Once upon a time, Sarah Wilson published a blog post called: Could female self-hatred be the real cause of autoimmune disease?.
If you look at the comments, it’s been a polarizing piece. Some of Sarah’s readers resonate with what she wrote while others suggest she’s “blaming” the person with the illness. Or that she’s talking a load of rubbish.
Only, she isn’t. Bear with me.
I’ve been following Sarah’s blog since I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s in 2011, the same condition Sarah is on her own journey with. I’ve always been impressed with her sharing on the topic, including her many posts on how to go about healing autoimmune (AI) disease.
Sarah’s work was part of my initial inspiration to look at my diagnosis from a different perspective.
At the time, I made a decision that I wasn’t going to be beaten by Hashi’s. I spent a considerable amount of time and money researching the best ways to help myself, and the best treatments and healing work I needed to do it.
I now like to say I HAD (not have) Hashimoto’s
I know, it’s considered to be a life-long illness. But it doesn’t have to be.
It took two years of consistent effort and vigilant attention, but with the help of some talented professionals, I was able to reverse my Hashimoto’s condition.
Note: Early diagnosis of AI makes it easier to heal, and as such healing progress is different for everyone.
I still remember the day I got blood test results that showed all indicators were in the “normal” range. No sign of thyroid antibodies. No TSH, T3, T4 or Reverse T3 imbalances.
It was a F#CKYEAH!! kinda day and that memory still brings a tear to my eyes.
How did I heal my Hashimoto’s exactly?
Okay, that’s probably another blog post if I were to give you a blow-by-blow.
But in summary I tried EVERYTHING. I called it my “throwing spaghetti against a wall” approach. Basically keep throwing spaghetti (treatments) at myself until something sticks (works).
Kinesiology and Yoga were already in my life, thank goodness. But my Kinesiologist at the time compassionately me referred to second Kinesiologist, someone who’d tangled with Hashimoto’s herself. Together we worked specifically on healing my thyroid. More on that further into this piece.
I also found a jolly good Canadian-trained Naturopathic Doctor who supported me with various detox programs and supplement regimes.
Then there was the acupuncture, the massages, and of course, dietary changes (gluten, caffeine, dairy and sugar all got the boot).
I was also one of the original I Quit Sugar participants, and I can highly recommend the program.
Of course, I didn’t make all these changes at the same time. I put it together like a jigsaw – one or two pieces, then some more.
Actually, I used to tell people I had two full-time jobs and one of those was looking after myself to the best of my ability… it’s a lesson I’ve learned, and a job I’ll keep for the rest of my life.
We only get one body, and unfortunately most of us don’t catch on til later in life just how important our physical and mental wellbeing are.
By far the most important work I did was via Kinesiology
And I promise, I’m not just saying that because I’m a Kinesiologist myself these days!
But it’s true. And that’s not discounting all of the other changes I made, because they were all super-important.
Now, I don’t know what you know about Kinesiology, but it’s a form of healing that works with our meridian energy system.
An important aspect of what Kinesiology does is to detect and clear trapped thoughts, feelings and emotions that’ve become embedded in the body, mind and/or energy system.
One of my favourite analogies is: you know how when you get a kink in your vacuum cleaner hose, it stops being as efficient and effective? Well, we get kinks like this in our energy body, too. And more often than not, attached to that blockage are negative thoughts, emotions or feelings. It’s kind of like a glitch in the matrix that the body/mind forgets how to clear it on its own.
I’ve got a longer, more descriptive analogy on how Kinesiology works, too.
So yeah, those negative experiences/feelings? Left unchecked, they become a part of our internal programming.
However, there’s nothing more toxic to the body than holding onto (consciously or subconsciously) negative thoughts/feelings/experiences etc!
Here’s a very interesting anecdote from my sessions: I was turning up primarily to heal my Hashimoto’s. And yet, each and every session for the longest time, led straight to dealing with unresolved trauma (there’d been a fair bit of that in my life).
Hint: many people with AI have a history of chronic stress, trauma or even ancestral trauma, which predisposes them to anxiety, depression and AI. Personally I’m the 3rd generation in my family to experience PTSD.
Side note: The thyroid is associated with the throat centre, or Vishudda chakra. Which is all about speaking your truth and being heard. The following metaphysical message is from Evette Rose’s book “Metaphysical Anatomy Vol. 2”, about AI disease:
There are times you feel challenged to judge for yourself: “Who is my friend and who is my enemy?” You don’t trust your own judgement or those around you whom you rely on. You may be stuck in an unconscious state of fight or flight. You seem to feel under attack (either verbally or physically) by others…
Trauma is more common than people think
You don’t have to have been in the midst of a war zone, terrorist attack or natural disaster to experience trauma.
Trauma can in fact, be caused by every day experiences and leads to being stuck in the aforementioned constant state of fight or flight.
Which can exhaust your adrenals, shut down your digestive system and lead to constant vigilance. All of which is completely exhausting.
As I mentioned, some people are more pre-disposed to develop trauma-related issues than others, due to inter-generational trauma.
So… you might be carrying stress in your body that you didn’t even experience first-hand! It could be connected to the time your grandfather spent fighting in WWI or II, for example.
Important: Some folks aren’t aware they’re carrying trauma in their body, because dissociation is such a powerful survival tactic. This was my story. It took a second incident in my early 30’s to crack open the window to the trauma I sustained growing up. Which then allowed true healing to begin.
Here’s what you’ve gotta know about trauma
- It’s an extremely powerful and potent toxin.
- It doesn’t matter what triggered it, what matters is how it’s impacted you
- Trauma is like an invisible, open wound. It needs treatment.
- Without effective treatment, trauma starts to infect and shut down your body.
But hold on, not all AI/illness is triggered via trauma!
That’s correct! No single cause of any condition can be applied to all people. For example, AI can also be triggered via an allergen response to something in the environment, or ingested allergens or toxins.
But just like it’s true to say that more women than men are diagnosed with AI, more often than not there’s a root cause of trauma for many people living with AI. And the same for many other hard-core health issues, too.
But without a doubt, our internal emotional health has a LOT to do with how well we handle all of that.
And in a broader sense, this is what Sarah is talking about in her article…
Part II: A companion/commentary piece to Sarah’s post
Much love,
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Ambha Amanda Roberts is a Kinesiologist, Intuitive Healer, educator and facilitator based on the Sunshine Coast, Australia. She offers Kinesiology sessions both in-person and via Skype/Zoom all over the world. Ambha Amanda is the co-creator of Adventures of Staria, which includes a series of Staria cards, and an upcoming book for children (including inner children). |
