How I cured myself from chronic illness

One December, some years ago, I took a flight to West Ireland. I was unaware before stepping onto the plane that a hurricane was blowing, or that we would be flying right into the eye of the storm.

Subsequently, myself and all passengers had to endure the terror of a plane trying to land with the wild winds of a hurricane battering us from side to side. The pilot aborted landing three times - but only after we had hovered, only feet away from the ground, wings tipping dangerously left to right, and then he would rear the plane back up each time as fast as he could, nose pointed up into the air, unsteadily racing upwards, through the dark, angry sky. And then we would circle around, through unsettling heavy turbulence, only to have to go through it all over again.

I am sharing this story because we all happily survived - and yet I didn't seem to recover.

In the days that followed the flight I felt generally unwell and fatigued, and just couldn't get myself together - which didn't seem like me at all. I've always considered myself as being quite hardy and resilient. I had experienced trauma before, and yet I didn't recognise this response.

I just couldn't shake off the fatigue, and in fact it deepened to the point where I was needing to sleep for up to eleven hours a night and yet waking each morning feeling exhausted. So exhausted that I would greet each morning with aching brain and bones (like a train had run over my body in the night) coupled with the bewildering realisation that I had to somehow get myself and the kids up, make their breakfast and packed lunches and get them to school.

Most days I felt as though I was wading through mud on the ocean floor, unable to gain enough energy to lift off and swim up for air. I couldn't think straight, I was irritable and irascible, short-tempered and the slightest stress would fell me and I would 'crash' back down to the ocean floor, for weeks at a time, and again try to incrementally crawl my way back up towards the light.

I was existing below the surface of life. I knew everyone could hear what I had to say, but I could barely summon the energy to speak. Throughout this time I was studying, but I had a strange brain fog that made studying and even socialising incredibly difficult. Despite this, very few people even knew anything was wrong at all. I seemed to look fine. Yet it took a mammoth amount of energy just to get me through each day.

My skin was so dry that when I would kiss my daughter goodnight she would call me "Gravel face". Of course I laughed, but inside I was sad. I was saddened by my inability to play with my children, to really engage and have fun with them, like I used to. I felt like a ghost. With no sense of humour. My whole self seemed to be submerged beneath a fog. I had aches and pains, on my heels, and in my shoulder cuff muscles. I couldn't throw a ball, hold a bat, or carry their school bags, or the shopping, or lift the kettle without a searing pain running through my arms.

Somehow, despite constantly feeling I wasn't really here, I continued with life, with my studies (even passing some serious exams), with mothering my children, cooking for the family, working when I could. The only reason I could do this was because this was ALL I did. I had to scale back my life. And I had to scale back my work, so I was reduced to seeing very few clients, and at one point I had to stop treating people completely. I couldn't see friends, as I had no energy to commit to anyone apart from my children. My husband was also away a lot during this time. To enable me to mother my children and to study, everything else had to go. My life became very small.

Many of you reading this will recognise these symptoms. That's why I'm sharing them. So you can see that there is a way up and out of your autoimmune illness - the natural way, without relying on medications.

So why wasn't I well? What was wrong?

This was a question that led me steadily through a journey of continuous self-experimentation, peeling back the layers of my subconscious mind, letting go of all that no longer served me, releasing old patterns of behaviour, to where I am now: well, and symptom free. It took my Kinesiology brain, and a whole load of experimentation to get me back on my feet, and in the position to help others.

I trod the fine line between acceptance (of being mindful and living a conscious life with no anger) and ploughing steadily onwards on my journey towards wellness. When frustrations, pain and exhaustion hit me I learnt to ride the storm, to feel the pain, listen to my body and just carry on, riding the waves of pain and discomfort - but not to identify with them.

All of this was essential to my recovery.

But I still was not 100 percent well. I felt like I had reached about 90 percent wellness. And I had worked hard to get that well, by using Kinesiology, my Transformational Kinesiology work and a good clean diet. But I didn't feel I had regained my full vitality. I didn't feel resilient. I still lived a small life, carefully avoiding all stressful situations.

Whilst I was unwell a whole new science had began to emerge about our microbiome, and the link between our gut microbiome and our health. And now there is a microbiome dietary programme to support this knowledge.

This, I discovered, was the final piece of the puzzle: a 21 day microbiome re-set programme gave me back my vitality.

I would have loved to know what I know now when I first fell ill. However, I am also deeply thankful for my healing journey, as without it I would not be equipped to help others in the same way.

If you are suffering with an autoimmune condition, or in fact, any chronic condition (including depression, anxiety, thyroid conditions, or brain fog) and are looking for a guide, I’m here to help you.

I want you to take heart, to know that despite the countless medical doctors or specialists you may have seen, and despite how long you may have been languishing with a chronic condition, transformational healing is possible.

Rebalancing your microbiome will not just help you a little bit, or see a few of your symptoms improve. You will achieve radical transformation. You will get your life back.