Holistic Approaches To Transform Mental Wellness and Entrepreneurship with Dr. Tiffany M. Smith
Please enjoy this transcript of the Crown Yourself Podcast, with Holistic Root-Cause Treating Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner and Founder of Aroma Functional Nutrition, Dr. Tiffany M. Smith @dr.tiffanymsmith and, your host, transformational story coach, Kimberly Spencer (@Kimberly.Spencer)
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In this episode of the Crown Yourself podcast, host Kimberly Spencer talks with Dr. Tiffany M. Smith about transitioning from traditional psychiatry to holistic health practices, including aromatherapy and functional nutrition. Dr. Smith highlights the importance of addressing generational trauma, particularly within the BIPOC community, and advocates for a healthcare system that emphasizes holistic well-being. They discuss the role of community and support in mental wellness and entrepreneurship and the significance of trust and intimacy in relationships. Dr. Smith also shares her personal experiences with aromatherapy and its benefits, underscoring the interconnectedness of mind, body, and spirit in healing.
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PODCAST TRANSCRIPT
Kimberly Spencer (00:00:00) - How do you take a stand when you see that what you've been given is not working? And even though systems may say that that is what you quote unquote should be doing and it should make you feel better, and still, it doesn't, how do you choose to be the advocate for your own health and search out for something that is more than just a pill? That is why it is my great pleasure to bring to you today, included in our Black History Month special of highlighting amazing female, black-owned businesses that are choosing to do life and business differently. I had the privilege and the honor of working with Doctor Tiffany M Smith. Who is your holistic root cause treating psychiatric nurse practitioner? She is a trailblazing doctoral-prepared functional psychiatric nurse practitioner and the founder of Aroma Functional Nutrition. And one of the things I absolutely love about Doctor Tiffany is the fact that she has the cutest relationship with her husband. It is so beautiful to see two empty nesters now just thriving at the peak of their absolute love life.
Kimberly Spencer (00:01:11) - It was her own husband's journey as a medical combat vet who was nearly bedridden due to chronic pain, depression, anxiety, hypersomnia, and PTSD that stimulated Doctor Tiffany, who has 30 years in medicine, to seek out new treatments, new pathways, new possibilities to serve and support her man. She saw a concerning pattern of treatment that often resulted in patients being on medication for a lifetime without addressing the root cause of their issues, especially within the black community. And what I love about Doctor Tiffany is that she chose to seek out new answers, to seek new knowledge, to seek new solutions, because the current solutions that the system was providing were not cutting it. And she's not just doing this for herself and her family, but now her community and the black community at large, serving women and moms in helping their mental health, their perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, and to help them stop hiding behind the mask of everything is quote-unquote fine and actually be their authentic self with who they are in their communities, in their relationships, which is a start to healing.
Kimberly Spencer (00:02:33) - Doctor Tiffany, is your holistic root cause treating psychiatric nurse practitioner, and I am so excited to have her dazzle your mind with the power of how you can actually take your health into your hands with ownership, personal responsibility, and just the tools and knowledge that Doctor Tiffany provides. And now I give you Doctor Tiffany M Smith. We make every effort to bring you the best and correct information. We are all still learning and I am simply presenting my views. I am not a licensed medical professional and even for my guests who are licensed medical professionals, this podcast is purely for general informational, educational, and entertainment purposes. The use of any of this information on this podcast or materials linked in this podcast is at your own risk and you take full ownership of your results. This podcast is not intended as a substitute for professional medical treatment and or diagnosis. Always consult with a doctor for any medical issues you may be having. Welcome to the Crown Yourself podcast, where together we build your empire and transform your subconscious stories about what's possible for your business, body, and life.
Kimberly Spencer (00:04:00) - I'm your host, Kimberly Spencer, founder of Crown Yourself. Com and I'm a master mindset coach, bestselling author, and TEDx speaker known to my clients as a game changer. Each week you get the conscious leadership strategies you need to help you reign with courage, clarity, and confidence so that you too, can make the income and impact you deserve. Imagine this podcast as your royal invitation to step into your full potential and reign in your divine purpose. Your sovereignty starts here and your reign is now. Doctor Tiffany, welcome to the Crown Yourself podcast. It is such an honor to see your face again.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:04:37) - Well thank you. It's good to see you too. And I'm glad to be here to share with your audience today. So as you grow.
Kimberly Spencer (00:04:45) - Because you have gone from allopathic psychiatry into holistic, into aromatherapy, and into functional nutrition as well, and you treat the whole patient and tell us a little bit about your journey to this revelation is to see finding the root cause.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:05:05) - Well, it started, you know, with my husband because he was experiencing PTSD exacerbation, chronic pain, having sleep disturbances with depression and anxiety and, and all of this kind of progressively crept up over time where, you know, you feel some pain, you keep going, you have this symptom, you keep going.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:05:27) - And we're both in the medical field and we're engaged in our health care system. But life wasn't getting better. The quality of life wasn't getting better. So we had to find a different way, a new approach. My husband said, forget all of this. This is not getting me where I want to be in life. We need to find something new and different, and we're both trained in this healthcare system. Now we gotta find something different. What you know and you know, the emotional journey and feelings that we went through in that time period where you have this active, vibrant person to combat veteran love of my life now to almost the point of being bedridden. It was heartbreaking. And I realized that I'm out here kind of doing life a little bit alone, raising our kids because he's having these problems and we were doing everything right. What you're supposed to do go see your doctor, you know? But it was just a circle. You got side effects or it's invasive or go see this other doctor, go see this other doctor.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:06:43) - So we had to hunker down and really just kind of gather ourselves that our intentions and identify. How are we going to tackle this thing in the most holistic, healthy, non-invasive way? And that was the journey in. And that's where our lives turned. And in that, I realized there are other people who are experiencing the same thing, and we don't want others to go through feeling lost, feeling alone, feeling hopeless, feeling like there are no solutions. And that's where the, the, the transition came. And we started to move forward with a holistic root cause treatment approach.
