Self-Healing – Can You Heal Yourself?
Thirty years ago, when I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and told there was nothing conventional medicine could do for me except give me steroids and anti-depressants, I sought out a different approach. I was blessed to be led to the offices of a naturopathic physician and a homeopathic M.D., who not only gave me hope, but natural remedies and practical lifestyle tools to reverse the disabling and progressive symptoms I was experiencing, such as vision problems, extreme fatigue, weakness and depression, trembling, numbness, problems with balance and coordination, and more.
Since then, I have often credited these two doctors with “saving my life”. While it is true that I most likely would not have been able to reverse my MS without their help, I have come to realize that had I not chosen to do the things they recommended and taught me (which wasn’t always easy), I would not have healed. You see, the key to reversing any chronic disease is making the choice to be healthy – to live your best life. It takes a strong commitment on your part and a true, deep desire to be healthy, vibrant and happy, and a willingness and courage to do the things that create health and well-being.
What I’m talking about is self-healing – the innate ability we all have to heal ourselves. First, let me clarify that, just as I did when I was faced with serious illness, it is important to seek out a good medical team – one that will spend time with you, and support your desire to be an active participant in your own health and healing, and your right to try different approaches to health and healing, (vs. rolling their eyes when you mention anything outside of drugs and surgery). I personally recommend that you seek out a functional medicine provider. You can find a list of them here.
So, how does self-healing work? While most of us worry that our bodies are weak and vulnerable and a “disease waiting to happen” and that we have very little control over the development of disease or its progression once it begins. The truth is that the body is a self-organizing, self-healing, and self-repairing organism. Just look at what happens when you cut yourself. Your body knows exactly what to do. You trust it to heal by itself.
But, when we develop a chronic illness, symptoms usually come on gradually, until they begin to interrupt the way we feel, think, move, and live. Then we usually go to the doctor to see what’s causing these symptoms, and hope they can give us some pills to make the symptoms go away. Most often, we do get some kind of pill (unless they can’t find anything) and, think we’re going to be o.k. again. But, medications don’t usually work so neatly as we hope. They have side effects. They’re toxic to the liver and the blood. They stop working after a certain amount of time, and other unsettling effects manifest.
If it’s a chronic disease, we’re told there’s nothing we can do about it – that we’ll have to take the medications for the rest of our lives. That’s depressing and dis-empowering news. But, fortunately, there is an alternative. We can take our health back into our own hands and activate our body’s own self-healing. In next week’s blog, I’ll share with you 3 steps to start taking your health into your own hands and activate your own self-healing abilities.
Until then, consider if your health care practitioner is someone who is supporting your participation in your own wellness, someone who supports looking into alternative methods of healing. If not, check out some of the functional medicine practitioners in the link provided above, and/or check out naturopathic, homeopathic, or Chinese medicine practitioners or one of the many wellness centers springing up around the country.
To your health and well-being,
