Ep. 12 - Red Flags: Surviving the Slow Death of a Marriage

Denying reality is the quickest way to lose yourself. When you spend years desperately hammering square pegs into round holes, the eventual crash is inevitable. Host Abby England sits down with Leslie to discuss the painful unraveling of her long marriage and the difficult journey of rebuilding her life from scratch.

We get into the raw mechanics of a relationship declining over time and the realization that shared love cannot replace aligned values. Leslie details the fight or flight survival mode she endured, the complexities of navigating divorce mediation as a partially employed mother, and the practical application of stoicism when your carefully planned future evaporates. The core shift happens when Leslie explains her boiling pot realization, highlighting how gradual boundary compromises can lead to a total loss of self.

The hardest part of this transition is facing the severe financial fear and the quiet terror of sitting alone in an empty house. Leslie opens up about the crippling anxiety of reentering the workforce at 47, the grief of losing the envisioned future for her children, and the painful process of untangling shared credit card debt. Viewers will walk away with a grounded framework for self reliance, a strict warning against sacrificing your sanity for appearances, and a practical mindset for embracing solitude without shame.

If you care about reclaiming your independence, navigating midlife transitions, and building genuine resilience, you will get a lot from this. Please subscribe and share this conversation with anyone who might feel stuck in their current chapter. What is the biggest boundary you are finally ready to enforce in your own life?

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hi, I'm Jessica G, and this is the Justin Time podcast. If you're struggling today, I want you to know this podcast is here for you, but it's not a substitute for professional health. If you're in a crisis or feel unsafe, please call or text 988 or dial in 911 for immediate support. There are people out there who will listen and can help. On this show, I'll be sharing personal experiences, mindset shifts, talking with Keith experts, and sharing real tools that help me go from barely surviving to thriving. This is not about quick fixes or one size fits all advice. It's raw, it's honest, it's what worked for me and what I believe can help others too. Let's walk together from darkness to health. Hello, hello, everybody. Welcome back to Justin Time to Save a Life podcast. I am so excited to be back. First of all, I wanted to say thank you to Lynn Hurst for taking over the podcast while I've been on maternity leave. So this is my first podcast back since maternity leave. We are, see, almost nine weeks postpartum. And let me tell you, it has been a journey, but we'll get to that in another um episode, actually. It's going to be our next episode. So stay tuned for that, everyone. Um, but today we're talking about the connection between aesthetics and mental health and not from a place of chasing perfection, but a place of self-love and a feeling of being aligned with the woman that you see in the mirror. So not just talking about it being superficial, but possibly being a part of our healing journey. Um, some people hear Botox, skincare, injectables, hormones, or wellness, and they think it's superficial. But for me, it's always been something so much more. I just want to, you know, put back what's been taken away or feel like myself again, especially postpartum. Um, that whole journey has been rough on me. And you kind of really do lose yourself a little bit within that. And so to me, the whole wellness uh program, whether it's Botox injectables, getting your hormones checked, it is about self-care. It is about healing, it is about your mental health. Um and when I feel like myself, I feel so much better. And that has a direct impact on my mental health. So I do feel like there's a real mental health conversation here. And that is why I'm so excited to bring in Adrien Easterling. Thank you so much for being with us today. Uh, Adrien is a world-renowned injector, and I wanted to have her on to talk about the emotional side of aesthetics, confidence, self-image, aging, beauty standards, and where healthy self-care ends and unhealthy comparison begins. Uh, she is owner of Voxy, uh, which is also a longevity center. And so thank you so much for being here, Adrienne.

SPEAKER_02 2:47

Yes, absolutely. I'm really excited to be here. And, you know, we've gotten to know each other over the years, and it's been such an honor to get to see your growth. And just now seeing you as a mom is so special. And yeah, as a, you know, founder of a longevity practice, where, you know, I started out just focusing mostly on aesthetics, but now we really treat the whole person. So now we do full-on functional medicine, longevity. And it is wild to me to see how that investment in ourselves and taking care of ourselves can really impact the whole person inside and out and help us show up better for the people we care about. Yeah. Now, if we take care of ourselves, we end up taking care of others better too.