Kimberly Spencer (00:07:31) - Did you ever feel in your journey that the medical system failed you? Or did you like what? How did your beliefs have to shift around the healthcare system as a whole?
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:07:42) - Well, we had to realize what the health care system actually is designed to do. You know, the health care system is designed to help you with life-threatening situations, acute situations, meaning things that happen abruptly or are short-term. That's what our healthcare system is designed to do.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:08:01) - Our health care system is not designed to make sure that you don't need the health care system. It's not designed to make sure that you are staying healthy where you prevent those preventable acute stages. So I think we really gained respect as far as learning how to utilize what is available in the proper way. So in other words, I'm saying that we look at health care if something's wrong with us, we just go there and it gets fixed. But that's not the result you always get. How many of us are taking the medications and doing what's supposed to be done, but we are still not 100%? We're still not living our best life. Right? You think you go to the doctor, you're going to live your best life because I'm engaged in the health care system, which is supposed to keep me healthy. But that's not what you find.
Kimberly Spencer (00:09:00) - With that. If you could revolutionize the health care system, like actually having it be not necessarily sick care but acute care, but actual health care, what would if you were to redesign the entire health care system? What would that look like from a functional approach?
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:09:20) - From a functional approach.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:09:21) - I think that we need to have supporters. So right now, in our current health care system, I could identify that maybe as a case manager or a health coach, but someone that's going to be there when you're born, that can be someone you can bounce off of and talk about your health goals. And you check, you know like you check in with your doctor annually. You would check in with your life person, your life health person. You know, every so often as you're growing and developing through life is one thing. We need support. We need accountability as well. You know, if someone was there to help people when they're feeling at their lowest point, when they're feeling sad and depressed before they've made that one stupid decision that, you know, when they gave in to their temptations, if someone was there to say, you're awesome, sauce, I got you. You're amazing. Keep going. When you're doing the right thing, would you have stepped off the ledge, you know, and made those poor decisions if we had someone there? And then it's about also I would say when you take them from young through old, maintaining that level of health, maintaining that childlike spirit as you gain older, grow older and have to deal with more serious tasks and responsibilities, how to still nurture and love and maintain that inner child.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:10:50) - And if you do that now, you have you're happy, you're physically moving, you're surrounding yourself with love. And we would probably see a decrease in the violence, the tension, the trauma, you know, the stress because we're all going to be this, this body of individuals that have human kindness and community. So I know.
Kimberly Spencer (00:11:16) - Community has been such a huge value for you of what you're building. And what inspired you to get into the medical field in the first place?
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:11:26) - Oh, wow. So this was in high school before I graduated high school. My goal was to go to school and be an electrical engineer. And just prior to graduating, it's my senior year. It's March of my senior year. And my grandfather had a stroke. And that was the first medical incident in my family. Everybody's healthy and, you know, no health issues. I don't know anything about the healthcare system other than some of my family members work in hospitals. That's all I know. And in the time that we engage with the health care system and we're all distraught, we're all hurt in that time, that's when nurses and CNAs and professionals within that health care system were so supportive to us.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:12:19) - They were crying with us. And I said that is it. That is the thing that I need to do. So at this point where I'm preparing to leave and go to college, I switched my major, went into nursing, and moved in with my grandma, you know, because that was my grandpa who died. I moved in with her, stayed with her, stayed local, and went to college and became a nurse.
Kimberly Spencer (00:12:45) - There's a beautiful, um, theme with you specifically that I have loved because I had the privilege of coaching you as well earlier this year. And it's how family shows up for each other. And when you think of that, how could we apply that value into the health care system to change it in order so that people do feel like they have that support beyond having that life person? Like, what would it look like, on an appointment basis, like appointment to appointment for doctors to show that level of, familial care in a way?
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:13:27) - Not be rushed. You know, not have that seven-minute clock that says you got one thing to tell me about one problem, and then we're going to address it and then I'm off. So what that means to prevent that is that we need to make sure that the health care providers are compensated where they don't have to shorten the visits. Um, and they can spend quality time with the client to hear them out, which is going to help them hear the root cause and then actually treat the root cause and just be a human being. It's hard for the medical provider to be a human being instead of more like a medical robot because of the pressures of society upon them. Not bad people, nothing against them. It's just what they have to work within that makes the appointments very, you know, robotic, impersonal, gotta keep it moving. Because if I don't, I can't pay the bills or I have my old stressors and things. But if we're able to live a life with human kindness and not have to be stressed and pressure pressured, then we can spend more time being a human being with another human being.
