Why You Still Feel Off

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Dear listeners, there's a part uh I mean a particular kind of frustration that uh a lot of people carry quietly. They are doing the things they are uh taking the supplements, drinking the water, getting to the gym, trying to get enough sleep. They know what healthy looks like. They are trying and they still feel off. The energy is not quite there. The mood is inconsistent. Something is missing, and they can't quite name it. So today's guest, Dear Listeners, has a very clear, very practical answer for why that happens. And it's not another thing to add to the list. It might actually be a reason to simplify. So, hey Dear Listeners, welcome back to another powerful episode of Healthy Mind, Healthy Life, where we cut through the noise and talk about what actually moves the needle when it comes to feeling genuinely well. I'm your host, Avik, and I'm really glad that all of you are here today. And my guest today is a licensed clinical psychologist, the founder of our Primal 5, and the co-author of our Primal 5, the simple five-week guide to self-care. His framework is built around five foundational inputs like sleep, sunlight, movement, total connection, and consumption. And his mission is to refreshly like help people feel better by doing less, but doing the right things consistently. So there are a lot of things to discuss, dear listeners, today, so I'll not take much of a time. Uh let's get started and welcome to the show, uh, Dr. Matthew Campbell. Well, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 1:57

Thanks for having me. Look forward to our talk. Amazing. Amazing.

SPEAKER_00 2:01

So so uh Matt, like uh before we get into the five pillars and the uh

The Depletion Pattern In Therapy

SPEAKER_00 2:05

framework, I want to ask about the clinical experience behind it. Like, as a psychologist, you have sat with a lot of people uh who were struggling. Uh so what was the pattern you kept seeing, the thing that made you want to build something specifically around these five inputs rather than everything else the wellness around the world uh was offering?

SPEAKER_01 2:30

Well, the reason for this is that we often uh when we're struggling, uh when we're struggling emotionally, uh, it is often the case, or always the case really, that we come in, say someone comes into my office, an office of a mental health professional, and there are specific things that they're struggling with, whether it's just the feelings they're having, situations that they're dealing with, and such. And what I found over time was so often people came into my office depleted. They weren't taking care of some of the most basic things that help us to be able to handle situations, cope with emotions and the like. And so many times I will begin there because not because that will in and of itself take care of painful emotions or difficult situations, but because it gives us capacity, the resources to be able to better cope with our daily life, our painful emotions or difficult situations.

SPEAKER_00 3:50

Yeah, got it, got it. So, um, okay, and um I'd I I'd ask like uh you have named the central frustration uh beautifully. Like people can be doing many healthy things and uh still feel low in energy or in causes gender. So um what's the core misconception about health and well-being that creates the

Shortcuts Versus The Basics

SPEAKER_00 4:18

gap? I mean, uh, why do so many people end up with the uh right behavior uh but the wrong results?

SPEAKER_01 4:27

I think very often we are trying so hard uh within this world we're living. I think that oftentimes we do forget or don't put enough importance on the basics, and our bodies over time have remained the same. The world we live in is so different. And even this morning, I was uh looking at uh actually our meeting time, and and on my phone popped up um some device uh to help stave off the aging process. And I think so often we're trying to find ways, uh things that are healthy or we consider healthy to really take care of what the basics are. Um I think oftentimes we're trying so hard to find perhaps shortcuts uh to taking care of the basics rather than these lifestyle approaches that are so so impactful on our daily lives. And and that's what our primal five, that's what this approach um is focused on is you know, things that we all know are helpful. I I think we often don't understand just how much they impact us.

SPEAKER_00 5:57

Yeah. And that's it. And uh the word primal in your uh primal

What Primal Really Points To

SPEAKER_00 6:05

in your framework, um, that's doing something deliberate. Like you are pointing to inputs that the human body and brain evolved with not the optimized wellness tag that most people are trying to maintain. So, what does returning to those uh foundational inputs do that the more sophisticated approaches um often varied people?

