This is a very vulnerable post, but here it goes....since November 2022, I have been facing some significant health issues which have led to me being in terrible pain and having great difficulty walking. To say this has been a huge wake up call to not have my mobility is an understatement. I am currently being triaged for an urgent hip replacement for the next available hospital somewhere in Toronto hopefully within the next 2-3 weeks. I'm currently bone on bone hence the pain and urgency.
As I reflect on my health, I realize that the last 5+ years have been some of the most stressful in my life. My abusive marriage of nearly 25 years ended, I moved my two boys out of our family home into temporary accommodations (4 years later still in the same spot), I lost my career of nearly 30 years on the same day my ex forced the sale of the family home, I survived a very nasty and financially destructive legal separation, I lost an extensive number of acquaintances, and I reinvented myself learning new skills while running a network marketing business as I navigated the pandemic and the residual effects we face as a society.
Why do I share this? For sympathy? No!! Had I wanted that I would have shared throughout the pain and anguish. I share now in the hopes that I can help someone else from travelling down the same path.
Some of the things I've learned as I heal myself is that at the root of all disease is EMOTIONS!!! It's one of the reasons I became certified as an Emotional Release Coach. Emotions are simply energy in the body (E)motion which gets stuck and coagulates allowing disease to set in.
When we look to the body for information, it tells us a lot about our emotions which are often subconscious, but they're controlling about 95% of what we do on a daily basis, and we often don't even know what that is.
In my particular case, I have severe osteoarthritis in my left hip. I also have complications with an irregular-shaped and abnormally large bursa from my mid-thigh into my groin and back towards my buttock. There are many doctors, therapists, health and healing practitioners, and books written about emotions and illness such as The Body Keeps the Score, Feelings Buried Alive Never Die, Your Body Speaks Your Mind, to name a few.
When we look to the side of the body affected, the left side represents the feminine side, and the hips represent momentum in moving forward, feeling safe and supported, hope in the future, despair, indecisive, stuck, traumatized...all things I've been dealing with. I didn't realize the significance of my emotional health and its direct impact on physical health. I always understood that stress wasn't good, but I hadn't understood emotions as I now do.
I believe I was borne from my mother's anxious womb and she from her mother's, so this isn't all necessarily mine, but what I've also come to learn is that I can be the generation to change it and stop it for the next. One of my new interests is using essential oils for generational emotional mapping and working to reprogram the subconscious. I recently read about a mother who healed her addiction to food and how that helped her children unbeknownst to them what was happening....they too suffered with their own addictions. Having grown up in a family with an alcoholic parent and seeing the effects of addiction in my own family, this is fascinating to me and I can't wait to learn and share more as I go.
I've suffered in a lot of silence. I stayed quiet to protect others while not realizing what I was doing to myself, nor the example I was setting for my boys, and the facade I let show was so good that others are reluctant to believe things weren't as they appeared. I plan to share more of my journey and from an authentic space....warning as there are sure to be tears, but those I embrace now as a sign of my growth and freedom. I have many people say to me "You're lucky you got out."....I haven't always felt that, but I've always known I couldn't continue as I was. When I hear that statement, I feel sad because I know many others do feel trapped. I get it! I felt that for a very long time. Especially if your life is financially comfortable, that presents its own set of fears and challenges...throw in narcissism and you've got the perfect storm! I don't plan to share the nitty gritty....no one needs that, but what I do plan to share is my honesty and my perspective in my own healing journey.
As I look at the formative years of my life, I grew up in a dysfunctional home. My parents often fought about money and many of those fights were during the night and many times we packed our clothes and left for our grandparents. My parents own marriage broke down when I was 13 and my brother and I had to choose between living with our mom or dad...our two older sisters had already moved away from home at that time.
When I think back to the stress and shame I felt having grown up in a small town where most everyone knew your name...we were one of the first "local" families to end in divorce. I realize I've carried shame for a long time, and it continued to the shame of my own marriage breakdown. What I find the most fascinating as I reflect back is how I thought I was "consciously" choosing a partner who would be a "good" father filling in the spots I missed from my childhood so my kids wouldn't experience the same...all while my subconscious brain was choosing the partner my soul needed to learn and heal from.