Kimberly Spencer (00:14:43) - Now you've created a whole new paradigm with aroma functional nutrition psychiatry for how you address this issue and bring some humanity back into the medical field. Tell us more about that.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:14:58) - My take on mental health is that mental health is everything, and everything is mental health. And when you come into a psychiatric appointment, it's often just this focus on brain chemistry, serotonin dopamine, and all of that when everything is affecting your mental health. If you leave these psychiatric appointments and you get into your car as a bucket, you know, and it doesn't distort, don't turn over the first few times or it's on E and you're praying to God, you can get home safe. That affects your mental health. If you go home and you don't feel loved, that affects your mental health. If you don't like the way you look in your clothes, it affects your mental health. So the mental health approach, one part of it is your environment. It's it's everything around you. And how does that make you feel? Another part is your own thoughts and beliefs.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:15:58) - Another part is your physiology and is your physiology. Meaning you know what you're eating, your diet, your sleep. How is your body functioning under these conditions? We hear a lot about stress. And, you know, stress increases your cortisol, but it gets so much deeper than that when you're dealing with a lifelong trauma when you're dealing with short-term trauma, your body responds, and your body is affected. So you have to get functionality within the body. And that's where the functional part and our company comes from. Understanding root cause. Where is the dysfunction in the body, in the environment and the thought processes, you know, and anything else that pertains to that individual? And then we work to bring together a holistic treatment plan for them.
Kimberly Spencer (00:16:52) - How has your mental health changed or been challenged along your journey? Not only just going from being a nurse, but like like going from nursing and to psychiatry to now running a business and growing a business. But I know you have big ambitions.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:17:12) - Yes, yes, I am a go-getter. And so I have been challenged in a lot of ways. I mean, every way. One thing with entrepreneurs that I speak to is that entrepreneurs have a higher incidence of mental health issues. You know, more than the general population. So again, having that support and that sounding board and surrounding yourself with people, um, is what you need. Having a coach like yourself to help keep you centered, and keep you focused on what's really going on where you are. But yes, anxiety, good and bad. You got a vision, you're going for it. Yes. But then you feel like you're three months behind you trying to get things done that you want to have in place. So it's finding it's always finding a balance. And that's a fluid thing, um, as you're moving through life. And so, um, because I have my spouse is my biggest supporter and he is my grounder, he grounds me. Having him has helped me not go in, spiral out, but really helped me to say, okay, I know your ambitions here, you know? But from starting from here, we're going to just take it up to this point and we're going to work our way up, you know, or look, you got to trust yourself that you'll get things done.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:18:38) - So don't let yourself get worried and overly concerned because you will do the things that need to be done. So those are two areas the ambitions, you know, and getting it done. And always feeling behind, you know, strategy and what's going on. But I do feel that one thing that I do think is that we, my husband and I work in this together is prepping our mindset for what the future is going to bring. And in that, I think that that has prevented any sort of imposter syndrome, you know because we can see ourselves at the next level. We're always talking about the next level. What would it feel like? What does it look like? And so. It's easy to say, oh, I want to be a multimillionaire in international business and all of that. But we take it in our incremental steps because, again, I have a big ambition. But he helps me break it down into these reasonable steps that help keep me grounded and say, okay, you know, we're going to go from 100,000 to 150 to 200 to 252, or whatever the increments may be, so that we're still feeling aligned spiritually with the goal that we have.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:19:58) - So we feel like we can always attain it. We just have to again be fluid, our energies. Are we taking the right steps? How do we feel about what we're doing and always just tapping back into ourselves? How do we feel and where we are? And I think that's how we've kind of made it through so far.
Kimberly Spencer (00:20:16) - And what, because I know you work with a lot of entrepreneurs, and what would you say are the common root causes, at least for entrepreneurs, because anxiety is not the root cause? So what would you say it typically is? Is it a lack of sleep?
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:20:30) - I think lack of sleep. That's huge because yes, everybody has those ambitions in that big goal. And it's like, I got to do this yesterday, you know? So everything drops. And so when you say lack of sleep, that's right on point. Um, but what needs to happen is, is finding that balance because you can only do so much. Delegation is an excellent task to know how to do.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:20:58) - But that's one of the things that has been a challenge and has been a shift for me. To go back to. Your other question is about delegation. I have to take things off my plate and know what my lane is. Um, and sometimes, uh, that's challenging to do, you know, because we all, we, we hold ourselves entrepreneurs, hold ourselves responsible for the results within the organization. And so it's hard to give that to someone else because, at the end of the day, it'll fall back on you. You know, you could have done it right. And dot dot dot dot dot. Um, but the root cause is, is lack of balance that shifts. So when coming into entrepreneurship, it's you're going to have to say, okay, where's my time? Where's my flexibility, what are my backup plans, who's my support? And that can help kind of and I often teach, you know, there's this jump in, jump out jump on. And so you want to be in your business away from your business and working on your business.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:21:55) - And so you want to take your calendar, put different colors for those three things and see where are where's your wait time, you know, and then how much of it do you have in compared to being in and on, and then how much of that away time are You time. Meantime always keep yourself first because it's just like anything else. You want to keep yourself first so that you can produce.
