Hello, Curie Disbesti. Welcome to the sobriety bestie podcast. We're going to be looking at hidden reasons you may be feeling anxiety or depression or other hidden things going on that may be actually a result of mold. We're also going to be looking at 29 ways that you can combat mold if you are, if that is what you're experiencing or going through or you know somebody who is. And I'll talk about some of the symptoms and breaking it all down. Please forgive me this week. Things are going to be a little bit different. You might notice that the sound is not studio amazing because, well, because I went through my own mold exposure this past week and I did not have a quiet place to record the podcast for you. So I actually filmed it as a video outside in the woods. So you'll hear some wood noises. And if you want to watch the video version, it's up on YouTube. You'll see some of the photos that I included or just listen here. I hope you enjoy this week's episode and would love to hear from you. Share your thoughts with me on Instagram @SobrietyBestie or email me kersten@sobrietybestie.com and enjoy the episode. Hello, Curie Disbestie. I'm Kirsten Johnson and welcome to the sobriety bestie podcast where we adventure together through emotional sobriety, unapologetically expressing yourself and building a purpose driven business because the world needs your wisdom. Each step you take opens up infinite possibilities because your transformation's not just for you. It's a beacon of light for those you're called to serve. So get on comfy for Peach Ramantra. This is courage and take that next aligned step into creating the business and life of your dreams. I'll be your guide. 29 surprising things to combat mold and how mold may be related to your mental health issues, how anxiety, the root cause of anxiety may be actually mold. Please forgive me. First of all, I am not thinking as clearly as I normally am. I just actually recorded a lot of this video and this sound wasn't even working. So I'm doing the best that I can. I had a mold exposure yesterday. I'm actually standing in my room where we had a remediation yesterday. You can see there's a quarantine zone here. I've been wanting to make this video for a long time about mold and the possible symptoms of mold and how it might affect our health and how to get better. Really, for a long time, I've been wanting to do this. Actually, even three weeks ago, I read a whole book called Breaking the Mold, which I'll link below. It's an amazing book. So I was just like recently updated on this before I discovered. Today is Saturday. On Monday, I discovered a leak behind me. This is my bedrooms this way. There's a bathroom sink behind me and a laundry closet right there. And so I above the laundry, I found a leak and with mold around it, and they did the full on remediation yesterday. So it's just been a busy week of getting rid of the mold. And because of that big exposure yesterday while clearing everything out, yeah, my brain's not working so well. So please forgive me for that. I'm doing the best that I can. And I really just want to get this out. I've been wanting to do this video for a while and here we are in the middle of it. So we're going to do this. Also, I want to say that if you look below, there are timestamps. So please fast forward to wherever you want to go in the video. You probably already know this just a quick reminder. I am timestamping it so you can jump exactly to what you want to see. And also if you are finding value throughout this video, go ahead and give it a thumbs up. I'm not talking straight. Yesterday, my handwriting was even all I could not write legibly last night. I was just like my brain was toasted. So I'll tell you some of the things that I'm doing right now. You're going to not 29 things that maybe you're not already doing or not already knowing about that might help with mold or that possibly and definitely will help with mold. So some basic mold stats. Twenty five percent of the people, I think these are American people that were surveyed or that were looked at, are predisposed, genetically predisposed to genes that inhibit the clearance of the biotoxins of mold, like the mycotoxins. So 25% of us, I'm in that group. You're probably in that group too if you're watching this, are unable to clear the toxins of mold. And then 50 to 75% of buildings are estimated to be water damage. This includes houses. So whether it's your home or your office or school or a building that you spend a lot of time in. So the majority of the buildings have water damage and with water damage often comes mold right after, like within 48 hours. And then 25% of us are susceptible to getting potentially sick or having symptoms from that water damage. So that makes about 25, 20% of us might be experiencing some symptoms related to mold or water damage buildings. Going to the book, Breaking the Mold, which literally just right at the beginning of this month, here are some things I'm going to read off for you. Again, forgive me because my brain is not the best today. So mold can have us feeling unsettled, uneasy, overwhelmed, stressed out, even having panic attacks. There is an anxiety and mold link. There's also a depression and mold link. We can feel restless and like there's impending doom and dread social interactions. It