My path to awareness...
I get so many messages from people with Autoimmune Disease and specifically Graves Disease when I share my story. It is both wonderful that my story resonates and horrifying that so many people are still struggling due to the mainstream approach
They speak of the same kind of issues not yet diagnosed or repeated trips to the GP with little success or continuous tests and examinations that led nowhere. The story is always the same.
Your body is attacking itself.
My issues started with low level illness from my early teens. Although looking back there was evidence of anxiety and chronic stress from around 10 or 11. At 17 I went to visit a friend for the weekend and was struck with severe eye pain and unable to look into light (photophobia) I finally saw the GP and he sent me straight to the hospital where they diagnosed Uveitis or Iritis. I was told by a Consultant "You have an acute attack of autoimmune iritis, your body is attacking itself. It may come back it may not. It may be with you forever, nothing we can do" and that was that.
At 17, that came as quite a shock. He also didn't explain that this may lead to other autoimmune issues or that I may be living a lifestyle that could be making it worse.
What is Autoimmune Disease?
The immune system usually guards against bacteria and viruses. When it senses these foreign invaders, it sends out an army of fighter cells to attack them. Usually, the immune system can tell the difference between foreign cells and your own cells. In an autoimmune disease, the immune system mistakes part of your body, like your joints or skin, as foreign. It releases proteins called autoantibodies that attack healthy cells. Some autoimmune diseases target only one organ. Type 1 diabetes damages the pancreas. Other diseases, like systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), or lupus, can affect the whole body.
The body is attacking itself, is the official line and the mainstream model sticks to this. In essence, that's true, but in my own learning it goes much deeper.
I am also finding that people are being told they have a condition and not being told it actually is an autoimmune disease either, which I see as the failure of a struggling health system, poor patient education and care-less patient care. These are conditions that can affect your entire life, if you don't understand the underlying issues you can't address your health at any level, you become disempowered and a slave to a system of pills and potions that simply dampen inflammation.
List of some common autoimmune diseases
Below is a non-exhaustive list which is growing fast - as increasing research goes on, they are discovering so many more.
Ankylosing spondylitis (AS)
Celiac disease
Crohn's Disease
Graves disease / thyroid eye disease
Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS)
Hashimoto’s thyroiditis / chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis / autoimmune thyroiditis
Lupus (SLE)
Ménière’s disease
Multiple Sclerosis
Psoriasis
Psoriatic arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Sarcoidosis
Scleroderma
Sjögren’s syndrome
Raynaud's phenomenon
Ulcerative colitis (UC)
Undifferentiated connective tissue disease
Uveitis | anterior/intermediate/posterior
Vasculitis
Vitiligo
There is also research to say that Alzheimer's Disease is an autoimmune disease.
Dealing with Autoimmune Disease
I researched and bored people to death with my endless thirst for knowledge around the root cause of my issues. I also managed to develop further autoimmune diseases, including, Sarcoidosis, SVT and Graves Disease.
I have watched this epidemic grow over the years and it makes me uncomfortable that the education is still so poor and people aren't being empowered to feel well, become well, or to learn that it's even possible. I know it is.
You may face some challenges en route and your journey will be totally different to everyone else's. But you are not alone and you are not broken.
The system will have you looking for the next pill and potion. The wellness industry will proclaim that they have the one answer. There is only one solution and that is yours.
Dealing with my own dis-ease was multi-layered. I used nutrition, routine, toxin removal and stress reduction. But finding the root cause and the working to remove old patterning, chronic stress and trauma was the path to wholistic healing and in my case remission from Graves Disease.
Here are some tips to help deal with any autoimmune disease:
Look at your stress levels
Stress causes inflammation in the body. Stress is completely normal but when it becomes chronic and we are in constant fight or flight is when we need to slow down and find better ways of managing.
Review your sleep routine and hygiene
Try to go to slow down before bed, reduce screen time and get to sleep before ten. Don't have your phone by the bed and keep the room dark and cool. Good sleep is integral to body repair but also the mind and soul.
Stop smoking
And yes, that includes vapes and other supplementary habits . Smoking is a known and proved trigger for Rheumatoid Arthritis. It can also exacerbate symptoms and increase cardiovascular risk.
Eat Clean
Try to reduce coffee, dairy and gluten and keep a diary to see if symptoms change. Not everyone will see a change but it can support good gut health and reduce inflammation. For more detailed information - see the AIP diet.
This is general advice to get you started, if you are struggling, try to take a step back and slow down is the first step to taking control and listening to your own body and being again.
Integral Eye Movement Therapy was a pivotal part of my healing and change. I use this alongside other tools, practices and techniques to remove old patterning, promote deep rest and restoration and to help you find your own empowered answers.
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