SPEAKER_01 3:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:35

And as a mom, you've probably already are feeling that. Like you can't just give everything to them. You also have, yeah, you're gonna make me cry. We have to give to ourselves too. And um, as women, we often forget that so many. I see thousands of patients, and so many of the women I see are constantly giving and caring for others, and they forget about themselves along the way. And then one day they wake up, you're gonna make me cry, they they look in the mirror and they just are, you know, like, wow, you know, who is this person in my reflection? Um, and what's so neat about what we get to do is helping people look in the mirror and see themselves again. Yeah. And it's something that it's such an honor to get to do that.

SPEAKER_00 4:23

So rewarding. And yeah, you know, I think I I get like a front row seat to your work also, because we have some of the same clients as well. And I, you know, I see clients every day too, and I'm like, oh, you should go do this, you should go do that, go see Adrian for this. And so I get to see those real life transformations that you're talking about. Um, you know, six, seven, eight weeks later, they come back for their hair color and they've gotten their Botox or they've gotten their PRP or they've got their hormones checked and they got their pellets, and I see a huge difference. And they're like, oh my gosh, I'm starting to feel so much better. And, you know, when you're sitting with somebody for three, four, five hours during a hair point, you really get to know them. And so I know for a fact that um, you know, it it when you invest in yourself like this, when you allow yourself to how would I say when you allow yourself to not feel guilty because society makes us feel guilty. Yes, that was the one thing I was gonna say too, because I was like, I wanted to tie that together with generational um situations too, because I think like my my grandma's generation or even my mom's generation, there is such a judgment and shame. Um, and it's like, how do we help women understand that wanting to look refreshed, feminine, youthful, or confident doesn't mean that they don't love themselves. And in fact, I think there's a myth there. I think that um that it is self-love to do those things for yourself.

SPEAKER_02 5:58

Yeah, absolutely. So it's true. I mean, so society makes us think that, you know, if if we're, you know, getting our hair done, our nails done, or, you know, maybe we're being vain, or you know, we shouldn't be able to do it.

SPEAKER_00 6:12

Superficial.

SPEAKER_02 6:13

Superficial. We don't love ourselves because we want to change ourselves.

SPEAKER_00 6:17

It's not true.

SPEAKER_02 6:17

But it's you're right, it's not true. And we do so many things that society is like, okay, you know, good for you, uh, like exercise, eating well, um, sleeping well, all these things that we do to help ourselves feel better.

SPEAKER_01 6:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:33

And sometimes feeling better is also showing up with our best face forward and taking care of our skin, our bodies, our mind, and all of it as a whole person.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 6:45

And, you know, I guess even coming from myself, I grew up where I wasn't born with maybe perfect skin. I had horrible cystic acne.

SPEAKER_01 6:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:55

Uh, I have PCOS, so I struggle with insulin resistance. And it's it's harder for me to lose weight than the average person because of that. Um, and there's just a lot of struggles people and so many of my patients are dealing with that if they could just help those those little things and to them, they're big things. To us, sometimes I I look at it, I'm like, gosh, it's such a little thing that we can fix and it changes their lives for the better. It's really so neat to see it too.

SPEAKER_01 7:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:25

And so I agree. Self-love is maybe also just loving yourself and you know, yeah, having the chance to really care for yourself.

SPEAKER_00 7:35

Exactly. Yeah. Investing in those things that that really uh I think where the line really gets blurred is that when people start chasing trends, right? Like when people bring you and I think we're starting to come off of that, right? I think so bad. I think people like those big blown up lips, right? That was such like what was it five years ago? That was such a huge trend, right? And now people are starting to look more natural and understand like that is what's more beautiful. And one thing I love about you is that you never just did exactly what people asked, right? Like you have, like, I feel like the way that you treat is like you said, you treat the whole entire face and you're not chasing trends. And I think that's why a lot of women trust you as well, myself included, is because you know, like I know you're not gonna let me do something crazy.

unknown 8:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:27

And it's true, because I'm not really trying to change the way my patients look. I'm really helping them look in the mirror again and see the reflection and be able to say, wow, that's me again. Yeah, not wow, who's this person?

