Holistic Wellness Blog

The Surprising Tool That Kickstarted My Healing Journey

babesia chronic illness support coping with chronic illness disulfiram holistic health life with lyme mental health my services radha's journey Jul 07, 2021

In September 2019, I was in the midst of a five-year health crisis and struggling to simply survive each day.

I felt like my body was holding me hostage. I was crawling to get to the bathroom. I could barely feed myself, and could no longer sleep upstairs in my bedroom because seizures had become common and I was worried about falling down the stairs.

My mind was overwhelmed with the fact that I had been living a healthy lifestyle almost my entire life, and an organic one for the past decade, yet I had been hospitalized three times in two years, and now had 6 rare diseases, 4 mycotoxin poisonings, and 5 heavy metal poisonings. I always practice what I preach but I had become severely ill and no matter what I tried, I wasn’t getting better.

I couldn’t work, leave the house, or drive. I was trapped. I was too weak to stand up and use the walker. I was barely eating or drinking because it took so much effort to make it to the bathroom. I...

Coping with Chronic Illness: Dealing with Doubt

chronic illness support coping with chronic illness goal setting mental health radha's journey spoonie tips stress relief tip Dec 04, 2020

Lately my health has been extremely challenging. The ups and downs of this chronic illness roller coaster are hard. The ups aren't really all that high but any day of feeling even halfway decent is a huge contrast to what I normally feel like these days!

I have been deeply studying the book "Mind Over Medicine" and the docuseries "Rewired" which are both about using the power of the mind to heal the body. If you have ever studied the placebo effect, it is very clear that our mind plays a very powerful role in healing our body. We don't need to take a fake medicine or have a fake surgery in order to tap into the power of the mind to heal.

I have changed my thinking quite a bit trying to use these resources as a guide. Last month for the first time I truly believed with all my heart and not a single seed of doubt that I can beat these illnesses. Until this point there has always been a seed of doubt and a questioning of if this was something I would be dealing with for...

Holiday Stress & Self-Care

coping with chronic illness holistic health mental health stress relief tip Nov 20, 2020

At this moment Thanksgiving is less than a week away and the holiday season is officially upon us. This is normally a season of increased stress for most people but it can also bring a lot of joy so we tend to handle the stress a little better and it all seems worth it for a fun and festive season.

This year is different though! The things that brought us joy may not be accessible in the middle of a pandemic. I think we all want to be safe and protect our loved ones from illness and suffering, so it is important to do the right thing and give up some of our traditions this season. For those without close families or the many families that have experienced loss this year, this may be a time of deep sadness and further isolation. Our hearts and minds are being taxed a lot more in 2020 and we need to focus on our mental health and well-being now more than ever.

Our mental health affects not only our quality of life but it can damage our physical health too. One very common symptom of...

10 Songs to Start Your Day With

mental health natural remedy stress relief tip Nov 09, 2020

Music is magical. Hearing a song can transport you back in time to a specific memory, calm you down, amp you up or make you feel warm and fuzzy! Most of us know the power of a good playlist at the gym - I know several people that will forfeit a workout if they forget their headphones. This is why I think finding a motivational song to start your day with can be transformational. I have included my top ten choices below. Each song has a different genre or energy about them in hopes you can find one that will resonate with you. If you have a song that can uplift you and shift you from "waking up on the wrong side of the bed" to being excited for the day to come, please share your secret song in the comments! The songs are linked to Spotify and I have added more songs to the playlist here.

1. Happy

2. Beautiful Day

3. Don't Worry, Be Happy

4. I Got You

5. You Can Get It If You Really Want

6. Walking on Sunshine

7. With My Own Two Hands

8. Feeling Good

9. Lovely Day

...

Medical Marijuana - Friend or Foe?

coping with chronic illness holistic health mental health Nov 02, 2020

I'm not shy about the fact that I use medical marijuana but I'm also not one to scream it from the rooftops either! I did create a medical marijuana journal to help people track what works to help their ailments because I have struggled to find the correct strain for my needs, but other than that I don't share too much about it.... until now.

Last Friday was my birthday and I decided to give up marijuana until at least the end of 2020. This decision came for a small variety of reasons but primarily because I have had one of the hardest months of this health journey and I have turned to marijuana so much that it feels like a really unhealthy coping mechanism. I think it is important to see how my body feels without it and to start turning to healthier coping mechanisms. It is really the only habit I have that I question whether it is healthy, and if it is truly helping me cope and manage my symptoms or if it is limiting my healing ability.