Kimberly Spencer (00:22:21) - And I love what you said about the responsibility of the entrepreneur for the results. And there's like that next level of delegation where there is there's the delegating of the tasks, of the tactics, and the end strategy of the how, in essence. But then when you start delegating responsibility, yes, on the leader, it still falls on you because that there's that responsibility. But when the responsibility is delegated, that's where you start to experience freedom, because then other people pick up those pieces of greater responsibility, and they have more buy-in for the support of the project or the endeavor or the strategy pulling through.
Kimberly Spencer (00:23:00) - And I see that also with. With correlating to health in a way, is that when people are prescribed a plan of action, or when you see your patients are prescribed a plan of action, do you see them fully take that responsibility and that ownership, or are there? Is there still a level of, oh, I'm going to do these tactics, but there's not actually there's still looking for that pill.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:23:26) - I think that it's something that has to grow on you, so you have to have something that they can kind of slowly adjust to because our society, you know, as mentioned, we're used to that. People just go to the doctor and get fixed. So to take on the mindset of, I'm going to take control, I'm going to do these things to help me myself. That's a whole mental shift. And so time is allowed. You know, you have to be patient and support for them to embody that. So yeah, they might be like, you know what, forget this.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:24:05) - I'm going to go take that pill, but just start to take the pill a little less and start to increase, you know, your lifestyle functions or the supplementation or whatever over time. And then they start to swap. So it's that patience and support and mentoring that's going to help them embrace and embody that next phase of life.
Kimberly Spencer (00:24:28) - Yeah. And then, the need for support. And so this is like a beautiful common theme of the need for support and the need for community. How has your community evolved or changed as you've grown, not only in your own mental health and wellness but also in growing a business that is supporting others in their health and mental wellness?
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:24:52) - You know, one of the challenges I love the community. I love to bring people together. I like people to share, and I'm trying to reimagine my community and what that will look like so that it's even more dynamic. So I'm in still in the process of this. Is there a reason, you know, I don't want to just have here's resources or just everybody come and just dump your thoughts?
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:25:21) - But I'm trying to identify and create this, this new community that can be more robust and really supportive and that's where I am right now, today. But what I have is I have my wellness program, and in that, we have our mentoring. And then we'll have group sessions around that. And we're going to just build it out from there and engage and let the community breed the next level of what community is going to look like for the future. We want to take community and 2.0 it, you know, and take it to the next level so that everyone is always feeling supported. Um, so I have thoughts around it, but I don't have a complete thought of what that might look like yet.
Kimberly Spencer (00:26:06) - I'm so curious as to what the community next level looks like. As far as what is it? What does it feel like as far as I know?
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:26:15) - I think that there has to be accountability. That also has to be buddy systems because I'm a part of communities, but I'm not engaged.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:26:24) - I'm not I don't have accountability to be engaged. And so I think having somebody having ways for people to connect. And so with that, I would have more, um, I did workshops, uh, with a bike park community and created these sort of inner communities and helped people connect within that with the knowledge that I shared. And I think that that's definitely going to be one component, so people can start to talk to each other and start to connect with each other, and that's going to help have a more dynamic community. Also, it's going to allow people to feel safe within the community where they can say those things that they can't say anywhere else, but then also know that that support is coming. They won't be berated, they will be supported and nurtured and moved forward. Um, so that's that's my thoughts around that.
Kimberly Spencer (00:27:22) - Being the extraordinary black woman that you are doing such great work for your community. What are the problems that you've seen, particularly with, um, the health of Bipoc individuals as far as their functional health?
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:27:39) - Mhm.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:27:41) - There is a lot of generational trauma around the health care system and the Bipoc community. And that is why I want to emphasize what you can do for yourself. I'm a DIYer you know. And there's so much we can do. There's so much control that we have. And so that's what I want to impart, is that if you say to yourself, oh man, she mentioned the environment I do not like, you know, the way my house makes me feel. You know, I don't like my boss. You know, these. You start to I want to help you to put spotlights on different areas of your life that you can right now, today, this minute start to make changes that can help you towards better mental health. At the end of the day, I don't want you to need me. I want you to be health-independent. You know where you know, understand you, and there's a lot you can do for yourself. And then once you know, you've you're kind of like, I've done it all, you know? Then come see me.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:28:50) - I'm here to get down to that super duper root cause, you know, because initially what I found was it was the basic stuff not sleeping, not eating bad relationships and all of that. And but when you remove that, then often there were no more problems. You know, those were the root causes. So that type of stuff I want to give you awareness to work through. Now when we get into the deeper, lifelong trauma, we have a lot of physiological dysfunction and other mindset things that we need to work through and clear up as well. And that's when you'll want to say, okay, I need to step in and do a little bit more deeper dive. So for those just starting out, the purpose of the wellness program is to start to get your lifestyle cleaned up, start to look at your life, nutrition, sleep, your health, and naturally optimize your health. And then you say, what's left? What are my issues or challenges? And then we go ahead and dig, take another deeper dive and, and dig into those things so I can take you from where you are.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:30:02) - And get you to where you want to be. And we can do that over time. And that's what our wellness programs are about.