SPEAKER_01 8:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:41

And it's so a lot of my patients are coming to me, you know, postpartum, uh, you know, after a divorce, after, you know, some of the most crazy hardships you can possibly imagine. Yeah. And it's so important to me to really understand the why. Like, why are they in my chair today? What brought them here today versus five years ago? Yeah. Uh, because a lot of times it's not just I want Botox because my friend's doing it. It's a it's a feeling they're wanting. Yeah. It's the feeling of feeling like themselves again or feeling part of their their healing journey. Not looking tired, not looking like they have five kids or whatever it may be. Yeah. Uh so yeah, it's it is, it's part of their healing journey, and it's a part of just helping them feel like themselves again. And that's so important. And yes, uh, what you said about me not, you know, trace chasing trends is true because you know, trends will come and go. It's like once upon a time, it was the thin brows, and we have so many trends that come, but looking healthy and looking happy, that's never a trend.

SPEAKER_01 9:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:50

And it that's what I provide for my patients. My goal is always for them to feel like themselves, to look healthy and to feel happy. Yeah. Because it's actually aging that's making us change. Yeah. You know, we wake up one day and we don't realize that our bone is changing, our fat pads are changing, our under eyes are changing. The the shift in perception of our face is just changing with age, not right, you know, and so aging is a luxury and a beautiful thing. And we can also help people still kind of maintain themselves and look like themselves, even through that aging process. Yeah. And that's what I love to do is help people do that.

SPEAKER_00 10:34

Yeah. Um, but what role does education play in helping women feel safe and empowered when choosing treatments?

SPEAKER_02 10:43

So I I would say education is the foundation of what really built our practice because when uh when patients are in, you know, are educated, they're empowered and they're part of that that decision process. So they're not just being told you need this or you need to fix this. And I never want my patients to feel like there's something that needs to be fixed. Right. Because there's not anything that needs to be fixed. A lot of times it's just focusing on the why, what's happening, what's the physiological aging process. You know, maybe it's not even Botox or aesthetic treatments they need. Maybe it's really something deeper. And that's what's so neat about, you know, really treating the whole person and having that functional medicine component. Because I've had people walk in the door and they come in and they're thinking about this budget they have to help themselves feel better. It's usually a feeling. Once I get to the end of the consultation, yeah, I really understand why they're sitting in my chair. And a lot of times it's not that they want their brows lifted or that they want their, you know, um lips bigger. Yeah. It's that they want to feel like themselves. And sometimes that's not even aesthetic. Sometimes it's, you know, my hormones are off. I don't have the energy I used to. So I just don't feel good. I don't I look tired. And well, maybe that's not all, you know, the the outside. Sometimes it's also the inside. And so it's really neat now to be able to really approach the whole person. Yeah, both and help them feel confident both from the inside and out. Yeah. That's been really special to get to do that now.

SPEAKER_00 12:19

Yeah, I I I definitely can see that, you know, um, knowing you throughout the years and just watching you grow and you know, move into your um new um space, it's just absolutely beautiful. Um, and I do, I love that I get to see firsthand like what you do for people. Uh, it's absolutely beautiful. And I think Northwest Arkansas is lucky to have you. Um, where do you think the line is between self-love and chasing perfection? And when you have somebody that's in your chair and you know that like maybe they've gone several places and they're getting filler, filler, filler. Like, how do you have those conversations or how do you how how do you connect with them to try to get them to understand your work and what you do and like how you see things? Cause a lot of it I think is perspective, right? Because I see some of the most beautiful girls and I'm like, they think they need more and more. And I'm like, whoa, no, you need like less, less, less. And I know I'll I'll like go go see Adrian. And I know like first thing you're gonna tell her is to dissolve the sausage lips, yeah, you know, but like how do you approach that like with with like a a client to help them like long term?

SPEAKER_02 13:33

Yeah, I think it's just important that I understand the why behind them wanting to do these treatments, because if it's to feel self-worth, then this isn't the right thing for them because Botox, fillers, aesthetic treatments isn't gonna make you uh love yourself. It's the people who already love themselves who are really benefiting from these treatments because they know their self-worth.

