Pain and illness sets us all back at some point in our lives.   We can begin to question everything:  Our life’s purpose, God, and the reasons for our suffering.

Physical pain is a very interesting phenomenon because it is taking place within ourselves.  No one else can feel it for us, and research shows we all perceive it and handle it differently.

  When our body is suffering it is hard to find joy in daily life, and it often robs us of hobbies and passions we love to do.  If the pain goes on long enough, research even shows that new pathways are formed in the nervous system that “learn” the pain.  This can make chronic pain even tougher to cope with and manage both for the doctor and the patient.

I was in pain and dealt with fatigue for many years.  It had its roots in so many causes it is hard to say which came first.  That is typically the case for so many in pain.  I remember getting headaches as a child after a blow to the head, and always having allergies and infections and missing lots of school.  Then the grief of losing a parent about did me in emotionally and spiritually.  Follow that up with an infection and familial prevalence of auto-immune symptoms and you have the recipe for someone in chronic pain.

The medical reports pointed to a life of pain, taking anti-depressants, stomach medication, muscle relaxers, anti-inflammatories and chronic pain medication. 

Thank God, today I am off them all.  It was an arduous journey of health and self discovery. 

But in the end it came down to a mindset.  I moved out of the fear of constantly remaining this way, and into a mindset of FORWARD.  I was going to change, I was going to seek, I was going to find.

Which leads us to our first concept:

1.) It won’t be easy but it will be worth it.

I run into patients ready and willing to do the work.  To dig deep within themselves and fight for a future that is brighter and filled with more function, purpose and less pain.

Others just aren’t ready to make that jump.  Something holds them back, and it is so deep within them and personal but it is palpable.

Ask yourself what that could be?  It can be as simple as the traumatic experience of the initial pain itself or it can go much deeper.  Which leads to point 2.

2.)   

  

You might have gone through something so mentally, physically or spiritually traumatizing, you can’t quite see the light to your destiny.  That you were designed to be healthy, happy and whole.

Physical traumas, stressful periods in our life, people that made us feel horrible about ourselves and loss are just a few roadblocks we have to clear up, to get to the next step.

This is deep work, that is often assisted by licensed professionals.  Unconditional love is the answer to all of it, especially for yourself!

3.)  

You may have to descend before you ascend.  The healing crisis may happen before you feel better.  Taking up exercise again can make you sore,  saying no to social situations to rest and repair is not always fun. Not eating the processed foods that make you feel temporarily happy may feel like you are sacrificing everything.

The journey of dealing with soreness from physical hands on work, the fear of making things worse with therapy, or even the anxiety that you may ge your hopes up only to be dissapointed.

I walked on egg shells around exercise and physical exertion for years.  I was so afraid I would flair up crippling exhaustion again.  Many of my first chiropractic, massage and acupuncture visits triggered headaches and even memories of mental trauma I was holding in my body.  I would feel low or depressed, sore, and worse for several days and then the clouds would part.

Supplements that restored my normal gut microbial balance made me feel low and ill.  Detoxfication can make you feel lethargic.  Fasting can make you look at everything, and puts you face to face with your true life and relationship with God, yourself and others. 

Its all about starting slow, and doing new things to heal that don’t create massive discomfort. Talking with your practitioners, therapists and adding new things in your life in a steady stepwise fashion.  If the pain of healing is too great, we will stop moving forward.

We all want to avoid pain, but sometimes it can be inevitable to reach the next level.  The key is a perspective on pain.  It can’t touch your spirit, and you have to stay focused on that. 

4.)  

God designed your body.  The body is so magnificent in its order, and design.  Every joint is so genius in how it works and the amount of nerves that signal to help us move, digest, hear and enjoy life are staggering.   You have 7 trillion nerve cells always ready to signal a NEW message.  My 10 years in practice pouring through research has shown me one thing.  The nerves can fire a new message, and create a new hormone reaction, a new mode of digestion, when given new stimuli.   This means that the healing process can start right now!

There is a journey with God feeling when you truly decide to heal. 

Everytime I prayed,  a new practitioner or mentor seemed to pop up out of nowhere.  In times of quiet I would get promptings of ways I was percieving myself, the world or others that were not conducive to health.  I would be prompted to give up a food, or daily habit that all the sudden I realized was detrimental to my healing.

God is with you, and willing to impart wisdom and lessons in so many unique ways that will spark healing shifts in your life.  In the end you will learn amazing things to help others and will look at life after healing with a new, very gratitude filled lense.

There was a reason for my trial, and it ended up leading to one of my greatest gifts in life.  To be able to walk alonside people as they heal and encourage, teach and treat them.

Say this outloud:

Forward, forward, forward.  Faith, Faith, Faith. 

You have to get the momentum started.  The forward progress happens with the mindset.  The feeling that if you seek you WILL find, and learn amazing things in the process.

This is coming from someone bed ridden and in chronic pain in the past.  The very fight to regain my health gave me an amazing gift to impact others.  Now 10 years in practice I have helped so many people get their momentum back, but it started with an absolute defeat and devastation.  God’s physical, mental and spiritual potential he gifted you is Big.   See below the infograph for key questions to answer. 

An Exercise for Moving Forward:

Get a piece of paper in front of you and answer these questions:

1.)  What people have hurt me that could be contributing to my health issue through stress or the inability for me to provide myself with self care and unconditional love.

2.)  Who can I seek out for help.  Practitioners from the natural and mainstream medical field (remember it may take multiple approaches.)

3.)  Is my current life overly stressful?  What changes can I make to take small moments throughout the day to rest, and enjoy if even for 5 minutes.

4.)  Can I pray everyday for a list of things I need help with, knowing help will come?

To learn more about the Restoration Plan visit here

To visit Doctor day for Physical alignment, or Functional Nutrition visit here

To be alerted when new articles about health, healing, and restoration are up sign up here.