The 5 Daily Habits that help support my chronic disease
I’ve spent the last five years on this autoimmune rollercoaster. It has its’ ups and its’ downs for sure. Right when I feel like I have “everything under control”, my body has other plans and reminds me that autoimmunity is complex. As a Nutritionist, I pride myself on being real about my experiences to what led me into this field. However, I can also be extremely hard and critical of myself when I experience autoimmune symptoms. But that is part of the journey. Here are some of my 5 daily habits that I use to help support my chronic disease.
1. Meditate- I cannot stress this enough! Meditation has been proven to have many physiologic benefits especially for those with chronic pain. Meditation can be any form of tuning out the world and tuning into yourself. I have meditated various lengths in time from 30 minutes to 3 minutes depending on what my body needs that day. I sit and meditate in the morning and in the evening. There is no right or wrong way, just sit with yourself, tune in and listen to your body. The benefits have helped my nervous system relax and my mind to calm.
2. Fuel with anti-inflammatory foods- If you have an autoimmune condition, you definitely need to decrease inflammation in your body. I start my day with probiotics followed by a mix of aloe vera, cranberry juice, and chlorophyll. It’s important for me to include foods that feed the good bacteria in my gut, foods including spices like turmeric & ginger to decrease inflammation, and protein for energy.
3. Take my supplements daily! I cannot stress this enough! When I first started my healing journey via functional medicine, I was completely overwhelmed with the amount of supplements I had to take. After a while I started to love taking my supplements because I knew they were keeping me healthy. I became familiar with my body and how I felt and what supplements would help me achieve that daily goal. If I feel too much joint pain, I would increase my Boswellia on that day. Also, make sure you are taking your supplements correctly!
4. Self-work: The first thing I did after being diagnosed was change my diet. But changes didn’t stop there. It was an awakening experience for me as I continued to look for ways to better my health which led me to deeper spirituality, writing, and a ton of self-development. I tried many different approaches to do more self-work, but I have a few that have stuck with me which became a routine in my life. I write daily, I listen to podcasts, and I do lots of inner work. It’s incredibly scary at first to go deep within and look at what you can be doing different to better yourself but once you take those steps, it became more comfortable for me to be true to myself, to be open, and to live my life how I want.
5. Connect with people IRL- This was something I didn’t do in my first few years of living with an autoimmune condition and it was extremely isolating but looking back it was needed in order for me to fill the empty space with my own growth and challenges. Your mental health directly affects your physical health. At the time, I was so sick that there was no way I felt I could really connect with others. It was incredibly hard to keep up friendships with people who didn’t understand my health. I found my support online first then when I felt ready to meet new people, I reached out! I feel that having a community of supportive people is what can really make a difference in my overall health. I feel full of love and energy when I connect with people living in their present. So, find your tribe. Find people who lighten up your day, who root for you, who are proud of you and who make you smile. Those are the people who are meant for you!