could cause mitochondrial damage. Remember, the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. And so that's going to affect our energy and our overall cell functioning. It can deplete glutathione, glutathione, which is a master antioxidant in our body. It can accelerate programmed cell death. It can poison our nerves and our brains and it can weaken our blood brain barrier, which means that it can leave the barrier that normally protects and seals the brain open to not only the mold and the mold toxins, but to other things that can go through. Okay. Now a little bit on mental health and mold. First of all, boom, I'm in nature. I thought I'd finished the rest of this video, not only outside, but amongst trees, get into more of that later. I wanted to read you something from the mold guy. He says many micro toxins. These are from mold, right? Micro toxins are neurotoxins. So brain toxins causing lesions in the brain in the gray matter and the white matter. This directly affects the frontal cortex, causes dopamine dysfunction, which can create psychological disorders like anxiety or depression. These disorders occur when the nerve cells in the brain that make dopamine are slowly destroyed without dopamine, the nerve cells in that part of the brain cannot properly send messages. Now here's something from psych central, which suggests psych central suggests that exposure to mold can cause or worsen anxiety and depression in some people. It is believed that the link may be related to the body's inflammatory response, which can lead to imbalances of certain neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine. Now this is super compelling. This is a study from Brown University where, and this is a direct quote, we thought that once we statistically accounted for factors that could clearly contribute to depression, things like employment status and crowding, we would see any link vanish, says Shanisa, the lead author of the study and an associate professor in the Department of Community Health at Brown. But the opposite was true. We found a solid association between depression and living in a damp moldy home. She then noted analysis of data from nearly 6000 European adults does not prove that moldy homes cause depression. The study wasn't designed to draw that direct conclusion. However, her team did find a connection. She continues, physical health and perception of control are linked with an elevated risk of depression. And that makes sense. If you are sick from mold and feel like you can't get rid of it, it may affect your mental health. Her team analyzed data from 5,882 adults in 2,982 homes. She continues. What the study makes clear is the importance of housing as an indicator of health, including mental health. Healthy homes can promote healthy lives. Now let's look at how mold is toxic, like how it is, how is mold toxic. So mold produces potentially irritating substances, VOCs, volatile organic compounds, or in mold's case, MVOCs. These and particulates like spores, fragments and their components, mycotoxins, that they shoot off. They shoot into the air. And what causes this potential toxicity inside of us is exposure to mold, exposure to mycotoxins and water damage buildings. And how this whole process starts is we are exposed to biotoxins. Most frequently they are inhaled. They come deep into our lungs. And then our immune system will tag them. For 75% of us, this is not a problem. They are broken down and removed by the liver. Now 25% of us, there is going to be a potential problem here. We don't have the immune responses gene. It's the HLA DR genes that are required to form an antibody to this for an antigen that mold is presenting. So the biotoxin that comes into our system is not tagged. Instead, it is remained in our body and it is wreaking havoc. This creates a cascade of biochemical events. Our cytokines are produced which affects our nerve cell functioning. Symptoms of elevated cytokines can include headache, muscle ache, unstable temperature, difficulty concentrating. This can lead to restricted blood flow, lower oxygen levels and tissues, fatigue, muscle cramps, shortness of breath. In some cases, CIRS, chronic inflammatory response syndrome. So what are mold symptoms? Mold symptoms may include sneezing, runny nose, stuffy nose, cough, post nasal drip, itchy eyes, nose and throat, watery eyes, dry and scaly skin, muscle or joint pain, cognitive problems like brain fog, skin issues like itching, rashes, burning sensation, headache, dizziness, memory problems, confusion, slowed thinking, brain fog, difficulty concentrating and on. So how do you know if you have mold or if you're having mold related symptoms? So let's briefly touch upon that. Here are four ways to know if you have mold. So one way is to look for it. Literally just look around, look up, look for any where there's water. If you know that you have an upstairs neighbor and they have, let's say, a bathroom above you or a kitchen above you, look up. Do you see watermarks in your ceiling? Do you see watermarks at any point in your ceiling? That's generally why I would look. Maybe it's under your sink. Do you see water leaks under your sink? Maybe your own sink is leaking into your own home and it's causing it that direction. So look around and see if you see any water damage and or