Disclaimer + content warning: On this episode of Zero to Ten, hygge’s podcast, we are talking about some difficult topics around mental health with hygge wellness’s Jamie Horn. We touch on depression, anxiety, eating disorders and some other sensitive issues. We are not medical experts, but share our own personal experiences. Please listen while in a safe space. 

May is Mental Health Awareness month, but mental health and physical health can often go hand in hand. When you’re facing mental health struggles like depression, anxiety, schizophrenia and others, you’re often at a higher risk of physical illnesses like diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other heart and respiratory diseases.

Aside from that, taking care of yourself physically can also help mitigate symptoms of mental illnesses. “When you move your body, it does something for you,” says Jamie Horn, the GM of hygge wellness.

But of course, too much of a good thing can ultimately be a bad thing. In this week’s Zero to Ten podcast episode, we dive into mental health, physical wellness and the line between healthy and unhealthy wellness practices with Jamie.

Jamie is candid about her history with eating disorders and postpartum depression when chatting with us. In the past she found working out and physical wellness was a way she could take her need for control too far, and it ended up impacting her negatively.

“I think everyone can have an up and down sway in their fitness journey and in their mental health journey,” she says. “I think it’s an important tool to use when it’s in a positive light and it’s a dangerous tool when it’s used in a negative way of not dealing with the actual emotion.”

What it comes down to, Jamie says, is mental wellness, just like physical wellness, is complex. There’s no one size fits all approach, and it’s much more important to focus on how you feel versus how you look or any number on the scale. It’s important to work with experts in the medical field to determine what is best for you, mentally and physically.

Jamie’s history influences how she and the other trainers at hygge wellness approach their work. She never wants someone to feel alienated or like they should aspire to a certain body weight or goal at the expense of their overall wellness.

“That’s why at hygge wellness you’ll never see us focusing on body goals or showing necessarily before and after pictures and things like that. Mind you, we love all that and if that’s the stuff that makes you feel good, we are supportive and proud and I love to hear all the success stories with people’s bodies because sometimes that is what helps people feel good about themselves and confident…. but the majority of things that we want to focus on is how does it make you feel?”

You can listen to the full discussion below or by finding our podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.