I started my Autoimmune journey in December of 2017, one week before my sister died from an 18-month long battle with neuroendocrine cancer. I was getting a MAJOR haircut when my hairdresser told me that she saw a little nickel sized patch of missing hair. Although it was completely hidden and a very small amount of missing hair, I was concerned because I knew that my emotional health was not where I thought it was and where I knew it needed to be, and my body was responding accordingly. I knew that our body responds when we are stressed, and although I thought I was being very “strong” and really “handling” my sister’s death, clearly I was very ill on the inside.
“I strongly suggest that anyone dealing with issues of physical healing do the hard work to dive deep into the aspect of emotional healing.”
Over the next few months, the small patch of missing hair got larger, and more patches started to pop up. As I researched, learned and listened more, I discovered that I had alopecia, an autoimmune disease where the body attacks its hair follicles, brought on by the extreme stress of my sister’s death. Being a chiropractor and a believer in the ability for the human body to heal itself when given an environment of health, I knew that I didn’t want to go the allopathic route for treatment, which often consists of topical steroids, shots, and in more extreme cases of autoimmune conditions, chemotherapy.
I have been on my healing from autoimmune disease journey since July of 2018. My healing journey is not over, but my body is showing signs of restored health, which leads me to share what I have found with confidence. Nothing that I am doing is unique to myself or a discovery that I have made, but what I have found is that so many people deal with health issues that can be improved with the “protocol” that I have been following. In addition, most people are paralyzed by the idea of eating AIP (AutoImmune Protocol), taking supplements, and continuously being on a quest to figure out their body. That is why I am writing this; to help confidence, in what I have gone through and to help others as they walk into this healing journey.
With that in mind, remember that I am going to outline a very basic description of my protocol, which does not include copious amounts of research articles, complex scientific data, or extremely detailed food explanations. I have found a tremendous amount of detailed information, which I will list at the conclusion of the multi-part post, but I have also found that most people do not have the bandwidth, attention span, or desire to absorb that amount of detailed information. If you are interested, I will provide some of those resources for you to dig deeper.
Before I dive into the protocol for my physical health, during part 2, I do want to take a brief moment to acknowledge something that I feel is extremely important. Along with using food as a healing agent for my body and taking amazing supplements that feed my body micro and macronutrients, I have done a significant amount of work on healing my emotional and spiritual self as well. I firmly believe that without praying, meditating, counseling, and listening to The Holy Spirit, I would not be experiencing the healing to the level that I have. I strongly suggest that anyone dealing with issues of physical healing do the hard work to dive deep into the aspect of emotional healing. Without this, I do not believe that the other can be truly successful. From my research and experience on the subject, I have found that autoimmune and most other chronic health conditions have an emotional root that needs attention for complete healing to take place.
In Part 2 I will talk about the suspected cause of AutoImmune Disease, and how I started my physical healing.
Check back next week for more information, and Part 2 of “My Autoimmune Journey”.
