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I am a 40 year old, formally obese woman with multiple chronic health conditions including PTSD, ADHD, PCOS, eczema, cystic acne, insomnia, adrenal fatigue, & depression.
How I healed my relationship with myself & turned my health around:
My body and mind was such a mess. The life I had lived (coupled with genetic factors) had undoubtedly led to many of my daily health struggles.
I struggled to get out of bed
I struggled to motivate myself enough to exercise, or even go for a walk
I struggled to eat healthy because I did not respect myself
I struggled to socialise because of my skin issues
I struggled to lead a "normal" life due to my mental health related issues
I struggled with addiction, which made all of the above worse
I had cold sores, flaky nails, I literally caught every single cold and flu under the sun, and I was always feeling run down and sick.
For years I generally blamed my unsafe upbringing, and then I would blame whoever else crossed my path. My victimhood was strong and unrelenting.
The process was actually very slow looking back.
The first thing that happened was that I actually had to take ownership of how my behaviours and habits were actually making all of my health issues worse, and in some cases I was even creating these health issues.
I truly believe that owning up to one's toxic or bad habits is the first step AND the hardest part.
I would drink alcohol daily
️I would eat crappy food despite resolving to be "healthy" I would snack late at night knowing that it would interfere with my sleep
I was too lazy to use the skincare I purchased, or take the supplements I would buy
I would cancel plans with friends and family and sit at home and feel bad about myself
I would let my house be messy even though I know that it harms my mindset
I would drink coffee ALL day and late into the night
I was so tired that I did not exercise
I know that my lack of self worth led to the above behaviours being my "normal"
When you are in the thick of it - you feel like the changes that need to be made to improve your life are SO HUGE, that you just do not even know where to start or how to begin.
The process of change and healing happened slowly, and I am proud of the courage that I had to take on these changes.
I slowly cut down on my drinking
I set my bedtime earlier (which wasn't so hard to do when I cut down my drinking)
Capped my coffee at 3 per day, and eventually 2 and then 1 (before 12pm)
I set out to walk 15 mins per day and then built up to 30 mins per day, and then 45 mins per day (this took months, and wasn't a quick process to build up the habit)
I committed and built the habit to use my skincare daily, and take all of my supplements (full spectrum oil, probiotics, nutritional yeast, zinc, magnesium)
I don't watch stressful TV or movies before bed, and I have a blue light blocker on my phone
Eventually I joined and gym and hired a personal trainer (once my sleep and fatigue subsided)
Looking at this list, it definitely seems simplistic and almost 'easy' - but realistically these changes probably took a good 18 months to build the habits, break through my mental blocks and self esteem issues to come into fruition. The symptoms from my health issues are down by 90%
The biggest tips that I have in terms of my mindset are to meditate for 15 mins upon waking, walk daily, and staying away from sugar & low alcohol.
If I wasn't doing these things to keep on top of my mental health, I know all of these changes would have been infinitely harder to implement.
The first step is awareness and then the next step is the action plan.
If anything in this resonates with you - You CAN make one small change today.
Small changes every day add up to huge life changes and upgrades over the next months and years. If I can do it, so can YOU!
Sarah - Hormone Health Nutritionist xxx
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