Heal vs. Ideal
This post shares how we have to go through the "heal" to get to the "ideal." If we feel like "heal" is where we are going to be forever and we don't like it, we bust through it and don't spend enough time there in order to allow our tissues, immune systems, and selves time to truly heal in the way that’s needed. I hope this concept of "heal vs. ideal" will help put the health choices we make into perspective.
Heal vs. Ideal
When we're dealing with health issues we might find ourselves doing things like elimination diets, avoiding alcohol, going to bed early, etc.
We start to make these changes and then might begin to think, "Oh man this sucks! If I have to live like this forever it's not worth it!" This may then lead us to abandon all of the practices we were doing simply because we don't want to live a life of "restriction" forever.
And then we find ourselves back at square one with all of our symptoms still there, trying to find a more sustainable way to be healthy.
Have you ever felt this before? It can be so frustrating! And a cycle I see many of my clients get stuck in.
I worked with a client who had Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) who was finding that intense exercise was causing her to flare-up and have more pain. She knew she had to reduce exercise, but it felt really challenging because being active and outdoors was a big part of her identity.
Instead of taking a break from strenuous exercise, she kept pushing through her pain because she wanted to keep living her life which is something we can all relate to. What she was noticing was her pain was getting worse and worse.
In our work together we spoke about this concept of "heal vs. ideal" to help put the health choices we make into perspective.
For my client, the "ideal" place of where she wanted to be and how she wanted to live was being able to hike and do more strenuous outdoor activities. This "ideal" place is really about where we want to be which might include eating many diverse foods, being able to have a cocktail when you feel like it, exercising how you want to, etc.
What I want to highlight is that we have to go through the "heal" to get to the "ideal." If we feel like "heal" is where we are going to be forever and we don't like it, we bust through it and don't spend enough time there in order to allow our tissues, immune systems, and selves time to truly heal in the way they need.
When I work with clients in 1:1 coaching we move through the "heal" place effectively and with guidance so you can move more quickly towards the ideal - where you ultimately want to be.
To learn more about this concept watch the video below or tune into the latest episode of The Live Well Podcast!
If you are looking for support to break the cycle of feeling “on or off the wagon” and finally find more ease and sustainability in your life, I can help! I always offer free 20-minute discovery calls to see if we’re a good fit for coaching and how I can help you identify and break through the blocks standing in your way towards vibrant health. Click here to schedule your complimentary call today!
Click here to listen in iTunes
Click here to listen in Stitcher
If we haven't met before, I'm Christina Tidwell and I'm so excited that you're here! I am a RN & Functional Nutrition Practitioner that helps those with autoimmune disease, hormone imbalance and gut issues heal without overwhelm so you can feel better in your body in a way that honors your unique needs and feels sustainable for the rest of your life.
If you suffer from:
Fatigue and energy crashes
Brain fog
Poor digestion
Painful periods and PMS
Symptoms of autoimmunity
Stress and overwhelm
...and aren't getting the support you need, I’m here to help guide you! My job is to clear the overwhelm, help you put the pieces of the puzzle together and co-create a sustainable path forward to help you reach your goals and feel better in your amazing body. When we work together you can’t fail.
In my health & nutrition coaching programs I support you in the quest to get back into balance by listening to your story, understanding your needs, getting to the roots of imbalance in the body and co-creating a sustainable path to healing together. These sessions weave together functional nutrition and science, lived experience, mindset shifts, and intuitive guidance for a unique and full-spectrum approach to nutrition counseling and holistic health.
I always offer free 20-minute discovery sessions to get clear on your major health concerns and identify what’s standing in your way. Click the button below to set up your free consultation and we can create a plan of action specifically for you.
Live Well Podcast | Ep #69 The Secret Language of Healthcare with Robin Shapiro
Robin Shapiro is nationally recognized as a pioneer in the Health Advocacy Movement. After two decades in the health communications and biotechnology fields, she founded several companies designed to elevate the voice and experience of patients. She applied her unique communications experience to innovate in the area independent health advocacy. Based on these businesses, she has dedicated the rest of her career to helping patients find their voice to improve their care. Join us as we speak about how to navigate the healthcare system and get the care you deserve!
I have Robin Shapiro co-founder of the Washington State Health Advocacy Association (WASHAA) on The Live Well Podcast to speak about how to get the care you deserve when managing chronic illness.
Robin Shapiro is nationally recognized as a pioneer in the Health Advocacy Movement and an absolute wealth of knowledge and experience. After two decades in the health communications and biotechnology fields, Robin founded several companies designed to elevate the voice and experience of patients. She also has a new book out, The Secret Language of Health Care: How to Ask for the Care You Deserve. Join us as we speak about how to successfully navigate the healthcare system and get the most out of your care!
