Taking responsiblity for ourselves and our health

I cured myself of fibromyalgia. I had fibromyalgia for close to ten years. It`s a debilitating condition characterised by constant pain of the soft tissues, fatigue and brain fog. At the time, doctors were not familiar with the condition, there were no tests or helpful advice, other than anti depressants and sleeping tablets to manage the symptoms. I tried various powders and potions, without success. At the time, I was working at a medical aid administrator, which is similar to the insurance industry, a highly stressful environment. 

I read widely on the cause of illnesses and why some people develop auto immune diseases. In time, I became convinced that a condition like fibromyalgia starts with immense stress to the nervous system, such as physical or psychological trauma. This state triggers an auto immune response from the body. If this highly stressed state of being continues for a prolonged period of time, the body becomes incapable of healing itself. People with fibromyalgia typically has very poor sleep, due to the constant pain, stress or worry, so their bodies don`t the reach the delta level of sleep, which is the state where the body heals itself.

I came across a post on social media recently, where someone with fibromyalgia lamented his current state and tagged his post with #FibroFighter. It made me think; we don`t `fight`a disease or condition, we need to make friends with it. When we move from a point of fighting a disease to accepting it and see it as as a opportunity, albeit a very challenging one, we have a better chance to learn from it and make appropriate changes.

This condition has taught me invaluable lessons. I`ve learnt to take responsibility for my body and mind and to honour my body with its amazing power to heal itself, given the opportunity and right tools. I had to learn to manage my responses to stress and anxiety, to realize that I`m responsible for my thoughts, feelings and behaviors, learn not to rely on external causes in order to be happy.

Another huge change I had to make, is to change the way I eat. Food can be our medicine. We need nutrious food to nourish and heal our bodies. This is typically alkaline plant based food. I found the alkaline journey is a protocol to eat raw, live food that is alkaline to ensure the body and blood regains an alkaline state. This is excellent for people with inflammatory conditions, including arthritis, allergies, toxicity or sensitive digestion systems. If we flood our systems with live alkaline food, we give it the tools to heal inflammation and disease. I found an easy option is to make my own breakfast smoothies with red, purple and green fruit and vegetables, such as beetroot, cucumber, kale, amaranth, blue berries, figs, prickly pears, papaya, grenadilla and spinach. To this I add a daily supplement of Vit B complex and a good quality Magnesium. For boosting my immune system, I add Iodine and Zinc.

Because I had insomnia for years, I still take a supplement to help me sleep, however I have switched to a herb called Valerian. It`s a safe and non addictive sleeping aid.

In conclusion, I have found, after years of 'fighting' fibromyalgia, the keys are this: learning to manage stress, anxiety and tension, by disciplining my mind to choose a state of happiness and gratitude, by taking into my body healing and nutritious food and by getting good quality of sleep. The answer to healing is to take responsibility for ourselves.

#HealFibro