Kimberly Spencer (00:30:08) - Also, with the support for Bipoc individuals with healing that generational trauma, how does like if you were to give a specific example to like how that manifests within the body and what type kind of comes up through and into people's nutrition, or how that manifests and showcases itself in the choices that they're making as far as what food they're putting into their body?
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:30:30) - Yeah. Let's run through a few things. Number one, hormonal imbalance. You may have a hard time with acne, you know, especially acne around the chin. You may get this rash on the back. Weight gain is another thing. It may be hard for you to lose weight, or you're having cravings and things like that. You're you're trying to be healthy, but you just for whatever reason, can't shed weight or what have you. And you can just have these emotional and mental blocks. Um, energy blocks, if you will.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:31:04) - Um, just things that are within you, within your nervous system. Difficulty sleeping and you don't know why you've tried everything. Melatonin and all the sleep stuff. Um, relationships. It's hard to trust. Or that one time you did trust, you got burned. And so now you can never trust again. Um, you must always have a very high level of control. You know, your defenses. You're always on. You know, because you have to always be on guard, protecting, watching everything. Um, you keep people at a distance. You don't let people in. You don't let people know how you feel. So you hold it. You learn a lot of things inside. And that can overspill into maybe not good things to help you release that where maybe alcohol and drugs or, I don't know, binge watching Netflix, you know, could be something that you do, um, or it could result in you taking a kickboxing class and running. I mean, but we have these the, you know, that being able to express ourselves because all the cultures tell me how, you know, you're supposed to not let the neighbors see.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:32:21) - Don't let them know you feel like this or feel like that being vulnerable is a negative thing. Um, because now you can get hurt so our relationships can suffer. Um, problems with authority can be a challenge, you know? Boss. It can be a trigger word, you know, and so a lot of things that we don't even consider can be generational and not necessarily coming from us. You know, I've had some energy work done and they were like, oh, you have this generational, you know, this insecurity or feeling unworthy and it's not yours. It was brought down and we're going to release that. And I'm like, what? Really, you know, really shocked. But it's it's not always you. And I'm speaking to the BIPOC women. It's not always you that is the reason or the source of some of the challenges that you face. It just trickles down genetically and subconsciously from our parents and elders and how they do things. And so we have to just realize it's not always us.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:33:42) - Sometimes it's something bigger than us, and we're doing the best we can in our current situations and how we move and move forward.
Kimberly Spencer (00:33:52) - And I'd love to think about it from the perspective that, you know, it's not always us. And just speaking as a woman who's experienced trauma and has had generational trauma and healed a lot of it, but how powerful are you that you get to be the one to heal it?
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:34:09) - Oh.
Kimberly Spencer (00:34:10) - And I know you had some powerful breakthroughs when we did some timeline therapy and worked through that with hypnosis and the ability to. Look at generational trauma, because so often when we get stuck in the cycle of the drama triangle where the victim, villain, hero when we're stuck in that triangle, sometimes you're the victim of the past generational experience and crap that you went that your forefathers went through and. Right. It's not and it's been studied this. And if you're ever curious about the studies, um, just look into the studies with rats and cherry blossoms and also.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:34:50) - Allowing you to share that.
Kimberly Spencer (00:34:51) - Yeah, it's very.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:34:52) - Important for your audience to hear share the the cherry blossom and the rat.
Kimberly Spencer (00:34:56) - Yeah. So there's there is it was an experiment that was done with rats. That was about where they gave the rats a scent of cherry blossom, and then they gave them an electric shock. And then they treated the rats. Within five generations they actually found that the rats would still respond with the same trauma response, even without receiving the electric shock. When they would smell the cherry blossoms, they would, uh, experience the same amount of trauma. And Doctor Valerie Raine, who was on this podcast, also talked a lot about that because she wrote the book on patriarchy, stress disorder, and all the challenges sometimes, with women, generationally with money, because we've only technically been able to make money for 200 years. And so no wonder there may be some generational trauma that may have been passed down that may not even be ours.
Kimberly Spencer (00:35:49) - So it is our responsibility, though, to do the healing. And how powerful are we that we got to come into this lifetime at this time, to be able to be the ones to do it?
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:36:00) - Exactly, exactly. And that's what I want to empower everyone to know. We can heal, we can change the dynamic. We can move forward and be better for it.
Kimberly Spencer (00:36:11) - And how did your husband heal to bring it full circle?
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:36:16) - So one energetically he healed because I got healed and so because I asked, okay, I want my husband to heal as well, but he ain't going to come to this session. He said, well, when you clear your energy and you get in a better space, you heal those around you and with healing some of the generational, uh, energies. I've healed family members as well. By me taking on that healing as far as my husband and his mobility, I mean, right now he's out in the ranch. You know, he managed our chickens, he's doing our gardening.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:36:57) - And, um, he gets over like, he gets like, 20,000 steps in a day because he's so busy. And, I mean, he has hashtag step goals. Okay. So he's awesome. Source. Um, I still provide aromatherapy and that touch and that massage to him, which just, of course, strengthens our relationship. But it also heals with all of his activity. And he's just amazing and a lovely person. And we are living this life together. We are in the phase we call grown and sexy. We just empty the nest at our last child. And so that's how we're living life right now.