actually see the mold. That's how I found it. Both times I've had a mold exposure is I've actually just seen it and I'm like, Oh, there's a hole and there's mold around the hole. This is not looking good. Number two is you can test your home. I've seen mold testing kits on Amazon's. You can order one of those and test your home. I haven't done that personally. So I can't give you a specific recommendation there. Number three is you can get a mold testing device. This is something that I want to do. I saw the first guy who came and they expected the mold and the remediator who came after their both remediators. So both of them had these devices that go up against the wall and they can test for how damp the wall is and to figure out how far they need to cut to remove the drywall to get rid of the mold. This is a device. Again, I can't recommend recommend a specific device. Please forgive me. Remember I'm going to deal with a little bit of brain fog here. Although the trees are helping. So I can't recommend a specific device yet. I probably am going to get one just so I can continue to test or I can test and just make sure that I'm safe around specific areas, but they were all over Amazon. I saw a bunch of them and number four, you can test your body. So you can call your doctor. You can go to a naturopath. You can go to a functional medicine doctor and get tested for mycotoxins and mold. You can order a test yourself online and I'm not sure how difficult it is to read the test results that you get back. I know they can test for a dozen or two dozen different kinds of mold and mycotoxins. So you can test yourself. You can test with a doctor. So yeah, so you can look for it. You can test your home. You can test your walls and you can test your body. So really briefly, my mold story, really my introduction, my initiation into the world of the fungal initiation, if you will, was in 2020. I quarantined in a home that was super frickin moldy and I didn't really realize it. My ceiling actually, I had a leak from the ceiling six times that year and just kept getting it fixed. And the sixth time, the whole frickin thing fell down like a five foot by five foot hole in the ceiling fell down because the mold on top of it was so water damage and there was so much mold up there and I got really sick. If you want to know more about my mold story, drop it in the comments that you want me to actually walk you through it. I'll spare the details now. But if you want to know more about specifically life, what that was like, what I did, what I felt, how I got through that, drop it in the comments and I'll consider making that video, but flash forward to now. So now I'm I'm not naive. I understand mold and its potential hazardous to ourselves, the poisonous that it can be. I consider it like a killer. And if there's a killer in the house, I want to get rid of it. That's how I think about it right now. Let's get the killer out of the house. Multicular, I'm one of the 25% who's genetically susceptible to experience symptoms and have a decline in health because of mold. And it can be quite serious. It was very serious for me in 2020. And so when I saw the, so today's Saturday, it is Saturday, it's Labor Day weekend, 2024. On Monday, I first saw the hole in the ceiling above my, there's a off of my bedroom, there's a bathroom, like a sink, and then there's another room that has like the toilet. And then there's a closet that has the laundry in it. So above the washer dryer, there was a hole in the ceiling. And there was a little bit of darkness around it. And so I saw that on Monday. And then on Tuesday, the plumber came. And then on Wednesday, the mold remediator came and then on the mold remediation happened on Friday. So yesterday, they came, they got quarantined, they, they call it like make a container or contamination. What did they call it? Contain it. And so they made what I was standing in front of before that area, they contain it, they put up the big plastic, thick plastic with a zipper in the middle so they can go in and out. And they did the remediation yesterday. So the plumber fixed the leak that was above the laundry closet. And then confirmed that it was fixed. Then they went in and they did the whole remediation of the mold. There was one mold guy inside the contamination and one mold guy outside. And they were like tag to like passing each other stuff. Because the guy inside it was full of like COVID vibes where like the hazmat suits or the, the, what's it called? PPC. I forget what it's not PPC. The protective gear, the full on protective gear, gas mask, all of that, the guy inside the mold protected area was wearing all that it might have been a little overkill. It wasn't as bad. I don't know. I'm not the expert, right? But it this mold exposure, this mold problem wasn't as not as bad as it was in 2021. I had that when 2020, it was much worse. And it was for a long time. And it wasn't remediated. And I think that's part of the reason why I got so sick. So this one, they did it all yesterday and they have the, there's three machines in there, like a new humidifier and heater. And it's still quarantined off and it's sucking all the moisture out and it's drying. They've treated it, they've removed it and treated it. And then they'll come back after Labor Day. So I guess on