As a teenager when I first started experiencing extreme fatigue and hair loss, I thought it had to be my thyroid. Those are common symptoms of hypothyroidism, right? Whenever I would go to the doctor though, my bloodwork would always come back "normal". I sure didn't feel normal though. The doctor never asked me how I was sleeping, what my diet was like, or looked to see if I was lacking essential vitamins or minerals.Â
Even when I was finally diagnosed with lupus and alopecia from a specialist, the solution was to go on medication. We all know that doctors are really good at treating symptoms. But what if we don't want to take medication and don't want just a band-aid solution?
I did go on the medication for several years, but I always knew there had to be root causes for my symptoms. There had to be something I could do instead of take medication for the rest of my life.
It turns out there is!
Healing is a multi-faceted process. It's not just looking at one system of the body and treating one thing at a time. It's important to look at the body as a whole.
Let's take the thyroid for example, there are so many factors that can affect the thyroid. Lifestyle factors such as sleep, stress, diet, chemical and toxic exposure all play a role in the functioning of the thyroid. It's also critical to run a FULL thyroid panel, which includes total T3 and T4, free T3 and T4, reverse T3, TSH, TPO, and TPG. Many doctors only run TSH, but they are missing the other markers that give us a full picture of how the thyroid is functioning.
Not only is looking at all the different factors that could be contributing to symptoms important, but also looking at different tests is important. Most doctors only run bloodwork, unless there is more cause for concern, and then they might refer to a specialist for an ultrasound, biopsy, or MRI for example. Rarely (if ever) do doctors look at your genetics, how your hormones are being broken down, your neurotransmitter markers, organic acids, methylation cycle, detox pathways, mitochondria...let alone pathogens, yeast, and bacteria.
You have to run the proper tests that will tell you all this information. Looking at all these tests and putting the puzzle pieces together is essential to finding the root causes. To learn more about the important tests to run, check out my blog post titled 6 Functional Labs That Will Get to the Root Causes.
Another aspect of taking a whole-body approach is not only looking at the physical body and lifestyle factors, but also looking at the importance of the mind. If you're stuck in a victim mentality and don't think you can heal, then chances are you may not. The body and mind need to be in a healing state in order to truly heal. If your nervous system is constantly in fight or flight, healing may not be possible. Incorporating tools such as meditation, breathwork, yoga, journaling, etc. allow for a healing state and can lead to a spiritual awakening as well. Taking a holistic body, mind, and spirit approach allows for true healing.
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