Not enough time

Sorry I have been absent this week. One of my Dad's favorite sayings is "There is not enough time in the day to do all the wonderful things that need to be done." As an adult, that has fondly been referred to as Dad's Curse!
This has been an amazing week. I had a  doTERRA leadership training conference that was wonderful. I learned so much. The topics presented were varied and very applicable. We discussed personal development, leadership techniques, and how to reach out and improve the life of those around us.
The more I learn, the more amazing I find doTERRA to be!!
I look forward to getting back on the blog and posting next week...have a GREAT weekend!

Stress

I realize that there are countless resources written on stress management, the effects of stress, and other topics stress related. I can't compete with that. I wouldn't want to. I just want to share my own recent observations.
When I think of stress in nature, I think of trees. When I was a teen, I used to go to the Oregon Coast with my family. I was constantly in wonder at the strange shapes that the trees would take in response to the constant pressure of the wind. In reality, we aren't much different than these trees.
Life is stressful. We all have stress. If you are someone with autoimmune disease, then chances are it is or has been a big part of your life. Stress is something that is very personal that affects us to our very core. It has the ability to shape our thoughts and results. It will either hold us back or make us stronger. I have found that a lot of our stress is our reaction to our environment. If help (or advice) is going to be effective, we have to be ready to receive, otherwise no matter how wonderful it is, it will not be helpful to us. It may even make us feel worse.
I have been having a new lesson in stress and stress management that I have been experiencing during the last month.
My husband's Grandpa was involved in a car wreck last month. He sustained a bad neck injury which landed him in the ICU and later in a rehab center. As he is a widower, he depended greatly on my husband and father in law. Other family members have sacrificed much as well, but my husband has been one of the main caregivers. This has been a strain on our family. As a nurse I have maybe too much knowledge for my own good and more faith than my husband in the abilities of the care givers at these institutions. My ideas and beliefs and my husbands ideas and beliefs have been in direct opposition. I have been trying to be supportive, but on the inside, I was feeling great frustration...or great stress. It has been very hard for both of us. It is bad enough I am having one of my autoimmune flare-ups. However, during the past week, we have started worked together to discuss what I need, what my husband needs and what our family needs. Both of us are trying to compromise to find ways to meet those needs as best as we can. During the last couple of days, I feel like a huge load has been lifted off my shoulders, even though in reality the situation has not changed. What has changed is me. I have finally been able to let the stress and the negativity go.
What have I learned so far with this ongoing experience?

• No two people would deal with this in the same way
• Both of us can be right and yet be totally wrong
• I have a great need for communication and recognition
• Talking with friends can give temporary relief but it won't fix anything
• Feelings are not rational
• Forgiveness heals
• Change in perspective can make all the difference
• I cause most of my own stress. I have to voluntarily let go. It is possible to know what I need to do and yet not be able to do it immediately
• It all takes time...be patient
• No matter how patient we are or learn how to be, the more work I find I have to do in that area.
• Stress can have it's benefits depending upon what we do with it.
• My relationship with God grows by leaps and bounds when I am 'stressed out.'
• Stress can shape us for better or worse
• I can understand what other people go through because of my own experiences.

 I have a personal knowledge that life isn't just something that happens to us. My belief and knowledge in my Higher Power (God) helps me to put the experiences of life in perspective. I see my personal stress as a way He uses to shape me into the person I need and want to be. I am becoming a woman strong and beautiful in character and spirit because He loves me and knows what I can become. It helps me to connect with other people who are also in the process of becoming strong and beautiful. These realizations are helping me in my journey with stress and the hardships of life. It sounds so simple to just let it go and enjoy the ride. It is ever so much easier to say it than to do it.
My 2 bits: take a step back, analyze your stress and start the process of letting it go...it really is a process. If you have a belief in a Higher Power, work on that relationship. If you don't, take a good look at what you believe. Start where you are. And when your current stressful situation is over, enjoy the relief and pretty soon another one will pop up.
I love this Irish Blessing:
"May you have the hindsight to know where you've been
the foresight to know where you're going
and the insight to know when you're going too far."

Controversial Topics

I have a new kind of article that I periodically want to write and post. There is a lot of controversy out there. It is very easy to get emotionally involved as it is our individual health and well-being that is put in question. Each side basically says that they are right and the others are liars. When you look a little closer, it can be very confusing, and who is right isn't easily discernible.. It takes a lot of time to study things like this out. So I would like to present the sides, what they say and list the sources I use. I will not tell you which is right, or which is wrong, but I will probably include 'my 2 bits'. I want to present a general summary of what is out there. I do not believe in following anyone or anything blindly without studying it out and making an informed decision. I realize I am heading into some risky territory here, but I feel that we as a people need information. Maybe you can take a certain subject where I left off in searching for answers. My request is that we are respectful of each other if there is a need to make comments, because with some of the topics it could get interesting.

