It is time for another Hashi’s blog and what better person to use as the inspiration for information to share with you than myself.
I tell all of my clients to keep up with their journaling even after we are finished our time together. Why? Because our health can get away from us if we aren’t paying attention. There are always clues and even the ones in the know, can struggle. So, the point of journaling is to highlight to yourself when things are starting to go sideways, so you can evaluate what is happening or at least get a jump on it before it gets too far and you are in a full blown fight for your health again.
Set backs can be common when it comes to autoimmune. Our bodies, unfortunately, have already be compromised, the anti-bodies have been activated, and it takes some work to keep our bodies in balance and to keep those anti-bodies at bay.
I have read, and I have been told that no matter what I might do, or my clients might do, if you can’t get your stress levels under control, you cannot win the battle against your illness. I can tell you first hand that you can’t.
Stress can affect the body in many ways.
We have talked about internal and external stressors. I’m focusing right now on external stress. It has played a very significant role in Hashi’s for me. It is probably the most important thing in terms of contribution to the way I live with Hashi’s. I have spent the last 6 years really working hard at my health and made some huge progress. I noticed about a year and a half ago that my anti-body numbers started creeping up. Initially, I thought I was just getting gluten contamination from somewhere and just became more diligent in my gluten management. I have done everything right in terms of eating, eliminating food and chemical sensitivities. I exercise, and I am mostly good at my sleep.
When I noticed that my numbers were climbing, it was about the time I started my certification program, but I didn’t feel bad. I felt amazing actually. Ran some testing, making some good improvements and found a couple of things that weren’t quite right so I started working on them and gave it a few months. Did I slow it down. Nope. No breaks were applied. I actually finished a one-year program in 6 months.
I still felt good. Unbelievably good but I tested again to make sure and my numbers were still creeping up. Found a few more things in testing and treated them. Felt great, gave it a few months and tested again. Did I slow it down at all, listen to my body, give myself a break? No.
At this point, my heart is skipping beats, my crazy levels of energy are starting to wain in the afternoons, the weight is creeping up, exercise is getting harder, ridiculous back issues, sleep is becoming a disaster zone, and I am a puddle on more occasions than I should be.
I was able, with the help of my wonderful trainer to dig deep into some of my issues this week and guess what? My digestive system is completely out of whack (we will talk about this in a minute), my liver is not detoxing, oxidative stress levels are too high, and cortisol levels are through the roof.
The reality is that when it comes to health, there are four lifestyle factors to manage. Diet, Rest, Exercise, and Stress. If any one of these are not being managed, you aren’t healthy. Clearly, I have been riding a fine line and pushing myself to the maximum with school, work, building a business and being a type A person, I thrive in this environment, but my body can’t any longer. I have been ignoring my own advice and pushing myself to the limits. There has been no downtime for 2 years and my body is tired.
Stress plays a huge roll in the health of our gut and hence our digestive system. Even with everything positive that I have been doing with my foods and supplements meaning probiotics, mucosal support, L-glutamine, colostrum, resistant starches, I have not been able to heal my gut. I have instead created an environment for dysfunction to thrive. Apparently, I’m really good at it. Haha. An overachiever, in everything I do. Not kidding.
So, what is the good news?
Well, if you have read this far, you have just gotten a lesson learned without having to experience it yourself. You can live through the outcomes of my stubbornness. You also get to experience what I mean by peeling back the onion when it comes to some people and their healing. I am that onion.
I am also determined to hit remission and stay there. I want to live my life to the fullest and I refuse to give in to this bullshit. So, you will also get to experience what is possible with effort.
For me, it is a huge wake-up call that although I have done so much in terms of my healing, I cannot take it for granted, ever. I can no longer abuse my body for the sake of others. I really must and do now come first.
And lastly, I’ve done it once, I can do it again, despite the frustration. I know what it is like to feel amazing and don’t want to settle for anything less than what is possible for my health.
I will walk you through the course of my healing over the next few weeks. I will tell you what I’m doing and why. And I will walk you through the outcome of what I’m doing. Remember, not everyone is the same. The point of doing this is to show you what is possible with time and very focused effort.
Stay tuned. It is amazing what I can do when I am pissed off. Haha
Hope you have a great week.
Tracy
Photo by Asdrubal luna on Unsplash
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