OK, let’s face it – walking the health journey can be downright challenging at times. It can take more money that we have to spend (or want to spend and not that it has to), more time than we’d like, hours of reading and trying to understand what should be simple and at times we just want to go through the drive-through and have a burger and fries. At least this is what many of my patients tell me 🙂 Not that I’d ever go through the drive-through for a burger or fries, LOL.
I am a problem solver, and I love finding ways to make things work the way I think they should work. Many times I have gone into a hardware store looking for pieces and parts to build something that exists only in my mind. Of course the guys at the store will just look at me and say, well they don’t make anything like that. And of course, I say, ok, but can I use all of these gadgets to make it? It really seems to bother them that I want to use a thing, clearly designed for a specific purpose, for something else. But, I usually figure it out and happily use my new gadget, made up of pieces of things the makers never even thought they would be used for.
Well, I thought what I might do is start a blog post and ask people to name a challenge they have faced on their journey to health. But then, can you also offer what your solution is to deal with that challenge? Maybe, by putting all our heads together, we can come up with solutions for people out there who start and stop, who never start at all, who feel overwhelmed, and who really, really want to become healthy but are not sure they will be able to walk the path. If you see a challenge listed, but have a different solution, go ahead and add it! Feel free to comment – all input will help someone. I will start us off.
Challenge: Time – I find that eating well, exercising, taking my supplements, meditating, breathing and immersing myself in community takes a lot of time. I used to try so hard to fit in everything that by the end of the day, even though I had done all this healthy stuff, I was so stressed about what I didn’t do that I am convinced I cancelled out all the benefits of the good stuff I did.
Solution: Breathe. I picked one thing off the list and made a commitment to do that every day. I chose breathing because I can use it to center, it is really good for me, it slows me down, I can clear my mind, slow my heart, stretch my back and muscles, realize I am hungry for something good and I have to do it anyway. So, 10-15 times a day, at least 1 time an hour, my alarm on my cell phone goes off and it tells me to breathe, deep, slow, purposefully, for at least 3 minutes. Now I find myself doing that most of the time and I cannot explain but I actually seem to have more time to do everything else. All the other healthy stuff – it works its way in, some on one day, some on another. The most important thing – I am not stressed at the end of the day – I just choose to feel good about what I have done for me and my health today.
OK -your turn! Looking forward to what everyone has to say. EC
Thanks so much for this insightful post.
I struggle on my healing journey too – even though I've been on it now for almost six years. It seems like my motivation goes in cycles. One month I might be very good at doing all the things I need to. What derails me the most is stress. When I feel stressed and overwhelmed, I'm much less likely to stick to my healing routine. It's sad because that's when I need it most!
Here are some things I do. 1) I listen to self-hypnosis tapes for stress relief to become centered. They are great to fall asleep to. 2) I set a minimum for myself. I should go for a 30 minute walk, but when I can't manage it, I will just walk to the end of the block and back. 3) I try to give myself permission to be gentle with the process. Some days I'm not gonna make it. Beating myself up about it never helps. 4) I try to find joy everyday — sometimes I watch laughing babies on You Tube. I know it sounds silly, but you just can't help but laugh along with them. It's a much healthier pick me up than caffeine.
I have had a lot of challenges on my health journey. I tend to make excuses for everything like "there isn't enough time", "I am not hungry so I will take it later", and "I have something else that requires my attention." I have had to learn how to tell myself that it is okay to let go and re-prioritize my life. Every challenge for me boils down to stress and all of the time I internalize the stress. As I take stress in, I put more of it in front of me. You don't have to be super-mom or work harder than everyone else at work. Being over-flexible for everyone else and leaving little self-heal time for you can only hurt. You can still be "nice" and helpful without causing harm to your health.
Twila told me about the self-hypnosis to help fall asleep a few years ago, and it works miracles!!! I find myself lost without them. I am going to try out the timer on my phone to breathe and for my remedy and supplements! Thanks for this post and I look forward to some new techniques.
Ayurveda recommends avoiding uncooked foods when addressing high vata or that energy which is ungrounded. Vata increases as we age. Ayurveda teaches that the digestive fire of vata conditions is weak and so such individuals need warm cooked foods. I decided to test this with my own health and took a 10 day training to be certified as a raw food chef. I ate only live foods for those 10 days and learned that some foods do indeed increase physical and emotional discomfort while other foods prepared with sufficient moisture and served warm actually suited the digestion of vata dosha. I am excited to learn more. Using whole grains to ground vata by soaking and sprouting and mixing them in dishes that call for nuts. Raw food can be heavy to digest because it uses heavy ingredients such as nuts. Substituting the heavy ingredientsd with moist and soft grains can balance the flighty nature of vata and be easily digdested. My health has improved as I eat more live foods and I feel inspired to support the understanding of raw food with Ayurveda's guidelines to manage vata.