I have always loved research. I fell in love with it when I had my speech class as a freshman in college eons ago. There was one paper/subject where I had to study both sides of an issue and present them. Also, the need to understand and study out has long been inbred into me from my experience of exploring the world as a homeschooler when I was a kid. As I continued going to college as an adult, this hunger for truth and knowledge kept me going. Recently when I was finishing the last classes in my Bachelors Degree I had to take this research to another level.
Some of the obstacles that must be overcome to find truth: Zealots and closed minded people, deceptions, research and statistics, grey areas, politics and propaganda, cover ups. These days, it is almost impossible to take anyone or anything at face value. Here is where my skills and love of research kicks in.
Yet even with this ability to research, can be nigh unto impossible to find who is telling the truth. Maybe no one is, maybe both sides are. You have to decide for yourself.

What are risk factors for autoimmunity?

My impression when was I first diagnosed, was that there was nothing I could have done, and that my illness was just rotten luck. This made me feel like a victim to my own body and like my body had failed me. These impressions were true...and not so true.
Then I started to study (and haven't stopped), and I have learned a few things.
Bottom line is experts have some ideas but they really don't know.

Some of the commonly listed 'risk factors' include:
Environmental Exposures
Infections
Young to middle aged women
Family History
Stress
Hormonal issues
Leaky Gut (this seems to be a strictly alternative health idea)
Pre-existing autoimmune disease (it is not uncommon to have multiple types)

The thing that is most commonly agreed upon is that it really is not understood what causes the development of autoimmunity. The 'risk factors' for different kinds of autoimmunity may tend towards different causes, but there is no definite cause and effect. For instance, one study found links between cigarette smoking and RA, major life stressors and RA, hair dyes and SLE among others. However, they aren't definitive--it's not a given. It's almost like there is an individual genetic weakness that is triggered by some kind of...trigger. But the key word here seems to be-individual.
The pattern I have found is that the risk factors for common chronic illness (diabetes, cancer, heart disease etc) are often in common with what possibly could trigger autoimmunity in general.
It would be nice if there were more education for the general public. If I had known that my stress level and hormonal issues could have resulted in what I have to deal with now, I would have been willing to make whatever changes I could possibly have made. In fact I had been trying different things to find what might work to make me feel better. I had been trying to find out how to be healthy for at least 10 years.
We need more specialists who can put the different complaints (puzzle pieces) together. We also need specialists who will listen to their clients when the clients say that something is wrong even when the labwork says otherwise. In my conversations with people I am learning that people with unverifiable complaints are often developing some kind of problem whether autoimmune or otherwise.
There is much work to do in the field of autoimmunity, and it is a class of disorders that is quickly growing in number.



Some articles I looked at in preparation for this blogpost:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19931651 (research abstract only)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18190880 (research abstract only)
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/449854_11 (research paper)
https://experiencelife.com/article/autoimmune-disorders-when-your-body-turns-on-you/ (I liked this article most...it has a more alternative approach to the question and is not a research article. It is more informational)

Maintaining health with essential oils during the cold season

When I got diagnosed with Hashimoto's, the health provider told me that I would be more likely than the average person to get sick and I would also get sicker. That was not something I was just going to accept.

I studied and learned about a bunch of things I could do to combat that. One of the ways I started experimenting and finding success with were essential oils. This is not to say that they alone have done anything, but they definitely play a role in supporting my state of health.

I have read that it is important to use essential oils with caution when you have autoimmune disease. I find that if I keep my nutrition fairly clean, exercise and keep my stress levels controlled, my body is stronger...just like anyone. However when I start getting that nasty feeling that tells me I am getting sick, or I am around sick people, I have a routine that helps me a ton in strengthening myself against the unseen invaders.

As you may know, I use doTERRA essential oils. They have some oil combinations which I find particularly helpful. Breathe is great for soothing the discomfort of a stuffy nose or a cough. On Guard is wonderful when you have a sore throat or when you feel like you are starting to get sick. DigestZen works wonders for helping with sinus pressure. Tri-Ease is one more that I haven't tried, but will next time I have a congested or runny nose. I heard from a friend it really helped soothe stuffy nose discomfort. 

