Facing Dementia – Episode 10 | When the Funk Hits: From “Should” to Joy, Surrender & Flow
What happens when you know all the things you’re “supposed” to be doing for your wellbeing…but you just don’t want to do them?
In Episode 10 of Facing Dementia, Dr. Michelle Greenwell and Laurin Wittig explore what happens when the funk hits—and whether our first response always needs to be getting ourselves out of it.
For Laurin, an important realization emerged when she became tired of continually focusing on what was “good for my brain” and then feeling disappointed in herself when she didn’t follow through.
What if wellness doesn’t have to be driven by fear, pressure, or another list of things we should be doing?
What if we begin instead with what genuinely brings us joy, the challenges we enjoy, the experiences we look forward to, and the activities we naturally want to return to?
🌿 Nature played an unexpected role in Laurin’s discovery.
In the quiet of the trees, she noticed something surprising: she wasn’t able to connect with her familiar “friends” in nature in the way she normally could.
That awareness helped her recognize how much energy she had been putting into controlling the physical “dark cloud” hanging over her—and how disconnected she had become from her spiritual life in the process.
And then something shifted.
As Laurin surrendered rather than pushed, an answer emerged in a completely different part of her life: her writing.
While working on her next book, she suddenly realized that her characters were in the wrong relationships. By rearranging them, the story opened.
That discovery gives us a wonderful question to explore:
What if we don’t always need to try harder?
Sometimes we may need to pause long enough to notice what needs to be reorganized.
In this conversation, we explore:
✨ The early signs that a “funk” may be arriving
✨ Whether we should head it off—or sometimes follow it with curiosity
✨ How wellness “shoulds” can create guilt and pressure
✨ The difference between forcing ourselves and finding what genuinely draws us forward
✨ Nature, spirituality, and recognizing when we've become disconnected
✨ Why surrender can sometimes reveal what effort cannot
✨ Laurin’s surprising breakthrough with her new book
✨ Awareness, intuition, and reorganization through a BioEnergetic Wellness lens
✨ Finding our way from control toward joy, connection, and flow
🍵 Featured Tea: Butterscotch Delight
This conversation is accompanied by the new Butterscotch Delight from the Cape Breton Tea Company—a comforting blend combining black tea and green tea with honeybush, blueberry, apple, pomegranate, sunflower, cornflower, calendula, jasmine and rose petals, cinnamon, and natural flavours.
Black and green tea bring different qualities to the same cup—depth and freshness, grounding and possibility, comfort and movement.
A beautiful combination for a conversation about finding our way through the funk.
Our affirmation:
“May my spirit be deeply comforted, my heart gently opened, and my days rich with connection.”
Perhaps that's the invitation of this episode.
Instead of immediately asking:
“How do I get out of this?”
try asking:
“What is this helping me notice?”
And maybe the next step isn't more willpower.
Maybe something simply needs to move.
🌿 Continue your wellness journey at the Greenwell Center.
Explore BioEnergetic Wellness resources, movement programs, tea rituals, workshops, and more, and download the Top 8 Stress Releasers.
🍵 Discover the wellness tea blends from the Cape Breton Tea Company:
💬 We’d love to hear from you:
When the funk hits, do you immediately try to get out of it—or have you ever discovered something important by listening to it first?
If this conversation resonates with you, please like, subscribe, comment, and share Facing Dementia with someone who might appreciate the conversation.
Each episode of the Be Well with Dr. Michelle Greenwell podcast includes the BioEnergetic Wellness Formula. That means that you have the opportunity to have a healing session while you listen based on the way the content is laid out and the activities we participate in. Before listening you can create a goal or an intention of where you would like to be heading with an activity or in your life, then make your cup of tea, engage in the activities and celebrate at the end.
Are you looking for more resources? The best way to find all the resources in one location is by visiting https://linktr.ee/greenwellcenter. Become a regular listener of the podcast and purchase your own tea blends to assist you in transformation while you listen. Our podcast is designed to bring balance and flow to your day, week, month, and year. Thanks for sharing us with others who could also benefit. Please send us your feedback and a review.
Dr. Michelle Greenwell, BA Psych, MSc CAM, Ph. D CIH (Complementary and Integrative Health). Striving to support the public to choose self-care and well-being options that create ease and flow in their lives, Michelle specializes in using movement to heal the body. Her BioEnergetic Formula for Success provides a means for everyone to set their intentions and create support and action for flow and ease to the goals. Learn more at www.greenwellcenter.com. Follow her YouTube channel and specialty playlists. Find her full resource list here. She highlights her Tea Company: The Cape Breton Tea Company which you can find at www.capebretontea.ca. Included is the specialty line of Tea with Intention, Harmony Blends and Coaster, and the focus on high quality organic black, green, herbal, rooibos, and honeybush tea. Including tea with your podcast listening is a unique way to explore tea, create healthy habits, and have great conversations with friends and colleagues.