In 1991 my PCP informed me that the traditional medical field has brought me as far as they could and that I would have to live the rest of my life living with anxiety attacks and taking anti-depressants. This small voice inside of me said that this was unacceptable and it was at that time that I started working with a Naturopathic/Homeopathic doctor who treats the symptoms and not just the cause of dis-ease in your body. After my first visit with an ND I knew that the search was finally over for me and my body, mind and spirit would return to optimual health. This elation was short lived after I realized that I might not have the financial resources necessary to continue to be a patient of a Naturopathic doctor. It was at that time I decided to do some deep soul searching as to what was my course of action and it soon became very clear to me that WITHOUT my health I really had nothing and I became willing to do anything and everything I could to be able to afford her fees. That meant that living on a fixed income my first priorty was to allow enough money to pay for my office visits and for many years I haven't eaten out, bought fancy clothes, etc.. I am pleased to announce that it was worth every sacrifice I made as today I am a very healthy and happy person who no longer suffers from anxiety attacks and am also anti-depressant free as well.
Most ND's insist that you also work with an MD as your primary care physician (PCP). Initially, I was elated because I thought that I would have the best of both worlds. Not necessarily so. My experience showed me that most MD's aren't willing to work with a patient who also sees an ND, yet I was persistent in finding an MD or a DO (one that is actually doing manipulations as MOST DO's in my area are practicing as an internist) that would be my PCP. I would call the doctor's office and ask the receptionist if doctor so and so was taking new patients at this time and if they were willing to work with a patient that was committed to holistic health and the ND"s philosophy. When the answer was yes I set up an appointment and was excited to begin my healing journey with them. However, even though the doctor said that they were open to the holistic philosophy when push came to shove on whose treatment plan or course of action they would most recommend of course it would more often than not be the MD's training and protocol. Now what did I do? I would bring this information back to my ND for a discussion and 9 times out of 10 I would use the treatment plan outlined by my ND. Eventually, I was able to reach an "understanding with my MD or DO regarding my treatment plan and if not I would move on and find another doctor to work with. My health and well being is the MOST important issue in my life and I will be forever committed to return my mind, body and spirit to optimum health by continuing to believe and "trust" the innate healing of treating the cause and not the symptoms which is the core of the philosophy of a Naturopathic doctors training and schooling.
My son's healing journey has not been easy. He was diagnosed with autism when he was almost 3 that was 7 years ago. We have been working with Dr. Camp for 3 years and gone through lots of remedies, supplements, diet changes, even the way I clean house. I remember how overwhelming it felt not being sure if I could actually follow through with all the changes. It sounded like way more than any one woman could do. So I just started with one thing at a time and moved to the next when I was comfortable with it. Through the remedy changes I have watched my son make some huge Communication gains. Just today I told him he needed a hair cut and he said no. So I asked him why not? He said "because I like it long." I said i know you like it long but it is in your eyes and over your ears it is too long. He replied, "oh fine mom. Cut a little here (pointing to his bangs) and cut a little here (pointing to his sides) and cut a little here (pointing to his neck line) But everything else long, ok mom?" Who knew that 3 tiny pellets could cause this amazing change in how he communicated. Oh and when i finished his haircut he looked in the mirror and said "thats it mom its perfect!" Days like today make all the hard work worth it!
Thanks Cassidy – I know your words will help people remember hope! And, yeah! Weston is coming back to us. EC
This post is to say "Thanks" to my very dear friend, Dr. Eli Camp! About 3 weeks ago, I crushed three fingers on each hand in a very heavy collapsable ladder. The first call I made was to Eli and I'm so glad I did. She told me what remedies to use and continued to 'baby' me through my pain for the next 4-5 days. My fingers were so swollen and the deepest purple you can imagine on the finger tips. They hurt terribly. It was so amazing to me (not really….she has treated me for GERD with homeopathy and that was a miracle cure!) that when taking the remedies that within 3-5 minutes the symptom was gone (throbbing, pain, etc.). This happened over and over again during the 4-5 days of treatment. And VERY amazingly, the purple quickly disappeared and my fingers are almost back to normal. Eli, thanks for being my friend and for taking care of me! I love you!!
