Decisional Balance – Learning to Create a Beautiful Life in 2021

Posted on October 10, 2020
Alumni Posts, Nurse Coach, self-care

What is decisional balance?

Have you ever had someone tell you what you should be doing? Has someone given you advice on how they would “fix” something in your life? Given you full details or steps you need to take to make things better in your current situation?

I know if you are like me, an image just came to your mind, perhaps a person or persons in your life even health practitioners, that know exactly what you need to do in order to change your weight, cholesterol values, your depression, loneliness, marital status, etc., etc.

It all sounds like a broken record circling around and around. Feelings well up inside as the person describes what you need to do like a large wave building from the swell of the ocean, and as it reaches the shore of your mind, crashes. It loses force and suddenly is pulled back into the ocean once more. The good intentions of others and the list of actions you are told how to do, crash in your mind and foster desire, sometimes, then fade away back into the ocean of darkness when out of sight. Unless you are like me and replay repeatedly in your mind crowding out the present reality.

What is a person to do with all this chatter, confusion, inadequacy, and remorse? The constant frustration over what I should be doing and not doing? It sucks out all the desire, energy, time and ability. Usually the answer lies somewhere between: “I’ll start tomorrow,” or “I don’t have the time,” or “I’ll never be able to change,” etc., etc. “Calgon take me away!” If you are not old enough to remember this great marketing quip, please Google it.

So, what is wrong with you and me? The answer may surprise you: nothing at all.

We are human beings created with a free will and every day we based our decisional balance on comfort and ease. It is an oxymoron, though, as our choices and decisions over time can create dis-ease and dis-comfort in our mind, body, and spirit exactly, what we are trying to avoid in the first place, and once it hits this new level, we typically start the revolving door doctor show.

I have traveled this road myself with conditions such as functional bowel irregularity, irritable bowel symptoms, constipation, bloating, weight gain, metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, high blood pressure, lack of energy, insomnia, stress, loss of any desire to be creative, and dissatisfaction with my life. In addition, I developed urinary symptoms, thyroid nodules, and food sensitivities from decisions I made consistently.

Thus, began my trips to several different medical specialists for treatment and answers, with each one treating me separately without looking at the whole person in mind, body, and spirit.

I was caught in this cycle of dis-ease for several years unaware of the contributing factors until a major event took place in my life and I ended up in the emergency room one night with an irregular heart beat and high blood pressure that required nitroglycerin to bring down. I was suddenly awakened to the reality of the situation and decided, yes, decided to dive deeper into my own awareness of myself and become willing to walk the path of change.

What did I utilize to start this new path of discovery / decisional balance?

Remembrance of a time in my life when I was successful in changing a habit or situation. I drew on previous success to foster new success and confidence. I started with one area, not all the areas I needed to change, and I changed the inner conversations with myself. I stopped letting the waves crash into me from others, who offered their advice, and instead created my own waves and how they were formed.

Once I was successful in one habit or area, I added another area and over time more and more successes came, and my confidence increased in my own abilities and choices.

Of course, I have failed, as everyone does; however, the difference now is I recognize the behaviors, thoughts, and tendencies that lead me to disappointment, stress, and dis-ease earlier and I change them. I get back on the horse or in my case, my bike, because I love cycling! I remember I always have a choice; my environment may not be able to change, but I have a choice in how I want to react to myself and others.

I also ask for help when I need it despite how vulnerable I feel when I do, and I open myself to change because let’s face it, you only get wiser and more beautiful with time, at least I believe that! Humor, as you can tell, is something that brings me joy and happiness, and I love being happier.

Remember, life is challenging in of itself and now we are in a Global Pandemic! I encourage you gently, not like a wave crashing, but like a gentle breeze, to be open and vulnerable in this difficult time we are living in and reach out, ask for help if you need it, explore what area you want to work on and remember your previous successes no matter how small, and build a more beautiful life you desire and dream about.

Check out Holly’s original post on Decisional Balance on Lifecycle Balance’s website

Holly Kapusinski

As a young girl, Holly was drawn to nature and helping others. She volunteered as a candy striper where she enjoyed interacting with patients and families. This fueled her desire to study nursing. After attending Purdue University for three years studying the natural sciences, she fulfilled her dream to become a nurse and proudly graduated from Akron City Hospital’s Idabelle Firestone School of Nursing in Akron, Ohio with her nursing diploma. She went on to obtain her Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Akron with a focus on the health and well being of children. She was awarded ANCC’s credential of Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in 1996 until 2001. She is currently a Primary Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner candidate. Holly’s love for children and her desire to teach her own children propelled her to stay at home and raise her family for the next 25 years. She not only nurtured her own children, but worked with Discovery Toys Inc. and the community sharing her knowledge with other parents, schools, and businesses discussing the importance of educational play in the bio, psycho, social, cultural, and emotional development of children.

Holly has had a life long interest in the impact of nutrition on a person’s well being, along with alternative healing therapies, and the mind, body, and spirit connections to a person’s well being. In 2017 she attended the International Nurse Coach Association program and obtained her Board Certification from AHNCC as an Integrative Nurse Coach in 2018. She went on to obtain additional advanced training in Clinical Nutrition from the Institute for Functional Medicine. She established Life Cycle Balance LLC in 2018 and has led numerous community wellness seminars on topics ranging from stress management, nutrition, brain health, caregiver stress, self care techniques, and non violent communication techniques from the Center for Non Violent Communication. In 2020 she presented a workshop at the South Eastern Theatre Conference (SETC) in Louisville, KY on using NVC starting with yourself.

She volunteers in New Orleans Medical Reserve Corps, in her church, and community. Her passions include her family, learning Latin and American Sign Language, reading, cycling long distances, and traveling.