SPEAKER_00 13:59

Right. And they're doing it because they love themselves. Yes. And I think that's the conversation here. There's like just such a big difference.

SPEAKER_02 14:05

Yeah, and so you can really tell when you get to know someone, when you have those conversations, if they're looking in the mirror and they're nitpicking every little detail about their face, things that I look at faces all day. Yeah. If I see something that's not quite right, I would, you know, I could mention it, right? Um, but there's there's some women who they see things that not everyone else is seeing and they don't fully understand that or grasp that. Yeah, those are sometimes people who are maybe just trying to chase perfection.

SPEAKER_01 14:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:37

And if that's what they're after, they're trying to chase perfection or the this sense of worth. When really most of my patients, like 99% of them, are really here to if we're feeling, to feel confident, to feel better.

SPEAKER_00 14:56

And like put back what time has taken away.

SPEAKER_02 15:00

Because really, at the end of the day, these are luxury treatments. Not everyone has access to them.

SPEAKER_01 15:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:05

We're fortunate and you know, blessed to be able to do these services for ourselves and to be able to, you know, gosh, look so young and so youthful, even as we're getting older. It's wild what has come out in the world, even in the last 10 years since I've started.

SPEAKER_00 15:26

If you look at people our age, which I'm not saying you, I'm not 28. Um, and then like whatever two, three generations ago, massive difference, right? Massive. They've already cut their hair super short, they've gone gray, and it's yeah, it's just a huge, a huge shift.

SPEAKER_02 15:46

Yeah. And so it's it's such a luxury to be able to, you know, continue to love yourself and invest in yourself and take care of yourself and not, you know, chase trends and perfection because that's not that's not what we're trying to do.

SPEAKER_00 16:02

Yeah. Um how do social media filters and beauty trends do you think like how how do you think those things affect the way women view themselves? Like even like um current clients. Um, because I I know it gets to me sometimes, right? I see something and I send it to you, and you're probably like, oh my gosh, yes.

SPEAKER_02 16:23

It it really is a big problem. Right? There's pros and cons to social media, and I have my you know, same qualms with it too. But basically, you know, there's the good, there's education, there's people that are more aware of things, but there's also false education, but there's a lot of good education as well. And yeah, that's something I love to be able to do so people understand the why behind things.

SPEAKER_00 16:49

Yes. But then there's also like what you said, the filters, the and then, and now with AI, you're like, what's actually realistic and what's not? Like, I was like I telling my husband's like, look at this. And he's like, babe, that's AI. And I was like, no way. And he's like, yeah, and I'm like, oh, I was like, okay. And like it really messes with your head.

SPEAKER_02 17:09

There's people putting out, you know, edited before and afters, and you know, copying other people's before and afters and posting them as their own, and you know, lighting that's different. And so you can't fully trust everything you see on social media.

SPEAKER_00 17:23

Yeah, there's so much unrealistic like expectation too. And like with younger girls too, in their teens, I know that some teenagers are already getting lit filler and all these, you know, things. And I I think with women, it really starts at a very young age.

SPEAKER_02 17:37

Yeah. And that's, you know, honestly something that I struggle with because I am that person who I I see what aesthetic treatments do for people. I see how it changes lives for the better, but I've also seen how it can really affect people and how they can be obsessive or go a little bit too far. And so it's so important to have a provider you trust who can really guide you and tell you no and say, hey, you know, you're beautiful. And some of my patients that come in, sometimes that's exactly all I need to do for them that day. It's just a reminder. You're gorgeous, you're beautiful, you need absolutely nothing. You just need someone to tell you that. And that's all they needed there in that moment. And it's not always like they need something. Yeah. Uh, but I do. I get patients that come in with photos of of things that maybe they're wanting. But once I educate them and explain what they're even sharing with me, then sometimes they get it. You know, sometimes I see these like ridiculous jawlines that they're considering. And when you think about what that jawline would look like facing forward and not just from this angle, yeah, you can you would immediately be like, oh wow, you're right. I don't want that. Or, you know, maybe I call it NQR, not quite right, where our, you know, our brains are very smart. We know what's the normal, yeah, uh kind of skeletal structure of a face. And if there's a little bit of that that's off, our brains automatically perceive that person as something's not right, even if we don't quite know what's not right.

