What if everything you've been told about managing a chronic illness is missing the most crucial element self-compassion?
In today's episode, we are not just exploring potent self-care strategies. We are delving into the often overlooked areas of emotional self-care and self-compassion. In this episode, I talk about the shadows that are often cast by chronic illness the emotional pain and suffering. This is something that not enough of us are talking about, the kind of suffering that comes from living with a condition that is as unpredictable as it is challenging. So don't go anywhere, because we're about to uncover the missing key in self-care for chronic illness.
And even if you don't have a diagnosis right now, you may still be missing this as a key aspect in your self-care. And by reading this aspect, which is self-compassion in the fabric of your daily routine, you will discover how kindness towards yourself can be the most transformative medicine. And that is exactly the reason why this is a thread that I have woven throughout my coaching program. Healing from within for those with chronic conditions. Stay tuned till the end to learn how to navigate this path of gentleness, understanding, and profound healing. That's all coming up next right here on Embrace Your Healing Journey.
Welcome to Embrace Your Healing Journey, a podcast for women with autoimmune and other chronic conditions to help them navigate the illness without fear of isolation and uncertainty and find relief from their symptoms. Your body is your guide and ally in healing. If you're ready to embrace this journey with compassion and awareness, then the show is for you. Tune in weekly as I, a Functional medicine certified health coach, deliver tips and insights that demystify the healing process, guiding you towards the relief you deserve so that you can feel healthy and happy once more.
In each episode, I share inspiring poems, stories, and quotes that may help you to draw strength from and help you stay motivated on your healing journey. So for today's episode, this excerpt is from the book by Rebecca Campbell. She's one of my favorite spiritual guides. I if you know something about me, I am not really overtly religious, but I definitely, you know, believe in Spirituality, and this is from her book Rise to Rise A Guide to Unleashing the Wise Wild Woman Within.
She writes,
To heal means to make whole the whole.
The process of healing brings us back into balance with the whole of life. Therefore, when one woman heals, she doesn't just heal herself.
Rather, she heals the larger whole. When one woman heals and brings herself back into harmony, she sends out ripples to those who came before her and those who will come afterward.
She can never truly know the impact, but she can be sure that her personal healing will not just be felt by her as she is brought into harmony, the whole planet is too.
This work of self-healing isn't easy. It requires that we unearth a shadow and sit with it. It's uncomfortable, which is why not everyone does it. Numbing ourselves out is much easier.
The fact that you are consciously working on your own personal healing is something that is both courageous and admirable. You are a leader just by doing so. Thank you for wanting to do it.
And this is something that I believe in wholeheartedly, and this is the reason I do the kind of work that I do mostly with women, mostly with chronic conditions such as autoimmune disease. And the very fact that you are listening to this episode is proof that you believe in the power of healing to some extent.
On the other side, you may be new to this thing, this journey that I you know, this journey of healing, as I call it. Or you may have been following me for a while. You have read some of my blog posts, you've listened to some of the podcast episodes where I talk about healing versus curing. And you know what we don't often get? It's not just those with a chronic illness that need healing
We are all, uh, need some amount of healing,to some extent or the other. It may be emotional healing for that matter. It may not be physical healing at all. And this whole podcast. It is about supporting your body's healing process. To help you understand why you need to support your body's process instead of treating it as your enemy, because that's often what we end up doing. That's the kind of message that we often get from the world.
And one of the most effective ways that you can support your body's healing process is by practicing daily and consistent self-care. And that's what I'm talking about. Uh, whether you are busy, whether you are ill, whether you're fine right now, it doesn't really matter. All of us need to do it, you know? And in fact, uh, when I was writing down the vision and I repeat this process from time to time. What kind of what do I envision for my practice, for the kind of work that I do, kind of legacy that I want to leave behind? One thing comes out for me that I want to leave a legacy where I'm healing the world one woman at a time. And that's exactly what Rebecca Campbell said in this.
So if you find yourself tired in the morning when it feels like getting out of bed feels like a huge task, and maybe facing your day is even harder. Or maybe you are dealing with a lot of pain that makes moving around tough, but even makes the chores super hard to do. Or maybe you're struggling to eat the right foods, get some exercise, get enough sleep, and you're not really sure that you are doing the right things. And maybe you're, you know, you've ended up in a cycle where it feels like your illness is making all the decisions for you, not the other way around. You know, when we feel like this, it's so easy for to go for snacks that makes us feel good for a moment, or skip on a walk because we don't feel energetic enough, or strong enough, or lie awake at night because of all the stress and discomfort.
It's it's not easy at all. But what if being really dedicated to looking after yourself every day, even in small ways, was what you were missing in the first place, right? And as I mentioned, if you stay tuned till the end, I also share what is the missing piece in this. Why do we struggle so much to take better care of ourselves, even though we very well know that we need to do that? And you know why? We know that taking care of our body and mind every single day, we could start building a healthier and more balanced life.