Kimberly Spencer (00:37:33) - I have to say, Doctor Tiffany, that's what I've seen you and your husband together. You two are. So thank you. But you are so. You are living your best life together. Either. It is like how you light up when you talk about him. It is so beautiful to see what is your magical secret, if any, or if many. For the success of such a thriving, beautiful relationship that you've had for so long.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:38:05) - Yes. So the first thing, and when I work with couples, these are the things I go through is number one, do you want to be together? I mean, really, do you want to be together? And sometimes the answer isn't always yes, but for us, it's a yes. Um. Do you trust each other? Trust is a big part, especially when we just talked about the things with the BIPOC community and the generational trauma. Um, trust can be a very huge thing. Not that the person may not deserve it. You just may not have it to give. You know, and it takes time to give. People may say, you know, trust needs to be earned. So, um, but we fully trust each other for us. We had an intuitive union. We knew when we saw each other. It's on you, the one. And from that moment forward, we've been together. And so what do you feel in your spirit? What do you feel in your heart in regards to your relationship? Because I can say prior to him having relationships, I knew this ain't going anywhere.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:39:18) - This isn't the one, you know? So this is just going to be whatever for right now. You know, to have a relationship experience. But I feel that in your heart you know the truth. And we sometimes don't accept the truth. We will try to be like, well, you know, he's all right, she's all right. Or you know what? he'll get it. You know, I just give him some time or give her some time. And so really following your heart and speaking from your heart. So anytime we may have a disagreement or something, you know what it boils down to? Him trying to please me or me trying to please him. And our lines got crossed somewhere. A miscommunication happened, but we find the bottom line is we're just over here trying to love each other so when you get into situations with your special person, what's really at the root here? Um, what's what's really what you're feeling? What are you protecting? Uh, what are you trying to give or share? So it really is about not sugarcoating your true feelings, but really being open.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:40:28) - You know, you know, you know, when you feel that person's cheating or they're not honest or they're not true, you feel that in your spirit, your energies do connect, and it's just about being real with it. Even you if it's something there and it's not cheating or something big, but you still feel something, you gotta acknowledge that and dig deeper. So really getting into your intuition and being truthful with yourself and then. Express what you feel. You know, if it's love, if it's happiness and it's energy. Dig into that. You know. Feel it. Express it. Enjoy it. Do it better. Deeper. Stronger. Together. Mhm. Don't let life be that distraction that pulls you apart. Don't let parenthood pull you apart. Don't let work pull you apart. Okay. Find a way to do it together. And be together and love together every single day. Mhm.
Kimberly Spencer (00:41:28) - I love your framework for love and relationships and uh, you also I mean, I know I, I think you were the one client that I didn't have to, but I didn't have to give the homework of, uh, you know, getting some more intimate time with your spouse than like, I need.
Kimberly Spencer (00:41:44) - Right? Because I cannot tell you how many, how often as a coach, just from a business standpoint, like, the money is intimately tied with your relational, your intimacy with your partner. And that's it's been something that I've consistently, regularly given as homework. But yeah, you and Horace know.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:42:08) - What it's a it's a, it's a part of who you are. It's a foundation, one of the foundations of who you are. So if that's not fulfilled, you can't fulfill other things. It's just like eating if you're hungry. I mean, you can only do so much because your energy is low and you're lightheaded, you know, things like that. So it's just one of those foundational, um, bottles that you need to keep filled.
Kimberly Spencer (00:42:30) - Yeah, yeah. And with that, the other thing that I just love about you, Doctor Tiffany, is you have such a strong foundation in allopathic medicine, but you also have you talk about energy and intuition and spirit and the soul. Um, was that always in your vernacular when you were studying, or like it was always a part of it, you always.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:42:54) - A part of me. Yeah. And who I am. I mean, that's a part of how I survive through life. It is. And being a kid and everything. You don't know all the laws and rules of living, you know? So all you have is you and what you think. And so I had to dig within myself and say, okay, what do I want? What do I want this to look like? For example, you grew up and you started liking boys and dating. What do I want from this? You know, what does it look like? You know, do I want this kind of attention or that kind of attention? What does it mean to me to have a boyfriend or not have a boyfriend, you know, as you're growing up? So just staying in tune with myself, um, being open spiritually. Um, and, and I didn't grow up in the church, you know, so it's not like it was in this religion preached into me.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:43:44) - It's just that you just know that you are a part of something bigger, spiritual, and being open to hearing what it is that you need to hear. And that's kind of how I was raised to stay safe and move forward and make decisions in my life.
Kimberly Spencer (00:44:03) - Was that ever? Was that belief ever challenged when you were going through medical school?
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:44:09) - Challenging how they taught us to treat people.
