Dying To Ask

The Pros And Cons Of A 30-Day Social Media Detox

My sister gave up social media for 30 days. And it didn't kill her.

But her personal and professional lives suffered some unexpected hits.

A recent Forbes article cited a new survey from USwitch that found Americans spend about 1,300 hours a year on social media.

My sister, Siobhan Fitzpatrick Kratovil, wrote about her 30-day detox of Instagram and Twitter for a parenting magazine.

Social media isn't a technical addiction. But going cold turkey off posting sure sounds a lot like giving up other addictive substances.

Siobhan describes a twitching for her phone that never really went away. And, she was surprised to find out how many school and work opportunities she missed because they were only communicated on social media sites.

On the flip side, her productivity as a writer skyrocketed and she read six books.

Her conclusion?

It might not be practical to live a life off social media anymore.

Maybe, we should strive for a more balanced relationship with our favorite sites?

On this Dying to Ask:

• How to realistically evaluate if your time on social media is out of control
• The pros and cons of taking time away from your online persona
• How to reduce your social media time without a true detox

How To Give Your Home A Wellness Makeover With Shiree Segerstrom

You've heard the phrase you are what you eat.

Turns out, you are where and how you live too.

The key to living a healthy, balanced and happy life might be in designing a healthy, balanced and functional home.

It sounds expensive. But it doesn't have to be.

Shiree Segerstrom is an interior designer and wellness expert who specializes in designing restful homes.

She intuitively realized the healing powers of her home after the sudden loss of her husband more than 10 years ago.

She sought refuge in her garden and in the design of her home and discovered carving out specific spaces to relax, cook healthfully and exercise cemented her healthy routines and improved her outlook.

Most of us have spent more time at home in the last few years than ever before because of the pandemic.

Feeling blah after two years of pandemic life?

Maybe it's time to freshen up your living space and see if it changes your mood. Shiree will teach you how to "undecorate" before you decorate.

On this Dying to Ask:

• How our environment impacts our biology
• Why we all need a quiet space
• How to make the most out of a small space and small budget
• Which paint colors tend to ease anxiety
• How to give your home a wellness makeover in one weekend on the cheap

How To Never Lose Your Joy With Olympic Skier Travis Ganong

Joy.

It's as fleeting as it is elusive.

Olympic skiers like Travis Ganong earn their living from doing something others do recreationally. It's their day job. And, anyone's day job can get old.

So, what did this pro athlete do hours after returning from the 2022 Beijing Olympics?

He went skiing.

Why? Because it brings him joy.

"Contrary to the belief that as a pro skier we get to ski a lot, when we're racing, we're not skiing that much. When we're racing, we're going up and inspecting the hill and we're resting a lot. And we're doing our race runs so we're doing two or three runs a day to conserve energy and trying to stay healthy and saving a lot for the race run. During the whole season, I can't wait to get home and ski for myself and for the joy of skiing without the pressure and the stress," Ganong said.

For this two-time Olympian, home sweet home means home sweet snow.

On this Dying to Ask:

• Behind the scenes of the Beijing bubble
• Why athletes are leaving the Olympic Village before the games even end
• How to keep your joy for a sport or a hobby alive

How To Create A Routine With Ski Patroller Bruce Welton

Could you survive 21 days in a hotel room by yourself?

Bruce Welton did and he's sharing his secret to developing mental toughness in unfamiliar circumstances.

It's always interesting to find out how people do life. It's especially interesting to find out how they handle their lives being turned upside down.

That's the case for anyone competing in or working at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Bruce Welton is a ski patrol member at Palisades Tahoe Ski Resort in Olympic Valley, California.

He took on a prestigious assignment working as a ski patrol trainer for the 2022 Beijing Games. His job? Train his Chinese counterparts in the nuances of mountain rescue and then work as a patroller during competition.

The catch? He had to go to China in November and he had to quarantine for 21 days in a hotel room by himself.

