the harsh truth of health

I believe, wholeheartedly, that the journey to health and vitality differs for each and every one of us.

I didn't really know how much I was missing out on health-wise in my younger years until the state of my body and overall health, energy and lack of vitality was just in pieces. Broken. Beyond immediate repair.

I have spoken very openly here on this blog about living with chronic pain, illness and the ups and downs of that reality. I am starting to change that reality, slowly, and I am acutely aware how much I am learning about the personal responsibility we all have for our health. This is the one body we have on this earth, and I don't mean to state the obvious but without it we are kind of stuck....

Think about what you are putting in your mouth. Will it benefit you, nourish you, give you all you need to live life fully and with vitality and energy? Or will it make you feel sluggish, zonked out, only good for sofa slumping?

Do you move as much as you can, within the limits that you, personally, have to work within? If you have to pace and balance pain and energy or chronic fatigue rest all you need to but make sure that at some point, and on a regular basis, you are moving.

I know only so well that taking responsibility for this has to come when it's right for you, when you are ready to take positive action for your own health; when you are ready to stop doing the things that are causing self-destructive habits, bad cycles of behaviour. I reached this point some weeks ago when I realised I had become so ill, so stuck in a cycle of chronic illness that I was literally just existing for my little girls. I decided to not give up on living, but to take control back and DO all the things I knew would help me. The answer from the docs has always been to throw more pills at it, but I knew it as time to get back to basics.

I stopped drinking, phased out coffee, made sure my food is at least 60% raw and full of enzymes and un-proceessed goodness. I started moving, slowly, when I could. I began easing off my drugs and painkillers when I have been able to, and in the space of 5 weeks the change is phenomenal.

I have gone from having 20mg amitriptyline, 40mg citalopram, and between eight and ten 30mg codeine tablets per day to 0 amitriptyline, 15mg citalopram and 2 lots of 8mg codeine when needed. And the journey has just begun.

I have to carefully monitor my pain and energy still, and need to be wary of how much I m doing in relation to the energy I have and may need in reserve. I still have days in extreme pain, I still get exhausted, but those times are lessening and I cannot be more thankful for the shift.

I am getting there, and you can too.

We need to stop blaming the government, the NHS, our work, our kids, our partners. Our bodies are ours, do what you need to do to be well. Cut out the crap, eat as well as you can, and move as much as you can. Then you know you are doing your best, and that will make you proud.

Are you ready to do it?