Kimberly Spencer (00:44:12) - Either how they taught you to treat people or how they taught you to think about, uh, medicine or how they taught you to think about the bottom.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:44:20) - Yeah, I think that all of it. So, yeah, like I said, it has its place, and I respected it in its place. I expected medicine in its place, but I saw there needed to be more on the other side for the whole human, not just that thing. So I came in knowing I wanted to be more than just a prescription writer, a pill pusher, and a drug dealer. You know, I wanted to take care of the person.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:44:49) - And the question is, how do I fully take care of an individual? It's more than just what they taught me, you know? And then my husband's journey actually gave all the answers and how to put that in place. And treat the whole person.
Kimberly Spencer (00:45:05) - Yeah. And so how does aromatherapy play into it?
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:45:09) - But aromatherapy is so beautiful. It is. So my husband didn't want to take nuts in my mouth and no invasive procedures, you know, but still wanted to not have pain, you know, and be okay. How in the heck that's all he knows, right? And so, uh, aromatherapy is this non-invasive, gentle way, holistic, and natural way of giving some therapeutic benefit in a loving way. And that's what aromatherapy has been for us. We will go to oil in a minute and just love each other with it. You have on this issue, honey, let me put this on you. You know, and it's just so loving. So aromatherapy equals love to us.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:45:55) - And I don't feel I don't push aromatherapy in the practice or anything. I push what works for you, um, and whatever that may be in aromatherapy was the thing for us. Well, it was a part of the, uh, I want to say triad, um, of things for us. And I want to help people find that thing that works for them, that helps them. And then if aromatherapy is something they're interested in, while I'm not giving anything specific towards that, a lot of my colleagues are amazing and have very specific focuses in utilizing aromatherapy to help in a lot of different ways. And so I have resources for that. Um, but aromatherapy was the one thing that first got him up and out the bed and moving.
Kimberly Spencer (00:46:46) - What was that magical mix of.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:46:50) - Things.
Kimberly Spencer (00:46:50) - That got him up out of bed and moving?
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:46:53) - It's a proprietary blend, but I really like it. But just know that with these oils, I mean, the medications come from plants or originally down the line that came from plants and these sources.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:47:07) - And when you can get a good oil and the right blends, I had to go to the aromatherapy school to figure it out. But there are blends and people making blends with these oils that can have profound effects that can be as effective as Percocet or Xanax. And it's really, really powerful. They can't proclaim that they're going to do these things, you know, but they have aromatherapy has really made significant impacts in a lot of people's lives without having to have the side effects that come, you know, with the taking of medication. They both have their pluses and minuses. I may like I could take approximately 12 hours where I may need to apply some essential oils, you know, 3 or 4 hours to do another application. So they have your plus and minuses and contraindications, which is why I went to school because no one was giving me that knowledge in how to properly use the oils. But once I learned he got and engaged back in life and we were committed not to ever have to go there again.
Kimberly Spencer (00:48:13) - Wow, that is such. I mean the power of scent and how it can work through the body. And I'm all for plant power as much as possible.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:48:27) - Right? Natural. We know these things intuitively, and it's always about just getting back to you, getting back to who you are and what makes you happy. What does your gut say? And you'll figure it out. Yeah.
Kimberly Spencer (00:48:42) - Doctor Tiffany, I have loved our conversation and I would love to move into some rapid fire if you're ready.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:48:49) - Okay.
Kimberly Spencer (00:48:49) - Who is your favorite female character in a book or a movie and why?
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:48:54) - I like the young lady in Wakanda. Black.
Kimberly Spencer (00:48:59) - Yeah. What kind of.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:49:00) - Black Panther do I have? Yeah. She does anything. Yes, I love that. Embracing your power, you know, and getting out of there. And. And just that. The warrior spirit and the woman king. I love it. Yeah.
Kimberly Spencer (00:49:16) - What woman would you want to trade places with, dead or. Well, like while alive, stay or alive while she was living just for a day to be in her body.
Kimberly Spencer (00:49:24) - See how she thought and experienced the world.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:49:27) - Um, I would say someone who, way back in the day, in slavery times was thinking and protecting the family. You know, Harriet Tubman, she comes to mind. But there are so many more women. But someone of that time. Mhm. Just that strength. It just overpowers me with what they did. You know, someone from then?
Kimberly Spencer (00:49:57) - Yeah. Yeah. What is your morning routine?
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:50:01) - Morning routine? Time with my husband. That's how we set the morning off, right? So that's the most important and best part of the day. It's time with him. Um, and then when I feel that that cup has been filled, I'll move into my day. Um, where I may exercise, um, may start breakfast. Just kind of. Every day is different. And I think that when it comes to a morning routine, you have to be fluid. And so the most important thing is my time with him. So, um.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:50:34) - Number one, it's just that. And I say that because, you know, when you realize how short life is and that anything can happen at any minute, I don't want any regrets. And so I'm going to soak up all the time. I can, you know, with him and us doing all the things we like in the goodness I can because we are not guaranteed tomorrow. And so that is the what, whatever that is. That's in the morning with my husband.
Kimberly Spencer (00:51:04) - Mhm. What is your evening routine to set you up for such a glorious morning?
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:51:09) - Hi Anthony. Same thing. You know we start and we end it. Same way, you know, being together, loving each other. You know, in the middle. We're living life and we're doing things and da da da da da. But we gotta shut it down, cut the world off, and be together. And when we come into the day, we're going to start it together with that same energy on that same page. And that's just the most.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:51:39) - I'd have it no other way.
