When diagnosed with an autoimmune (or any other such severe chronic condition), we often feel helpless. In fact, conventional wisdom tells us that that there is not much that we can really do in terms of getting better apart from taking the necessary medications that have been prescribed. This further fuels this feeling of helplessness and leaves us feeling disempowered.
Your autoimmune disease diagnosis does not have to control your life. You don’t have to feel constantly sick, in pain and deal with extreme fatigue for the rest of your life. There is much you can do to take charge of your health and get your life back.
The spectrum of autoimmunity is a progressive state of disease that runs from vibrant health at one end to degenerative disease at the other. In between, you have a broad range of varied but related stages of disease which are connected to each other. In other words, at any point, either you are moving towards disease or you are moving towards health.
The more clarity we have on how we plan to implement a new habit or reach a goal the more likely it is that we will be able to achieve it. However, if it is not very obvious when and where we need to take action it is not easy to implement it. Without setting clear health goals, it can become difficult to live the kind of life that you dream of.
By learning how to make sense of your struggles, surrounding yourself with a supporting community, and engaging in activities that go beyond your needs and desires can help you deal with your health issues. This is why having a sense of meaning is important for your health.
You don’t have to wait for anything to be different in your life including getting an exact diagnosis to start supporting your body by creating a healing environment. Whether this is by making healthier food choices, choosing one thought over another, reducing toxins in your immediate environment, or incorporating deep breathing/mindfulness into your life, there are many things that are in your control. When you start living your life in this manner you find that you feel more empowered, motivated, and confident in yourself, in your body and you are able to face any health challenges in the future from a place of strength rather than fear.
One of the most empowering things that you can do for yourself in the face of a chronic disease diagnosis (or even if you are trying to prevent one) is to stop being at “WAR” with your body. We are often led to believe that our immune system has gone berserk and that our body has turned against us and this is particularly true in the case of autoimmune diseases. However, by treating our immune system (and our bodies) as our enemy, we are in fact shooting the messenger!
More than ever before, there are more and more of us who are eager to improve our health and are already spending time, money, and effort in doing so but we are not seeing the results. But the problem is that modern day plague of chronic diseases that we are grappling with are beyond our body’s capabilities of keeping us healthy.
Eating foods that are “healthy” really depends on the current state of your body when you are dealing with a chronic condition and will usually change over time. The good news is that once you understand what your body’s requirements are you can start to eat foods that are healthy for YOU and help your body to deal with your health issues much better.
Whether it’s focusing on foods that are nourishing for your body and removing those which are harmful, incorporating a daily self care routine in your life to deal with stress and working on reducing and removing toxins from your immediate environment, there are many steps that you can take to deal with your autoimmune condition.