Sophie Grégoire Trudeau Shares Her Powerful Social Media Tip for Parents

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Ever since she was a child, playing in the woods in the bucolic Quebec countryside, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau has had a deep sense of who she is and how speaking her truth could help others. She has lived a fascinating life: As a TV host in her 20s, she bravely revealed that she, like so many other young women and men, had struggled with an eating disorder. As the spouse of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, she has traveled the world, advocated for mental health and gender equality, and shared laughs with Michele Obama (the Trudeaus separated last year but remain committed to coparenting their three children, ages 10, 15, and 16).

Today, at age 49, she teaches yoga and mindfulness, continues to speaks out about mental health and has written a new book Closer Together: Knowing Ourselves, Loving Each Other, in which she recounts her own journey while weaving in probing interviews with world-renown mental health experts.

“The book is about mental health literacy and emotional intuition,” Trudeau explains. She is particularly interested in how childhood traumas, both large and small, effect the course of our lives and how we parent our own children. “If you look at the four-year-old child within you, that child is always active even when you're 40, 50 or 60,” she says. “So if we're not looking as parents at our own trauma or insecurities, we have an unexamined mind, and that's an unexamined life.”

Earlier this month, Trudeau visited Good Housekeeping to discuss her book, share her favorite breathing exercises and reminisce about life both in Canada and on the international stage.

Here, she shares 7 ways she helps her family navigate an increasingly complicated world.

Have an open conversation about social media

“We used to regulate how long our kids could be on social media. But my oldest are 15 and 16 now, so we say, ‘Now you have to find your own self-regulation, you can’t always have a parent watching over your shoulder.’ We trust them in the process, and they're pretty transparent because in our family, we're not really good at keeping secrets. The more you talk about it, the better. And don't be afraid to consume what they consume. Take a look at what they're looking at, and if it makes you uncomfortable, good. Look at it again until you integrate it and understand it.”

Keep it real at home — even if you are the First Family of Canada

“The way we live our life, it's not what you see in the media. I never believed in any role as an official ‘First Lady,’ I never saw Justin as a Prime Minister. I saw him as the guy I met, who was a teacher studying mechanical engineering and doing a master's in environmental geography. The minute you believe in your title and your position and forget that you're in service, you're disconnected. I refused to fall into that trap. My kids feed off what's real, and I want to keep it that way. Sometimes my little one will say, “Why are people saying this about Daddy?” And we say, “You're going to hear a lot of things in your life sometimes about your daddy, sometimes your mommy. But you know what the truth is.”

Authenticity is always best, even if it means taking a risk

“When I was in my early 20s and I told my story about my eating disorder, I remember thinking, Okay, This is not gonna go down well. At some point, somebody's going to say, No, we're not hiring her, she's bulimic. But I make it my mission to be authentic. Facing your truth and being your authentic self is hard because it means that you're expressing your unique personality without thinking that you have to change your behavior to please others. It was scary, but I felt like it was the right thing to do, and it really was a turning point that gave my life direction.”

If you or someone you know is battling an eating disorder, contact the National Eating Disorder Association's Live Helpline at 800-931-2237.

Even when sleep is hard to come by, it’s important to prioritize

“I’ve looked at the data, and sleep disturbances and insomnia are rampant for women. We are depleted, overanxious, our plates are overflowing. We're holding the emotional load of the family. I'm perimenopausal, so it’s hard! I try to meditate before bed almost every night, and that helps. Meditation during the day actually means there is less debris in your mind at night. So I would suggest doing a meditation during the middle of the day, five minutes, 10 minutes — you can find it. We think we can't, but we can. Morning is great, middle of the day, and then at night, so you could do 5 minutes and it sends signals to your body and to your brain that you're safe.”

Sit with your difficult thoughts, then let them go

“When I do yoga nidra, I go through my thoughts of the day before, and I'm like, Okay, they're gone. Now it's over. What is meant to stay will stay, and the rest doesn’t serve you. And then I use my breath to let it go. We can't control many things in our world today. But breathing, which our body does normally, is one thing that we can control as human beings, and it affects everything: your nervous system, your digestion, your emotional health. So the fact that we can intervene all that is huge.

Take the time to get back to nature

“I spent the first four years of my life playing out in nature. I felt a big sense of independence and connection to something greater. I felt protected. Every time I go back to nature, I feel like I can give it my secrets, I can let go. I can come back to silence and clear the debris and come back into a less confused mind. And it's proven that being in nature helps you do this--you can be gardening on your patio, you could be watering a plant and looking at what's happening with the leaves. Just try to be present and not thinking about your kids’ appointments or what you're going to do next for work.”

Remember, we’re all in this together

"There are people to help you everywhere along the path if you ask for it. Whether it's a little tiny problem or a big one, ask your friends, your family members, your community center or school. It doesn't have to be big, you can take tiny steps. Yes, we are facing unique problems today and there is so much suffering everywhere, but as a human species we are conscious that the way we interact with ourselves the way we respect life and others, the way we serve, the way we take care of ourselves physically and mentally—your children catch on and latch on to that energy.”

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