When you feel like your body has betrayed you

I am going to bet you can relate to where I am going with this. You are doing EVERYTHING "right" and you still don't feel well, are not sleeping, or even not losing weight. 

For me, this is VERY real right now. I eat healthy, exercise, try to manage my stress, get outside when I can, work towards healthy relationships, prioritize sleep, and am STILL losing hair after 2 years.

I was at a social gathering last night, and there was another lady there with gorgeous hair! All I could do was think about why my hair was still falling out, and when(If?) I would ever feel like I had a full head of hair again. I was present physically, but mentally I was going over every little thing in my head that I could do to regrow my hair. 

For anyone with a chronic illness or autoimmune disease this probably really hits home. Why is it that it seems like "everyone else" can eat gluten, eat sugar, do cardio, live on 5 hours of sleep, drink alcohol, insert other behavior here... but all of those things make you feel like crap. One exposure to gluten for some people results in a week of migraines. One exposure to mold for some people, and they are sick for days. One serving of a high histamine food(me!), and you are overcome with fatigue.

So why do some people suffer while others seem to be able to do whatever they want and seem unaffected?

There are so many reasons.

• Genetics
• Toxic burden/load
• Gut health
• Overall lifestyle factors
• Context(what is feeling "good" anyway?)

Something else to consider is that maybe others just don't realize that gluten, sugar, alcohol, etc are impacting their health. They have just learned to accept the physical and mental symptoms that come along with the consumption of those things and view them as "normal". 

It's pretty hard to accept it when you feel like you are doing everything right, but still suffering from certain health conditions. I am an action-oriented kind of person. I investigate, create a plan, and execute it. So it's no surprise that I am still working to find the root cause(no pun intended) of my hair loss.

I have recently received the results from a GIMAP test and extensive labwork and am waiting on the results of a DUTCH(hormone) test and a DNA test. With any luck, the combination of these results will give us more clarity on my hair issues and I can start reversing this condition. Once I have all these results I will add a post with my findings. 

As long as you make an identity for yourself out of pain, you cannot be free of it.” ~Eckhart Tolle

Our bodies are always trying to keep us in homeostasis or balance. Symptoms are messengers that something is "off". 

So if you are doing everything right and feeling pretty betrayed by your body I get it. It can feel so isolating and lonely.

Here are a few things you can do as you navigate this space:

• Know you are not alone. Find a group(Facebook/online/in person, etc) with people struggling with the same issues
• Be KIND to yourself- if your body says it needs rest, then REST. Go hard or go home doesn't work here
• Detach from labels- YOU are more than your disease or illness. You HAVE an illness, but you are not your illness.
• Realize that some days, good enough is good enough. Do what you can, don't focus on what you can't
• Continue digging. There IS a reason you don't feel well and there are people who can help. Realize you don't have to do this alone

Do you feel betrayed by your body? Reach out, I would love to support you!