On top of the stressful past few years, I've also been the most sedentary because of covid. I sit in front of a computer screen for many hours every day and that hasn't helped my health either. I am making that a priority that I create an ergonomic work space for myself as well as standing and walking more (more on walking to come). I've spent the last many weeks exercising daily on the t-zone vibration (more on vibration to come) which the doctor has advised to keep at. The muscle tone in my leg had atrophied quickly, and vibration has been quick to restore it, and it provides such comfort and relief especially at the end of the day when I sit on it and use the massage setting....this came into my world at the absolute best time.
As I sat with the sports medicine doctor at Mount Sinai and looked over my xrays, CT scan and ultrasounds, it's obvious that I've had a significant reduction in cartilage since the fall which was about 1/3 remaining to now being bone on bone. As I continue to feel stuck in my surroundings and feeling the need to change so many things to help my emotions and that of my physical health, I've come to realize that I need to reduce cortisol (the stress hormone) in my body. My right hip is already showing signs of degeneration and according to
this doctor there is no way to build up cartilage as of yet, so I need to do everything I can to prevent a further decline and considering how my left deteriorated quickly, I'm starting now to make changes.
So many of us are facing stressful and challenging times. I plan to start educating about using essential oils to help manage our cortisol levels. I hope if you're experiencing any sort of stress in your life that you'll join me in learning more about using therapeutic oils to support our emotional and physical health. The classes will be taught every two weeks at a nominal cost. If you are new to oils and enrol or reactivate with a kit, you're eligible for my friends and family discount of 25% off retail pricing to enjoy on all of your purchases as well as a complimentary blend for stress relief. I ask for a nominal contribution because when we have 'skin in the game' we value it more and we're more likely to commit to it...I don't want to do a disservice to you in undervaluing the importance of managing your stress. YOU ARE WORTH IT!!!
Cortisol affects so many things including sleep, metabolism, immune response, libido, weight gain, always feeling tired, sugar cravings, puffy face, aches and pains to name a few. Cortisol is our built in alarm system. Our body is focused on saving us, so all other hormones shut down because our body goes into fight or flight to protect us. The busier we are and the more we travel (disrupt sleep), the worse it is, and it's not something we want to ignore. I used to use stress to my advantage as it would give me the adrenalin I needed to do more...the more was just to busy myself and avoid dealing with my emotions. I truly believe it's been a contributing factor to my bone health.
Because our lives are so busy and filled with worries and concerns, many of us have elevated cortisol levels, so my hope is that the information and knowledge I share can help many others and prevent the deterioration of our physical health.
I've spent the past 8 weeks working with a colleague who has helped me in using essential oils to help regulate my nervous system and get my body healthier. In mid-April, I tested positive for a digestive parasite, underlying bacterial infection, underlying inflammation, underlying fungal infection, overloaded liver, poor good gut bacteria, poor digestive enzymes, low omega 3/9 fatty acid, poor vitamin/mineral absorption, low estrogen, adrenal fatigue, poor neurotransmission, high acidic (lower digestion), poor cell health, low B9, low calcium, low magnesium, and poor bone health...as you can imagine, I was feeling very unwell!
With the use of doterra's supplements as well as a few additional add-ins (I will share more about what I used/why/and when). I was retested mid-June and the only remaining issue is inflammation directly related to my hip area...this is a huge win and I know that I am well set up to face this surgery and recovery because I've fixed the terrain which will allow me to heal well and quickly. What I've learned most about the significance of essential oils, doterra's supplements, and plant medicine in general is that it helps regulate the autonomic nervous system and when we can get that balanced (homeostasis) our bodies are miraculous at healing itself.
If you are not feeling well nor getting results from the current protocols you do now, I highly suggest having a consult with my colleague (Michelle) and together we will get you feeling well. She has helped so many who suffer with lyme disease and many different auto immune diseases...there is help, it's affordable and it makes a difference. If this speaks to you, please reach out and let's get you on the right path to wellness.