Mindset.
Making the Impossible....Possible
Dare to dream of health and vitality and you'll be half way there. The first step to healing is perspective, as to how you perceive your condition. Do not think of yourself as a victim, learn how you can take your power back and heal conditions the doctors have given up on. You CAN do it.
Persistance, patience and faith that illness is NOT an option can make the impossible...possible. Instead of accepting the "death sentence" my doctor had handed me when he suggested I get my affairs in order I learned how to nourish my body and build it healthier and better than ever, one cell at a time. I had a placebo effect big time -- a challenge that I set my mind to overcome. Others have done this as well, it works.
The Psychology of Beating an Incurable Illness | Bob Cafaro | TEDxCharlottesville
Bob Cafaro played chamber music full time and served on the faculty of the University of Virginia until 1983 when he became a regular with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. He later joined the Baltimore Symphony and in 1985 became a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra. In 1999, Bob was stricken with a virulent case of Multiple Sclerosis, which left him nearly blind and without the use of his hands. Defying what doctors had told him, he made a complete and remarkable recovery and has since written a book, been a member of The Rachmaninov Trio since 2003, and has grown passionate in his involvement with volunteer and outreach activities.
The Vagus Nerve
Following my sudden cardiac arrest in 2014 I developed what I referred to as "my little voice". I could only talk for a few minutes in a very sotto voce tone of voice, barely above a whisper. Several sentences later I could no longer create a vocal sound to talk. It was as if I was "out of wind" and the voice box wouldn't vibrate with my voice. I mentioned this to my cardiologist at the time. He dismissed it and gave me a "wait and see" approach.
I later learned "my little voice" was due to a loss of tone in my vagal nerve. This is the super highway in the nervous system of the body. I learned how to stimulate the vagus nerve and improve it's function. The beta blockers I was put on weren't helping my body to regulate itself. Slowly, with another cardiologist's help, I weaned off the medications one by one.
In 2010, when I was diagnosed with LBBB (Left Bundle Branch Block) I was prescribed Xanax to help control my blood pressure. None of the traditional cardio drugs worked for me. After six days of trial and error with different drugs and dosages, I was finally discharged. Ten years later I was still taking them at the same lowest dose and only when needed. I wasn't "hooked" but my body was. I started researching how to achieve the effect of Xanax in a more natural way and I learned some tricks to increase the tone of my vagal (vagus) nerve.
Increase Your Vagal Tone
humming
singing
playing a wind instrument
talking
chanting
ending a warm shower with a cold water blast (increase over time the length of cold water you can tolerate)
Heal Your Gut, Improve Your Mental Health
Did you know your microbiome has a lot of control over your vagus nerve and how it communicates with your mind and your gut? The video below has some good suggestions to improve your gut and it's connection to your brain, but I'd like to mention a few caveats that I learned along the way.
If you have histamine issues or SIBO, probiotics are probably not a good idea until you address these other problems. Patients with SIBO should work with a natural health care doctor who can do the proper SIBO tests (most insurance doesn't cover).
Personally, I chose to start with a probiotic designed for people with histamine intolerance. I referred to the bacteria that populate an infant from 2 weeks to 8 weeks are the strains found in the Probiota Histamine X and after a week of taking one daily I began slowly introducing some fermented sauerkraut I made. It is recommended to go very slowly with fermented foods and introduce one ferment at a time, one spoonful at a time. My first taste was just the brine without the cabbage. Then a half of a teaspoon of the kraut.
Four and a half ways to improve your Gut Brain Connection
Prebiotics
Probiotics
Decrease Inflammation
Decrease Stress
Fecal Transplant
Many of my family members suffer(ed) with depression and it doesn't have to be that way. I've been researching how to naturally heal the body, mind and soul without drugs, electrical shocks, or other conventional forms of "therapy". I don't want to go down that dark path, the answers are finally available but for so many it comes to late.
Featured Photo on this post is by Nadine Shaabana on Unsplash