How I Healed From Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Following Reverse Therapy has turned off the "alarm mode" in my body and has eliminated my fatigue completely!
Here is how this body-mind listening process worked for me:
After Dr. Eaton explained what was happening in my body and how to reverse it, it was all clear. I learned that I needed to take action when my fatigue hit rather than rest and I was well on my way to healing. I felt remarkably better within the first week of my first session although, I did have up and downs with the fatigue symptoms while I was learning how to fine tune my body's messages. After one week of listening very closely to my body's messages, the fatigue vanished for good! All it took was two sessions, determination, and dedication to listen to my body and to respect it's needs at all times. I have never experienced anything so amazing and never felt so close to my soul. After that second session, I did a happy dance in the apartment and knew that I was going to apply what I learned to my life from then on. Eternally grateful for Dr. Eaton!!!!!!
How to Follow Reverse Therapy to Listen to Your Body:
When symptoms increase:
1. Stop and move away from environment
2. Connect with the body
3. Check how you feel
4. Review the situation
5. Listen to what the body wants
6. Take action! :)
7. Journal to record when symptoms increase and what you did to reverse the symptoms
Below are some of the things I did to take action:
Stop doing research and stay "in" the body
Speak up for my needs and wishes
Create balance, variety, joy, and stimulation in my life everyday
Be less conscientious
Let go of fear about the fatigue
Set emotional and physical boundaries
Ask for help and support
Put an end to pushing myself
Practice mindfulness everyday
Acknowledge, express, and resolve emotions
Stop caring what people think
Practice compassion without attachment
Listen to the body first, then the brain
Use intuition and gut feelings as a guide
Connect with my truth and trust it
Live the life that I want to be living! (one step at a time)
Everyone heals at the perfect time:
Before I could heal, I had to understand that my fatigue was a message from my body to do something specific to meet it's needs. It was important to know that what caused my initial symptoms in the November was not the same that caused my increased symptoms in April. The
body has many needs! I'm grateful to have been applying meditation, yoga, nutrition, and
spirituality to my life because I knew the answers were within me but I had to make more changes.Also, my health coaching education from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition brought me closer to my inner wisdom but it was not enough. I knew that I had to just give my body what it needed to
heal on its own. Reverse Therapy was the icing on the cake! I couldn't do it all on my own; I needed guidance from someone who understood. It was hard for me to see my habits that I had been carrying around all my life and I had to learn my lesson before I could heal fully. What a blessing it has been to be invited to make these changes and it was truly at the perfect time. Change isn't always easy but be gentle with yourself and know it will be worth it!
Healing benchmark of 6 weeks:
Dr. Eaton gives his clients a benchmark time of 6 weeks without symptoms to be sure that they are on the right track. Here are my personal phases during the 6 weeks of healing. Note: these phases are not part of Reverse Therapy but I wanted to share my experience in hopes to help you. I went through phases 1-4 very fast and it was a bit overwhelming at times. When you get to this point, I can help make it a smoother transition. :)
Phase 1: Listen and take action
Phase 2: Healing honeymoon woohoo!
Phase 3: Amplified awareness
Phase 4: Reflection/re-evaluation
Phase 5: Trust
Phase 6: Manifestation of the life you desire!
What was happening to my body on a physical level to cause so much fatigue?
As a Nurse, I'm very fascinated to know what was happening inside of my body, physically to cause such debilitating fatigue. Turns out that my nervous system was "stuck" in the Sympathetic Nervous System or "fight or flight" mode. When the sympathetic nervous system is activated for too long, the entire body struggles to keep up and eventually starts to shut down. This means that the endocrine and digestive system take a back seat so the body can take care of the threat at hand. This all happened because the hypothalamus (coordinates both the autonomic nervous system and the activity of the pituitary) in the brain was working in overload and it couldn't function properly until all threats were removed. I removed the threats by the techniques listed above but it had to be according to my body's messages at the right time. The body needs resolution from emotions as well (mainly guilt, fear, anger, and frustration). If the threats are not removed, then the hypothalamus doesn't send a proper signal to the pituitary gland (master gland). If the master gland is not happy, then you won't be happy either because this can weaken so many functions of your body. One pathway is called the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal-Axis (HPA axis) and when it is not working in unison you get HPA axis dysfunction or also called adrenal fatigue. This causes extra cortisol and adrenaline too be produced which lowers the immune system and overworks the body, producing body symptoms. It also causes the body to use up glucose at a very fast rate and as a result blood sugar becomes too low, too quickly. Another pathway that was involved with me was the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Ovary-Axis (HPO axis). This caused my estrogen and pregnenolone hormones to be quite low. Also, my digestive system couldn't work correctly because this system functions in the Parasympathetic Nervous System mode. The digestive system has a nervous system of their own via the vagus nerve which is why "gut feelings" are to important. In Dr. Mate's book he writes that the brain relays to the gut data from the sensory organs such as the eyes, skin, and ears and also more importantly, the interpretation of such data. In other words, if you are seeing, feeling, hearing, or interpreting a threatening stimulus, your digestion and your body will not function properly. I include Dr. Mate's book here because it is in line with the same theory as Reverse Therapy. To read more about Reverse Therapy or Dr. Mate's theory more please click on the links in the references. Finally, I want to add that it takes about 3 months for the immune system to catch up to speed as long as you keep listening to your body's messages and acting appropriatly on them. :)
All along my fatigue was a strong message from my body to do something specific to make it's needs met and to be happy. Never underestimate simplicity.
Knowledge is power!!
I will be posting my more about my journey through CFS and my healing. Stay up to date by subscribing to my monthly newsletter. :)
*Note, I am simply expressing my story and compassion here. The role of the Health Coach is not to prescribe, diagnose, treat or cure any disease, condition or other physical or mental ailment of the human body. Rather, the Coach is a mentor and guide who has been trained in health coaching to help clients reach their own health goals and support them along the way. I do not give advice on nutrition or mental health nor do I claim that my experience will act as a way giving advice. I'm working here as a RN, Health Coach and not acting in the capacity of a doctor, licensed dietician-nutritionist, psychologist, Reverse Therapist, or counselor and I am not meant to take the place of these professionals. I suggest that if you are experiencing symptoms of any kind to contact your physician or in an event of an emergency, call 911 as soon as possible.
Thank you for reading. :)
Inspiration, Light, and Healing to you!
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