SPEAKER_01 19:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:19

And that's when we get this like perception shift where people are doing these treatments and that perception's changing where we're like, what are you know, how old are they? Are they look old because something's not right with their face?

SPEAKER_01 19:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:36

And that's my job to help, you know, steer people in the right direction so that never happens.

SPEAKER_00 19:43

Yeah. But you don't want to be out in public and like somebody thinks, gosh, that girl's had a lot of work done.

SPEAKER_02 19:48

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 19:48

Yeah. Because that actually makes you look older, you know. And I think like I've had to, you know, have these conversations with myself and you've had to tell me no several times. And I'm so happy for that. Honestly. I'm really happy for that. And now finally at my age, I'm like gonna cry right now. You know, just the other day when I was in there, I was like finally seeing it. I was like, okay, I was like, I don't know if it's because I've had a I have a girl, I have a child, or it's just something that comes with age or whatever it is, but you you broke it down like treating the whole entire face, right? And we talked about like anybody can just freeze you, right? But if they freeze you here, you're gonna pull here, and that looks unnatural. And that's when like something doesn't quite look right. So for me, like I didn't understand that. You know what I mean? I just thought, oh, I this should be frozen and this should be frozen, and this should be frozen. But after like you taking the time to explain to me, like, okay, here's a mirror, frown now. Okay, yeah, you're frozen here, but you're really pulling here. And like I was like, oh, okay, that makes sense. So it really is perception and it really is how how you see yourself. And I think, I think one of the biggest takeaways for today, I think, would be is to, you know, try to fall in love with yourself in the mirror, you know, look at yourself in the mirror and find things that you love about yourself. Um, a while back, one of my therapists told me, actually, hold on, it wasn't even a therapist, it was an acting coach in Los Angeles. So one of the reasons why I never really fully pursued acting is because I wasn't confident in my skin. I wasn't comfortable enough. I didn't have enough self-love and enough self-worth based on how I looked. And being in LA, Hollywood, you need to have a, you know, they tell you, like I remember one casting director told me, um, I'm not, what did he say? He was like, you're not, you're not funny enough to be that fat, and told me to lose 10 pounds. Oh my gosh. Yeah. And there's like several casting directors that are like, oh yeah, this and this and that, but you know, you have a little too much meat right here. Like they would tell you these things, right? And so, like, I was like, I cannot handle this mentally. And so So that's when I made a decision to like, I'll be behind the scenes, I'll make everyone look beautiful. But I was already, you know, in hair school, but it was just something on the side that I liked. Yeah. Um, and one of my acting coaches, because you know, you can't be more authentic on stage or in front of the camera than you are in real life. People are not, they're just not gonna want to watch you. And I was chasing, I wanted to become more authentic. I wanted to be become my authentic self. And it was method act acting, my snare method. And one of the coaches, um, he I'm trying to think of his name right now, but he it was at the Ruskin School of of John Ruskin School of Acting in Santa Monica. And one of the coaches, um, I think his name's Michael. Yeah, it was Michael something. And um, he told me one of my homework exercises was go home, look in the mirror, and tell yourself that you love yourself. Find five things about yourself that you love. And it was so hard to like face that mirror. But then after, after I had um Donna Bella, I was struggling with like those self-image issues because like you're you don't recognize your body, your face is a little bit more full. Um, and I practiced it and I was like, okay, those, those, those hips are kind of cute, you know, like you begin to like kind of open up and like accept yourself in a way. So if anyone is out there struggling, maybe you can practice that exercise of doing mirror, they called it mirror work. Um, it's like looking at yourself, accepting yourself, finding things about yourself that you do like and focusing on those rather than focusing on things that you don't like. And maybe once you start becoming more in love with how you look or in like, maybe you can just like yourself for a little bit and take baby steps. Um, then you can start doing more things and it's coming from like a good place, you know?

SPEAKER_02 23:45

And that's something we often do even in our consultation with our patients, is we love to ask, you know, before we ever ask, you know, their concerns or the things that maybe they would want to improve, we often ask, what are the things you love about your face?

