Welcome to a new blog series! I have spent several years not only diving deep into homeopathy but also learning about holistic health and how it all fits together. Over the years I have developed a personal curriculum of sorts that I use to guide my own healthy living.
After adding a health coach certification to my homeopathic certification last year, as well as having put the principles I’ve developed to good use in my life and the lives of loved ones, I have developed a simple 5-step process for achieving this lifestyle of health.
Your NOW Symptoms Trump Everything
You may have had heartburn for years or a sore back since last March, but when you don’t feel well right now, that’s all you can focus on. If you can’t get past the acute problem you are experiencing, it’s very likely you don’t even care about your ongoing chronic issues.
Although acute illness can be frustrating, tiring, or a nuisance, it is also a very profound way that your body communicates with you. Acute symptoms have meaning and are rarely random events that just happen to you. Often you can feel the symptoms coming. You may start taking OTC drugs, or more elderberry extract, or just push through to finish the workday.
Typically, what we often do with acute symptoms is try to ignore them until they are forced to grab our attention or until they go away. I think the hardest thing about acute symptoms is that we want to avoid them at all costs (I’m speaking from experience here), when what we should be doing is learning from them.
Your body was created to constantly be working towards a state of health. In our fallen world, health often does not come easily, but the human body is so phenomenal in its capacity to heal from the inside. And when symptoms have been pushed out for whatever the reason may be, it is an opportunity for us to examine our health, observe where our symptoms are coming from, and make adjustments to improve the quality of our lives as a result.
Consider the Etiology
Before you even consider how to support yourself during acute symptoms, it can be extremely helpful to consider what may be the etiology, or cause, of your symptoms. This can be very clear, such as in the case of a bee sting or injury. Other times the etiology is elusive, partly because we have been taught inaccurate theories about how we become ill (more on that in Step 2) and partly because we are unaware of what is truly causing us dis-ease.
If you have an idea of etiology then you can choose how you might overcome your ailments. For example, if the etiology is stress, maybe all you need is a good night’s sleep (or a week of good sleep). If the etiology is anxiety or worry, a cup of tea, some calming herbal extracts, and prayer may be the answer. Often we desire – or need – more than a quiet evening and rest. It’s very likely we need something to help provide some relief as well.
Learn Supportive Modalities
If you’ve looked around the website at all, you know that my supportive modality of choice is homeopathy. I used to rely on herbal teas and extracts quite a bit. I still use the herbs for more mild discomforts, but homeopathy really steals the show when acute symptoms grow in intensity.
I recommend choosing a modality to study before you need to use it. It’s just like stocking your medicine cabinet, only you’ll be making the choice to stock your cabinet with herbs, essential oils, or homeopathy instead of with OTC drugs with side effects you may not want to deal with.
If homeopathy is what interests you, be sure to subscribe to True Health so you get these educational posts sent to your e-mail! I’d also love to have you join us on MeWe where you can ask questions and learn with other students.
Find Support
If you don’t want to study, that’s okay. But it’s important to at least decide what kind of modalities you are willing to use and find a practitioner who can help you.
I personally recommend having two kinds of support professionals in your life. The first would be the “hands-off” person who acts much like a coach and that you can gain support from remotely if necessary. This includes those trained as a health coach, an herbalist, a homeopath, or a functional medicine doctor.
The second professional I recommend is a bodyworker you see in person. You may only need to see this person when you’re not at your best health-wise, but I think it’s great to see a bodywork professional regularly to help maintain a state of health and prevent disease in the first place. These kinds of workers include chiropractors, acupuncturists, holistic physical therapists, massage therapists (especially Thai massage workers), and foot zoning or reflexology therapists.
Next, find an online community full of people who share your interests. Social media groups are a great way to do this. Or maybe you know enough people personally who want to be on an e-mail list or group messaging app. A place to ask questions and to have people help you think through acute issues as they arise can be a huge blessing when times get tough.
Resources to Learn More
If you’re ready to learn more to take charge of your family’s health, let me share some of my favorite resources with you!
- Learn Homeopathy Basics from the True Health blog. I have 11 posts showing how you can start using homeopathy today!
- Find some herbal solutions quickly on Aviva Romm’s blog. Or take classes at Heart of Herbs.
- Dr. Axe offers many functional solutions as well as essential oil recommendations. You can learn aromatherapy at Heart of Herbs too!
- Rosemary Gladstar books are some of my favorites for learning herbs.
- Dr. Sears offers really great, practical advice that anyone can implement today to start living a healthier lifestyle.
- Deep Roots at Home is just a great place in general to get good info on research and natural modalities.
- If you’re trying to live a cleaner life, DIY Natural has lots of ideas for cleaning and hygiene care.
- Remember not to use mint while using homeopathy. It can cancel out your remedies, causing them not to work when you need them to.
Are you looking for a practitioner?
- Get on our waitlist so you don’t miss the launch of Dr. Krista’s virtual office! She will be doing holistic health coaching with an emphasis on homeopathy.
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Look for these other posts in this series:
- Step 1: Feel Better NOW (you are here)
- Step 2: Choose your Mindset
- Step 3: Choose How to Move
- Step 4: Choose How to Eat
- Step 5: Maintain Balance
True Health 