LISTEN BELOW (AND DON'T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE SO YOU'LL NEVER MISS OUT!)
Click here to listen in iTunes
Click here to listen in Stitcher
SHOW NOTE:
0:00 Intro
6:08 Robin talks about The Washington State Health Advocacy Association (WSHAA) that supports those with chronic illness.
8:07 “There are certain things that smart people do to make the most of their limited time with their doctor”
9:24 Free Download: Appointment Checklist to prepare for your doctor’s appointment
12:10 Robin speaks about what to do if you don’t feel like you’re getting the support you need from your doctor:
Take someone with you (family member, friend or health advocate)
Choose another doctor who supports you better
“Ask your doctor to listen deeply to you rather than writing notes into their computer.”
20:30 Robin explains how taking charge of her own care transformed her condition
“I was in so much pain, I couldn’t walk and I said to my rheumatologist, ‘What about diet?’ It reduced my pain by 80% in a very short space of time,”
21:24 Consider a care team:
“Not one person is going to give you everything you need to be a healthy person.”
“A specialist is a partialist, they are experts looking at one piece of the picture.”
24:50 Journaling your thoughts is therapeutic and is medically supported by recent studies: Opening Up by Writing it Down by James W. Pennebaker
29:34 Robin discusses her book The Secret Language of Health Care: How to Ask for the Care You Deserve by Robin Shapiro
37:26 Christina explains her main goal of the work she does now: “I worked in the hospital for long enough and I want to make sure people do not have to be there unless they absolutely have to.”
40:40 How to contact Robin - www.robin-shapiro.com
If you loved this episode, I'd be honored for you to give me a rating on iTunes. This helps me to get content out to others who are interested in getting control of their health through diet, lifestyle shifts and personal empowerment.
If we haven't met before, I'm Christina Tidwell and I'm so excited that you're here! I am a RN & Functional Nutrition Practitioner that helps those with autoimmune disease, hormone imbalance and gut issues heal without overwhelm so you can feel better in your body in a way that honors your unique needs and feels sustainable for the rest of your life.
If you suffer from:
Fatigue and energy crashes
Brain fog
Poor digestion
Painful periods and PMS
Symptoms of autoimmunity
Stress and overwhelm
...and aren't getting the support you need, I’m here to help guide you! My job is to clear the overwhelm, help you put the pieces of the puzzle together and co-create a sustainable path forward to help you reach your goals and feel better in your amazing body. When we work together you can’t fail.
In my health & nutrition coaching programs I support you in the quest to get back into balance by listening to your story, understanding your needs, getting to the roots of imbalance in the body and co-creating a sustainable path to healing together. These sessions weave together functional nutrition and science, lived experience, mindset shifts, and intuitive guidance for a unique and full-spectrum approach to nutrition counseling and holistic health.
I always offer free 20-minute discovery sessions to get clear on your major health concerns and identify what’s standing in your way. Click the button below to set up your free consultation and we can create a plan of action specifically for you.
Can I still heal if I don’t have a diagnosis?
Having a diagnosis can be really helpful especially in our current medical system and definitely worth pursuing because it allows us to get the right medications, insurance reimbursement, and have a clear plan of action and path to healing. But, a diagnosis is not everything and waiting for a formal diagnosis to do anything about our health can stop us from what’s available to us right now. So what happens when we don’t fit into this disease category, but we still don’t feel great? It may seem as though there is nothing we can do, but actually there are many, many tools in the toolkit to support the body at this pivotal time! This is the area that I love to work in, and the area that gets missed so often in our health care system.
I was speaking to a woman the other day who told me she had been feeling “off” for a long time now experiencing symptoms of fatigue, increased weight gain, digestive issues, brain fog and joint pain. She’d been to a few doctors who ran tests and told her that everything appeared to be “normal.” She felt discouraged, knowing that she didn’t feel right but she didn’t feel validated about how she was feeling. She was confused because she didn’t have any formal diagnosis of disease from her practitioners and, therefore, wasn’t given any guidance on what to do to help herself feel better.
She asked me, “How can I heal if I don’t have a diagnosis?”
An AARDA study of autoimmune patients found that the average time for diagnosis of an autoimmune disease is 4.6 years. During that period, the patient typically has seen 4.8 doctors in our current medical system. This is because autoimmune diseases can start out or manifest as “vague” symptoms such as fatigue, digestive issues, inflammation and pain. Our medical system is really a disease-focused system where the goal is to identify and diagnose a disease state. When our symptoms don’t fit into a neat and tidy disease category, patients aren’t given a diagnosis and are sometimes told to come back when things get worse and they meet criteria for treatment.
