For Delray Beach resident Debra K., wellness isn’t just a way of life—it’s a journey. Suffering from what she describes as “corporate burnout” and a slew of associated health issues, Debra embarked on a journey to share inspirational health stories with a national audience. In 2012, she began production on the first episode of Journey into Wellbeing, a public-access television show that explores health issues throughout the country. PBI.com chatted with Debra about her show.
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| Debra K. explores healthy eating on her show. Photo by Jason Parmer |
PBI.com: Your first episode took place in Kentucky. Why did you decide to start there?
Debra: I had lived there for 20 years and felt like it was a great, safe place to raise my kids. And Kentucky is not always represented well in the media. I wanted to create a program that would positively highlight the great things that are going on in the state. From a health and wellness perspective, Kentucky always gets slammed for being one of the most obese states. And I said, if I can represent Kentucky and shine a light on all of the health initiatives that are going on in the state, then I can do any state.
What health topics do you cover?
My passion is to address the top three health concerns in the nation, which are for me: diabetes, obesity and depression.
How would you describe your on-air personality?
Well, the one word that always comes back to me from viewers is inspirational, and that’s almost exactly what I hope to accomplish. If I show up as I am, which is imperfect, flawed, that if I have the courage to show up, whether I’m feeling good or feeling bad that day, that just by doing that and being honest and not trying to be perfect, and then working with these people who are so passionate and committed, I feel like that has the potential to change somebody’s life.
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| Debra K. discusses healthy farming practices. Photo by Jason Parmer |
When will you start production on your Florida episodes?
We plan on being in production in November and for the first episode to launch in January. I would like to do city-based episodes…for Delray, Palm Beach, Boca, Fort Lauderdale. I’ll never lack for content, that’s for sure.
What has been the most important health-related lesson you’ve learned through producing the show?
One of the biggest health ahas that I learned was the amount of food sensitivities that exist in people that they’re not aware of. When I went to my initial assessment, I tested sensitive to like six or seven things. It basically creates havoc in your digestive track, which affects everything else. I embarked on a five-week detox from the eight most common allergens in our diet; I became an expert at swapping. I hope to have a program within the next two years that really identifies how to do that.
What has been the most important personal lesson you’ve learned?
During one of my interviews, I was at a farm, they were telling the story of the process of going from conventional farming to organic, biodynamic farming, [and] it was the first time it hit me that by me being able to pull this together and offer these people an opportunity to share their story that it could evoke significant change in somebody’s life. This is going to reach six million households, of those households if 10 people associated with a farm are watching this segment, it might supply them the seeds to change the way they’re doing their farming processes. Same thing as when I’m working with a trainer or with a chef redoing recipes, I am able to shine a light on a story that maybe would have remained hidden.
To learn more about Debra or to watch her show, visit journeyintowellbeing.com
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