On a good day, I don't want to touch it. I...

10 Things to Let Go of Today to Help Your Nutrition Journey!

holistic health mental health nutrition Oct 12, 2020

The reason I don't just give my nutrition clients a meal plan to start is because our eating habits have so much to do with our mindset. Your mind is what sabotages your diet, not your body. Handing someone a precise meal plan to follow may work for a short term period but if you really want to make a long term lifestyle change then you have to let go of your limiting beliefs. Reclaiming your freedom from the food police, the demons that keep you in body shame and the never-ending self-attacks requires you to give up those negative mental thought patterns.

Letting go of the old will allow you to create space for the new, positive and encouraging thoughts! Are you ready to let go of your limiting thoughts and begin to eat without fear, guilt or shame? Getting to that place doesn’t happen when you continue to hold on to habits, beliefs and people who are keeping you down, over and over again into your own worst nightmare of negative patterns.

Here are 10 of the most...

50 Ingredients to Avoid!!

holistic health mental health nutrition toxin free Sep 14, 2020

At this point in the world, I don't believe anyone can live a chemical free lifestyle but I still think it is important to make a large effort to clear out the chemicals you can. I wanted to make you a brief list of what you should really try to cut out when you can but the list became long quite effortlessly. These ingredients are so hard to spell and pronounce that I know looking at a label can be like reading a foreign language, but that is a sign that what you are about to eat is NOT food rather it is a chemical food product.

The reason I say that you can't be truly chemical free is because the FDA has approved a list called GRAS, meaning Generally Recognized As Safe. You can look at the list here https://www.fda.gov/food/food-additives-petitions/food-additive-status-list They have decided that these items can be added to our food without research on the safety repercussions of long term use. In all, there are an estimated 1,000 GRAS substances for which safety decisions were...

Sunshine: A Natural Remedy

holistic health mental health natural remedy May 18, 2020

Sunshine brings me so much joy! Sunshine on the skin is an essential component of our health and wellness. Regular exposure to sunshine results in denser bones, stronger muscles, richer blood, healthier nerves, and greater endurance. But just like overeating, over sunning causes free-radical damage to the skin. Even though it can have negative effects when misused, I consider it a natural remedy.

Here are some interesting facts about sunshine exposure:

Vitamin D, which assists in mineralizing the bones and boosting the mood, is formed when the skin is exposed to sunshine.
Sunshine increases the amount of iron in your blood. This creates a "magnetic" presence as is evident in the well tanned look.
US cancer rates are highest in the northern states with the least amount of sunshine.
Rates of breast, prostate, ovarian, and colon cancer are lower in people with more sunshine exposure.
Sunshine exposure may reduce breast cancer up to 30-40% and ovarian cancer by...

5 Steps to Starting A Meditation Practice

coping with chronic illness holistic health meditation mental health my services stress relief tip Feb 10, 2020

I think the most important part of starting a meditation practice is remembering that it is called a practice for a reason!

Nobody is "good" at meditation from the start. It takes practice - lots and lots of practice. The beautiful thing is that you can feel the benefits each and every time you take the time to sit in silence and connect with your breath. Soon you will notice that you are able to keep your mind focused a little longer and when it does become distracted, you are able to bring it back to meditation quicker and quicker.

Create a set time in your schedule.

At first it is best to do it first thing in the morning when you wake up. You may want to splash some water on your face and brush your teeth to make sure you don’t fall back to sleep!

Designate a set duration.

When beginning a practice it can be hard to set aside part of your day to sit still. You may want to start with three minutes on the first day and set an alarm. See how...

The Power of a Wellness Journal

chronic illness support coping with chronic illness goal setting holistic health life with lyme mental health radha's journey spoonie tips May 20, 2019

I created this wellness journal over a decade ago and just revised it last month to give it a few upgrades. I find this an incredible way to keep track of what is going on in my body, and my medical team really appreciates me bringing it with me to keep them fully informed. I first created it when I was having a health crisis and there were so many different things going on from day to day that I would forget to tell my acupuncturist certain symptoms and would only remember later in the day after the session was over. I realized I needed to start keeping better track and recording what was happening in order to have more productive doctors and acupuncture appointments.

I kept the design simple so if you are printing this out at home you won't use up all your ink! If you want it to be a little prettier, I would just recommend picking a color paper that makes you happy and print it out on that. There are ten main components the Wellness Journal...

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