This, to me, just isn’t good enough and allows many people to fall through the cracks without getting proper medical care.
Having a diagnosis can be really helpful especially in our current medical system and definitely worth pursuing because it allows us to get the right medications, insurance reimbursement, and have a clear plan of action and path to healing. But, a diagnosis is not everything and waiting for a formal diagnosis to do anything about our health can stop us from what’s available to us right now.
So what happens when we don’t fit into this disease category, but we still don’t feel great? It may seem as though there is nothing we can do, but actually there are many, many tools in the toolkit to support the body at this pivotal time! This is the area that I love to work in, and the area that gets missed so often in our health care system.
When we look at these foundational aspects of health that include:
Proper nutrition
Digestive health
Hydration
Stress and Resilience
Sleep
Relationships
Mindset
…it doesn’t matter what the disease diagnosis is at the top. This goes against the paradigm we have in our current medical system where we focus on the organ-system diagnosis rather than the roots below that allowed that system to get out of balance in the first place. If you are experiencing symptoms and have not gotten a formal diagnosis, you can absolutely still benefit from taking a look at these foundational pieces of health and supporting your body to functional more optimally right now.
I like to say, start where you are, use what you have and do what you can! Where are you at with all of those foundational pieces and how can you support yourself TODAY no matter what diagnosis you have? Can you increase the nutrient density of your food intake? Reduce your sugar intake? Do you need to support digestion to ensure you are absorbing all of your nutrients from your food? What is your level of stress on a daily basis on a scale from 1-10? Are you sleeping?
Once we begin to look at these foundation pieces of healing we see that we have so many more tools in the toolkit than we have been lead to believe! It can seem overwhelming to know where to start in this process. If you’re looking for support on how to take control of your health and understand the root causes of imbalance in your body, I can help. I always offer free 20-minute discovery sessions to get clear on your major health concerns and what’s standing in your way! Book in your complementary phone call here >>
Trust yourself. You know your body better than anyone else. When you don’t feel right, you don’t feel right and you deserve validation and support. I want you to know that there are many tools available to you even if you don’t have a formal diagnosis of disease!
PREFER TO LISTEN? TUNE INTO THE LIVE WELL PODCAST BELOW (AND DON'T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE SO YOU'LL NEVER MISS OUT!)
Click here to listen in iTunes
Click here to listen in Stitcher
Or if you’d like to play the episode right now in your browser, use the player below:
If we haven't met before, I'm Christina Tidwell and I'm so excited that you're here! I am a RN & Functional Nutrition Practitioner that helps those with autoimmune disease, hormone imbalance and gut issues heal without overwhelm so you can feel better in your body in a way that honors your unique needs and feels sustainable for the rest of your life.
If you suffer from:
Fatigue and energy crashes
Brain fog
Poor digestion
Painful periods and PMS
Symptoms of autoimmunity
Stress and overwhelm
...and aren't getting the support you need, I’m here to help guide you! My job is to clear the overwhelm, help you put the pieces of the puzzle together and co-create a sustainable path forward to help you reach your goals and feel better in your amazing body. When we work together you can’t fail.
In my health & nutrition coaching programs I support you in the quest to get back into balance by listening to your story, understanding your needs, getting to the roots of imbalance in the body and co-creating a sustainable path to healing together. These sessions weave together functional nutrition and science, lived experience, breathwork, mindset shifts, and intuitive guidance for a unique and full-spectrum approach to nutrition counseling and holistic health.
I always offer free 20-minute discovery sessions to get clear on your major health concerns and identify what’s standing in your way. Click the button below to set up your free consultation and we can create a plan of action specifically for you.
Live Well Podcast | Ep #63 Montel Williams shares what helps him thrive with Multiple Sclerosis
Today on The Live Well Podcast I have the honor of interviewing TV-personality Montel WIlliams about his personal experience with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Montel is an amazing advocate in the autoimmune and chronic illness community and I’m absolutely honored to speak with him! Join us as we speak about the importance of being your own advocate, the holistic approaches that most helped Montel heal, and his daily mindfulness practice that helps him stay positive and thrive with chronic illness!
Today I’m honored to have TV-personality and chronic illness advocate Montel WIlliams on The Live Well Podcast to speak about his experience with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and partnership with Novartis and the MSAA on the My MS Second Act program.
Montel Williams earned his media celebrity status as an inspirational Emmy Award winning television personality whom Americans invited into their homes for more than 17 years. He is a decorated former naval officer, inspirational speaker, author, entrepreneur and advocate for patients worldwide.
Montel was diagnosed with MS in 1999, but his disease had been undiagnosed for almost 20 years before then despite flare-ups that felt like “his feet were on fire” and continuous doctors’ appointments. Montel reflects back on his diagnosis as a mixed blessing, because it taught him the importance of willpower and advocating for yourself. He urges others diagnosed with MS not to let the disease define them, and to talk to their doctor about disease progression.