And the situation is, of course, accentuated when you are living with a chronic illness, it's not just stuff on your body. It can take a huge toll on your emotions too, because suddenly you can. You may feel that you are not sure about your body anymore and doubt starts to creep in, making it super tricky to figure out what's really going on. And it's not just when you are dealing with a chronic illness diagnosis. It can be, during perimenopause, it can be during menopause. It can be during any kind of such transitions that your body is going through. And it's not just the, you know, the problem is not just the illness or the transition itself, but more about everything that's. Speed on you versus how much you're able to take care of yourself. And if you're like most women I know, myself included, there is a lot of responsibilities on our shoulders
We often put ourselves as I you know, as I say jokingly to my clients, that when we have a to do list and to take care of people list, you know, we are husband. Of course children would be at the top. If you are a mother then would be husbands or maybe in-laws. And you know ourselves. We would put ourselves last on that list, right? This is, this is this is what happens for most of us or many of us, I would say. So. A lot of people with chronic conditions, or those who are generally not feeling very well, not feeling the best version of themselves, end up pushing themselves too hard, not eating well as they could, not getting enough rest, and of course, dealing with a lot of stress. All the things that just make things worse.
Because here's the thing dealing with a chronic illness diagnosis or dealing with health issues means finding the right mix of activities and resting eating well. But also treating yourself and getting a handle on stress in ways that work for you. Right. If meditation doesn't work for you, that's fine. You know you need to figure out what works for you if some yoga doesn't work for you, but you'll have to find tools that actually work for you. And tackling the deeper issues by doubling down on self-care can really help you manage both physical and emotional aspects of healing.
As I said, it's not just restricted to those with a chronic illness diagnosis right now. It's for those of us who are going through a life transition, maybe going through perimenopause, going through menopause, maybe dealing with, you know, uh, seemingly disconnected symptoms or health issues right here for etc. it's for all of us. And what will happen is that if you can figure out how to tackle these deeper issues, you might notice some of the constant symptoms start to ease up, helping you feel better overall.
Because what you need to understand is creating a healthier, happier life over the long haul means figuring out when to shake things up a bit, to stay on the right path, and making self-care a regular part of your routine is actually key to that. Um, and a lot of times, especially when dealing with a chronic illness, many people, of course, she made changes in their diet. They tweak their lifestyle, they focus on detox, gut health supplements and all of those, uh, you know, and testing. And all of those are, of course, very important. And as I mentioned, but there is a piece of the puzzle that often gets missed.
And one of the pieces is self-compassion. And in fact, I had this client, Archana, who was all in on diet and exercise but kind of missed out on being kind to herself when she was feeling down and out. And I've had this happen with other clients, too. And, you know, they are doing all kinds of things, but what they are not doing, being is kind to themselves because we're not taught how to do. With that. Right. And it's in as far as I was concerned. It was only when she discovered the power of gratitude and self-compassion that things started to shift for her. And in fact, journaling became her go to for staying on track emotionally and keep her keeping her motivation up.
And it's these experiences over the years of mostly dealing with women with the, you know, chronic health problems- emotional, physical aspects of it that it ties back where I created this care model that I lean into with my clients. It's a part of my six month coaching program, Healing from Within, which is based on, um, body wise healing framework. And I will share some more details, uh, you know, in the link below. But the CARE model is where
C stands for creating a empowering Self-care plan
A is accessing your inner wisdom and guidance
R is replenishing and restoring that balance
E is embracing stress with ease and softness.
This is what the model stands for. Because what people often miss out on and what they actually need are these three key aspects which this model takes care of.
Number one is integrate mindfulness and emotional healing. Emotional healing is not something that is discussed a lot, or it's the only thing that is focused on what you. One needs to do is, you know, uh, take care of both these aspects. So, uh, as far as mindfulness and emotional healing is concerned, you can start bringing in practices like journaling, meditation, gratitude exercises. Right. What? You know, these are all, uh, practices that are not add ons. They're essential for managing emotions and building up your resilience. And they help you reconnect with yourself, bringing in that peace and balance that you're looking for, especially when you're already dealing with health issues. That's how that's how they are. They're very helpful.
Number two is cultivating self-compassion. And this is what I have been talking about. This is what usually is the missing piece. And this is huge. It's not about being. It's it's about being kind to yourself. It is about understanding that managing a chronic illness, or maybe just health issues, is a journey filled with ups and downs. So it's instead of beating yourself up, it's about, you know, gentle self affirmations. It's being just kind to yourself and talking to yourself with empathy. This shift in how you treat yourself can make all the difference in your life. And possibly this is what you have been missing.
