It took me several years to completely heal myself from all chronic illnesses. I began in October, 2007 and reached complete remission in November, 2014. I never imagined it would take that long but I was very, very sick and on a lot of medication. I didn’t know at the time that I was severely nutrient-depleted, had Lyme Disease , multiple infections and a super high toxin load. It can take a long time to remove all of the layers of “trash” that are stored in the body. So many times I got discouraged and just wanted to give up. Here is an article that outlines all that I did to get well. I found that the following things to remember, really helped me along my healing journey.
1. Believe you can heal
We are what we eat, drink, think and believe. It is really important to believe that your chosen protocol will work. If it doesn’t feel right to you then find something that does. Many times I was told to take certain things or do certain protocols that just didn’t feel right to me. Listen to your gut! You are your own best physician. I told myself every day that I was healing. Now that I am in remission/recovered I tell myself every day that I am well and healed.
2. Diet is key
No matter how you choose to treat yourself, food must be your number one priority. I wanted every single bite of food to be packed with healing vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and essential fatty acids that would heal my broken biochemistry. My diet can be found here. It takes time to restore mineral deficiencies. I knew that real food was a powerful medicine. Food can either heal us or kill us. You decide.
3. Get your rest
It is important to get as much rest as your body needs. We have forgotten the need to convalesce. Your body is working very, very hard to heal itself so be kind and help it along. I went to bed as early as I could and slept almost every single afternoon when I was recovering. There were many days that all I could do was sit around and read or research on my computer. The body needs to use all of its limited energy on repairing itself and fighting disease.
4. Healing takes time
This was very difficult for me. I wanted to be well. I worked at this healing game for many years. It became my full time job after I lost the ability to work. There is a saying that it takes one month of healing for every year of illness. It took me a little longer as I made a few wrong turns along the way. Patience is not something I am known for. Keep looking back to see how far you have come instead of focusing on how far you have to go. Just persevere and never, ever give up! Don’t give up before the miracle happens.
5. Get some sun and fresh air
The sun is still our best source of Vitamin D. We need vitamin D to fight infection. Fresh air contains a higher oxygen content and is very healing. You can kick all of this up by walking barefoot and hanging at the beach. You can read more about this here.
6. Detoxification
It is really important to keep those toxins moving out. I had to make sure my bowels were moving daily and I was drinking enough water. You can read more about the importance of water here. It is a real challenge to deal with the die-off of Lyme, parasites and other co-infections (if you have these). I have an article here that explains a few more detox strategies.
7. Reduce stress
Stress is a killer. Eliminate as much as you possibly can. I had to get rid of debt and eliminate several unsupportive relationships. Limit the amount of volunteer and other commitments. Just focus on essentials and let go of the rest. Surround yourself with loving and supportive people.
8. Have some fun
This might just mean watching a comedy or reading a light book. Spend some time with people that make you laugh. Laughing is good medicine and I surrounded myself with a lot of fun people. They understood that I was recovering and respected my limitations.
9. Nurture your spirit
I am a very spiritual person. This has made such a difference in my outlook and attitude towards life. I have always asked God to help and guide me. It just helps to know that I am never walking alone. I have written about my faith journey here. Try and find a beautiful, loving and powerful Higher Power that fills you with hope, strength and serenity.
10. Be extra gentle with yourself
Love yourself into wellness! It is so easy to feel guilty during chronic illness due to the lack of support that many of us have experienced. Understand that you are healing as fast as you can. Do nice things for yourself. Become your own best friend! Tell yourself every single day that you are beautiful and wonderfully made. The truth is you are awesome just the way you are!
Blessings and Best of Health!
Brenda ♥
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Brenda – thank you, once again, for such an encouraging and uplifting post. I think God knew I needed to read this today as I keep fighting and not giving up hope in spite of a recent big setback. I truly believe it’s not a matter of if, but when, I will be well and I hope to do as you are, encourage and strengthen others, when I am well… But I already do now, even when I’m sick, lol! 😉 Love and blessings to you!
Faith – Love and blessings to you too! Just keep going!
Brenda,
I am so grateful that you have this website and that I found you. I had just started seeing an LLMD and was poised to start antibiotics. But, it did not sit well with me. Soon after I did some ‘googling’ and found you and have decided to follow in your footsteps. You are a brave and generous lady. I feel empowered and hopeful (and won’t be as light in the pocketbook)!
Kristin- I wish you all the best on your healing journey!
Brenda
To cure lyme you got to have 0 grams of sugar in the diet, or as close to it as possible, people say its impossible, but its not true, you can do it, just have to want it badly enough.
Brenda,
You have been a constant source of inspiration for me for the past 7 months, the most trying months of my life. I am about to get tested for adrenal insufficiency, hormonal imbalances, kidney disease and more to try to uncover what is going on with my body. I want so badly to follow your protocol and be healed like you were but I can’t tolerate even a small amount of supplementation with either herbs or vitamins. It further stimulates my weak body. I saw you that you had adrenal insufficiency I was wondering what your cortisol levels were so I can compare them to mine and see if I’m in the same stage or if it’s worse.
All my best,
Lu
Hi lu – The adrenal insufficiency was detected through hair testing. I was on a glandular for almost 5 years. I have been off it for the past year. I had great difficulty with a lot of the synthetic supplements. Maybe try and take whole food supplements and an animal sourced glandular if you test for insufficiency. I found that my body was more able to handle the more natural route.
It takes a bit of time and a lot of great nutrition to heal the adrenals. Look to Wahl’s Paleo Diet.
Blessings!