try to keep moving forward.

Arwen Bardsley: 58:00

Yeah, absolutely. No, I'm only joking. That wouldn't be good. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Great. So do you have any particular you know, specials on or, you know, programs or services that you did want to tell people about before we finish up?

Anna Marie Frank: 58:19

Yeah, I mean, if anyone's interested in working with me, you can go ahead and email info@Happywholeyou.com. Or you can find us on Instagram. And I do remote work with people. I do sessions that way. And a new therapy I've brought to the table is plant stem cells. I just finished my master herbologists certification took me about 10 months. And along that way, that journey, I learned about plant stem cells, and I'm like, Oh my gosh, what is this? This is insane. I just recorded a podcast about them. super inexpensive, effective. And another modality guys, and I just couldn't believe this isn't like being screamed from the rooftops of how incredible these plant stem cells are, and how easy they are to take and the affordability of them. So anyways. So yeah, so you can just, you know, I work remotely with people. So if you're interested in doing something for remote work, just message us and then you know, I can give you a little special something if you mentioned this podcast.

Arwen Bardsley: 59:29

Oh, thank you. And yeah, speaking of which, so your is your podcast? What's the name of your actual podcast? Is that Happy Whole You as well?

Anna Marie Frank: 59:39

Yes. Happy Whole You podcast.

Arwen Bardsley: 59:41

Yeah, yeah, plant stem cells. I have not heard of that. So I'm going to have to go and listen to your podcast now. Yeah, that's great.

Anna Marie Frank: 59:49

I know, and I can't wait to have you on my podcast. So you can share all your goodies

Arwen Bardsley: 59:54

Oh that would be wonderful. Yeah. Thank you so much. And thank you for your time and Yeah, look, there's just I'm sure we could keep going for another hour right? Yeah, I just I just don't do that on my on my show, but maybe we'll do a part two as well. We can always do that. So yeah, thank you really heaps for your time today, Anna Marie. It's been wonderful and I really appreciate you coming on and sharing your knowledge with everybody.

Anna Marie Frank: 1:00:27

Yeah, thanks for letting me share

Arwen Bardsley: 1:00:29

anytime