Today’s post is not my typical clean your pantry, get real food post. It’s about the OTHER things you need to overcome health issues in your life. I know these things because I myself, as well as my son, have been through these feelings and things of need. I write this today from the heart. Truly. From a mom that had an infant child with a rare autoinflammatory disorder (which although more common today – nearly 11 years ago – not so much) I absolutely, hands down, know what it is like to HAVE NO HOPE and to feel like there is NOTHING to believe in.
Let’s start with what we need when we struggle with our health, or our child’s condition(s):
1- Trust
This is the first lacking thing that I notice about all the parents that I meet. I do not believe it has anything to do with me but the lack of trust because nobody has LISTENED to them so far. NOBODY has talked to them about a SOLUTION or way to address the ROOT cause of their child’s (or their own) condition. They had to go back OVER AND OVER again for answers only to be treated poorly in most cases, or just to have heads shaken at them. Then they return home with no more information than before and the same cycle of h*ll that existed before they sought help. It will just cycle OVER AND OVER AGAIN. They feel like there is NO WAY OUT. Trust is hard to give when you tried to trust but was given NO HOPE, or reason to trust.
I feel the first step in trust for myself with families is being UPFRONT and HONEST with them about what they will embark on with me. Nutritional therapy is NOT easy. It’s a major life transition for every family I work with. The reason they are with me is that the foods they have been eating in the house have been causing health problems for their child (or themselves). So in knowing that – expect that EVERYTHING will be changed (for the most part). This is a HUGE undertaking. Not only do they need to make this change, but it is done while managing their condition, work, and just general life. Often in the first 3-6 months the child/themselves is still suffering from the MAJORITY of the health issues with only some relief with immediately changeable things from food/supplements. It takes TIME for the body to respond, clean itself up and react better and in a healthy way. It doesn’t happen fast, which brings us to…
2- PATIENCE
You may have developed trust, but patience is the next thing to pop up. When you are in the transition phase to a new healthy lifestyle with food, it’s easy to get impatient. Results (which aren’t seen at this point) are what you want in order to have patience and feel better about what you just got yourself into – however – you don’t have the results yet so you lose your patience with the process.
Lack of patience in the first few months is COMPLETELY normal. This is a huge life transition for everyone in the house. It’s completely normal to be tired, wishing you had another life, wishing this wasn’t your family or child, or yourself. Struggling to keep your head above water while making at-home meals, to help FIX YOUR CHILD’S condition, isn’t easy. It’s exhausting – until you get a routine in place.
Give yourself and your family grace. Nobody said this was going to be easy, nobody said it would be smooth sailing, and nobody said it would be a quick fix. If it was your child wouldn’t be in the condition they are in and someone would have easily sent you on your way with a fix the first time you experienced an episode. The body takes time to change. The amazing thing is that little ones change so amazingly fast. So time is actually ON YOUR SIDE in this case.
3- BELIEF
The ONLY way to get through trust and patience is with BELIEF. If you want to give up – you are losing that belief that your child’s life will ever be better or different. We don’t want that do we? Is it normal to falter and to think that nothing will change and it’s not worth it – sure of course – but giving up on ANYTHING in life never gets you to where you wanted to go or be. Does it?
I am here as a practitioner to encourage trust, patience and to make you a forever BELIEVER in nutrition. HOWEVER, I need you to trust me in the fact that I TOTALLY KNOW what this feels like as I did this myself with my family, and I have helped so many families make this change as well. I need you to be PATIENT that the path I am leading you on leads to the answer you want, and healthy life after. It won’t be long (and think in terms of the span of your child’s WHOLE LIFE) until you reach the goal you have in mind. Less than a year until this is all done. I can safely tell you that there were NO practitioners to help me – I had to learn this all on my own and spend thousands of dollars to train MORE and get MORE degrees to fix it myself. I did this all while transitioning my family on the same path you are, and dealing with a child that cycled every 17 days. It took me EIGHT YEARS – that is right – EIGHT YEARS to solve this mystery on my own. What I wouldn’t have given for a practitioner to tell me what to do, help me do it, and get it done in under a year.
I get you there in less than 9 months. YOU CAN DO THIS for just a few more months. And believe me, once you pass the initial first few weeks you are already on your way – it only gets EASIER once you establish a new routine. You need to BELIEVE this is your path, this is your answer, and it’s right around the corner. And that just takes the trust and patience I mentioned above.
Life feels unfair, dark, filled with tears (your own and your child’s), but NEVER stop seeking the path until you arrive at that destination. Even remember then, it takes work to stay there. There is NO going back because where you came from is what caused the problem to begin with. Say goodbye to that dark despair, and say hello to light and health (for your WHOLE family).
You can do this – that is why I am here to help you get there.