SPEAKER_01 6:30

Well, I think that we know that well, we know two things. We uh we know that our bodies are made for these things, they are made for being outside and moving and having good sleep and being connected with others and and consuming things that that are natural that come from the earth. But the other side is is that when we look at the numbers, the numbers tell us that those are not things that we're prioritizing. Most people or a really high number of people aren't getting adequate sleep or moving their bodies. Uh, we have an epidemic of loneliness. And these are things that we can't think our way out of. These are not right thinking kind of things. And in fact, those approaches that we try to take to help ourselves with thoughts and and such, while they're tremendously important without taking care of the basics, we're really, really uh putting ourselves uh in a difficult position.

SPEAKER_00 7:47

So like um, and of the five, which one do you find is most commonly and most seriously neglected? Like uh which one do people most frequently underestimate the impact of when they start in uh kind of intentionally rebuilding it?

SPEAKER_01 8:08

Well, I think in terms of importance, I think that is very individual. I think that it really involves trying to take stock to observe where we may have uh the greatest or or you know deficiency or deficiencies. When people come to my office, it's typically going to be several of these that are uh leading to them feeling depleted. Uh I would say

Sunlight The Most Ignored Pillar

SPEAKER_01 8:38

the one that people often, uh, at least in my office, um, underestimate is sunlight. I think that people often um are unaware of just how impactful uh being outside is. Uh we spend 92% of our time in climate-controlled environments, and I don't think people recognize that that as humans, our bodies came to be what they are with our ancestors outside. Um, they didn't have the option of the climate-controlled environment, and our bodies are made to be outside.

SPEAKER_00 9:14

Yeah. So okay, and and uh definitely like uh I mean if we go specific about what low grade deficiency in these five inputs actually feels like in a person's daily life, not a kind of uh clinical crisis, just the ordinary experience of

Everyday Signs You Are Depleted

SPEAKER_00 9:35

someone who is mostly functioning, but uh feels persistently off. So what are the real signs they should be looking for that till then one or more of these foundations isn't doing its job?

SPEAKER_01 9:53

Oftentimes in my office people will come in with fatigue, they will come in with irritability, they will uh come in feeling overwhelmed, and those are often signs that that they are depleted in their taking care or their taking care of the basics. I think that very often in a in a busy world that we live in, we think work harder is the answer, think right is the answer. And while there is merit to those to an extent, I think so often it's not taking care again of these basic things. Um, and and once we are able to do things like uh put moving our body into our daily life, we realize that that those emotions um are more manageable. Um, again, I just to emphasize, it certainly is not going to be the answer for everything. Um, and certainly uh, you know, care from professionals um is often uh important, but in being able to make attempts and and ways of of coping uh uh work better, uh more um accessible, it does involve uh very often getting back to these basics of sleep and movement and being connected with other humans.

SPEAKER_00 11:31

Hmm. Understood. Understood. And uh also like um your book is called Five Week Guide, which says that rebuilding these foundations is achievable in a realistic

How The Five Week Guide Works

SPEAKER_00 11:45

time frame without overhauling a person's entire life. So um what does that assessment uh process actually look like? Like, how does someone begin to honestly evaluate where each of their five pillars actually stands?

SPEAKER_01 12:03

Well, to how you finish that question, I think is so important is being able to improve our awareness of where we are with these five things. I think it often begins there. I think so often, and and my experience is that so often we are accustomed to feeling depleted, to feeling fatigued and overwhelmed. That is our normal. And we often will, you know, we we only know our experience. We can't know without experiencing things how much better we can feel. Uh, it takes uh working at it, trying to improve it. We're we're not going for perfection. Perfection isn't possible for any of us, but we're trying to focus on improvement. So, what the five weeks involve is each week focuses on one of these five areas. Uh the five areas, again, being sunlight, sleep, movement, uh, meaningful connection with others, and then consuming, and then what that means, what we're consuming both physically and mentally. And so each week focuses on them, giving the information on just how impactful these areas are, uh, different behavior change techniques, um, and monitoring each of these um weekly, uh, you know, so that we can improve them. And that is always our goal is improvement, is trying to move forward, accepting that we will slip. There will be, you know, times where we plateau or or dip, have difficulty, life comes in and and and makes things you know more challenging at times. But again, that focus on just trying to improve these.

