The first myth I believed was that I will have to give up all the things I enjoy forever. This was not true on so many levels! While I had to give some things up, like yoga and hiking, it was temporary, and I came back stronger than ever! I have a thriving daily yoga practice now and I’m always up for a nature hike, whereas before I struggled with consistency and constant fatigue. Not to mention my newfound passion for genuine wellness and life.
IT WILL BE HARD FOREVER
The first myth I believed was that I will have to give up all the things I enjoy forever. This was not true on so many levels! While I had to give some stuff up, like yoga and hiking, it was temporary, and I came back stronger than ever! I have a thriving daily yoga practice now and I’m always up for a nature hike, whereas before I struggled with consistency and constant fatigue. Not to mention my new found passion for true and genuine wellness and life in general.
The second myth believed was that I have to forget all the food I love and have a restrictive diet, yet again, forever. Nope! It’s not all about what you take away, it’s also about what you add in the things you should eat but are not. I am fitter than I ever was, and I eat, many times a day, beautiful and rich meals, and they don’t feel restrictive. While I had to give up gluten, soy and a few other things forever, I really don’t miss them, not in the least bit, since I realized how poor they made me feel, it was easy to give up permanently, and I honestly don’t crave them. There is so much information out there that promises to reverse autoimmune illness if you go on super restrictive diets that are completely impossible to keep in the long term, or even short term. Once I realized that diet alone isn’t going to “reverse” my illness or cure me, but can seriously help me thrive, even while I still have the illness, it was a major game changer.
FATIGUE IS FOREVER
Another myth I also believed is that I will always feel fatigued. I know many can relate to this one, and it’s a big one with chronic illness, but there is a way out. The more I tried to DO things, the more I got tired, and harder it got to take care of myself (and others)! It’s a vicious circle. However, if you work with it and not against it, give yourself permission to feel tired you will rest and recuperate, nourish yourself with food and acceptance, you will feel better and stronger in the end. Even if it takes weeks, a month or even an entire year, but you will come out the other end, and be in control of your fatigue, not the other way around. Let that guilt about fatigue go, it only adds to it!
REMISSION IMPOSSIBLE
The one belief that had me paralyzed was that remission is a unicorn, and not possible. This is just not true! If you think remission only counts if you are completely off your meds, able to run a marathon every day and work a full day at the office, you will never reach it, because that’s a lot to ask even if you don’t have chronic illness. The wellness industry can be very misleading in these promises of unbelievable results, they are unbelievable for a reason. Remission looks different for every person, some go into a complete, zero meds, remission for years and are thriving, although rare, it is possible and happens, but more often than not it looks very different, some people lower medications significantly and have a very active life with minimum flares, like me, which is still pretty awesome, especially considering that I once could not walk two steps on my own or simply stand up without help, and had multiple organ inflammation. For some it’s not there yet, but they are figuring it all out and have small wins along the way. Remission is a journey, just like health, you work on it; it is not a destination.
If you connect with any of these, let me know in the comment section. Are there any myths you believed after your diagnosis that you have disproven yourself? What worked for you? What did not?
Stay nourished!
Sanja
In Fear of food