Kimberly Spencer (00:51:40) - Mhm. I mean, you literally beamed every time, every time you talk about him. Every time. I love it and it's just it is. You are hashtag relationship goals all the way. And that is after having children and being an empty nester like amazing what.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:52:02) - A business owner.
Kimberly Spencer (00:52:03) - And. Yeah. Empty nester and business owner and just all around badass in her fields. Like. And you hashtag relationship goals. Oh, so the, uh, what do you define to be your queendom?
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:52:20) - How do I define my queendom? Living in my truth. Being honest with myself. Um. And not doing anything I don't want to do. Not whether. Not because it's society, uh, recognized, like handshaking. I could not stop handshaking. I don't want to shake your hand, you know. No, you know, certain things like that in our society are invasive upon us. People make you answer your questions. How are you today? I don't want to tell you how I'm doing today.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:52:52) - So therefore I won't, you know? So just being who I am unapologetically in life always and reaching for all of the abundance that is for me. I want all my abundance. I want all the life and love that is meant for me by the universe. And so I go in expecting and receiving and giving and the spirituality every day that's in my queendom.
Kimberly Spencer (00:53:25) - And lastly, Doctor Tiffany, how do you crown yourself?
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:53:29) - By being true to myself, I want to say the reason why my thoughts go back to my husband is because he actually helps me crown myself. You know, when I'm when I've worked up about something, I'm nervous or anxious about something. I'm feeling some kind of way about this or that. He helps me get unstuck brings me to a calm place, and helps me get back to me and make sure I'm putting me first. Make sure that I am wearing my crown and I'm not scatterbrained. I'm not just, you know, oh my gosh, you know, the sky is falling or anything like that.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:54:10) - And so I have to say that, you know, he allows me to have my time. He'll be like, you know what? You need some time, I'm gonna go do this, you know, and let you have some time to yourself. He recognized those things where I didn't. I didn't. And now I've realized. And he serves as an example. You know, it's like, oh, you're gonna go with the veterans and go ride a try. What woman groups am I in? You know? And, um, and it it helped. He is such an example to help me. That's why I think men and women are just so beautiful, you know, together, and how we're different and look at things differently. And that's the differences we bring. Women are serious boys. Boys play, you know, and so it helps me to crown myself so I'm learning to play. I'm learning to let go. I'm learning to relax more. And in those ways is how I feel by allowing that to happen.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:55:16) - I'm putting my crown on. I'm allowing myself, like I talked about earlier, that my inner child, I'm bringing that child out. We are going to play and have fun. And let me tell you, he bought me every toy, you know, so I need I need to engage. You know, I have my flute, I have a bike, I have ATVs, we have all these things. Mhm. You know, and so that is what our grown and sexy life is about. That's why we coined it. And that's what we're going to do is live in that space. And that's how I'm crowning myself. And that's living in my full potential, having an adventure and experiences and joy and happiness. Mhm.
Kimberly Spencer (00:56:00) - I love it. Doctor Tiffany, how do we work with you? How do we reboot with you and get to the root cause?
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:56:08) - Hey, the first thing is I would love to give your audience a gift. I would love to give them the love thyself 21-day journey.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:56:16) - And all you have to do is text self-love as a compound word. No space to (702) 919-4249. Our love, our life. It all begins with how we feel about ourselves and then it spills into the world. So it just helps you take some time for you. It helps you, uh, fall in love with you again. Put yourself on the calendar so I would love for your audience to just start that journey with themselves. So that's again, texting self-love to (702) 919-4249.
Kimberly Spencer (00:56:57) - Also the description as well.
Dr. Tiffany M. Smith (00:57:00) - Now also I'm offering weekly classes where I'm educating about our bodies and and how we can optimize our health. And so you can find information about that, um, and other things that I have going on on Instagram @dr.tiffanymsmith. And there you'll find loads of things about what I got going on. I'm I'm always speaking. I'm, I'm writing. I'm always up to something. Yeah.
Kimberly Spencer (00:57:31) - And so with that definitely get in, get some self-love, and also get in with Doctor Tiffany so that you get to the root cause of those issues and you're able to heal that environment internally and externally.
Kimberly Spencer (00:57:47) - As always, my fellow sovereigns, own your throne. Mind your business, because your reign is now. Thank you so much for tuning in today. If what you heard resonated with you. Be sure to subscribe and start creating a bigger impact now by sharing this with a friend. Just by doing that one simple act of kindness, you are creating a royal ripple to support more people in their sovereignty. And if you're not already following on social media, connect with me everywhere at Crown Yourself Now for more inspiration. I am so excited to connect with you in the next episode, and in the meantime, go out there and create a body, business, and life that rules because today you crown yourself.
The Crown Yourself Podcast is a fast-growing self-improvement podcast, ranked in the top #200 personal-development podcasts in two countries, so far, out of 4.5 million podcasts. Each week, you get the conscious leadership strategies you need to help you reign with courage, clarity, and confidence so that you too can make the income and impact you deserve. Imagine this podcast as your royal invitation to step into your full potential and reign in your divine purpose. To listen to any of the past episodes for free, check out this page.