From Weirdness to Healthness

Once upon a time I got sick with mono. And for quite awhile after that (for a few months) I would often wake up and be so physically exhausted and in pain (feeling like I'd been hit by a large truck) that I would literally wonder how I was going to get out of bed just so I could pee. (You become determined enough that you decide to crawl, and you do it slowly.) And I've never been the same since.

When you are someone who begins to have weird health problems that the medical community seems unable to help you with you start being willing to try weird things to get better. It's an act of desperation. It's an act of courage. Sometimes it's an act of faith. It's an act that can also give you empowerment as you take control of your health rather than handing it over to someone else (aka the doctors or anyone else you may have given it over too...including some quacks who got you to try some "bad" weird things for your health). And surprisingly some of these "weird" things actually help where the medical field could not.

Right now I am drinking "flax seed tea." I have no idea whether it will help, but it certainly won't hurt. I haven't strained the flax seeds out, so some of the seeds float to the top as I drink...the heated water has made them slippery. And I am doing some chewing of slippery seeds as well as sipping "tea."

Okay, a lot of the things that I have tried to improve my health that have actually helped really aren't that weird. Improving my nutrition has helped dramatically. Things like taking extra zinc, magnesium, vitamin C, etc. have had amazing results. So it's only kind of weird in that your doctor probably isn't going to tell you to take these things for things like anxiety, sleep disorders, muscle ache, etc. But they might.

I did try a "cleansing program" from Isagenix (yes, the same program which bestselling authors that Jack Canfield of Chicken Soup for the Soul fame and John Gray of Men are from Mars, Women from Venus fame are big advocates of), which always induced what is known in alternative medicine as a "healing crisis" (a sort of "you temporarily get worse right before you get better). And I realized if I were to be on a cleansing program I needed to be on a gentler one. But I have stuck with their "meal replacement drink" because it is so chockful of nutrients that really seem to benefit me. This is what "saved me" and made so I was finally able to get out of my bed after my bout with mono. And everytime I stopped taking their drink (or something equivalent to it in the kinds of vitamins and minerals it has) my health would take an immediate nosedive, almost back to how it was when I first got so sick I could barely move and get out of bed.

I try to get "friendly bacteria" such as lactobacillus acidophilus from things like yogurt...yogurt is considered more normal than it used to be. So in order to be more weird I will also consume such things as Kefir. I also found a really great tasting mint-chocolate bar that has probiotics in it and no milk/dairy. I've even dared try kombucha on a couple occasions. *shudders just a little*

I've done yoga and seen chiropractors and got some good results by doing these. I've learned a little about Ayurveda (the traditional medicine from India) and will do a sort of self massage called abhyanga which is surprisingly very helpful to me and so I should do it more often.

One of the weirdest things I have done that I swear actually helps me is called oil swishing, where you basically swish something like sesame seed oil in your mouth like mouth wash...but for twenty long minutes. I'll be the first to admit that it's really weird. But hey, if it works for me then it's worth it. (I can't believe it does all the things that many people claims it does...but I can't know that it doesn't either.) Almost all oils have anti-bacterial properties (some even have anti-viral properties) which may be one of the reasons why it helps.

Not everything I've done I've done has been on the physical level though either. Some of it has been more on the mental level. I've done hypnosis, visual relaxation techniques, positive affirmation, writing in a journal. Awhile back I started doing something to release negative thoughts/feelings called the Sedona Method which then led to my doing a method called The Work which has led to amazing transformations emotionally and mentally...which then has had an effect on me physically. Letting go of the mental stress (or having the mental stress let go of me) has resulted in my muscles letting go of years of habitual tension. Which frees up so much energy that I'm less tired and able to do other things.

I take time to research the things I try...especially the weirder ones...for things like safety and effectiveness.

It's been an interesting experience over the years, learning and trying new things. Seeing what works and what doesn't. And experience how amazing it is to find something that actually improves my level of health.

I still am not "normal" but I am better. And I believe I am continuing to climb up to better levels. I've always been sick my entire life...for example as a child sore throats were often something I experienced for a week or two almost every month. But it wasn't until I was practically incapacitated in my adult years that I realized how much I took health for granted. I wonder if someday I'll truly experience "good health." But I'm learning to at least appreciate and even enjoy the journey, even if I never completely arrive at that particular destination.

Attitude of Gratitude #1

It used to be a regular practice of mine to keep a gratitude journal. For many months now I've lapsed from keeping that up. But life always seemed to flow smoother (despite the bumps) and be more pleasing when I wrote regularly. So I thought, for today at least, to write down what I'm grateful for here in my blog.

I am grateful for my health. For the past few years I have struggled with health problems. I've had times that were so bad that it literally took every bit of strength and determination I had to just get out of bed in order to make it to the bathroom, and I'd come back to bed and collapse. Slowly I learned about various nutrition supplements that have helped, but never completely. I've learned to not take my health so much for granted. This past month however I've seen dramatic changes in my health for the better. I still struggle, tire easily and faster than most. But I've accomplished so much in this past month without becoming bed ridden that it's close to miraculous. I am very blessed.

I am grateful for learning about the power my thoughts have upon me. I attribute my better health in large part to learning how to deal with the pervasive negative thoughts I've carried around with me most of my life, that permeated me from my mind and into my body and soul. Robbing me of energy, peace, and good health. I've experienced such dramatic changes in my thinking over several months, and I feel those changes emotionally and physically too. Perhaps I have a long way to go. But if negative thoughts could be weighed I'd say I've lost at least a half ton of negative thinking already. I am extremely grateful to have learned that not everything I have believed about myself and other is true. And that through learning that I have more love within.

I am grateful for letting go of clutter. As I mentioned in an earlier blog post I had a yard sale and took most of what was left over to the charitable thrift store, Deseret Industries. Every now and then, in this society since many of us tend to gather more than we need, it's important to let go. It's a time of removing old layers no longer needed, to reveal the fresh and new underneath. Although sometimes I struggle with letting go, afraid that somehow I'll make the wrong choices, still it's liberating. Lightening my load. I believe that sometimes with letting go of physical things we also let go of thoughts and beliefs we had attached to those items as well. Letting go of objects that remind us of painful times, for example, can be a symbolic ritual of letting go of the painful thoughts and emotions regarding those times as well.

I am grateful for this furry little animal that just climbed onto my lap right now. This cat reminds me not to take myself to seriously (she seems to take herself pretty seriously...or maybe that's just me projecting my own stuff onto her). I am grateful to her coming to me and Insisting I show her some affection when she so desires I do so. At this time in my life I probably give more of myself to this gray bundle of fur than to anyone else. She teaches me patience and kindness...and just makes me laugh now and then.

I am grateful for creativity. Creativity is such an important part of my life. So much of what I do, even a lot of the ordinary and mundane things, I somehow put a spin of creativity into it, or at least I would like to. I seem to often be happiest when I am challenging my mind with how can I do this better, make this look cooler, what would be unique and look wonderful, etc. I don't often succeed at coming up with anything, but I at least like to try. Whether I am taking some baking soda, dish soap, and essential oils to make my own cleaning products to clean the sink with or re-arranging a store display in the hopes of making the place more inviting, comfortable, or beautiful or making a crazy collage out of old bingo cards and other ephemera the expression of creativity brings so much joy to me.

Okay, I think that's five...the amount I would normally do. I'll try to remember to do some more gratitude entries in the future.