Dr. Simone’s Mind Space

Seasonal affective disorder SAD

Winter and darkness, fog, rain, and lack of sunlight impacts many people’s well-being during the winter months. It’s named seasonal affective disorder. This specific seasonal depression affects people around the world and occurs when days get shorter.

 

How do I know that I’m suffering from SAD?

-If you are not depressed or low in mood during the rest of the year and only in the winter months, it’s most likely SAD.

-If you lack vitamin D.

-If you lack time outside.

 

What can we do to reduce symptoms of SAD?

-Exercise, especially during the bright daylight hours. No matter rain or sun.

-Winter swimming, a pure endorphin booster.

-Meet and be active with friends.

-Head to the mountains for snow and bright sunlight.

-Plan a trip to warmer sunnier climate.

-Light therapy, use a SAD lamp at home.

-Reach out to an expert before symptoms get too severe.

-Psychotherapy can support you through the darkest months of the year.

 

@drschwank

@unesurcent

@optimalperformancezurich

 

 

Returning to myself

Friday our beloved son was born. My husband is incredibly engaged, changed most diapers, takes care of the feeding, and cooks for the three of us. He’s absolutely incredible. It’s the partner I’d wish any working mom!!! It’s such a relief and joy to carry the responsibility together. We complement each other and help each other out. It all comes very naturally, magic really.

An aspect however, we both need to work on, is the focus and enjoy the baby bubble.

 

@drschwank 

@unesurcent

@optimalperformancezurich

Baby countdown

Sitting getting my nails done, working, and mentally preparing for tomorrow’s c section.

Yoga PT will be the perfect power flow I need, in order to feel grounded for the operation and life changing experience tomorrow.

Decided that yoga is essential as preparation. I’ll be doing it from our practice and maybe my working colleague and dear friend joins me. Quality time pure and what I truly need. Tomorrow, I’ll be running together with my sister and then to the hospital. Why not, I feel it’s exactly what I need.

@drschwank 

@unesurcent

@optimalperformancezurich 

Final countdown till the baby arrives

This is a description of the final days before the baby arrives. Fixing all the last errands, a trip to our home in Stockholm, buying all the baby essential, mommy essentials from Totême, Prada, Chanel, and co. Meeting all my professor colleagues in reproductive health, as well as our hero, our ivf doctor and CEO of the very best fertility clinic in Scandinavia.

Then an incredible snowstorm hit Sweden! Everything stoped and stood still, people snowed in their homes! I was supposed to meet my PhD professors in person, but both insnowed at home!! All my errands and meetings were planned me using me race bike, 9 months pregnant, but instead I ended up running around in the craziness of a snowstorm! Luckily, I decided to buy new Nike winter runners! A true life saver, save also as 9 months pregnant women.

Comes yesterday, constant snow and everything looking pretty grimm to make it on a plane today. This uncertainty was definitely not what I needed!! Worrying I wouldn’t make it home for my delivery! This feeling of being out rather than under control is very stressful! That’s what I propose to all mothers to be in the last days! Go to massages, try to relax even if you’d whole system is on to-do-mode.

 

Example: Yesterday, I had 5 meetings at Karolina Institute and due to the crazy snow, 2 ended up remote. That’s why I acted immediately and next to the yoga booked a 30min Ayurveda massage. The very best I could do to treat my body AND soul. But even better was the special treatment by the daddy-to-be! He’s really gone above and beyond to spoil me with his cooking and organising our Stockholm home to look beautiful upon my arrival. Further, he’s also experiencing the final countdown feeling. That’s so nice not to be alone!! He’s running all the errands for his company, meetings, car winter driving training to be the best driver for his son.

 

To does: Well, we all can’t avoid to be in the fixing countdown stress in the last weeks before the baby arrives. That’s just to be accepted!

Therefore…

1. Book in specific down time session: exercise, yoga the best, massages, especially for head and feet to keep you grounded.
2. Say NO. Cancel and really don’t have any bad feeling about saying no.
3. Most importantly, enjoy the time together as the two of you! Such a precious time for you. Cocoon into your home, go for champagne apéros, to relax.

 

Don’ts: It’s important to try to relax and not stress around too much! Easier said than done! Stress and nervousness is normal!

Couple’s arguments: normal, yet unnecessary! Try to talk, rather than having escalating fights!

 

@drachwank

@unesurcent

@optimalperformancezurich

 

 

Yoga: The ultimate self care

In conversation with Marie, yoga teacher at MIX, originally from Southern California. Her positive energy is contagious and spread among all her students. She shares how yoga can be used as a mindset of a balanced lifestyle, how important breathing is for stress reduction, and mental well-being. As well as yoga as an exercise for everyone and how to incorporate it in your daily life. She’s heading home to Cali for Thanksgiving and shares some of her family traditions. Tune in and listen to a dynamic conversation about self care.

