Whether you're opening a jar or lifting your dumbbells, your grip strength is integral to your ability to do just about everything with your hands. Weakened grip strength is linked to risks for things like falls, fractures, prolonged recovery from illness, cognitive decline and more. Today I'm giving you 5 ways you can test your grip strength so you have a good benchmark of where you're at, and you can use that as motivation to stay strong!

Watch the video of this episode to see demonstrations for grip strength tests: https://thebettyrocker.com/5-ways-to-test-your-grip-strength-and-why-it-matters-to-your-health/

We're covering….

⭐️ What grip strength signifies for your overall health

⭐️ Correlations with mortality risk related to poor grip strength

⭐️ Correlations with cognitive decline related to poor grip strength

⭐️ Testing your grip strength with a dynamometer

⭐️ Testing your grip strength with a household scale

⭐️ Testing your grip strength with a dead hang

⭐️ Testing your grip strength with a dumbbell head grab

⭐️ Testing your grip strength with a farmer's carry

⭐️ Your grip strength and your overall strength

Links to follow up from this episode:

• Prognostic value of grip strength: findings from the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study

• My shocking accident and how my health habits saved me

• Protein Guide for women (part 1)

• Eating and Training Guides for Perimenopause and Post-menopause

• How much exercise is too much?

• Rock and Restore essential amino acids from Whole Betty by Betty Rocker

• Dynamometer (hand grip strength measurement tool)

• Watch this podcast as a video and see the demonstrations for hand grip tests

EMDR stands for "Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing." It is an extensively researched, effective psychotherapy method that helps people recover from trauma and PTSD symptoms, and directly treats the way memory is stored in the brain. It is shown to be a helpful treatment for disorders such as anxiety, depression, OCD, chronic pain, addictions, and other distressing life experiences.

Join me in learning more about EMDR and the wide range of people who can benefit from it with the founder of the Precision EMDR Academy Susie Morgan, LMFT, BCETS (who I worked with personally) to learn more about the benefits of this work, the vital importance of our memory storage network, attachment theory and how our sense of security forms the foundation for our sense of self.

We're covering….

⭐️ Where EMDR comes from and how it works

⭐️ How traumatic memories are stored in the brain, and how they impact us

⭐️ The way our early attachments affect our nervous system

⭐️ Finding the right therapeutic fit: what to look for

⭐️ How memory clusters can be key in unwinding difficult patterns

⭐️ Reflections on my own experience in EMDR

⭐️ The value of prep work done with your therapist at the start of EMDR

⭐️ How addiction is tied to traumatic memory and the complex layers that may be present

⭐️ Who would benefit from EMDR

⭐️ The EMDR Readiness Course (free resource)

⭐️ Precision EMDR Academy professional program

Leave me a comment, read the transcript, and get more resources on the shownotes page: https://thebettyrocker.com/emdr-therapy-and-mental-health-support-with-susie-morgan-lmft-bcets/

Links to follow up from this episode:

• EMDR Readiness Course (and free resource for EMDR patients or those preparing for EMDR)

• Precision EMDR Academy professional program

• American Psychology Association guide to EMDR

• Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How it Can Help You Find and Keep Love by Amir Levine and Rachel Heller

• EMDRIA International Association website

• EMDRIA Directory to find an EMDR therapist near you

Looking for relief from symptoms in perimenopause or postmenopause? I sat down with Dr. Jill Carnahan (who is my functional medicine doctor), and talked to her about the specific tests and treatment options she uses for women in the different menopause stages. We also share resources for online support with hormone balancing (in the US, the UK and AUS - see links below for CAN). The more we know, the better we can advocate for ourselves, find the support we need, and navigate our changing bodies.

We're covering….

⭐️ Why HRT is still seen as potentially problematic

⭐️ The phases of perimenopause and symptoms you might experience

⭐️ Tests for perimenopause symptoms, frequency and types

⭐️ Treatment options for symptom relief and hormone balance in perimenopause

⭐️ Who might not be a good candidate for hormone replacement therapy, and contraindications

⭐️ Testing you might benefit from in postmenopause

⭐️ Treatment options available in postmenopause for symptom relief and general health

⭐️ Considerations and contraindications for hormone balancing options for postmenopausal women

⭐️ The importance of gut health in processing hormone byproducts

⭐️Environmental factors that can disrupt our hormones

⭐️Telehealth options for women in different countries (USA, UK and Australia), see links below for Canada

⭐️Suggestions for other ways to find support

Leave me a comment, read the transcript and more on the shownotes page: https://thebettyrocker.com/peri-and-post-menopause-testing-and-treatment-options-with-dr-jill-carnahan/

Links to follow up from this episode:

• How estrogen impacts your body's response to exercise and more

• Blood tests and hormone therapy options podcast with Dr. Jill Carnahan

• More about your blood pressure

• More about your resting heart rate (RHR)

• More about heart rate variability (HRV) and how it's measured

• Podcast about Acupuncture and how it works with acupuncture practitioner Ashlie Klavon

• EMDR Therapy

• The Calm app

• The Balance app

• Heart Math app and device

• 6 Adaptogenic Herbs that support hormone balance and our stress response

• Betty Rocker training programs, balanced and optimized for women in different life stages