I feel very fortunate that Dr Camp recommended ACT (Advanced Cellular Training) to me. This is an amazing program that teaches people how to train their bodies to overcome diseases and chronic conditions. Through ACT I have learned so much about lyme and quickly discovered why antibiotics, herbs and homeopathy never completely worked. They only address what is serviced by blood in the body – muscles, organs, etc. But there is about 20 % of the body not serviced by blood and the traditional treatments can’t reach those areas. But lyme does. So even though these treatments have killed off some lyme, they haven’t killed off all of it. And since lyme mutates and divides and changes form, it eventually comes out to those areas formerly cleared of lyme and your symptoms return. With weekly classes via telecommunication, reporting that week’s gains (always gains first), pains and numbers (0 no symptom to 10 worst) on our 10 symptoms chart, and with muscle testing, Gary of ACT, comes up with a set of codes to help us get better. He considers physical symptoms, emotional issues, (both past and present), stress, exposure outside the country, childhood abuse if any, surgery, airplane rides, etc. These all play a huge part in why we don’t feel good. One thing I learned for me was that my lyme had mutated with an intestinal parasite I had contracted while in Ecuador a number of years ago. I had been treated with antibiotics and later tested negative for the parasite.The doctor said I was cleared of it. But I’m not. That test doesn’t consider the fact that the lyme mutated with the parasite. So that problem hasn’t gone away and my digestion is awful.
I just started the lyme class (he has other classes for other problems) and in just 3 weeks of class I was able to do an 8 mile snowshoe hike pain free. My toe, my knee, my back didn’t hurt and my body functioned smoothly and easily. Yes, I was tired at the end, but I was able to do the hike and do it comfortably. My massage therapist has noticed that my hair and skin are so much better. ACT gives you hope that you can heal. There is a wall full of positive postings on its Facebook page. Thanks so much to Gary and special thanks to Dr Camp for caring about our getting better, for seeking out alternative approaches to getting better, not accepting that we are at the best we can ever hope to be and for helping and supporting us along the way.
Good website and blog. Very inspirational for myself and i'm sure others. Thank you.
one thing i have learned about lyme dse is that you cant be plpreroy tested and diagnosed until it has been 4-6 weeks since you have been bitten by that tick.earlier than that might produce false positive (meaning you got a positive result but in reality you are not infected) or a false negative (you got a negative result but you are indeed infected) result. in short the diagnosis and the testing is unreliable until after 3-4 weeks has passed.just keep that tick in that box and show it to the doctor when the correct time has arrived. blood testing will be done around 4-6 weeks after the bite to determine if you are infected.
Awesome post.
Thanks for a great post Eli.
I once suffered with Crohn’s disease and my last diagnoses over 6 years ago was “no evidence of Crohn’s disease.” But, getting to this point was a journey in itself. I suffered for over 20 years! And, I did not have to to! There are many different aspects to healing from the physical to the emotional. The one thing this new profound way of living has taught me is to be patient with myself and others and, respect where people are at.
We as a society have not been raised for the most part to believe in the spiritual or emotional connection to our body. We are raised to look at what is in front of us instead of what is within us. We start with the physical aspect of abating disease symptoms; never taking the time to look at why there is dis-ease in the first place.
The biggest challenge I find is getting people to believe that they do not have to suffer in pain, that they are worthy of feeling great all the time and that they can live life to that fullest. Once they have an idea of this concept there is a little bit of healing. And then, it is the struggle to try and stay ahead of the physician pressure, family pressure and societal pressure that says “you are thinking outside of the box. We can’t tolerate this.”
When we reach new heights of feeling great we are quickly torn down by others who feel uncomfortable with their progress. We live in a society where we have to tear down others so that we can feel comfortable. We do not want others to excel or feel great because it causes one to reflect upon themselves. We as healers have to rise above and work on our client’s spirit and worthiness; this is where true healing comes from.
I speak from experience, there are many people I had to leave behind as I continued my quest for balance and harmony within. There are many people who said the most horrible things to me; to the point of being bullied. Why? Because of their own fear of the unknown and the reflection of having to take responsibility for they health.
We have to learn to become selfish; embrace this word so that we can truly put ourselves 100% first in healing ourselves. Once we do this we become 100% in the lives of our friends, family and even our career. We are in a place to 100% pay it forward.
We have to ask others to have an open mind, to try new things and to not give up so easily. But, we also can not stand and hold the hand of the ones who are not willing to do the work. Instead manifest those who are willing to embrace a new journey; allow them to see and feel the change. They are the ones who will pay it forward by influencing others with their story. This in turn will reach more people than staying stagnant with ones who resists the journey of change.
Thanks for sharing! It is so true – we have to take care of ourselves before we can take care of others!