From perspective to action
I talked about changing your perspective last month in a blog, but this month I want to talk about putting into action what you now have learned. Healing cannot just come over night. It took years for you to get to the place of disease and it may take months to years to reverse that. It is even more true if you want to reach optimal health, not just mask symptoms. I discussed the importance of changing the way you think and talk. This is not a hypnotherapy mindset. I am honestly not in favor of those methods. This is a scriptural, proven method of changing the way that you think. When we start to dwell on the blessings in our lives, our mindset changes from negative and focused on our ailments to a determination to get better. Once you have that mindset, it is time to take action.
What does taking action look like?
Go to a qualified practitioner who can help you piece the puzzle together. It may take some time and adjustments, but it’s important to see someone who has been trained in healing from the inside out. Symptoms are always a sign of something larger going on inside. I talk to my clients all the time of the importance of gut health. The gut and the brain are connected. The liver, gallbladder, intestines, gut and all of our organs are connected. There is absolutely no reason why we should treat the brain separately from the gut or any organ of that body. Everything is connected. That is why functional practitioners are so successful at helping the autoimmune.
Do what your practitioner suggests. If they say you need to change your lifestyle or diet, make the effort. There is nothing more frustrating for a practitioner and client than having someone who does things half way. You will be wasting your time and money and their time and energy by not taking it seriously what they say. I have seen clients get better quickly, simply because they are willing to make drastic changes. I am living proof of that. I have always seen clients frustrated and feeling defeated because they changed their diet for just one week (and started to feel better) but slumped right back into the same habits. Regardless of what supplements we recommend, diet and lifestyle are the biggest factors. If you want to get well, you must do the work. I realize that you may be struggling with energy and that it takes energy to get better, but when you start to nourish your body, you will see that energy restored. We take our jobs very seriously. If we can’t figure out something, we spend hours of research for you on herbal medicine journals, clinical trials or even reaching out to colleagues. I truly want to see my clients get better so they stop relying on a doctor or me and start learning how to take their own health into their own hands.
Surround yourself with a support system. It is quite sad to see clients who don’t have this. I understand that there are circumstances where it just isn’t there, and then I am going to go over and above to be that for my client. If you have even just one friend or family member who supports you, please bring them in on your journey. I am always happy to have a friend or family member come to consultations with my clients. That way they are held accountable and will stick with the regimen. There is power in teamwork. There is power in accountability, especially when you are not naturally a self motivated individual.
Please don’t stop taking your supplements until it is recommended. The goal for me is to get my clients off of supplements and do things through food as much as possible, but there is a time and place for them. I started with herbalism because herbs are not used as much as they are needed to in foods and a lot of times for autoimmune, adverse events, Lyme and other diseases, it’s necessary to have larger quantities of that herb. I am very mindful of my client’s budgets and will not recommend something that isn’t necessary. Please trust the process and understand that if not used today because you couldn’t handle it right away, after gut repair, we will. This also goes with the fact that I’m not in competition with others. If you have high quality supplements from elsewhere, we will use them if necessary. A good practitioner who cares about their clients will do everything they can to get their people feeling better. It is an investment though. There may be adjustments along the way, especially for extreme cases, but just stopping your regimen because you are tired of taking supplements or taking herbal extracts is not going to help you and could prolong healing and make you go backwards.
Please do not go buy supplements on Amazon or big box stores. I have posted about this NOT because I want to make money. If you only knew how much I hold back for the sake of peoples’ finances. I keep my products under the MSRP and give my clients 10% off for staying loyal to me. It is not about money as much as it is about the quality. If you get turmeric from a big box store, chances are that you are only getting a small percentage of what you need since it isn’t highly bioavailable and needs to have constituents in it in order for the body to retain it, especially an unhealthy gut. Please know that I am very picky about the companies that I work with and the individual supplements. I will not use something not backed by science. I will not use a company I don’t personally use by myself. The companies I work with work directly with practitioners. Most are professional grade quality, including some herbal companies I use. The herbal medicine that I make are all organic and very thoroughly researched. I hate to break the news to you, but a lot of the big box stores and pharmacies have supplements owned by big pharma, which has been proven to be less effective than the leading practitioner grade quality supplement companies. The companies that practitioners work with are backed by science, not just good marketing and fads. They are tested, high quality ingredients and work with practitioners and physicians who will know when the product doesn’t work because we know our research on herbs and foods. It is also important to know how to read a label so that you can spot lack of quality in some of these big companies in the stores. Plus, why not support your practitioner who is working really hard to keep prices down for you so that they can help you? You don’t get to see the countless hours of research, symposiums, extra classes they have to take, just so they can help you. The human body is complex and it takes a lot of time devoted to research and putting it into practice. Also, even if you purchase directly from the company on Amazon, Amazon is getting a big cut and it’s just better to support your practitioner and companies who spend so much time and money helping others and not getting rich off of it because we have to put so much more time and money back into researching and testing.
Make a schedule. If you really can’t stick to a routine that your practitioner helps you with, make a schedule or set it to your phone to yell at you. Whether it is regular exercise, eating certain foods or taking supplements, you need to make sure you are doing it. You also should schedule in some relaxation time. Managing stress is so important to healing. There is software out there and apps that can help you with calorie counting, eating or food prep, exercise goals. You name it, it is at your disposal. A lot are free but even if you have to pay, it is worth the investment.
Follow up with your practitioner. Don’t stop going back just because you feel a little better. Stick with them until you are feeling GREAT! That way you don’t end up back at their office having to start all over again. It is really easy for practitioners to overload with information that you can work on and feel no need to go back, but it is important to regularly check in with them so that adjustments can be made and they may even be able to stop some supplements. As the body heals, it takes adjustments.
Please trust the process. It takes time to heal. Please do not expect results overnight. Holistic Health Practitioners/Naturopaths look at the whole person and do not just address symptoms. There isn’t a magic pill. We have been conditioned as a society to want everything microwaved. It isn’t that simple. God created our bodies heal. It is quite amazing how he designed us. The problems is that we overload ourselves with toxins. The foods, technology, body care products, cleaning products, metals and so many other factors overload our bodies so that they cannot repair. Your practitioner is there to help you support those already God-given healing qualities in the body so that they can do what they were designed to do. This does not happen overnight and it will feel like a rollercoaster at time. Trust the process. I can’t say it enough.
If you have no idea where to start, Deanna Scotton, HHP, MH would love to sit down and meet with you. She does in person and virtual consultations. She does offer one free 30 minute consultation so that you can see how she can help you.
The statements in this blog have not been proven by the FDA and are not meant to treat, cure or diagnose any disease.