My approach to health and wellness.

About me and my wellness journey.

I am an academic turned health writer and wellness advocate from the Atlanta area. I used to think I was passionate about studying the world's problems and trying to find solutions that could help. But, at that time, I was really terrible at taking care of myself. Although I am new to this area of writing in a formal sense, what I’ve studied, my work experience, and personal life have led me to clearly see the importance of a few things: 

1. accessible information and resources on health and wellness for all people;
2. a focus on preventing non-congenital physical and mental illness;
3. and the need for life skills, especially in terms of self-care, healthy relationships, and financial literacy.

I was raised by two people who were tapped into the health and wellness industries in very different ways: My dad’s approach focuses on Afro-Black, plant and herb-based holistic health, while my mom partakes in more of the trends and mainstream side of the industry. Today, I believe in a realistic blend of the two. For most of my life, though, I had no sense of self-care or my own wellness. And it led me to more than a few issues:

• My gut used to be so out of balance, it occasionally interfered with my work, school, and sleep routines. And I never knew how to deal with it because I refused to seek help out of embarrassment or I felt as if I was making excuses. 
• I didn’t have a consistent diet or plan for exercise— I was either very active and ate nutritious food or I was lazy and ate mostly preserved food from boxes. My weight and physique constantly fluctuated because I lacked the consistency I needed. 
• My hair would grow and flourish for a time, but then my anxiety would lead me to either chop parts of it off when I felt stressed, “manhandle” it causing breakage and damage, or I’d neglect it for weeks and have to get much more than a regular trim at the salon. 
• My eczema-prone skin flares (along with my gut) when I feel excessive stress, anxiety, and if my life gets out of balance.
• For about five years between high school and college, I performed with dance teams on which I worked out intensively and practiced three to five times every week. Still, I had a noticeable pudge in my lower belly that never went away… EVER! Even with changes to my diet. 
• I had no clue what I really wanted to do with my career, or even who I was.
• I lacked strong boundaries and the ability to stand up for myself when it mattered.
• When it came to dealing with stress, I used to pretend it didn’t phase me and tried ignoring it altogether – “Fake it ‘til you make it,” was my motto.

Slowly but surely, just pushing along with an inconsistent, irregular lifestyle started to take its toll on me. When I entered the rigorous part of training for my career (graduate school) and I had less free time than I was used to, I found myself focusing so much on my work and career that I’d allow other parts of my life— my mental health, keeping in touch with family and friends, dental hygiene, my hobbies, diet and exercise, etc.— to fall apart. I also lived in a new city— Columbus, Ohio— in which I struggled to get my bearings after being raised in the Atlanta area and spending most of my adult years in larger metropolitan locations. 

Eventually, it all nearly led me to implode.

Learning to address my mental and emotional health.

I love my parents and family eternally and I will always be grateful for the lessons I learned from them— I know they made some sacrifices to raise and support me. But my struggles while figuring out how to “adult” led me to face one harsh reality: That my parents and family taught (or failed to teach) me quite a few things that really messed me up!

My family is one in which arguments and aggression are used as tools of manipulation and control to avoid resolving issues, which requires people to change their behavior. My family pretends to be "just fine" or project the source of "the problem" onto another in order to avoid accountability. And various family members' toxic behavior and outbursts have ruined any and every special moment possible for me: birthdays, holidays, graduations, award ceremonies, school assemblies, moving, college, sporting events, births, deaths – you name it! And for years, because this was the family into which I was born, I believed I should just accept "how they are" and "just deal with" the fact that their pointless melodrama regularly upended parts of my life and experiences that were very important to me. I never truly felt happy because I always walked on eggshells while waiting for the other shoe to drop, and I never celebrated anything about myself for fear it would disregarded, downgraded, or completely ripped to shreds.

It took spending a few crucial years getting to know myself, my boundaries, and what I want in life before I found my TRUE passion: empowering myself and others to change our wellness and our lives for the better with relatable content, tools, guidance, and support! I arrived at this point only by learning to contend with and care for my mental and emotional health.

