Once, my family and I traveled from North Wales to New Zealand to see family and friends and to have a holiday.. After about six weeks of 'holidaying' one should feel refreshed, revitalised and ready to go ... unfortunately I did not. I booked a doctor’s appointment, where blood tests revealed that my thyroid antibodies were very high and I was on my way to Hashimoto's (an autoimmune condition). While I knew I was struggling to function, my other bloods tests were not ‘bad enough’ to warrant medical intervention (which I am grateful for, in retrospect). Sometimes, a doctor’s diagnosis can make you feel like you are stuck with an illness. or me, a change in food and lifestyle became my medicine.
Fortunately, I had a bit of a head start with the food and lifestyle changes that might work best for my situation. One of my sisters, who was also dealing with thyroid issues, was having success with the Auto Immune Paleo (AIP) style of eating. I already ate quite healthfully, but AIP meant I would eliminate gluten, dairy, nuts and coffee (and other foods) from my diet I decided to 'ease' myself into this new way of eating, and let my body adjust.
This was going to be a lifestyle change, not a temporary diet. My goal was to reverse the damage in my body and keep Hashimoto’s at bay.
Once back in North Wales, I transitioned further into AIP eating, and also started to look at other lifestyle factors, equally as important as food, to sort out full body health and wellness for myself. I never truly realized how important it was to make time for myself and for self-care. I think Mums are often notoriously bad at doing this, or rather not doing this for all sorts of reasons! Over the years my dad would check in and ask if I was looking after myself – I was looking after all the household needs and our family, so I assumed that “yes” I was looking after myself. But to be honest, I really had no idea what ‘myself’ meant. I have since learned that taking care of yourself first and foremost, is the only way to be able to fully take care of others. Learning to make time to care for myself has taken time and is something I work on, as my tendency is to put everybody and everything else before me.
Looking back, I acknowledge that in a period of nine years, my husband and I shifted from Australia to New Zealand just before the arrival of our first daughter. When she was fifteen months old we rented our house out for five months and had a working holiday back in Australia, then had another beautiful daughter. As a family we have shifted from the southern hemisphere to the northern hemisphere and back – twice. We bought two houses, sold three houses, lived and rented in another two houses, and then temporarily lived in a number of holiday houses. Simultaneously we worked from home, and for at least two of the years home-schooled our children. While this was all exciting, it did have inherent stressors, and
Autoimmune
Is a Journey,
Not a Destination
By Sheryl Cook