Tuesday and remove their machines and then fix up the ceiling, right? So right now they're still home in the ceiling. So that's the process right now. But the thing is that I'm not naive. So I know it's serious and I know to get rid of it and get rid of it the right way the first time and right away. And don't fuck around. I know it's like something to not fuck around with. That's a little bit about what's happening right now is I know it's serious. I don't want to go down the health, like I don't want my health to be destroyed. I've been on quite a health journey, like pretty much my whole life, but definitely since 2019. And so I don't want to take a huge hit on my health if I can, if I don't have to. So to me, it's serious and something to address right away and to do everything that we can to get through and get through fast. So last night was the first time that I actually felt like sick from this, like bad. And then this morning again. So now I'm outside of nature. I did a bunch of research. I like left the house, went to a cafe and did a bunch of research. Plus I read that break the mold book three weeks ago, man. It's so wild that I just read that book because I'm fascinated with all things thriving really. You know, it's like we get sober and it's like, especially if you're on my channel because you're sober, we get sober and we want to thrive, right? But there's a lot of things that can keep us from thriving without alcohol, including environmental toxins. And this is one of my weird, super geeky fascinations is environmental toxins, specifically because my health took a major toll from a lot of a series of environmental toxins. And I'll probably share a lot more of that later and how to not so much my story, although I'll share that too, but really how you can thrive and be really healthy and come alive and live fully and not be so affected by the things that are in the environment and know what to look out for. So let's get back to mold. Okay. So, oh, yeah, really quickly. Before we get back to mold, if you want to know more about my story in 2020 and stuff, let me know in the comments. Also, yeah, put anything in the comments, engage in the comments just so I know where you're at, where you're at in your journey, what you're dealing with right now, what would be helpful for you. I'm not sure if I'm going to make a whole series on mold or if this is just going to be like the only mold video, I'm open to it. I've really wanted to cover mold for a while on this channel. And so, yeah, let me know where you're at and then how I can serve and what I can do. All right, 29 ways to combat mold. This is number seven, by the way, sneak peek. All right, one, get outside daily. This is super important. Outdoor air is ionized. This is what I've learned in getting outside, especially if the mold's inside and inside where you're at, getting outside can be very helpful to have a break from any exposure. Number two, breathe deep. Let's do it together. Let's take two more. Come on, let's do one more breath together. Amazing. All right, number three, movement. So, movement helps the mold get out of our body. It's recommended to walk 10 to 30 minutes a day to get the body moving, get the blood pumping, get the toxins, a flowing out of you. So, let them out, sweat them out. I want to pause here really quickly and say that most of these are from the book Breaking the Mold that I talked about, which is from Dr. Jill Krista. So, big shout out to Dr. Jill Krista for her book Breaking the Mold. And I'm so glad I read it three weeks before my second mold awakening, if you will. Okay, so, number four, we're doing four right now. You're doing four with me. Number four is forest bathing. This one I'm totally obsessed with. I'm obsessed with the science of it. And obviously, I love trees. If you've been on my channel for any time, you know that I love making videos outside around trees, just in nature in general. It's a whole vibe, a whole mood. I feel more connected with my spirit. And yeah, so when I read her book about forest bathing, what I learned there, and then I did some further research, because I really love all this the science of wellness, right, is that the natural killers are first line of defense in our immune system are strengthened and they are multiplied by being around trees. 30 minutes around trees is going to increase the number of our natural killers. They also become better fighters because of the trees. So, trees improve our immune system. So, if you can get around trees or your friend, I don't know if you read my book. If you did it, maybe this is the first time you've ever watched a video of mine. I wrote a book in 2019 called the Heart Gazem Revolution. It's about self-love, particularly emotional sobriety and emotions and healing emotions in sobriety, but self-love in general. And there is a section in there called give trees a chance or I get a shout out to trees. I discovered the magic of trees. Not that I discovered it. It's always been there, but I discovered it for myself. I want to say I was like two years sober and I'm almost like next month, I'll be 15 years sober. So, I guess 13 years ago, man, my brain is not all here today. Let's move on. Okay, one more thing I'm seeing in my notes. Mold reduces the total number of natural killer cells and it reduces