My story is all about finding the courage to face what scares me, dealing with my stress rather than avoiding or repressing it, healing from past trauma, and getting to know myself so I can do the things that make me feel fulfilled in life. It's also a story about finally mustering up the courage to believe in love, especially in self-love. The journey has not been easy and there were many times when moving forward felt like going backward. But creating the habit of choosing what’s best for me and making great decisions even when it’s tough changed my entire life. I found the courage to get to know myself, and to proudly BE myself. I found my voice as a writer. And I discovered my passion for health and wellness. 

From this point forward, the rest of my story is all about inspiring myself and others to live our very best lives!

A disconnect between medical research and the people.

During my time in academia, I found a huge disconnect between the “intellectual” writers, professors, and other thinkers in many areas of social justice and the people we study. The ones who suffer from the conditions and circumstances discussed in books and articles are often not part of the conversation, nor the solutions. And I think that’s a huge part of why certain issues persist, or at least in the way they persist. Likewise, these same dynamics— a lack of communication and understanding between those who study and those who are studied— apply to the medical field, and the sciences as well. Even when practicing doctors report experiencing symptoms of long-term COVID or when mothers, doulas, and care staff reveal issues with how Black women are treated during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period, which contributes to a disproportionate number of early maternal and infant deaths, these issues are often swept under the rug. In the U.S. medical system, the patient must often “take the lead in finding solutions to their problems and accessing their own care,” even if the patient is a respected, knowledgeable, well-connected physician or trained health worker.

I want to help people take the lead in having the very best health and wellness outcomes their bodies and lives can provide!

Our lifestyles and habits affect our health and wellness the most.

A number of studies on the impact of medical care found that about 80% of our health status is determined by our specific health behaviors (30%), our social and economic conditions (40%), and our physical environment (10%). This means only 20% of our health outcomes relate to what happens with our doctors, while our lifestyles, habits, and choices account for the majority of our health status! To me, this is a no-brainer, but having research-based evidence helps to back up the assumption. 

When it comes to my own health and wellness, I want to: 

• Look great and feel amazing at every age!
• Resolve and manage stress and any health issues. 
• Eat well without ever counting a single calorie.
• Stay fit without being a “gym rat.” 
• Work with a team of health and care workers to create optimal wellness.
• Avoid non-homeopathic drugs and unnecessary invasive surgery for both health and cosmetic purposes whenever possible. 
• Have safe, healthy, and relaxing menstrual and reproductive experiences and pregnancies. 
• Spend most of my time in my home or traveling with my kids, family, and friends (NOT at a desk or away from loved ones).
• Save money anywhere I can and extend wealth and resources to my children, and to their children.
• Do work that satisfies my moral and ethical needs in the area in which I feel well-suited and able to make a difference.
• Live a long, happy, fulfilling life!
• Help others achieve their own health and wellness goals— especially people from diverse communities or anyone who doesn’t think wellness is "right" for them.

My impact on health and wellness through content.

Based on my skills, personality, and experience, I can make a significant impact on public health and well-being with a social-based, direct, and simplified approach to discussing our collective wellness.

I want to change the way our culture views mental health, our hesitance to face to trauma, and help unwind the path to atonement and redemption for anyone who's afraid of owning up to their mistakes and wrongdoings. I want to encourage and promote healing as a means of inspiring people to take control of their destinies and create their own happy, fulfilling lives, which is what we all deserve. 

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As a health and wellness writer, I offer:

• Simplified, streamlined content based on esoteric health and wellness literature and findings.
• Specific, relatable action items for preventing and managing illness and complications based on medical research.
• Suggestions on habits and behavioral changes to improve overall health outcomes.
• SEO optimized health and wellness content.

Looking to hire a writer for your health and wellness project or to develop copy and content for your wellness business? Let’s chat and find out if I’m a great fit for what you need! Send me a message:

danigrevious@gmail.com

#health #wellness #healthwriter

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