5 Stages Of Healing From A Chronic Health Challenge

Welcome back to Snapshots of Wellness! Snapshots is into the thousands as far as readers go and as a thank you for all your patience while I took a hiatus, I thought I would show my gratitude to all of you with specific content that you have all been asking for.  And I apologize for taking this long in responding.

I am going to be doing an interview style article this upcoming week to answer as many questions as I can for all of you. The number of questions I am receiving about health is now into the hundreds which came as a surprise to me! We will tackle all of them but please note that I am not a physician, I have no medical background and my ultimate recommendation will be that you see an integrative physician you trust. What works for me & my health is not a road map for what will work for you & yours. Just keep that in mind.

Today, let's kick off this health series with an article I wrote for MindBodyGreen below. In the days to come, we are going to get into an in depth chat about why I feel Integrative Medicine is critical to anyone's health portfolio.

5 Stages Of Healing From A Chronic Health Challenge

When it comes to chronic health challenges, the healing process is very much like unraveling the layers of an onion. It takes stamina, patience, and a solid strategy. It's complicated, and also highly emotional, and I think many people don't discuss this outside of a counselor's office. Because I've gone through the process, I am on my last phase of healing entirely, and I thought I'd share my top 5 steps to unraveling the onion of chronic health challenges. Note: when I say "chronic health challenges," this can range from MS, to lupus, to depression, to anxiety, or even obesity.

1.  Accept where you are.  

The first step in unraveling this onion of your ill health is to accept where you are. Crying, leaning on friends and family, and praying about it is a combination of first steps that will help you get to a place where you're ready to tackle this once and for all.  Come to terms with the fact that you're going to deal with this by working with your body versus against it. You're not going to curl up in a ball and simply exist, rather you're going to obtain optimal wellness again, whatever it takes.


2. Find a reputable integrative physician in your state.  

An integrative physician is a doctor who practices both Western and Eastern medicine, who also practices Functional Medicine. They tend to look at the body/mind as a whole, provide testing that Western Medicine physicians do not, and approach the root cause of your health challenges instead of band-aiding symptoms with medications.  


3. Eat a whole foods diet.  

It's been scientifically proven that a primarily whole foods, plant-based diet will aid in flooding your body with alkalinity. When a body reaches it's optimal alkaline state, cells began to heal.  I recommend reading The China Study or watching a film called Forks Over Knives to learn more. If you need to see a nutritionist to find out what food will work best in contributing to your healing process, go for it. You must change your diet and be consistent with it.


4. Visit a chiropractor/Cranial Sacral Therapy.  

From my own three-year, complicated battle with chronic illness and recovery, in addition to the stories I've heard from countless others, a critical step is meeting with a chiropractor and/or osteopath who can provide a long series of cranial sacral/chiropractic adjustments. When the spine is aligned, your body systems have the best chance of healing. These treatments alone can aid in helping migraines, brain fog, anxiety, neck/back pain, etc. essentially disappear.  


5. Discover yoga/Pilates/stretching. 

You have to move your body even if you cannot get out of bed. You must move, stretch and help get your blood circulating. This in turn will get your lymphatic system moving. I learned that you can do this even if you are bound to 24-hour bed-rest by rotating your ankles in circles, doing leg lifts, moving your arms up and down, etc. 

If you are functional and mobile, get to a restorative yoga class, breathe, tell yourself that you are accepting healing. Do this four days a week and if you are depleted afterwards, then rest.


These 5 steps are essential to everyone facing a chronic health challenge. A combination of these is going to help you get back a sense of control, calm, and give you more mental clarity and stamina so that you can tackle the next 5 steps. 

I hope this was helpful! After we get through this health series, let's get festive in lining up some holiday wellness activity options for you & your families!