their function. So, we got mold is an immune system killer, right? So, a mold is going to reduce the amount and the ability, the strength of our natural killers and trees increases it. So, it's best just to not have the mold and go in trees, but if you're in the mold, get in the trees, get in the vibe with the trees, give trees a chance. Sometimes when I make these videos out in the trees, people like walk by and I know they can hear parts of what I'm saying. So, there is that little moment where you're giving trees a chance, talking to your phone and the wilderness, making a video for YouTube and you never know who's hearing what. Number five is vitamin D. So, this is part of getting outside, especially if you're getting outside in the sun, you will help your body make vitamin D, right? But also taking vitamin D is so good for our immune system and it really helps us out. Six is hydration, stay hydrated. This is going to help flush some of the toxins out of our system, obviously. And then seven, as I alluded to before, is lemon water. Lemon water is a favorite of mine. It also helps flush toxins out, stay hydrated. It must have. Eight is rest, not look, some of these are basic, but we have to make sure that we're taking care of the basic stuff, the foundational stuff, in order to give ourselves and our immune system and our body's a chance to fight off the invader and to get well and to thrive. So, make sure you rest eight hours a night if you can. Nine, activate a charcoal or any binder really, but my favorite binder is activated charcoal. And this is from like the decade that I lived in Bali, activated charcoal is totally a vibe. It is at every store pretty much because Bali belly is a thing. It's basically food poisoning when you eat a bug or you eat some food that was infected and then you feel sick. So, I know activated charcoal, we always took that in Bali if we were ever had a belly ache right from food, but it is super porous. It's highly porous. It has a large surface area. It binds to a range of toxins including mycotoxins and it will eliminate them through the GI tract. So, activated charcoal is great, a little warning here. Do not take it within two hours of food or medication because it will absorb, it can absorb some of the medication too. I should also note, I am clearly not a doctor. I'm not your doctor. I am a chick in the woods who wants to warn you and help you with some of the things that I've learned about mold on my journey. So, none of this is medical advice. This is just friend-to-friend, a sobriety bestie to you, my heart to your heart to help a sister brother out on their journey of thriving, including in the world where mold is fricking everywhere. Number 10 is bitters. So, having some sort of bitter herbs or bitters drops in your mouth, like 10 to 15 minutes before a meal, it helps get the bile going, it helps the digestion process, so that's going to be really helpful. Number 11 is, let's see if I can pronounce this right, alpha lipoic lipoic, L-I-P-O-I-C acid. It is a precursor to glutathione. So, glutathione is the most powerful antioxidant, really in our body as far as I am aware, but also against mold. And so, we want this one to, we want it to be strong. So, the alpha lipoic acid, and today is the first time in my life I have ever purchased this. So, I'm making this video with you as I'm learning about it. I've already learned a lot about mold in 2020 from that whole year-long adventure, quarantined with mold. That could be a whole book, quarantined with mold. Yeah, but no, but we don't want to read a book like that, do we? No, we just want to get better. We want to thrive. Okay, so, number 12 is co-enzyme Q10. This one, again, today's the first time I've ever bought this. So, co-enzyme Q10 is the most powerful antioxidant for our heart. It also helps with mold and thriving, healing, getting through the mold adventure. Number 13 is melatonin. So, this one, more of us have probably heard of, more commonly known, more famous of the supplements and hormones. It's a hormone, right? So, melatonin, it is the most powerful brain antioxidant against mold and mycotoxins. It also stimulates the liver to make our own glutathione, which is the overall most powerful antioxidant against mold. So, I bought melatonin. I've taken it before in my life, not many times, usually to help with jet lag, if I'm flying San Francisco to Bali or something. So, I've never purchased it in my life until today, but I bought some today. And if you want to recommend a dosage, right? I'm not a doctor, but Dr. Jill Krista in her book, Breaking the Mold, talks all about these and how much she recommends that you take. I highly recommend reading that book. I'll link it below if you want to get the goods. Number 14 is sauna. Most of us know this, and if you don't know, now, you know, sauna. So, we want to sweat, we want to move, and sauna's also get our blood pumping in, our super helpful person a lot of ways, but definitely for detoxification. We want to, basically, when it comes to mold, the obvious things are get away from it, reduce your exposure, avoid it, don't toxify yourself anymore. Step one, stop the poison from coming in. Step two, get the poison that's in, out, right? That's it. Step one and step two. 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