In her book The Mountain Is You, Brianna Wiest explores the two sides of ourselves: the conscious and the unconscious.
She explains that “the conscious is the part of us that knows what we want, while the unconscious is the part that doesn’t understand why we continue to hold ourselves back.“
This disconnect is why we turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms, leading to self-sabotage. The junk food, the alcohol, the endless hours of TV and scrolling, the drugs, the toxic dramas—these are all ways we attempt to cope.
But what if I told you we could trade our addictions for positive habits? Habits that still provide the dopamine and norepinephrine we crave, but in a healthier, more sustainable way?
What if I told you that working out could leave you feeling more energized and well-rested than spending hours watching TV after work because you feel “too exhausted to do anything else”?
What if I told you that eating three times more protein than you do now could reduce your sugar cravings while helping you feel fuller and more satisfied?
What if I told you that doing something productive or creative after dinner could eliminate your nightly cravings for ice cream or endless scrolling?
What if I told you that exercising, eating well, sleeping eight hours, meditating, using temperature therapy, practicing breathwork, and taking proper supplementation could each offer a healthier and more balanced distribution of brain chemicals than any stimulant or antidepressant? Imagine the impact if you combined these habits.
The biggest obstacle to all of this is that it’s very hard.
After two decades of being passionate about physical and mental health, a decade spent watching or rescuing people die from their addictions and lifestyles as an EMT, and another decade helping people fight their destructive habits, I know firsthand—it’s a constant battle.
It can feel like everything is stacked against us: our past, the food industry, the healthcare system, and the way fear is used to manipulate us. It’s so easy to slip into a victim mentality.
My father left when I was two. My mom moved far away to rebuild her life when I was seven. I smoked my first cigarette at eleven, had access to porn and sex even before that, and by thirteen, I was mostly independent, discovering alcohol, partying, and chasing status.
It can feel like everything is stacked against us. But the conscious part of us, the part that knows what we truly want, knows that we are not victims. It understands that the only way to change is to confront what holds us back, head-on. And that takes hard work.
At first, change feels harder than staying the same. It takes time. It takes weeks to feel the changes, months to see them, and years to truly transform our lifestyle and identity. And truthfully, it never stops.
Health is something we must cultivate, for life.
📷: @kippingmedia