Twenty-one days alone.... and hopefully COVID-19-free.

On this Dying to Ask:

• How Bruce developed a plan to stay sane during his Olympic quarantine
• The logistics of teaching mountain rescues to people with a major language barrier
• His advice for anyone who finds themselves in a strange place in need of a new routine

How To Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone With Olympian Winter Vinecki

When was the last time you got out of your comfort zone?

Like, really OUT of your comfort zone?

Team USA Olympic Skier Winter Vinecki is a pro at being comfortable being uncomfortable.

And, with a name like Winter, how could she not have ended up in the Winter Games?

She's a first-time Olympian in aerial skiing.

But she ended up in her sport in a strange way.

At the age of 11, Winter set two world records. Once, for being the youngest person to run a marathon on all seven continents and the second for being the first mother-daughter duo to achieve that feat.

She started a foundation called Team Winter to raise money for prostate cancer. While accepting an award, she met Olympic aerialist Emily Cook and the rest is history.

On this Dying to Ask:

• How marathon running gave Winter the skills to be successful in aerial skiing
• How she made the decision to leave her family at a young age to pursue a new dream
• What it's really like in the Olympic Athletes Village in Beijing right now
• And some easy ways to get out of your comfort zone for our 21-Day Challenge

Take the 21-Day Challenge With Olympian Shannon Bahrke

Need a one-woman hype squad?

Call Olympic silver medalist Shannon Bahrke.

Shannon is our 21-Day Challenge cheerleader for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Here's the ask.

Make a commitment to adopt a renewed focus on physical health and personal growth with the 21-Day Challenge. Each day for 21 days, athletes and other experts will be sharing tips for workouts, nutrition, mental health hacks and more.

Shannon Bahrke is a two-time Olympic medalist in freestyle skiing. She won silver at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and bronze in 2010 at the Vancouver Games.

Her trademark pink hair and energetic personality quickly made her a fan favorite during her 12 years on the US Ski Team.

Post Olympics, Shannon settled in Salt Lake City, Utah.

She's an entrepreneur, a ski ambassador at Deer Valley Ski Resort, a children's book author, and the founder of Team Empower Hour, a collaboration of Olympic motivational speakers.

In March, she'll launch a new online motivational platform called The W.I.L.L. Program aimed at helping women build confidence while helping companies retain top talent.

On this Dying to Ask:

• Shannon's expert advice for anyone taking the 21-Day Challenge
• How the mantra "just one more" helped Shannon achieve her dreams
• How Olympians like Shannon find focus and mental toughness
• How you can sign up for "The W.I.L.L. Program" and why Shannon believes it can help companies retain top talent

Please join our 21-Day Challenge!

This time we’ve made a printable calendar if anyone wants to participate and keep track of their goal.

Also, please consider sharing what you’re planning to do or your progress on our interactive bulletin board.

You can submit your challenge here or tweet or post on Instagram using the hashtag #kcrachallenge.

How To Take The Kindness Challenge

It's time to flip the script on acts of kindness.

Instead of doing something kind for someone else, how about doing an act of kindness for yourself?

My colleague Edie Lambert is back on the show and we're building on some concepts that came up in a recent episode about "pandemic brain."

It's the feeling of overwhelm and foggy thinking that a lot of us have after two years of pandemic life.

Psychologist Dr. Hillary Van Horn-Gatlin encouraged us to slow down, get outside, sleep and stop multi-tasking to get some mental relief.

Turns out, it's harder than you think.

Many listeners struggled to figure out how one could live a life of solo focus.

My conclusion? Start small and do what you can.

Edie's conclusion? Be kind to yourself.

Edie has come up with an efficient way to get a brain boost each day.

And there's an accountability hack that's one text away.

It works. We've tried it and we want to share our "kindness challenge" with you.

On this Dying to Ask:

• Why an act of self-kindness is powerful
• How to make sure you stick with the challenge
• And the surprising response to our pandemic brain episode

How To Regain Your Fitness After COVID-19

It's the number one resolution Americans make each year.

