Many Ways to Heal

I suffered a significant health collapse that I am now able to label as burnout. At the time I didn’t understand what was happening. I had no energy and I was experiencing terrible headaches daily. Other symptoms followed like tremors, heat sensitivity, heart palpitations and hair loss. After a few obstacles, I found an excellent doctor who gave me the correct medical diagnosis. I had HPA Axis Dysregulation (colloquially called adrenal fatigue) and I developed Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, a lifelong autoimmune disease of the thyroid gland. All triggered by stress.

It took me a long time to assign the label of burnout and to understand how this happened to me. In trying to understand how my health collapsed so severely from stress, I needed to identify the sources of stress and to apply fixes to each area. I actively changed my life to correct a faulty trajectory that led me to illness. I worked on my relationships. I learnt to ask for help, I implemented stronger boundaries and, in some cases, I even ended relationships that were harmful. I changed my diet, my sleep patterns, I learnt to meditate and I took my medication. I connected with my passion for writing and used it to write a book. I wrote it to show people what stress can do and I offer guidance to others in the hope that they will learn from my mistakes.

I’m writing a follow-up book about the process of healing because it can be pretty daunting. I worked hard to get myself back to a state of normal functioning which took about three years. I tackled many areas of my life and I experimented with healing in a variety of forms. I realised that both the burnout and the healing are multidimensional and require solutions that are often overlooked.

Emotional healing was necessary. There were many aspects of my past that I didn’t adequately deal with and as a young child, I learnt to suppress my emotions. I spent about three years in psychotherapy in order to discuss many of these aspects and to understand how they contributed to my health collapse. I also explored healing modalities such as EFT, or tapping, to address the strong emotions. I used expressive writing to release the intensity of emotions from key experiences. I also did as many forgiveness exercises as possible to let go of the anger and resentment towards others that was not serving me.

Closely linked with emotional healing is spiritual healing. I experienced a spiritual awakening as a result of burnout. It’s not surprising as my entire life imploded and I had to revisit things as fundamental as who I was and what I was here to do. I visited a spiritual healer who introduced me to ideas that I had previously thought were weird. I experienced great healing and clarity of purpose as a result. I went for kinesiology where I released limiting beliefs and trapped emotions. My Body Stress Release practitioner continues to offer me great guidance and support on a regular basis.

Physical healing is an obvious area requiring continual focus for me. I take my supplements and medications as prescribed by my doctors. I see an endocrinologist for support of my endocrine system, supported by blood tests. I also see a homeopath who introduced me to wonderful interventions such as autosanguis therapy. My own blood was used as a basis for homeopathic drops with the aim of calming down my immune system and thereby keeping my thyroid functioning for longer. My integrated practitioner is an ongoing source of support. He showed me the foods that were causing damage as well as the viruses that were affecting my energy levels. I also visit a reflexologist regularly to keep my body in balance.

I’m so grateful to have found a specialist who believes that healing chronic illness is not about the medications as much as it is about lifestyle. I changed my diet to support my new state of health. I now get more sleep and am vigilant about going to bed on time and creating a routine that is conducive for sleep. I meditate regularly and as a result, I’m a calmer person and more patient mother. My exercise is gentler than it used to be. I’m now a devoted yogi and I walk, enjoying the neighbourhood and the beautiful weather in my city.

I changed my profession to align with my strengths and talents. I did a brain profiling exercise and learnt that I was doing work that was the opposite of my strengths and I believe it was the key factor to becoming so ill. That, coupled with a stressful industry and a toxic work environment. I am now a writer and a speaker. I work from home, I overlook my beautiful garden and my schedule is flexible. The work itself brings me great joy and I ensure that I outsource things that drain my energy levels.

It has been difficult for me to change my life in so many ways, and it didn’t happen overnight. But it has been so worth it in every way. I encourage those who are feeling stretched to take a step back and to ensure that what they are doing is in their best interests. If you have already experienced health complications from stress, please consider a variety of ways to remedy the situation. In so doing, your recovery can be more comprehensive, and the result could be a life much richer than you ever imagined.