 

@drschwank

@unesurcent

@optimalperforrmancezurich

@mixstudioch

@swipedbyaswiss

Reinventing parenting part 6: yoga the ultimate self care

Today’s been a magic coincidence, managing to squeeze in an hour of yoga PT. Strong flow with Marie from MIX studio. Absolutely brilliant for body and mind. Back pain became real for me too again, like during the four years of ivf. Yet, instead of stopping my movements, lying in bed or taking pain medication, I arranged this yoga PT. The very best for both body and mind. I feel magnificent after. So strong, a complete moving meditation, exactly what I see as my way of meditating. I never felt comfortable with all the suggested meditation suggestions for pregnant women. It made me feel inadequate not doing it, even if I feel inside knew it’s not for me. This is one of the reasons, why I’m sharing this here. The more we listen to our selves, the stronger, and more powerful we feel. Movement is key to feel good from the inside out. A healthy soul lives in a healthy body. A healthy baby lives in a healthy mother’s womb. Self care is staying true to our self and trusting ourselves. This is the desired way to enter parenthood: self-confident, able to take out me time, and say no when we need space, be kind to ourselves to accept what we can’t control. 

To us women, who cherish and trust in their bodies and minds.

 

@drschwank

@unesurcent

@optimalperforrmancezurich

@mixstudioch

Reinventing parenting part 5: Babymoon

The countdown is real now. 22 days left until our child is born. We’ve just returned from a trip to Rome, as a special couple’s time and prenatal bonding. The so called babymoon. We’ve talked a lot about the future, our visions, dreams, but most importantly focussed on the NOW. The time together as a couple and the plan to focus on it also in the future is crucial for a happy and balanced partnership. This will be reflected in the child, his behavior is always a mirror of the caregivers’ capacity to maintain contained. This is something we’ve discussed on our trip over morning runs, long long walks, coffee breaks, champagne apéros, and wonderful dinners.

This attitude to focus on quality time as a couple, is essential to the both of us. That’s why we decided to go on this babymoon trip. The destination isn’t what matters, it’s the mindset that matters. This mindset is good to be trained and established, prior to the baby’s arrival.

An agreement on how to parent among the couple is very important. Another essential aspect is the sharing of one’s own childhood experiences. The reason, why it’s extraordinarily important, is that we tend to get into default mode, especially when stressed. The default mode, wether we like it or not, is the behavioral pattern we’re most familiar with from our own childhood. Wether this mode is constructive or destructive, it tends to take over the cognitions. That’s why one’s partner should know, in order to act appropriately. Couple time first!

 

@unesurcent

@drschwank

@optimalperformancezurich

Der Weg zum Baby

In der heutigen Episode wird Dr. Simone einmal ganz anders interviewt, von ihrer Praxis Partnerin zum Thema Infertilität.

Taucht ein ins Gespräch, entspannt am Freitagabend mit Champagner und Franciacorta.

 

@drschwank

@unesurcent

@optimalperformancezurich

How to be successful with Dr. Christine & Dr. Schwank

Today’s conversation is a success story of an inspiring young woman, multiple business owner, and mother of two, Dr. Christine Forte Klotz. She shares her story of how she became a therapist, the many places she lived, worked, and gave birth to her children.

Listen and get inspired by a women that doesn’t seek out to find the perfect job, but let’s gravity do the work, and ends up with fantastic opportunities wherever she does.

 

@unesurcent

@drschwank

@optimalperformancezurich 

@christineforteklotz

Infertility and the couple partnership

Infertility can impact a couple’s relationship greatly. Being both very vulnerable, due to the sadness, worries, and low affect of not succeeding with a shared dream. At times, the partners are at different stages of mourning, excepting, experiencing, which can be very challenging. The support each partner needs might also differ greatly and as both experience the grief and loss of a dream, it’s difficult to be there as emotional and physical support.

Seek support early, the earlier the better. Far too often, individuals and couples wait too long and are already in crisis mode, have many broken glasses already, when they finally take the step to seek help. Very unfortunate, since the person we would need the most during these difficult times is the partner.

A professional third party, a psychologist can be a great source of relief. A person that genuinely listens to the couple’s needs. An expert that can contain the experiences and be a non-judgemental listener.

Benefits of copule's therapy are, that the couple can learn how to best support each other, based on each individual’s needs. In couple’s therapy there’s room for each individual to share their needs in a neutral environment.

The therapist can support the couple to contain emotions and navigate and explain the individual behaviors and their origin. These explanations can reduce friction, tension, and misunderstandings.

Therapists can provide tools in how to learn to better understand each other. One such resource are the 5 love languages https://5lovelanguages.com/. There’s a love language questionnaire, a tool that can be used as a valuable source of information, to better understand the partner and their needs and ways of expressing love and care.

Try to be a non-judgmental, curious listener, even if it’s terribly difficult at times.

The better each partners’ understand each other, the less conflicts, misunderstandings, and feelings of being ignored by the partner there are.

 

A guide for couples:

 

1. Seek professional help early.
2. Mutually agree on the therapist and frequency.
3. Invest time to understand your partners needs.
4. Be open to use tools, such as the 5 love languages, to understand your partner better.
5. Learn to become a non-judgmental, curious listener.
6. Accept that you might be at different stages in the mourning process.
7. Focus on your relationship as a couple, its values and why you are actually undergoing reproductive treatment.
8. Be willing to share your worries and vulnerabilities with your partner.
9. Relationships don’t have to be complicated.
10. Go out and enjoy some couple’s time. Focus on positive things you love to do.

@drschwank

@unesurcent 

@optimalperformancezurich