SPEAKER_01 24:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:00

Um, and that helps me really fully understand them also even better in terms of their goals and their wants and their, you know, their needs, uh and how they see themselves. And how they see themselves.

SPEAKER_00 24:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:12

And so, because I if there's something that they absolutely love, like that's so helpful for me to understand that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:19

Before we treat, you know, do any treatments.

SPEAKER_00 24:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:22

Um, but yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:25

Are there any other like advice that we can give our audience that maybe they're struggling with self-worth or their their image? Because I mean, I don't know, I can think of so limiting social media.

SPEAKER_02 24:39

Um I think it's just important not to follow the wrong people. Yeah. Uh just be careful. There's, you know, aesthetic treatments are wonderful, but there is also I call it snake oil. There is a lot of snake oil out there in this industry where smoking mirrors. Yes, they promise the world, and you know, maybe that's not even possible, really. Right.

SPEAKER_00 25:05

But just to get them to come to you.

SPEAKER_02 25:07

Yeah. And, you know, price shopping, and it really is important to find someone with good intentions, a good heart, someone who really has your best interest interest in mind. And there's a lot of those people out there. I travel and I teach and I train all over the country and in Canada. So I've gotten to know hundreds, if not thousands, of injectors. And there's so many good ones. And there are, you know, some of the other ones too. And so it is important to really do your research, maybe have recommendations from friends or loved ones and you know, look at reviews.

SPEAKER_00 25:46

Oh, your hairstylist.

SPEAKER_02 25:47

Yes. Uh yeah. So it's good to just do do your research and and know where you're going. Uh, because these are medical treatments and they really should be treated, you know, treated that way. Um, and then have someone that's educating you. So if you're going somewhere and they're not explaining why, then I would also kind of that's a red flag. It's important to be educated, know, know why they're doing something. And um, you know, that also help will help you be part of the conversation and part of the decision process. And so you feel empowered to make the decision uh when you really understand why. And that's important too. And kind of, you know, what I love to do is educate and you know, if say it's someone coming in and they're complaining of their under eyes looking tired, there's so many things that contribute to that.

SPEAKER_00 26:44

And not two hours of sleep only, you know.

SPEAKER_02 26:48

But uh not not it's not a cookie-cutter approach for every person, everyone's anatomy is so unique, so individualized, so different. Everyone's skin, skin type, fat pads, tissue quality, fat pad density, everything is so different from person to person. So just because your friend went and had that procedure doesn't mean it's the right for you for you. And that's another thing to just keep in mind too, is that not everything is for everyone. Yeah. And finding someone who can really educate you and help you understand what's best for you and your body will help you with best outcomes.

SPEAKER_01 27:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 27:25

But and then, you know, in terms of just the mental health component of self-worth and self-love, I would say, you know, don't feel guilty for taking time for yourself. Yeah. Whether it's a walk, whether it's Botox, whether it's coffee with a friend, coffee with a friend, um, getting your hair done. Yeah. You know, anything that's gonna make you feel more like you, go for it and don't let anyone give you shit about it.

SPEAKER_00 27:56

Yeah, exactly. 100%. I love that. And and the other thing too is like, so there's like the whole aesthetic side, and then there's like the wellness and the hormonal side of things. Um how I know hormones are super important, but like I don't know if women truly understand, or maybe I think we're the industry is shifting a little bit and it's becoming more in the light, right? Like I'm learning more about hormones after postpartum that they completely tank. Yeah. And you feel completely drained and all of that. So um, as far as hormones go, what kind of insight can you give our listeners about like hormones and mental health that those just go together?

SPEAKER_02 28:37

Um, with hormones, there's so much more to the picture than a lot of people realize. Yes. And what's interesting is so even for us in medical school, we are not taught how to treat women's hormones. We are taught how to taught how to treat disease. So if they have a genetic disorder or if their hormones are off um because of a, you know, a disease component, we treat that. But when we're trying to treat, you know, menopause or helping people feel better, that is not something that is trained in medical school.