Shortly after being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in 1999, Williams established the Montel Williams MS Foundation to further the scientific study of MS, provide financial assistance to select organizations and institutions conducting research, raise national awareness, and educate the public. The MWMSF has granted over $1.5 million dollars to research and has supported a study done at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, which discovered an MS gene.
Over the years, Montel has been involved with many initiatives that are focused on improving the lives of people living with various brain impairments and injuries. He has personally participated in studies and trials surrounding non-invasive brain stimulation therapy with phenomenal results. He continues to work with researchers and the U.S. Army to further develop their findings with the hopes of helping soldiers who have experienced blast-related traumatic brain injuries.
Montel is an amazing advocate in the autoimmune and chronic illness community and I’m absolutely honored to speak with him on The Live Well Podcast!
In this interview Montel speaks about:
The importance of being your own advocate
The holistic approaches that most helped him heal
His daily mindfulness practice that helps him stay positive and thrive with chronic illness!
His project, My MS Second Act, that aims to educate the MS community about disease progression including secondary progressive MS (SPMS).
Watch the video interview below or tune into The Live Well Podcast to listen. Enjoy this powerful episode!
Show Notes:
0:00 Intro
4:00 Montel speaks about the importance of advocacy
“You alone own the definition of who you are.”
5:47 Montel speaks about his MS diagnosis in 1999 and how he felt being told “you’re going to be in a wheelchair in 4 years.”
“How can you give me that prognosis when you don’t know who I was when I walked in here?”
7:30 Montel speaks about the importance of conventional and holistic methods of care when treating MS and what pieces have helped him the most.
“You don’t go to battle with one weapon in your arsenal.”
9:30 Montel speaks to how he adapted his lifestyle to best serve his MS.
13:00 The top holistic practices that have helped Montel heal:
Diet
Mindful movement
14:30 Montel speaks about the individuality of MS diagnoses
16:45 Montel speaks about what gifts his disease has given him
“It’s made me more aware and more empathetic to my fellow man no matter what their plight might be.”
17:30 Montel’s personal mindfulness and self care routine
“What did I do today that’s worth talking about tomorrow?”
Montel writes down this statement, reads it out loud, and journals in the evening. First thing in the morning he reads it out loud to start the day with a positive win.
22:30 Montel speaks about My MS Second Act - a project to educate and empower MS survivors and share with them the tools that give them the ability to tell their own story so they can share it with others.
26:39: Outro
In partnership with Novartis and the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA), Montel has created My MS Second Act, a project that aims to educate the MS community about disease progression including secondary progressive MS (SPMS). MS doesn’t look the same for everyone. People may consider it one disease, but there are actually different forms, including the lesser known form of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS). SPMS is characterized by progressive and irreversible neurological disability [1].
Around 400,000 people are living with MS in the US [2]. Of these, 80% of patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), an earlier phase of the disease, have the potential to progress to SPMS [3].
The goal of My MS Second Act is to inspire individuals to be vocal and vigilant about the next phase of MS and discovery that by sharing your story you can face this “second act” with confidence, hope and a resounding voice! Download your Storytelling Toolkit Here >>
If you loved this episode, I'd be honored for you to give me a rating on iTunes. This helps me to get content out to others who are interested in getting control of their health through diet, lifestyle shifts and personal empowerment.
If we haven't met before, I'm Christina Tidwell and I'm so excited that you're here! I am a RN & Functional Nutrition Practitioner that helps those with autoimmune disease, hormone imbalance and gut issues heal without overwhelm so you can feel better in your body in a way that honors your unique needs and feels sustainable for the rest of your life.
If you suffer from:
Fatigue and energy crashes
Brain fog
Poor digestion
Painful periods and PMS
Symptoms of autoimmunity
Stress and overwhelm
...and aren't getting the support you need, I’m here to help guide you! My job is to clear the overwhelm, help you put the pieces of the puzzle together and co-create a sustainable path forward to help you reach your goals and feel better in your amazing body. When we work together you can’t fail.
In my health & nutrition coaching programs I support you in the quest to get back into balance by listening to your story, understanding your needs, getting to the roots of imbalance in the body and co-creating a sustainable path to healing together. These sessions weave together functional nutrition and science, lived experience, breathwork, mindset shifts, and intuitive guidance for a unique and full-spectrum approach to nutrition counseling and holistic health.
I always offer free 20-minute discovery sessions to get clear on your major health concerns and identify what’s standing in your way. Click the button below to set up your free consultation and we can create a plan of action specifically for you.