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How to Cope with the Stress of Healing a Chronic Illness
While healing form a chronic illness is possible, it is not always easy. It takes time, patience, commitment and support. You need to be completely dedicated to regaining your health back (which is usually the case with most people!). Adrenal fatigue is a huge sign that our body gives us to just slow down, take a step back, and reevaluate your lifestyle.
But there are lots of stressors that can impede healing:
- The need to work full time
- Having young children
- Family and friends that are not supportive of your health journey
- Environmental issues like severe weather, heavy metals in the environment, mold in the home
- Financial difficulties
How to deal with the stress of healing
Find a support system
If you are trying to heal naturally from anything, you can meet a lot of resistance from friends and family that just don’t understand natural health. Many people just do not understand things unless they go through something like adrenal fatigue themselves. So find your own tribe! Whether it is just a handful of friends that you have in your life, or your spouse/partner (who is hopefully supportive of you!) or a Facebook group (like Mineral Mavens!), or even an old friend that you can call on the phone every so often- it is crucial to be able to reach out to someone and just talk.
Learn how to manage stress
Sometimes we can’t change our situations, but we can change how we reach to things to an extent. There are MANY ways to help yourself cope with stress. If you are dealing with adrenal exhaustion, a good adaptogenic herb can help depending on the state of your adrenals as well as your symptoms. But doing things like finding a hobby to do each day can help so much. Experiencing pure happiness everyday, even for a short amount of time can truly change your attitude.
Nervous system support is essential as well. When we are chronically stressed, our nervous system takes a huge hit. If you are in a state of overwhelm then your nervous system is already very stressed out. Check out my post on nervine herbs that can help.
So read a book, start a blog, go for a walk, talk to friends, look into EFT/Tapping, Buteyko breathing, yoga, meditate, practice gratitude, whatever helps you disconnect from your stress for a few minutes!
Cut out toxic people from your life
This can be a very hard one, especially if the toxic people in your life are family members. I have had to do this myself, and it definitely wasn’t easy but it was a HUGE relief to not have to deal with energy vampires. There are so many people out there that can mess with your good energy and make healing harder on you. These are the people that ONLY complain about things when you speak to them, or they are always criticizing you for various reasons, or they are constantly asking for favors but never actually want to spend time with you.
So many people that end up in adrenal fatigue are givers because they allow others to take, take, take until they just have nothing left! This is a cycle that needs to stop. Obviously it is good to help others out when they need it, but there is a difference between that and selfish, greedy people that are taking advantage of you. So whether you need to completely cut out off all contact with someone or just reduce the amount of time you see them until you heal, take into consideration that doing this is NOT selfish on your side of things.
Remind yourself that this is temporary!
This is an especially important one to remember. It takes years, decades, or generations to build up these chronic illnesses. Throw in years of the SAD lifestyle, chronic stress, heavy metals, birth control pills, vaccines, etc and it is no wonder why so many people are dealing with adrenal exhaustion these days. It will take time for you to fully heal! The general rule of thumb is one month of healing for every year you have been sick. Just stay strong! You can allow yourself some time to experience the frustration, anger, and sadness but remember to pick yourself back up and keep on pushing!
The body is a whole and we must treat it as such! I have my Bachelor of Science in Natural Health Sciences, certificates in Herbal Studies from Herbal Academy, and I am constantly learning more about health to help my clients and followers.
My goal is to help you unleash your own inner healer! You already hold the power to heal inside you. My role is as a guide to help you realize this potential.