SPEAKER_01 29:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:13

And even your OB gen providers, your your doctors, uh, they don't, they aren't trained in this either. So it's something that they're learning outside of school and not something that everyone knows how to do. And it's often not something, especially for women, covered by insurance. And so when we're looking at optimizing hormones, this is something that we do um, you know, beyond insurance. So it is again another luxury service, something that women don't, not everyone has access to it. And so it's a wonderful thing that we have the ability to do this for patients now, but not everyone does have the access. What I love about our approach is it's very unique and that we are treating from a functional medicine approach. So what's been really uh eye-opening is, you know, my husband, for instance, he was going to a provider, uh, a low T center back when we lived in Texas, and they just give you hormones. Your testosterone says, Oh, here's some testosterone. Well, they didn't ever ask the question of why.

SPEAKER_00 30:15

They're just treating like the symptom, not the cause.

SPEAKER_02 30:17

Here's your testosterone. Yes. Here you go. Well, he his testosterone went up. He he still felt like crap. He still did not feel good because his estrogen wasn't aromatizing correctly. Well, what was causing that? His gut health. He was going through some gut health issues. Well, your gut is responsible for so much of how your hormones are metabolized in your body. So if you have other things going on, you could give yourself all the hormones for both men and women. But if your body's not using them properly or binding them properly to your binding globulins and things like that, they're just running through you. They're either running through you or metabolizing incorrectly can make you feel worse. Uh, and so what's so neat from a functional medicine component is that we can really look at a bigger picture. We can do labs, we can uh we can look at inflammatory markers, biomarkers, we can see how your body's metabolizing hormones, we can look at the genetics of it, we can really understand it better. And now his hormones, his testosterone are back up looking great. He feels great, and he's not even on testosterone.

SPEAKER_00 31:25

Yeah, that's what you were saying the other day. And I was like, oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_02 31:28

Yeah, yeah. So it's so neat now seeing so many of my patients who have been seeing some of them.

SPEAKER_00 31:33

And the treatment was just like diet or certain microbiome stuff.

SPEAKER_02 31:49

From uh some food sensitivities, as well as some uh gut microbiome being off from, you know, potentially history of antibiotics and other things. And it just, you know, wild how much he's on some peptides now. He's like a new man. And it's yeah, it's so wonderful for me to live it and see it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:07

And peptides are like the new crave too. Everyone is talking about peptides right now. Yeah. That's the other scary thing too, is like I know people in LA that are selling, I know like people that are not providers that are selling peptides. It scares me as well. What? Yeah, what can you tell our listeners about this? Because the last thing we want someone to do that's like going through postpartum and they like because this is when I think people can get taken advantage of, right? Like, say you're vulnerable, you're going through postpartum, you reach out, you want to get help, you think it's a good provider, but it may not be a provider. So, like, because there are lots of people that aren't providers selling um peptides. So, what would you say to our listeners that are, you know, looking into these things? How do we yeah keep them safe?

SPEAKER_02 32:50

So I would say it really is better to see a functional medicine provider who understands root cause medicine to prescribe your peptides versus ordering them online. And just bat, you know, trying them and seeing what you think. Because what if it's not something you need? You're just giving your body something that it doesn't even need. What if your sleep deprivation is something else? What if your micronutrients are off? What if your thyroid is off?

SPEAKER_01 33:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:20

What if it's your gut? Or maybe you have um uh, you know, some autoimmune conditions that are going on that you don't know about. And so it really, I think, is better to make sure you have someone who understands you as a person, understands your whole health, and is guiding you on your therapy.

SPEAKER_00 33:37

Not just throwing peptides, not just throwing drugs at you.

SPEAKER_02 33:40

Right.

SPEAKER_00 33:40

That they're treating the cause and just not the symptom. Yeah. Because that's what's going to create longevity and that's what we're here for. We don't want just a quick fix, you know, we want to feel good long term.

SPEAKER_02 33:51

Yeah, and some of them aren't safe if they're not being monitored.

SPEAKER_00 33:54

Yeah, there's like a new one out, right? There's starts with an R or something.

SPEAKER_02 33:58

Reditrutide.

SPEAKER_00 33:59

Yeah, I heard about that one just recently.

SPEAKER_02 34:01

So that one is almost through the finishing stages of FDA approval. Yeah. And it is a peptide for weight loss.