I am not able to tell you how these oils work or what specifically they do as I am not a doctor. However, take a minute and go look it up for yourself. There is a lot of information available when looking for the science behind essential oils. I will tell you that it is the science of the oils that got me interested in them. Once I started using them, I found that the research was supported by my own experience!

While I cannot go into specifics, the results speak volumes. 

A few suggestions in using essential oils for the cold and flu season:

• Be consistent
• Use them several times daily when you feel like you are starting to get sick. They are a lot more effective the sooner you use them when you are getting sick. If you wait until you are absolutely miserable, they will help some but not to the same extent.
• Improve nutrition, stress control and other self care habits
• Use them as you feel they are needed. You can reapply as often as every half hour.
• Pay attention to your body's reaction. If you have a negative reaction, don't keep using it.
• Remember that small amounts go a long way. A drop is a serving. There is enough in one little drop to support every cell in the body. 
• Many times it is good to dilute with a small amount of a carrier oils, like olive or coconut oil. When you have sensitive skin, this will help to not irritate the skin

If you have any interest in learning about how essential oils can help support your health status, let me know and I would be happy to help you learn how to figure it out! 

Going Gluten Free

Some people think of gluten free as a fad. I say it is and it isn't. If you are wanting to go gluten free for the wrong reasons, it really won't work, especially long term. If you are going gluten free because you have found it will help your quality of life, and you are determined  to make it part of your lifestyle, then it is more likely to work.

I learned a lot about how difficult it can be by observing how the last place I worked at went about the process of feeding the kids on gluten free diets. They felt it was important to buy all the expensive processed gluten free food. Then they were upset that they spent so much money and the kids threw it away. Of course they did, it tastes horrible and has weird textures.

My personal spin on it is to not try to replace what I was familiar with with imitations. I look at it as a way to explore other cultures and try new fresh foods. I have not found a replacement for fresh hot bread. Face it and accept it that there just really is not a comparable replacement and move on. Find new things, new ways of eating and explore. 

It really does help when the whole family gets on board. If that is not possible, it is important to compromise. If it really makes a difference to them that you occasionally make their favorite cookie or bread or other gluten containing treat, then do it. In my home I have found that food is extremely emotionally charged. It almost counts as a way to show love, a love language. I have also found that over time, new tastes and foods can gradually become acceptable. 

You know, if there ever was a time to go gluten free, now is it. If you want to go with the gluten-free substitutes, they are everywhere. Foods are labeled, there are tons of resources for ideas. It doesn't have to be hard, boring or taste bad. Just be open to new things and be patient with yourself, because there is a definite learning curve.

If you are doing this for health reasons, just jump in and be patient with those who aren't ready to jump. Try new foods, flavors. Keep it fresh. There is an amazing world of food out there that we have no idea it even exists. Focus on what you can have and not what you can't. After all, you can have it, but there is a cost. Is it worth the price?

What is the deal with food?

This is really a complicated question that experts have written numerous books on. While there are some variations, in general they have the most important concepts in common. Underlying it all is the concept that people with autoimmune issues have (at the very least) sensitivities to food. There is more to autoimmune, but that is an important place to start. If you eat the wrong foods, you will have a reaction.
So what does a person do?
If we all had time, money and energy to burn, it would be a piece of cake We could hire an expert to tell us what to do, prepare and cook our meals so we didn't even have to think about it. However, chances are that there is a deficit of at least one of those 3 things which might have contributed to how we got in this position. Besides...where is the fun and learning in having it figured out and done for us?
I have done a lot of experimenting. Some things work for me and some things don't. I find that I have lots of ups and downs when it comes to my autoimmune situation. From what I have heard, that is not uncommon.
Right now I am looking into Elimination Diets specifically designed for autoimmune conditions. The idea is that the body, specifically the digestive system (commonly referred to as the Gut) needs a chance to heal. It also focuses on flooding the body with quality, essential nutrients. This helps greatly with healing.
Elimination diets remove certain types of food that tend to cause inflammation (physical stress) in people that have autoimmune. Some of these foods can be re-introduced after a period of time with no problem. Others when re-introduced you notice that you can't handle. It is very personal.
The elimination period lasts commonly from 30-60 days. However, the goal is to prepare you to make permanent lifestyle changes. With autoimmune, effective lifestyle changes need to be permanent.
Common foods that are eliminated will include gluten containing products, dairy, processed foods, certain sweeteners and certain kinds of vegetables. Some plans eliminate more things, others less.
Right now I am studying Sarah Ballantyne's approach. She has 2 excellent books and a great website, both of which I have included on this blog.
I am at a point where I need to bring myself back and reset my eating approach! Anyone with me?