When you have a chronic illness, you are dealing with debilitating symptoms and are probably struggling to do your job.
On top of that, you need to navigate how to actually get better, and you’ve likely collected more than one core problem, like a leaky gut and gut infections, mold toxicity or an autoimmune disease.
I am a big believer that you are your own most important healer. You may meet several helpful practitioners and educators along the way, but the path you take is built on all your decisions.
1. Become Your Own Expert
As I went through my own journey with toxic mold, I quickly learned that no one practitioner had all the information, especially once you have a complex, chronic illness.
While I was initially disappointed about this, I later learned to embrace it. Each practitioner I tried gave me a piece of the puzzle. If they were continuing to help me, I stayed. If not, I let it go.
I was already a health practitioner when I got sick with mold, but suddenly I had so much more to learn! I was also running a clinic and had a young child; I couldn’t just drop everything to learn about mold and detox. So I learned at a pace I could handle. If I learned something that really sparked my interest (see more on this below), I dug in deeper and possibly tried it.
Luckily learning is very affordable these days, with free blogs and podcasts, summits and YouTube videos. You can also listen to full-length books on Audible. Find the experts and subjects you resonate with and pursue them.
I recently had a client who has lived through breast cancer and is now making a decision regarding a hysterectomy. With her health history, there are pros and cons on each side. Right now she is gathering information--from me and the lab tests we ran together and from the rest of her team so that she can make an informed decision she feels good about. Knowledge is power!
2. Make Good Decisions for Your Health
When you are really sick, you are likely in a chronic state of fight-or-flight (sympathetic dominance) as your body experiences internal threats.
Unfortunately this is not the best state for healing, nor is it the best state for making decisions.
So when you do need to make decisions regarding your health, do so from the most grounded place possible.
Making decisions from a place of worry, fear or lack could get you to over-invest in a costly, poor decision.
You make decisions all day long for your health: do you take a break to grab a fresh glass of water? Rest when you are tired? Order a side salad instead of fries?
You also make big health decisions--should you buy a sauna? Try IV therapy? Travel to New York to see a specialist? Move out of a moldy house?
Each time you make a health decision, tune into sensations in your body. If it feels expansive and nurturing in your body, it’s a good decision!
If you feel jumbled, tight or sacred, it’s not the right decision at this time. You may need more time to find your best choice.
For more information on the importance of getting into the parasympathetic state of healing and groundedness, see my interview with Jodi Cohen.
3. Let Your Habits Heal You
As I mentioned in section one, no single practitioner can heal you. They can’t take care of you 24/7; that’s your job!
You are the one living in your own body, and you are responsible for it. With patience and curiosity, you can learn what your body prefers to eat, when it prefers to sleep, and what gives you energy or lowers it.
As you know, I am a big proponent of DIY detox. That’s because DIY detox was the single most effective part of my healing.
It’s tempting, I know, to get excited about the ozone therapy or heavy metal chelation and think, “If I do this thing, I think I’ll finally be better!” And these therapies may indeed help a lot, but here’s why DIY detox is needed.
When you have been sick a long time, your cells and body systems are compromised, and restoring them is a slow rebuilding process. You cannot instantly regenerate a damaged liver or create all new, healthy cells.
When you break a leg, you know the healing will take time. When you get pregnant, you know that baby isn’t coming out for 40 weeks!
And healing chronic illness takes time too, but can happen with the steady implementation of a nutritious diet, rest, good relationships and detox habits. I offer a great bundle here to learn some all-day detox routines.
Building a daily routine of things like dry brushing, green drinks and salads, sauna usage, and meditation are the habits your body needs to fully recover. And it’s a lot cheaper than fancy treatments at the clinic!
4. Invest in Quality
In health, like in life, it’s often quality over quantity. You will need to buy some high-quality items in your journey. As we learned in section two, timing is important for good decision making.
When I was displaced and living elsewhere due to toxic mold in my home, I did not buy a sauna or spend a lot of money on testing. We were watching our budget and had no permanent place to live. Instead, I used a sauna room within a small gym that was part of my parents’ neighborhood HOA benefits. It wasn’t fancy, but it helped me a lot and made me a true believer in sauna.
A couple of years later, once I was established in a mold-free home and my finances were better, then I bought a sauna. When I was ready, I bought a lovely Sunlighten Solo System that is an investment I can use forever. I instruct my clients the same way--do what is right for you right now in your life and budget.
I bought my sauna new, but I bought a used oxygen chamber. This is another way you can save. Some of my clients buy a sauna blanket because that’s all their space or budget allows for now.
When it comes to food, look at buying fresh, whole foods and buy organic and grass-fed/wild as much as your budget allows. You can sometimes save by using a CSA (community-supported agriculture) subscription and then you are supporting the local economy as well.
For household items, such cleaning products, luckily there are several clean brands now that are now affordable. Make-up lasts a long time, so I like to buy from my trusted, clean brand, Beautycounter.
For things like water filtration, you can refill jugs at the supermarket.
People often ask me if it’s safe to buy used items after being exposed to mold and I generally say yes. Your own collection of moldy items in your own home will make you much more sensitive than items collected here and there at Goodwill or on Craigslist.
BUT if it smells off right away, don’t buy it. And always wash or wipe down items. (If you are still quite reactive to mold and multiple chemicals, even going into a Goodwill may not suit you for a while though.)
I am also a big fan of used buying hardwood furniture or other used items because they are less likely to off gas compared to brand-new pressed wood items like those sold at Ikea.
When it comes to supplements, definitely avoid buying from big box stores on things like fish oil or multivitamins. They tend to use the cheapest ingredients that don’t absorb well or are not tested for purity. We offer frequent coupon codes and bulk and subscription discounts as well as a free-shipping threshold at our shop, FunctionalDetoxProducts.com.
Know that some supplements are cheaper by nature and/or can be replaced with food. One example is vitamin C. Vitamin C can be very effective for liver support and for your adrenal health. (1, 2, 3) It’s affordable, can be enhanced for absorption, and be had from foods too like oranges and peppers.
This affordability combined with efficacy is why I included vitamin C, and an enhancing bioflavonoid, quercetin, in our upcoming electrolyte blend!
5. Invest in Your Community
When you are not feeling well everyday, you may be depressed and you may not want to share your experience with others.
Know that you are not at all alone in having chronic illness! And please do acknowledge that it’s hard and get support.
There are many active Facebook support groups.
You can use your health insurance or Employee Benefits program to get counseling, often at no out-of-pocket cost. You can join a meditation or prayer group locally.
And you can also focus on what you have rather than what you have not. If you can only take walks now to exercise, invite a friend on a short hike. Host a tea party for your kids in the backyard. Cook a favorite meal with your partner.
The reason we want to feel well is to live life to the fullest. Even in the midst of illness, stay aware of your goals and what you want to enjoy and experience now.
Ready to Practice More Self-Care?
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Bridgit Danner, LAc, FDNP, is trained in functional health coaching and has worked with thousands of women over her career since 2004. She is the founder of Women’s Wellness Collaborative llc and HormoneDetoxShop.com.
Check out her easy 5-Day DIY Detox Guide here!
I was introduced to CoQ10 as an supplement about 4 years ago. At the time, I was in the middle of detoxing from mold, and I had already spent a lot of money on trying to heal. I was skeptical to try yet another thing, but the truth was that I was only about 50% better, which is not enough at all. So I tried it…