How a health coach can help if you are dealing with an autoimmune condition
If you have been diagnosed with one or more autoimmune conditions then you are already aware of the treatment options which are available to you.
What you may or may not be aware of is that conventional medicine is not going to help much with uncovering and addressing the true root cause of your health issues.
This is because while conventional medicine can and does saves lives with the help of steroids, antibiotics, surgeries and other treatments, these methods don’t work well for complex, multi system chronic diseases.
This is an unfortunate reality and more and more people are realising that there are various underlying causes that are driving chronic illness and there are limits to the potential of medications and surgery to treat these conditions. More importantly, the kind of lifestyle, dietary and mindset changes that you need to make to regain your health needs a different kind of approach.
Intention and behaviour
As you may know, for most of us, there is a gap between intention and behaviour.
This means that even if you are well aware of the changes that you need to make in your life to support your healing process, you can struggle with making and sustaining those changes in the long term.
The good news is that no matter which autoimmune (and other chronic conditions) you are dealing with, you have the ability to make these changes and heal from within. Whether you realise it or not, you can use food as medicine and work on your mindset to support your body’s healing process.
Genes are not your destiny
You see, contrary to what you may believe, your genes are responsible for about only `5% of diseases. What you need to know is that many other factors are completely in your control that can heal and reverse chronic disease.
Genetics loads the gun, but your environment pulls the trigger.
The way you eat, how much you exercise, how you manage stress, how you socialise and value your relationships, lifestyle choices, daily habits and your exposure to environmental toxins all impact your health.
Making better choices and changing habits
The number one obstacle people face when trying to make changes and achieve their best health is not willpower or resources or preparation- it is a lack of support. Everyone wants to get healthy and make better choices, but they need someone to hold them accountable and provide the right kind of support
As you can imagine, changing long held habits is not easy. Also, making changes is possible in the short term but for most people, sustaining it is an uphill task. This is where a Health Coach can provide you with the valuable social support that you need to guide you in making better choices and changing habits.
By breaking down health and wellness goals into small actionable tasks, a Health Coach makes it easy for you to implement changes one step at a time.
Helpless to “hopeful”
Often when clients come to me, they have already been trying to incorporate changes in their life for a while. They have been trying to eat healthier, improve their sleep quality and exercise but have been not been able to remain consistent with their practice. They are also understandably sceptical as to how they can make and sustain these changes given their current health challenges. They also often feel that other things need to change first in their life before they can make changes and see the results.
What they realise once we start working together is that when they are guided in a systematic manner and follow a step by step process, they start seeing the results. And very often, for the first time since their diagnosis, they feel hopeful of being able to address the true root causes of their health condition.
The art of health coaching
Health coaches are highly trained experts on human behaviour, motivation and health and partner with their clients to set and reach their health and wellness goals.
As a Functional Medicine Health Coach, I use tools like positive psychology, motivational interviewing and character strengths.
Motivational interviewing is a client-centred discussion using open-ended questions which helps them uncover their own reasons to change while at the same time providing a safe, non judgemental and compassionate environment for them to do so.
A major part of my coaching is focusing and bringing to my client’s awareness what each client does well and build on their strengths. In most cases, this is a far more effective approach than merely trying to fix what is broken or not working well.
Functional Medicine Health Coaching is a client centred process where I collaborate with my clients to address the root causes of their autoimmune condition by empowering them to make better choices and create new habits.
Anindita
By partnering with my clients, I guide and empower them to take charge of their health by breaking their health goals into smaller, more achievable ones. I educate and support my clients in not only providing the information that they need to heal from their health condition but at the same time discover their power to change. In this manner, my clients can change their behaviours and create long term changes, find well being and lead more meaningful and healthy lives.