In April, I got diagnosed with Graves' disease, also known as Basedow disease. It's an immune system disorder that results in the overproduction of thyroid hormones (hyperthyroidism). At first, it really annoyed me. I felt very stressed and anxious about it. It was the first time I learned I was sick. Two months later, I learned to live with it and I am now realizing that this health issue brought some positive changes in my life. Having Graves' disease made me take care of myself and my health, which is something I've been ignoring for a while. Taking care of myself was something I struggled with. My number one priority was to take care of people first and I would forget about myself. It's been my life for 34 years. I've been suffering from chronic stress and anxiety for a long time. I've had this thing called intercostal neuralgia for a couple years but never realized it was caused by stress until recently. Today my physical/mental health has become my number one priority. I've done a lot of changes in my life. I've seen health specialists like an osteopath, a micro-physiotherapist, an energy healer... I do yoga every day, I do intermittent fasting, I do breathing exercices and meditation every day. I even drink or eat weird stuff like apple vinegar cider lol - drinking apple vinegar cider helps with inflammation and digestion among other things. It's been very helpful so far. I also drink a lot of ginger/lemon/honey tea. I am limiting and sometimes avoiding certain foods like beef, chocolate, coffee, crustaceans...
Today I feel much better. There's still work to be done. I still have to take medication and I still have to do all these things to heal, but there's progress. And I feel very proud and happy about that.
The healing journey is not an easy journey. But we are getting there.
Taking care of myself is the best decision I've ever made for myself. We often take our health for granted, but we shouldn't. Our physical/mental health is the most important thing ever. So please, take care of yourself.
Much love 🙂
- Virginie