Healing Solutions…

Having spent time out due to anxiety and depression, I have most surely at age 43 been through the terror of feeling like life can be too hard some days. When I realised that I was perpetually depressed it was almost too late to combat it and I relented and went for the doctor’s medications. I was supposed to use it for three months but I became addicted, so much so it was a physical addiction, not a psychological addiction.
When I attempted to take myself off the meds I tried low doses and I started getting headaches when I went off them for a whole day, the headaches were so excruciating I had to take the meds again and think about what I could do to curb the physical addiction that was causing this pain. I had put on fifteen kilos of weight. I was now so sluggish that I couldn’t exercise or when I thought about going out I was so embarrassed by the weight gain that I was anxious in another way and depressed about the fact I looked terrible. I had to quit the meds and lose weight. Gain control in another way. I bought panadol, aspirin, and beer. Yes, beer. I had panadol every four hours and aspirin in between, then at my evening meal, I drank beer, near a six-pack a night for a couple of weeks. And it worked. I began to get through hours without pain. Damn hard really the whole thing. I wish I could erase the whole thing or do it differently. I had a culmination of different things all at once, and PCOS gave me an extra problem to deal with. Nutrition became something I had to manage. And the standard food pyramid of health was not working for me.

Nutrition, supplements, and food.

Eating for health is not always the easiest thing to do. Initially, I saw a naturopath and was recommended magnesium (powdered magnesium is best). Sleeping properly and a whole night through was a difficult thing for me. This still helps me even today, and like most things when we take them and build the property up in our system it’s often not necessary to take every day, and we can go through times of twice weekly or on occasion when we need a boost. I also caught every cold or flu going around, and it wasn’t until I discovered high potency zinc that my body began increasing its immunity, as well as a quality vitamin C.

When I found a brilliant Chinese Medicine Practitioner things really got better! I’m so glad I didn’t give up on Chinese Medicine due to one average experience before finding a person who was dedicated to helping me. He would take trips to China, seeing a master of the practice, and he found the way to fix my issues with herbs and nutritional advice. The doctors were talking laser surgery on my ovaries and meds that after long term use could affect my liver. And while the doctors had some idea that blood sugar was associated to my condition, its not the only thing that needed to be managed, the food types in TCM show how to add foods to improve health and assist balance the problems while omitting those that affect the body using the five elements scale of TCM.

Well-being, connection and care are also part of the reason that I managed to get back on track to health and vitality. Sometimes the path is tricky but when you have a hand to hold its not as slippery. We all need others so if you feel a little depressed or anxious, call a friend and look at what you are eating, or send a message to ask for support. Sometimes others have walked through the storm to show you the way. Here’s a great link for some more information on food. Harvard Medical Food Guide for Anxiety/Depression