Get in shape.

It's not an easy resolution to keep.

Add in a pandemic and the latest COVID-19 surge and it can feel just about impossible.

Personal trainer Ty Rendlich-Texidor has a new appreciation for her clients who struggle to find energy to make it to the gym.

She's been working as a fitness professional for 20 years. But, she's only been a recovering COVID-19 patient for a month.

And, she's not afraid to say the virus kicked her butt.

"It absolutely wiped me out. It was similar to when I had my baby. I did not expect it," Rendlich-Texidor said.

She says it's been a heavy lift, figuratively and literally, to regain her energy and stamina to resume training.

So, she came up with a three-step plan on how to resume working out after recovering from the coronavirus.

It's a plan anyone can use post-injury, post-illness, or after a long break from working out for any reason.

It starts with a hard look in the mirror and ends with a balanced and reasonable plan to set yourself up for fitness success.

On this Dying to Ask:

• A reality check on what COVID-19 can be like even if you're fit and healthy
• Ty breaks down her three-part post-COVID-19 training plan
• And why a break in working out isn't always a bad thing

5 Ways To Fight Pandemic Brain With Dr. Hillary Van Horn-Gatlin

Feel like you're losing your mind?

So do I.

It's time to do something about a new phenomenon called pandemic brain.

"Pandemic brain" isn't an official disorder. But it's a real thing, according to Dr. Hillary Van Horn-Gatlin, a Kaiser Permanente psychologist.

Her office is filled with patients complaining of feeling foggy ever since the pandemic started and their work and home lives were turned upside down.

An article in Glamour Magazine went viral with the headline "Pandemic Brain is Real- And it Explains Why You Can't Focus."

The article predicted relief was right around the corner as vaccines were about to end the pandemic. That article was published in March of 2021 and you know what happened, or didn't happen, next.

Bottom line, pandemic brain is worse.

Van Horn-Gatlin said, "You know I can't tell you the number of patients I've talked to you recently that will say I will forget what I'm talking about in mid-sentence and I don't even know what I'm doing. We're seeing those behaviors and issues related to the pandemic."

Harvard medical researchers are studying the impact the pandemic is having on our brains as we reach its two-year mark.

It's not good.

They're noticing a neural inflammation caused by stress that's likely leading to what we're calling pandemic brain.

The bad news?

The pandemic isn't ending soon.

The good news?

Van Horn-Gatlin said there are five things we can do right now that could lead to a sense of relief (however small) in as soon as a week.

On this Dying to Ask:

• The science behind why you can't focus
• 5 things you can try to regain mental clarity
• And KCRA 3 anchor Edie Lambert joins me to talk about our shared experience of pandemic brain and what we're doing about it

How To Be More Hopeful With Author Annette Roberts-Murray

Finding clarity through pandemonium — that's what a school principal did in a new kids' book about the pandemic.

Annette Roberts-Murray is an elementary school principal.

She is one of the most positive, hopeful people I've interviewed on this show.

In this episode, she'll share her hacks for hopefulness.

One of those hacks is to be of service to people who need help.

A Zoom call with her nephew about his experiences of pandemic life mirrored frustrations Annette was already seeing in her school.

Annette wrote Pandemonium to make kids feel seen and heard and also to let them know they are not alone in how they feel.

The reality is that adults draw on decades of life experience to get through hard times.

Kids don't have that luxury and skyrocketing rates of pediatric depression and anxiety prove they're struggling to process two years of pandemic life.

Feeling a little down these days? Struggling as a parent? Annette Roberts-Murray will get you back on track.

On this Dying to Ask:

• How Annette decided to write her book and her goals for Pandemonium
• A reality check on what she's seeing in schools and her hacks for staying hopeful.
• And what Annette does in her free time helps her mental health and might make her the coolest principal ever.