SPEAKER_00 34:08

But it can affect the heart though, right?

SPEAKER_02 34:10

Uh so it works on three receptors instead of just the two with terzepatide. And it can cause a uh a faster heart rate. So it again, it's one of those things that you really need a provider who can check on you, check on you, yeah, make sure it's the right therapy for you specifically, versus just assuming that, oh, this is the newest one out, that's what I want.

SPEAKER_00 34:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 34:30

Uh, because it's not the right one for everyone.

SPEAKER_00 34:33

And I think the goal is to get you to where you need want to be in a shorter amount of time, not a longer amount of time. Because if you do it on your own, you're you're not really knowing, you know, where your parameters are, what needs to change.

SPEAKER_02 34:48

I know so many things about them and so many wonderful things about them, but then so many things that a lot of people do wrong with them. Right. And it's just like everything, everything in in moderation can be wonderful, but if people start taking advantage of them, they could, you know, they can hurt themselves. Yes. Maybe go the opposite direction than they were planning for. Yeah. So that's what I like.

SPEAKER_00 35:09

Black market drugs. I know people like buy just random stuff off the internet. You know, that was like a whole thing.

SPEAKER_02 35:15

And then it's gonna make access harder too, because if people start taking advantage and using it, you know, friv frivolously, basically, you soon, you know, the legally it's gonna be shut down, no one's gonna be able to prescribe it, and then everyone's not gonna get access to these things.

SPEAKER_00 35:30

Or you're you're ordering something online and it's not even what you think it is. So it's just being careful, finding a provider that you trust. Um, I think the heart of this conversation is that self-love doesn't always look like a bubble bath or journaling. Sometimes it looks like getting your hormones checked. Sometimes it looks like Botox, might be a little filler, a little sculpture, a little PRP. Um, or it could just be a good old-fashioned, you look beautiful, you don't need anything session, you know, with the provider. Um, but whatever it is, you know, when you when you look good, you do feel better, like overall. But when you're not chasing perfection and you're doing it from, you know, a healthy place, I think that's when it really matters the most. Um, and I'm so thankful for you to be here today, Adrian. Do you have anything else that you would like to say? Or um how can how can um people get a hold of you? Where can they, where can we find you?

SPEAKER_02 36:27

So you can find me on Instagram at Live Better with Adrian. And you can also find our website, livevoxy.com. That's L-I-V-E-V-O-X-Y.com. And yeah, we would I'd love to hear from you if you have questions. You're welcome to DM me and I'd love to connect.

SPEAKER_00 36:46

And do you have like a list of providers that have trained with you? Like if say people that don't live in Arkansas, like can those people find you?

SPEAKER_02 36:52

Um also I don't specifically have it listed on our website, but I could absolutely let you know because I I have you know trained injectors all over the country.

SPEAKER_00 37:03

So yeah, so if you need a trustworthy connection, just reach out to Adrienne at Voxy. Um well, thank you so much for being here. Um again, you guys, I think we are going to be finishing up this season of the podcast. I probably only have about two or three more. Um, if you do have a share uh a story to share, um we're also gonna be doing a rebrand. Instead of having um focusing so much heavily on suicide prevention, we're gonna kind of switch to mental health awareness. We'll still always have conversations and topics about that. But as I'm stepping into a lighter, you know, uh season of my life, um, that's what's best for my mental health. Um, just in time will always be dear to my heart and how it originated. But I think that we're moving into more of a space that helps the conversation flow uh easier because suicide, the word still has a stigma. And so we're gonna be changing that to mental health awareness. Um also if you'd like to support our show, please uh go to justintime to savealife uh and you can click the podcast and there's a donate button too if you'd like to um subscribe and donate. So thank you guys so much for being here, and thank you again, Adrienne, for being here as well. Jessica. Hi. If you're struggling, remember how you think is how you feel. If your feelings feel heavy, start by shifting the thought. You're not stuck, your brain can change, so can your story. I'm Jessica G. This is the Justin Time podcast, and I'll see you next time. Until then, keep going. Never give up. And remember, the world is better with you in it, whether you believe it or not. To help reach others, please share this with your friends, family, and don't forget to like, subscribe, and donate.