Wild Heart: Healthy Life: When the Odds Are Against You, Your Lifestyle Matters

By Melissa Viator

National conflicts, terrorist-attacks and catastrophic events are just a few variables shaping our lives in society today. As children, we are supposed to be resilient to adverse experiences, however the underlining truth is revealed as we become adults. ACEs and PTSD is becoming a commonly known factor among those suffering from depression; which can be altered through diet, exercise and our social environment. Ask yourself if you, or love one, has been exposed to psychological (verbal), physical, sexual abuse or has lived in a dysfunctional household (e.g., substance abuse, mental illness, domestic violence, or criminal behaviors). After conceptualizing over decades of my personal adverse childhood experiences, military experiences, diet and exercise behaviors, I can honestly explain how your long-term health outcome may be improved regardless of the adverse exposures you may have endured in your life. Becoming mindful of mood triggers, diet, exercise, and your social environment can save lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: May 9, 2019
• ISBN: 9781546278054

Melissa Viator

MELISSA VIATOR is an independent researcher of public health and public health practice currently residing in Alaska. She holds a BA, MA of Management and Leadership, and a MPH in Public Health Practice. During her military service, she served South Korea, Iraq, and Afghanistan Anti-Terrorism Campaigns, and military delegations across the U.S. She continued her career as an Instructor and Course Director of Military Sciences at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York where she taught undergraduate courses for further development of future Army officers; coach, teach, mentor methods to expand abilities in the areas of critical thinking, problem solving, communicating, self-confidence, and decision-making. Her last military deployment was in Afghanistan in support of counter-insurgency operations and served as a Company Commander. As a graduate student, she was an employed Research Assistant, served as a Student Advisory Council Chairperson, and inducted into the Delta Omega Public Health Honor Society.

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WILD

HEART

HEALTHY LIFE

When the Odds are Against You,

Your Lifestyle Matters

Melissa Viator

AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

©

2019 Melissa Viator. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,

or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 05/07/2019

ISBN: 978-1-5462-7804-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-7805-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019901056

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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DEDICATION

To my beloved children, to help them become compassionate for other people and their environment, make better food choices, and learn to always find positivity in their lives. I hope to inspire a healthier lifestyle for them and anyone who reads this despite their obstacles in life.

To my family, who has given me much to think about throughout my life. You have set the foundation for my thoughts and forced me to process emotions and accept and love family members for who they are.

To my husband, who always supports my most challenging ambitions and continues to love me unconditionally through it all.

CONTENTS

DEDICATION

PROLOGUE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

PART 1: BALANCING YOUR HEALTH BEYOND THE PLATE

CHAPTER 1: UNDERSTANDING MOOD TRIGGERS

CHAPTER 2: ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES (ACES), POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD), AND HEALTHY FOOD CHOICES

CHAPTER 3: MAKE IT YOUR PERSONAL CHOICE

CHAPTER 4: ACTIVE LIFESTYLE THAT WORKS FOR YOU

PART 2: COOKING RECIPES FOR REAL WHOLE FOODS

CHAPTER 5: SELF-HARVESTING ALWAYS WINS

CHAPTER 6: HEALTHIER MEAL OPTIONS

CHAPTER 7: FOR THE SMOKER

CHAPTER 8: KEFIR FOR THE WIN!

PART 3: HEALTHY BALANCE THROUGH FOOD AND YOUR ENVIRONMENT

CHAPTER 9: YOUR LIFESTYLE MATTERS

WORKS CITED

PHOTOGRAPHY CITED

PROLOGUE

This book will resonate with everyone in some way or another. The topics are close to home and will make you think about your own personal habits, behaviors, and people in your life. I needed to write this book to open up a sensitive dialogue on topics we just cannot clearly describe in their entirety and that are often left unspoken as undefined mysteries about ourselves that hold much meaning. Here, we will conceptualize personal questions like why we have interchangeable moods, highs and lows, and feelings of worthlessness at times. These feelings can waste our precious time, and I want us to enjoy life to its fullest.

I use my own life experiences to set the stage for your personal explorations, all while avoiding comparison and judgment. Comparing your life with others’ and judging them is a waste of time and evidence of a weak backbone – so to speak. And so, I leave judgment at the door but open my wild heart for you to resonate with and to learn that you are never alone in this world. Judgment is a form of clear evidence that you are insecure about your own fears and uncertainties. Likewise, it creates obstacles that delay a healthy lifestyle. It stops you from being the best—well, person you absolutely can be. I’m providing my examples as a tool for you to use in doing your own deep thinking as you closely evaluate your lifestyle for what it truly means and how it affects you. This is a book that will influence you to delve deeply into your own food habits and social environment and learn where it all stems from on a personal level. It will make you cry and hopefully laugh. It will help you make better life choices that support feeling the very best you can possible be. It will help you become more balanced mentally, socially, and emotionally. It will help you learn to be more human and develop the courage to love yourself for who you are.