SPEAKER_00 13:57

Exactly. So um five weeks in the guide, but a heavy life is the destination. So, what happens after the five weeks? Like, um, how do you help people uh maintain what they have built when they I mean when the novelty fades and the usual pressures of life start competing for the same time and energy they put into place?

Maintenance Without Motivation

SPEAKER_01 14:26

That is a great point because I really think that if we simplify the change process, it begins oftentimes with some excitement. If you think about a New Year's resolution, people often get excited about improving and helping themselves. And so what often happens is that with that excitement, we do see that initial change and the improvement with it. But the maintenance part being the second aspect of change is really challenging uh many times because that excitement is gone. As you said, there are other things that compete. And really, and this is a general truth of behavior change, is that when we can get to the point where we're not relying on motivation, but instead we're trying to create a structure and a consistency in our daily life. That's when change really strengthens. When again, when when we're not letting the emotions that we experience decide what we do, uh, but often when we can focus on having a consistent structure, that's when change really is strengthened. That's when we can really benefit uh or or enjoy the benefits of these different areas.

SPEAKER_00 15:55

Awesome. So uh Matt, I mean, uh, this is this is for the person listening who has been trying for a long time and still feels off, who has genuinely good habits and genuinely inconsistent results, and who is starting to wonder if feeling consistently well is just not available to them. So, what do you want to hear? I mean, what we want to tell them.

SPEAKER_01 16:22

Well, I think that it is

When To Seek Professional Help

SPEAKER_01 16:25

uh often the case, and and the approach of this workbook has to do with the recognition that I think, first of all, doing these are difficult. And to the question you're asking, I think that when someone is doing these uh consistently and they're not experiencing the results, that's when I think that we look for professional help. Uh, because uh while these are so important, while these are foundational, sometimes there are other things happening. It doesn't at all mean that these are not important. And in fact, these things will help greatly in addressing other uh difficulties. Generally speaking, that is the case. But sometimes we do need uh professional help. This is not meant to um replace uh professional assistance, uh, but it's often, you know, in those cases, those are times uh likely that we do look for the professional help. I think for most people, uh they will experience a great deal of benefit from these. Uh but again, it's not the answer to everything. And I think that that's important for us to recognize. They are foundational, uh, but this is not the magic elixir for every problem.

SPEAKER_00 17:59

Understood. Yeah. So, so uh, Matthew, if someone wants to connect with you, what's a really great

Where To Find Matt And Closing

SPEAKER_00 18:05

medium to connect?

SPEAKER_01 18:07

Well, we have a website, um, our primal five, the number five, and uh.com. And on that website, it goes over um this approach. It goes over the approach. There's a newsletter available on that website, um, as well as a link to the book. Um, that's for Amazon. Um, it's also on Barnes and Noble site. Uh, and so people can access the workbook there. And I, you know, I really uh and have not only experience, but also the you know, the the logic there is that I I truly have seen, experienced myself the benefits um of this approach. And I think, again, once we do these things, um, I I think it's eye-opening. Unfortunately, kind of unfortunately, one of the ways that we can see and experience how impactful these are is that when we are doing these, when we are improving in these areas, when we have our slips, when, say, we have a very clean, healthy diet, and then we consume some ultra-processed food, our bodies will let us know that those are not what we're made for. Um, and I think that that is not only my experience, the experience of others as well. And I think that really trying to apply ourselves to do these things, I think that we're gonna notice just how much it helps um not only the emotional, but the physical functioning in our life.

SPEAKER_00 19:52

Exactly. Exactly. Yep. Lovely. So, dear listeners, what I'll do is I'll put all the links and the details into the show notes for easy reference. And that's a wrap for today's episode of Helldivine Heavy Life. And if this conversation gave you a clearer picture of why you have been feeling off, and more importantly, where to start, then please take that clarity somewhere useful today. Even one of the five. And uh, as I mentioned, Matt's book and all the office details will be there in the show notes. And if someone in your life is doing everything right and still feeling wrong, then please share this episode with them. With this, this is your host, Ravik, and this is Helly Man, Helly Life. Thank you so much.