The second set of keys to get you off the loop

Beginning in February I shared the first 3 tips to get you off the chronic illness loop. That email was one of my most widely read. While on the one hand, I hope it was helpful. On the other hand, I'm distressed you all needed it. So I’ll keep these dispatches coming and let me know if you have any questions about the tips.

A while back I heard a statistic from a family doctor who postulated that over 70% of illness was stress induced. I’d bet dollars to donuts the numbers are far worse than that. My personal journey turned a massive corner when I stumbled upon a questionnaire that helped me determine my ACE score (click here to determine your score). ACE stands for Adverse Childhood Experiences. I scored a 3. According to the Centers for Disease Control:

61% of adults had at least one ACE and 16% had 4 or more types of ACEs. Females and several racial/ethnic minority groups were at greater risk for experiencing 4 or more ACEs. Many people do not realize that exposure to ACEs is associated with increased risk for health problems across the lifespan

My reaction to this was: holy sh*t. So many missed diagnoses, so many docs too busy to actually listen, and so many specialists charging out-of-reach rates. I know you know. At that moment, I finally felt like I’d hit the nail on the head regarding what had plagued me for years. Knowing my ACE score helped me make some fundamental changes to some primary relationships in my life. Beginning with boundaries and swiftly moving into my own power. It hasn’t been easy, but I’ve been richly rewarded. I hope knowing your own score empowers you to reflect and take whatever steps are necessary to save your own life – yes, I believe it’s as dire as that.

As you move forward if you decide to make changes to relationships, please know - you will not be rewarded by those who’ve benefited by you being down. Their reaction may confound and even shock you. You being disempowered serves them in one aspect or another. So, no, they won’t green-light you. You have to green light yourself. This journey can be lonely and taxing. Stepping off the karmic wheel of generational trauma isn’t for the meek. This is warrior work and I invite you to it. I’m here if you need me. Now, on to the keys…

Gratitude
In the midst of my circuitous journey toward wellness I started a gratitude practice. Then I hit a rough patch and got mad and gave it up. Then things got immeasurably worse. So I picked up the gratitude practice again and over time things began to improve again. In gratitude we’re training our brains to look for the good in our lives. The brain responds by calming it’s disease inducing stress response, calming the stress hormone output and releasing feel good hormones. These feel good hormones all the body to heal – full stop.

Progress
Keeping track of your progress is an indispensable part of this process. Keep a small calendar and keep track of what you’ve accomplished. Went for a walk? Write it down. Tapped your toe to a good song? Write it down. Called a friend? Write it down. Redirected your anxious thoughts to feel better by watching puppy and kitten videos? Write it down. Do not track any of the disease and dysfunction if possible. Your brain is already too aware of it. You need to condition your brain to acknowledge all the work you’re putting in toward healing yourself. It will take some time to get used to acknowledging your progress – it’s a slow build, keep at it.

Rewards
Understanding how the brain works is so important. Without educating yourself about the brain, we run the risk of falling backward. Know that the brain is designed to revert to it’s old neural networks making progress an inherently janky process. One way to reverse this is to treat your brain like a toddler. Toddlers learn largely through rewards. Your brain is no different. So, when you experience success, no matter how small, you must acknowledge it with a reward. A great idea is to buy little gold stars, the kind that teachers would put on your schoolwork. Put a star on the progress calendar for every week you invest in this process of well-being. Whatever you do, be generous with yourself!

Finally, I’m in the midst of launching my first course, a Psychic Development Masterclass. I had originally intended to launch a class called: The End of Chronic Illness. But the feedback for Psychic Development won out in my lead-up. If I developed The End of Chronic Illness into a class, please let me know if you’d be interested in that.

Please Note Image:
While I strongly encourage folks to take complete and total responsibility for their health I make an important distinction between curing and healing. Healing is always within our grasp, even if we are still managing an illness.

Additionally, not all illnesses are stress induced. We do not know why children and infants experience cancer or why folks of African descent are disproportionately affected by Sickle Cell Anemia. There are limits to what neuroplastic healing techniques can accomplish.