And number three, as a three step process, creating a personalized and sustainable self-care routine. Because again, this is not just about the physical stuff. Yes, diet and exercise matter a lot, but so does your mental and emotional health. So it's about building a daily routine that feels doable for you, and it's filled with small, manageable steps that don't really overwhelm you. But instead that they build you. Grew up every day, bit by bit. So Archana story and the lessons from the care model.
They remind us that at the core of managing chronic conditions, of dealing with multiple health issues or just in, you know, symptoms alongside with dietary and lifestyle changes, uh, self-compassion cannot be overlooked. It's actually the secret sauce to not just living with issues, but thriving despite it. And as I mentioned that focusing on mindfulness, self-compassion and a personalized self-care routine, it's not just nice to have. These are essential.
And emotional healing is your secret weapon and cleanse the endless cycle of stress and symptoms flare up if you're having that if you're navigating life's storms and it does feel like, like a storm when you're going through a flare up with a sense of inner peace and emotional equilibrium is like having an anchor, so that you're not swayed by every single challenge that comes your way.
And of course, there's the game changer that I've been talking about, which is the probably the one most overlooked, which is the self-compassion. So you are basically shifting from your toughest critic to your most supportive ally, and it can revolutionize your journey with any kind of health issues. And it's not just positive thinking, it's about changing our internal dialogue.
In fact, do an exercise with my clients, and it's an inner critic versus inner coach. And it's a brilliant exercise, uh, where, you know, we actually learn how to shift, uh, the that inner dialogue from constantly criticizing ourselves, putting ourselves down to one of support and kindness. It has the power to immediately ease up your path like so. It makes it easier to stick to lifestyle changes that you need to to make healthier choices so that you can get better.
So where do you begin? You begin with a personalized self-care routine. Sustainable self-care routine. It's about these small habits that you incorporate in your daily life. Uh, because your routine becomes the foundation upon which long term health is built. And this is where I think the way I deal with these issues with my clients, with, you know, the way I look at my life personally, contrasts with a lot of other programs out there, uh, wherein, you know, uh, most of the time we are looking at these quick fixes. While, yes, some some steps that we take can help us in the short run and it's needed so that we can actually get going with their life. But most of the time we need to create a healthy foundation.
We need to create a healthy foundation so that we can sustain the health and the wellness that we are seeking in our lives. And it means that you are receiving this practices into the fabric of your being. You're not just managing your symptoms, which is why I call my program a very transformative program. But I share this in my blog post and I share this in the podcast episodes that its not about my program. It's more about the transformation that you need to seek.
It's it's about experiencing transformative health improvements. Irrespective of how busy you are, how fatigued you are. And each one of us can can experience this. That's what I want you to know right now right here. And it's about sharing your unique gifts with the world. It's about infusing your life with meaning and purpose behind any condition that you might have.
This is the thing that really makes me sad, in a way. When I see that there's so many women out there who are struggling today, who have so much to offer, like so many gifts that they have to offer. I have a I have a friend that I can think of, and she's really struggling with multiple health issues, and I know that she is, you know, has so much to offer to this world. But if you're not, you know, able to get a handle on on your health, physical health, emotional health, then it's very hard to give your best and, you know, live your best life. So that really makes me sad, because living a vibrant and fulfilled life and not being defined by a diagnosis is possible. And I want you to know that. I mean, if there's nothing that you take away from today's episode, this is what I want you to take away. And this kind of holistic approach does obviously doesn't just treat the physical symptoms, it heals the emotional scars and the mental battles that often accompanied this kind of these kind of health issues. More than that, it redefines your relationship with yourself and your body, paving the way for deep, lasting health and a deep, lasting health and healing from within.
So in the words of Katie Reid,
Self-care means giving the world the best of you instead of what's left of you.
So if you have any questions in the questions coming up, uh, after you've listened to this episode of, you're eager to learn more about how functional medicine, health coaching, and specifically my program Healing from Within could transform your journey. Let's connect.
You can write to me at anindita@aninditarungta.com.
I'll be sharing the link below. I would love to hear from you. You can also join our free Facebook group. It's by the same name- Embrace your healing journey where I host challenges. I do like Q and As. You can get a lot of value from that.
And if you found value in our conversation today, consider sharing this episode with a friend, because sparkling a single sparking a single conversation could ripple out in ways we can only imagine. And supporting others on their path to wellness. So thank you so much for joining me today for this episode of Embrace Your Healing Journey.
In our upcoming episode, we are diving. I am diving in deep into a topic that's fascinating and yet frequently gets missed out in conversations about wellness. How to ease stress., but without meditation, it's about unlocking the secret to calm your body and mind for those who are not accustomed to meditation but still want to understand how to manage their stress better, how to change their response to stress. So these are these insights that I have gathered over the years of working with countless clients and also overcoming challenges in my own life.
Trust me, this is an episode you don't want to miss. Your body knows how to heal. Are you ready to support it?
