Being Prepared
I had been doing muscle testing and seeing my Naturopath for my SIBO and other illnesses and had been eating so strictly (basically chicken and fish and green veggies) for so long hoping to regain the results I did when I first started eating the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol Diet. I now felt as if I was on a hamster wheel. Not really gaining any traction, but doing my best to survive. I had been praying for almost a year about wanting to get off the hamster wheel, but not knowing where to go, what to do. I didn’t love this hamster wheel, but it was known to me. It quasi worked for me. I had the fear of not knowing where to step next so I prayed and waited.
A couple of months before diving into this SIBO journey with Dr. Keller, I had a spiritual dream. It was a dream telling me to turn around and go back. To walk out of the wilderness that I had been circling in and go back. At first, I was a bit disheartened. I didn’t want to go back! I wanted to go forward! I wanted to break out of the captivity and bondage that I had been in and experience freedom. It was hard to accept that I needed to go back. Almost like a defeat. At the same time I felt a very strong sense of peace that walking back was exactly what I needed to do. Armed with courage and an open spirit, I started my journey back.
As the months since my dream unfolded, I found my spirit wide open to change. Open to changing my diet, taking pharmaceuticals if I needed to, doing all the tests that I needed to…just OPEN. I wanted to shed this old way of doing things and put on something new. I felt ready. I felt hopeful. I was walking back.
Photo Credit: An Encouraging Word
The Immediate Emotional Aftermath
Whoa! After my first appointment with Dr. Keller, I talked to my husband, sister and a friend about how things went…I’m a process out loud type of gal. Then after the phone calls, it hit. I had a huge emotional release. A depth of gratitude swept over me. I was standing at the intersection of the old way and new way of doing things. There was a sense that I was shedding the old way. I was actually walking around he house just shaking my hands in a way you do when you are taking off clothing and the very last bit of it needs a little shake to come off. I could feel the emotional and spiritual layers shedding. I knew most likely that my physical body would be in for it in the short term but all that I had been praying and hoping for was coming to pass.
Reality Check
Prior to me starting my SIBO journey, I knew it would definitely be one. I decided to take the entire month off of work. In addition to blogging, I also work part-time from home. I was able to train someone to take over in my absence which has worked out so magnificently!
Additionally, my husband has his own corporate speaking, training and consulting business which requires him to travel nationally quite often. During this first week, he was gone for four days. Lord, have mercy! We don’t have family available to assist us in helping with our day to day lives, so I was going to be on single parent duty and I was SKERD! Thankfully, my husband does all he can to ease the burden when he is gone by cooking the protein portions of our meals.
I also shopped through Amazon Prime Now and had Sprouts deliver groceries. If you are in southern California and have an Amazon Prime Membership, you can download the Amazon Prime Now App and see if Sprouts delivers in your area. It is the same prices as what is in the store with an optional tip. It is so helpful!
I also had a wonderful friend offer to pick my daughter up from school and bring her home everyday. THAT WAS HUGE! I so needed it too! I parked it on the couch or in bed as much as I could. Thank God for Netflix! I went on a hardcore binge!
Free Writing Sessions
Dr. Keller gave me the following instructions regarding using this technique: Set 4 days in a row aside in your schedule where you can sit down for 20 minutes and write freely and unedited. Do not stop and contemplate or look at you handwriting or think about censoring yourself, just write whatever comes to your mind. After the 20 minutes, completely destroy the piece of paper – for example safely tear, burn and bury ritual each day. Whatever you are comfortable with yet just be sure to completely destroy the paper. Note: You may find you begin to journal, during this exercise. Do your best to do that at a different time if you are so inspired or you already have this practice.
For four nights in a row, I wrote freely. I let it flow. After 20 minutes of just plain old going to town, I ripped up the pages and tossed them out. I’m pretty big into journaling, so doing free writing for me was like putting on a comfy robe…it just slipped right on.
She also suggested giving tapping a try. She told me to check out The Tapping Solution for Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT). I have heard of tapping and honestly I tried it halfheartedly in the past, but it was good for me to hear about Dr. Keller’s own experience with tapping and how it proves beneficial in her daily life. I didn’t have it in me to try it this week. I would love to hear if you use any EFT techniques. I feel like tapping is a whole undertaking that I don’t know if I have the bandwidth for, but there is a desire to try at some point…just not this week!
The Emotional Detox
I swear! Any time that my body is going through any amount of detox, my emotions follow suit. I was processing the root cause of why I do certain things that I do, I was processing stuff in my relationships, it was all bubbling to the surface. For a few days I got lost in the emotion of it. Fortunately, I was able to process it with a friend and journal about it and I started embracing it, learning from it and choosing to walk in healthiness in it. When you go through any detox, do you normally have some emotional detox to go along with it?
Photo Credit: Nurture Therapies
The End Of The Week
Although it was an up and down kind of week, I remained hopeful. I knew this would be hard. Every time my brain had thought about the journey, my body would take a big deep breath automatically, as if it knew what was coming. It was grasping for air, already having gone through so much. It knew the road would be arduous. My body already knew. My spirit already knew. I just had to keep walking…
2 comments
As you know Kacy, I’ve had SIBO too. Each detox I’ve had caused emotional upset. It makes me grouchy, upset, depressed, you name it! The large dose of toxins from the die-off alone mess with your brain, then you’re simultaneously dealing with the battle of the health issue(s). Once those ‘bugs’ are dead and their toxins are gone it’s always a nice feeling. What I mean is once they’re dead they’re no longer cranking out poisonous brain/body toxins on a daily basis any more so I really enjoy feeling the weight lifted. When you’ve had SIBO for a long time and it’s caused secondary illnesses or symptoms from malnutrition it’s like you’ve just overcome the cause but know you still have to deal with the other issues. I agree, it’s a feeling of awareness you’re at a pivotal place in your battle (maybe let’s call it a war for a better term!) and you are excited for the huge improvement your expecting and aware that there is still much work to be done, but a huge horrible piece of it is about to be over and that’s the best part.
Hi Tiffany! Thanks for commenting and sharing your thoughts. It is an interesting, multi-layered journey isn’t it? It leaves nothing untouched and that’s exciting and something to be revered all at the same time!