One question I hear frequently from clients is: “Are symptoms normal or just common”? Does everyone feel like this or is it just me?
In my own experience, I was a classic case of denial…. Many Natural Health practitioners and authors enter this field because of our own health needs. I’m one of those, for sure…
The disconnect between my health and my brain came early for me. I was smart and very well-behaved. Therefore, I was “fine”. But I remember having lots of problems that my parents never seemed to be very concerned about, so I assumed these symptoms were normal.
As I grew older, my body was not a very friendly place to live in, but my friends weren’t concerned and didn’t want to talk about it, so I assumed they all felt the same way too. Headaches, diarrhea, canker sores, body odors, nightmares – let’s ALL have them and not talk about them!
And hey, I’m making A’s at really hard schools, so how bad can it be?
Are Symptoms Normal or Just Common?
Once I began to see Alternative Health practitioners, I saw that what was “common” in me was not the same as what’s “normal”.
Here’s what I tell clients when they don’t want to list a symptom as important. They ask: “But doesn’t everyone have gas and bloating”? Or, “don’t we ALL have sinus infections, or diarrhea, or what-have-you”? The answer is:
NO! IT MAY BE COMMON, BUT IT’S NOT NORMAL!
Like any functional system, we should not have symptoms unless there’s a darn good reason. Maybe we’re fighting for our lives with a sword or hanging from a rocky cliff-face and we’re clearly having a hard time… The rest of the time, things should flow along pretty well, with good appetite, good poops, good sleep, and a generally happy face.
Taking a Personal Health Inventory is a huge help! I keep a journal and list foods, symptoms, new things started, mood and various things I chart. Filling out a chart with all your concerns will hopefully allow you to see that you deserve better, and that there may be reasons why you’re feeling this way.
Then the fun part starts….
Clean up that diet so clean, it squeaks! Do it right. Do it for YOU. Just DO it! And hurry up already! (Get my DVD, The Diet For Human Beings to learn the diet I recommend in just over an hour). It’s in my store or on Amazon.
Then you get to notice things disappear, like the canker sores, the reflux, the arthritis in ONE hand but not the other – whatever the list includes.
Pause for major celebration and patting-oneself-on-the-back!
You’ve probably just solved 50% of the concerns on your list with a change in food and the beginnings of some lifestyle issues (eat more on time, sleep more on time, start moving your arms and legs, and avoid chemicals).
The trick is acknowledging what’s so and letting that motivate you to get your feet headed towards the kitchen and the grocery store. You CAN do this! There’s dozens of Facebook pages, blogs and books just using the Paleo Diet alone that will guide you.
Just stop putting up with it….
And that’s my cheerleader talk for today! Except to say; remember to talk to your kids, spouse and parents and ask them where they hurt, and how often they feel it, and please to share it with you. Their concerns are real and they deserve to feel better. If you can make the connection between a symptom and the diet, they’ll be more inspired to work on the NEXT issue, and then the NEXT one.
Who wants to be Common and feel bad anyway? I’d much rather be NORMAL!
