Meet Jen
Hi, thanks so much for being here.
I am happy to have you!
My name is Jennifer Richardson and I am a Registered Holistic Nutritionist from Lefroy, Ontario. I am also certified in Mental Health Crisis Response, a Certified Peer Support Worker and the founder of Eat Zen with Jen - a company that helps women shift from darker days to healthier ways through nutrition, self-love and routine.
I am a self-proclaimed Cold Coach and emotional release guide. Come visit me at Cold Community NORTH - A safe place for you to surrender, release and regulate your nervous system.
I want to thank you for sharing along in my story.
Where my journey began
I had been suffering from panic attacks and depression which seemed to come out of nowhere. I didn’t understand what was happening to me and I despised the loss of control I felt over my mental and physical response to these attacks. The feelings I was constantly battling with are what led to my addiction issues later in life.
After seeking help from family, friends and professionals, I learned about healing practices that I still carry with me today. I discovered what I had been experiencing was the effects of chronic stress and living in a fight or flight response state. I was putting pressure on my mind and body as well as filling my body with extreme toxins to numb the pain. This is also where my negative relationship with food began. I was soothing myself with the comfort of food and numbing my feelings with drugs. It started to become very clear to me that I was replacing the void of certain things in my life with food and substance. After making the decision to seek help, I have since worked with a variety of anxiety and depression remedies like meditation, breath work, EFT - tapping, and most importantly, deliberate cold exposure. It wasn’t just changing my relationship with food that improved my mood and the state of my nervous system, it was the combination of food, supplements and healthy lifestyle practices that aided me along my journey.
Where I am now
Fast-forward to today, I am extremely happy and proud of the life I have built for myself. Although I always seemed happy on the outside, it was a struggle to get what I was feeling on the inside to match the external perception. I believe the struggle is an important part of the journey and what makes us who we are today. I want to share my story with others. I lived a life filled with love but I still struggled, and I am forever grateful for the different mental health challenges I have faced.
My journey to becoming an RHN started at the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition and stemmed from my emotional trauma and addiction issues. I learned that not only was substance affecting my mental health but anything I ate and drank was directly affecting my nervous system, which in turn was influencing my mood and emotional state. Once I learned how to improve the quality of my diet, which supplements to take, and how to support my nervous system, my journey had finally begun.
I began to understand the true effect our diet has on our mental health – especially our mood! I now know firsthand how important the brain-gut connection is when it comes to anxiety, depression, and our mood. Our gut bacteria produces hundreds of neurotransmitters that our brain uses to regulate mental processes such as learning, memory and mood.
Because of my nutrition education, I now offer private event/retreat menus to my clients. This allows my clients the opportunity to enjoy time with their guests as I prepare a delicious menu designed to fuel the nervous system and improve one’s mood. You can learn more about my event/retreat menus here.
Over the past three years, while I was diving deeper into my healing journey, I fell in love with the practice of deliberate cold exposure. I have since started my own community called Cold Community NORTH where I host mobile and mini-day retreats as well as 1:1 sessions. I coach my clients through cold immersion as well as educate them on the nervous system and the importance of emotional release. You can learn more about the support I offer here.
I have learned how to help myself and in doing so, I now want to help others. I feel so incredibly lucky to be in a position where I can do what I adore and share my passion with others. which is helping those out of an unhealthy situation that I know all too well.
My experience and my personal story are the fuel to the empathy and support I offer my clients, so let’s embrace the opportunities to grow and heal together.
If you are looking to challenge yourself, connect with yourself on a deeper level and find a community that will help to encourage, support and celebrate you, come and join us at Cold Community NORTH.