I’ll start by letting you in on my very own important secret that literally shaped me into who I am today. I’m guilty of living with the Viking mentality—that is, kill or be killed. I am great at building a bulletproof shell around myself and living a numb existence to ensure I will never be vulnerable. I refuse to be victimized and always wear a mask that conveys, No one will ever be welcome inside my head or learn my weaknesses. In time, I realized this Viking mentality was a means of survival by creating a false dichotomy in which, if I don’t do the crushing, I will fall prey to my own environment.

This is how I remember how I got through my childhood. My mentality ran parallel with the Vikings’ on the battlefield. It defined the untouchable, unbreakable, and confident character I wanted to portray. I wore thick armor and felt invincible. In truth, I was in survival mode as a child. Although this way of surviving was not a healthy way to continue to live, it had indeed shaped my adult habits and behaviors that suppressed my way of living altogether. I’ll explain more details in a bit as it took some time to learn how to release the Viking inside me. It took time to realize that I need love, growth, and renewal to truly live a healthy and balanced life. It literally took decades to figure this out, and here I am now writing to you to explain that strength does not come from the experiences we live through; it comes with the human connection we feel with others during those experiences. I am here to explain that you need vulnerability, courage, and kindness to grow within, and it all stems from our wild hearts. Our hearts are like wild animals thriving instinctively. We all know right from wrong in some capacity, but our environments influence us to make decisions, ultimately, on how we conduct ourselves in social interactions, make food choices, and handle outcomes that originated from our past experiences.

Decisions are perhaps the only aspect of your life that you are truly in control of. In my experiences, I have found that criticism is a form of self-protection, in terms of protecting myself from feeling fear and worthlessness. It was so easy for me to criticize and judge others because, in reality, I feared knowing and accepting the truth about my own faults and imperfections. I feared not being good enough my whole life, as I am sure you may have had similar insecurities from one time or another. Instead of feeling sorry for myself and binge eating or drinking, I thought about how I could make contributions in society or, at the very least, appreciate others’ achievements. It is a risk to throw your authentic self out there just to be scrutinized and judged. But nothing positive ever comes from criticizing one’s actions or passing judgment. Even if a nasty, yet clever, defensive response feels amazing for a split second, it is quickly forgotten and leaves you feeling empty—shameful, even. Shame makes you feel completely irrelevant and unable to handle rapid change and contribute to society. It will literally cause delays in your personal growth and open doors for a destructive lifestyle or, at best, poor eating habits. This book will open other doors for people living within their darkest days. Subtle life changes can make a huge difference in your quality of life, and so I needed to publish a manuscript that provides an example for others to help make these subtle changes. Food choices and food preparation methods can make a huge difference in your mood, social environment, and long-term health.

I wanted to write a book that shares a heartfelt childhood that led me to the path to a particular lifestyle. This book shares my story of the adverse childhood and military experiences I had all while beating the odds for the very best and healthiest outcome. It explains how we can break the cycles of substance abuse, domestic abuse, chronic disease, and low socioeconomic status if we know how to identify and understand certain factors in our lives, and it bridges the gap between how we were raised and the adults we are capable of becoming through food choices and our social environment.

I would not be completely honest with you by saying that only negative outcomes came from my childhood. That is not what this book is about and it could not be more opposite from the truth. Some of my best qualities are based on all of my childhood experiences and, for the most part, came from my parents, siblings, and close friends, including the way I love people; the way I care for people who are having their absolute worst days; the way I can empathize for those hurting and laugh until I pee myself in the same breath, which happens pretty often; the way I have learned to truly understand people before my opinions even have a chance to develop; the way I stop and think about a homeless person or someone with different abilities and know they have an interesting story to tell; the way I can understand that all people have different body types and food behaviors that originally manifested from their environments or perhaps their cultures.

Instead of asking questions like, Why am I living like this? or What the hell is wrong with me? ask the question, What happened? instead. Understanding the core roots of your personal development will answer the mysteries of yourself and the life choices you have made.

Food choices, environments, and socioeconomic conversations are tangible in the sense that we can actually feel the difference that food choices have on us, we can visibly see our environments and make the decision to leave or change them, and we can mentally and physically