Has it ever occurred to you that you are at a point in your life when you feel that everything is going well? That you put in all the effort and all the energy to be the perfect wife, the ideal mother, a reliable friend, a career woman but also with a perfect look, and a better man? Yes! 6 months ago I felt like I was finally on the road to ascension from all points of view, and then I started to feel bad…
At first my legs ached, then they swelled, then I started gaining weight, losing muscle mass and feeling very tired. I started looking for solutions to feel better, I tried diets, meditation… but things didn’t get better but I started to feel worse and worse. I no longer had the strength to carry even a box of milk, at 1 pm I had to sleep because I was no longer good at anything and the 5 minute drive to school and back when I took my little boy was a real challenge.
Looking for the problem
I started doing medical investigations… tests, over tests, over tests. Things started to take a drastic turn and I still didn’t know the cause, I was healthy according to the analysis. After 3 months of investigations I was mentally and physically exhausted. One day I found myself crying in the shower because I felt helpless, useless and a burden to my family. I couldn’t go to the park with Stefan (my 7-year-old son). I couldn’t go shopping alone, I couldn’t carry, I couldn’t clean the house and I slept a lot. I was no longer feeling well in my skin and the worst part was that I couldn’t find the source of the problem.
Then I turned to a friend of mine, a nutritionist, hoping she would be my savior. And it was! By elimination, after the symptoms he told me that most likely I suffer from an autoimmune disease, called rheumatoid arthritis, which was activated by a certain conjuncture that appeared in my life. Wow, I said… These diseases should occur in old age, and I’m still only 32 years old. And what to do? There are not many treatments, especially when we do not have a concrete diagnosis, so we resort to the diet called the Autoimmune Protocol.
Okay, a diet, I’ve cared a lot about my life, let’s try this one too. I was quite optimistic at first, because I have an iron ambition and I didn’t think it would be very difficult for me to adapt. Then he sent me a 1 and a half page PDF of what I was allowed to eat. This diet is actually a lifestyle and involves the elimination of all inflammatory foods: gluten, sugar, lactose, fats, etc. I realized that this would be a major change for me, but I did not realize that it would not be as easy as I expected.
Applying the solution
I went home and stopped shopping to get something quick, to start my new lifestyle. Unable to study too much of the list of allowed foods, I went to a safe with a chicken breast, which I made on the grill and a few cucumbers. Then I started to study the list and I realized that I will have to start cooking for the most part, as I am never a great housewife from this point of view. But I said ok, how bad it can be, a few baked meat a few vegetables and I’m done. After the first 2 weeks of the diet, the results began to show, primarily by melting excess pounds. They’re all gone! I started to feel more energetic, better in my skin again, but the pain was still there and, of course, the frustration of not being able to touch any food that pleased me before it started to come to the surface. Summer came and I was not allowed to eat ice cream, or enjoy a frappe on the beach, and I was actually fed up with so much meat and vegetables. I couldn’t even eat tomato cheese! But, after the nervous breakdown I had before adopting this lifestyle, I said to myself… STOP! It’s for my own good! I want to be able to walk the whole park again, enjoy life, stay out late at night, go out with friends … so I will continue.
The first step that needed to be taken was to be aware of my emotional state when my health problems started to appear and when I started to feel frustrated. So I stayed for a while and analyzed the events of that period, noting that I had actually gathered a lot of negative emotions, which I ignored due to the hectic lifestyle that did not allow me to have time to think and process them. The things we are waiting for happen impatiently, late to appear, I am accumulating frustration and stress and my body has started to resist. Realizing this, I began to focus on the beautiful things in my life, to learn to be grateful again for what I had, and to focus more on the present than on the future, somehow losing sight of it.
Slowly, the pain started to go away, I perfected myself in cooking 😊 I got used to my new life and I accepted that it will be like this from now on. My cravings began to wane, and I began to become more creative in replacing things that were harmful to me. I continue to work hard with myself to keep the negative information around me and especially the negative people at bay, because it does not help me in my healing process.
In conclusion, nothing is too difficult. Whether we are talking about a new diet, a new job, a new relationship, a new life… as long as our emotions are aligned with our goals and desires, anything can be done. With a little ambition and support from your loved ones, you can overcome any obstacle. But remember, no one can help you if you don’t help yourself. The most important thing is to recognize your emotions, to understand them and to accept them, without keeping them in you. Watch them and let them go! What obstacles have you encountered lately in your life?
