The bugs in our gut, good and bad, have consciousness. “Good” ones keep us happy and healthy. The “bad” ones mess with us in a multitude of ways.
Many problematic microbes colonize in ways that underscore and support neural pathways of trauma. As we heal our gut we heal both our minds and bodies. This is a synergistic relationship so one can work on emotional and psychological issues and heal the gut and one can also work on healing the gut and find that emotional and psychological issues also reveal themselves that way. Either way we must tend to both our emotional/spiritual selves and our physical body when dealing with profound healing and transformation. This may happen more or less consciously depending on levels of awareness. The more aware we become the deeper the transformation becomes. Simple mindfulness and paying attention to the body (meditation) allows such awareness to develop. (Meditation collection here and more here and here)
A lot of chronic illness is embodied trauma…sometimes we are not at all aware of how fear and pain has turned physical. We do not remember.
So we suffer real physical illness without understanding its etiology. For me embracing all aspects of my being has been necessary to heal. We are kaleidoscopic beings — endlessly variant. Social, political, psychological, ecological, cultural, biological all having impact. When we don’t engage our kaleidoscopic reality in a very active way – thinking we understand anything at all is ridiculous. – thinking we understand anything at all is ridiculous. The mystery that is the universe we live in is beyond that.
Much of the healing process is simple trial and error…following inner impulses and then paying attention. So the only way to learn what we need is to try what we feel drawn to (the body knows a whole lot) and go from there. “Follow your bliss.” (Expertly guided by the genius of my DNA)
This healing process been a massive deconditioning practice (that has ramifications in general awareness) because you see all the conditioning in the advice given from all the different healing camps which are, in general, deeply ideologically based.
I’ve done dozens of healing diets at this point and now simply know what I need and when (largely) — though the trial and error continues too it becomes more nuanced and precise. Every healing method I followed taught me to listen and learn. We can do that without attaching to the method. We don’t need to become annoying converts. Different things are appropriate for different people at different times. Different things are appropriate for us at different times.
One of the most important things I’ve learned is NO ONE knows what is right for us…and when it comes to diet everything out there is DOGMA. (Diet and nutrition dogmatic ideologies are everywhere) And how little of it is actually anything real or concrete…
I have a lot of addict energy…I cling to anything that ever felt right and good… (Mental illness, addiction & most chronic illness is linked to childhood loss & trauma (Gabor Maté)
Yes, this addict energy is in most all of humanity — which is why the dogma and BS in every nutritional approach is hard to sort through. I want a nice convenient dogma to attach to…we all do…it makes things far easier if we don’t have to learn to listen to our bodies. We can just follow the rules of the dogma and be done with it. Except that doesn’t work for profound healing.
Clearly most people want that sort of easy dogmatic route to follow…which is why nutritional approaches are essentially religious…and all of them believe they are the only right way to go.
Be ready to let go of all the rules. Again and again. Even the ones we discover for ourselves…for our bodies. As we heal change is the only constant. What was perfect today and yesterday may need to be let go of tomorrow….I get attached to that which works now…and then overuse stuff…this is something to remain alert to.
***
More on healing with whole food
***
*it is potentially dangerous to come off medications without careful planning. Please be sure to be well educated before undertaking any sort of discontinuation of medications. If your MD agrees to help you do so, do not assume they know how to do it well even if they claim to have experience. They are generally not trained in discontinuation and may not know how to recognize withdrawal issues. A lot of withdrawal issues are misdiagnosed to be psychiatric problems. This is why it’s good to educate oneself and find a doctor who is willing to learn with you as your partner in care. Really all doctors should always be willing to do this as we are all individuals and need to be treated as such. See: Psychiatric drug withdrawal and protracted withdrawal syndrome round-up
It’s become clear to me that whenever it’s possible that it’s helpful for folks who’ve not begun withdrawal and have the time to consider a carefully thought out plan to attempt to bring greater well-being to your body before starting the withdrawal. That means learning how to profoundly nourish your body/mind and spirit prior to beginning a withdrawal. For suggestions on how to go about doing that check the drop-down menus on this blog for ideas. Anything that helps you learn how to live well can be part of your plan. That plan will look different for everyone as we learn to follow our hearts and find our own unique paths in the world. Things to begin considering are diet, exercise and movement, meditation/contemplation etc. Paying attention to all these things as you do them helps too. The body will start letting us know what it needs as we learn to pay attention.
For a multitude of ideas about how to create a life filled with safe alternatives to psychiatric drugs visit the drop-down menus at the top of this page.
Support Beyond Meds. Enter Amazon via a link from this blog and do the shopping you’d be doing anyway. No need to purchase the book the link takes you to or make a donation with PayPal. Thank you!
Everything matters 