Growing up, I did not enjoy reading. I was a slower reader, and often times it would make me tired. Now that I’m older, and out of school, I’ve realized I wasn’t reading anything that interested me. I borrowed a paperback book from a friend during the pandemic. To date I have read it 4-5 times. It is a cheesy, fictional love story, and I love it. I am able to read that book in a few hours now, that’s how much I enjoy it. Maybe I am not such a slow reader after all.
I don’t really enjoy watching TV. I can only scroll through TikTok for so long before I get bored. Friends and family had to work, so I spent a lot of time by myself. It was winter and I couldn’t drive, therefore, I didn’t want to do much or go anywhere; I would get lost in a book.
Some friends got me a Kobo for my birthday so I would have access to more books. One of the best gifts I could have received during my time off! It links up to your library card to borrow books, and/or you can preview a book before committing to it. When previewing one, it gives you a decent amount of pages to help determine whether to not you want to invest your time/money into it, which I really appreciate.
I had read Atomic Habits back to back, and was utilizing my habit tracker daily. It was going really well. Then January 12th, I woke up with a horrible migraine, which turned into a head/chest cold the following day. I cannot tell you this last time I was that sick (no it was not COVID). Getting to the gym was going on the back burner for a while. I needed to rest! But I continued to do the best I could with my habit tracker: making the bed, getting dressed for the day (so I wouldn’t just be a lazy butt), getting my fluids and food in, daily reading was also on my habit tracker.
I borrowed two books from the library I had read many times. Both solid go-to books when I need a little reminder to trust the Universe. After reading both, I was on the hunt for a new book. Despite wanting to feel better, because let’s face it, sitting on the couch all day coughing my lungs up was not my definition of fun. It ultimately lead me to some amazing books which lead me towards the path I am currently on. I believe everything happens for a reason. Searching for my next read, I came across a particular book. I previewed it, and within less than 15 pages I knew I wanted, no, needed to read more!
The Hormone Cure by Dr. Sara Gottfried. This book would open my eyes to my own health, and a world full of opportunities.
This book talks about numerous hormones. It dives into the science behind them, however is written in a way where if you don’t want to read that section, you can simply skip ahead, and read how you can best support, balance, and optimize the hormones.
I have been to the doctor and naturopath for many years saying “I think my hormones are out of whack, I’m only in my early 30’s I don’t think I should be feeling this way”
I was offered birth control by my MD, which I politely declined, as I wanted to get to the root cause and correct the imbalances, not just mask it. I had gone through testing with my naturopath which showed every single hormone was out of whack! No wonder I was expecting the symptoms I was! I asked my doctor to confirm this with blood work, and was informed everything came back “normal”. Que eye roll, and frustration.
Burn out and stress are enough to throw off your hormones. I was dealing with hormonal issues (in my opinion) before the pandemic. Sprinkle a little COVID in the mix, then flash forward to July being diagnosed with epilepsy (which I was not dealing with very well), and starting medication that had a ton of side effect…. A recipe for disaster!!!!!
After reading the hormone cure, I began making small changes in my eating habits to help support my hormones. I was and still am working on managing stress levels, and my sleep pattern. Getting sick and stuck on the couch sucked in the moment, but it had its benefits. It lead me to read The Hormone Cure, which got me reading more books, more articles, and making small changes in my own life to help me feel great.
Almost 2 full months of being sick, I slowly began to feel better. In hindsight I have never been more grateful to be forced to sit on the couch, rest, but also exercise my brain!
Once I was no longer going to spread my germs, I met up with a friend for coffee. I was raving about this book! I feel a lot of people would benefit from reading it (just my opinion though). I shared some personal take aways, which lead her to share some podcasts she thought I may be interested in. One in particular stood out. The Cabral Concept with Dr. Stephan Cabral, functional medicine, and naturopathic doctor. That afternoon, I listened to an episode; he has a few on hormonal health so of course I started there! (I am fascinated with hormonal health). The podcasts are 20-30 minuets long, and before I knew it I had been listening for THREE HOURS!
Working in health care, but having the opportunity, thanks to epilepsy, to focus on my own health and well-being, the passion for learning was/is back. I wanted to know more! I was excited to exercise my brain even more. Still off work, still not 100% feeling better, I began looking into courses I could take to broaden my knowledge. If I’m going to be stuck on the couch, I may as well get something out of it
After about a week of digging, reaching out to different program co-ordinators to see what their programs offer, how their programs ran, how much they were, and the credentials they provide, I found one I felt would give me the knowledge to help start healing myself, share the knowledge with my loved ones if they want, and eventually share it with others!
Dr. Cabral’s Integrative Health Practitioner (IHP) course gave me something to look forward to, gave me structure during my days off work, and a lot of good foundational knowledge to start implementing in my own life to start feeling my absolute best.
March 10th 2023, I began the IHP course. Have since completed level one, loved every minuet of it, and currently working towards my IHP level 2 certification. I have implemented a lot of what I have learned from level one into my own life, while continuing to expand my knowledge through IHP level 2, ongoing reading of books and health related articles.
I truly feel burn out and high levels of stress brought my epilepsy to life. I have a congenital birth spot on my brain that was just causing issues now. Stress can due some pretty nasty things to our health. Looking back, I can now see, if I didn’t experience the burn out, the stress, the diagnosis of epilepsy, I would not have been off work. If I didn’t struggle with the diagnosis leading to depression, I would not have been drawn to seek help/ resources. If I didn’t get so sick in January while also still being off from work, I would not have been forced to sit on the coach to rest, which lead me to reading so many books. If I wasn’t lead to those books, who’s to say my friend would have told me about the Cabral concept podcast which then lead me to the IHP program. Everything happens for a reason…
Until Next Time…
Just keep swimming had and still is my motto. I may have paused to lay low during some of those tidal waves, but I am so glad I kept swimming. So many negative events lead me towards feeling and being my best self. I can now look back and appreciate the hardships and struggles. I will be forever grateful.
During my time doing IHP level one, I began implementing nutritional changes which only took a few days to notice a difference. Starting with my own health and healing from what I am learning, to hopefully encourage others to so one day.
They don’t always have to be big miraculous changes to feel a shift. You just have to start.
I am excited to continue to share my health and wellness journey with you.
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Journey to My New Normal 
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