3 steps to support & heal your thyroid

In this 3-part blog series over the last few weeks, I’ve been sharing with you the major steps I took (also the steps I guide my clients through) to support and heal the thyroid naturally.

This is a topic I feel incredibly passionate about as someone who became a thyroid statistic back in 2016 after being diagnosed with Hashimotos Hypothyroidism.

It’s estimated that 1 in 3 women have a thyroid disorder such as hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, Grave’s Disease or Hashimoto’s.

Men are less likely to have thyroid issues, but I’ve seen my fair share of men struggling with them too.

I’m grateful to say that within 6 months of being diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Hypothyroidism, I was in remission, now my thyroid test results couldn’t be more perfect, and I feel like myself again.

Unfortunately, not all women or men have their thyroid properly checked and those who are diagnosed with a thyroid disorder, aren’t always provided the right lab tests or resources to get their thyroid issues under control as quickly as I did, or ever.

Most people who are diagnosed are immediately prescribed thyroid medication, which can provide immediate relief for those who are suffering, but medication is not necessarily a long-term solution and it certainly does not solve the root of the problem.

In fact, medication can become less effective over time as the thyroid continues to deteriorate as a result of the root cause not being addressed, and over-medicating can trigger secondary hypothyroidism.

Medication doesn’t address why you might have low thyroid hormone in the first place, and if you have an autoimmune disorder it doesn’t stop the body from attacking healthy tissue; that’s simply not the mechanism of thyroid medication.

The good news is, there are natural ways to support your thyroid health, to prevent thyroid issues from happening and even reverse an existing thyroid disorder.

In part 1 of this blog series, I addressed step #1 – knowing your thyroid numbers.

Knowing your numbers is important for a couple of reasons:

• To understand the type of thyroid imbalance (hypo, hyper, autoimmune) you might have
• To evaluate your risk or how severe your thyroid situation is so you know how much support your thyroid needs
• To get a baseline so you can measure progress with different therapies you might introduce

In part 2 of this blog series, I addressed step #2 – controlling what you can

The majority of thyroid disorders are a result of your lifestyle choices or factors such as:

• Foods you choose to eat
• Quality and quantity of sleep
• Frequency and intensity of the exercise
• How you deal with stress and emotions
• Toxins you’re exposed to and your body’s capacity to detox them
• Other underlying hormone imbalances, a sluggish liver, poor digestion and an overwhelmed immune system

Which means you have more control over your thyroid health than you might think.

It’s impossible to be perfect every minute of every day when it comes to your food, sleep, exercise, stress and environment.  But you can become present. Start noticing what is going on in your lifestyle that might be impacting your thyroid health, and how you can make choices to support your body in the ways it needs it most.

The 3rd step to supporting and healing your thyroid is definitely a topic that most health professionals aren’t talking about – which is funny because it involves communication and trust!

There is more to thyroid health than the scientific approaches of modern medicine.  

The study of epigenetics, frequency, emotional and vibrational energy has proven to us over time how health can be impacted by our beliefs and experiences.

In this week’s video and blog, I share the 3rd and final major step I took to boost my thyroid health so I could feel like myself again – medication free, and that has helped others do the same.

After being diagnosed with Hashimotos Hypothyroidism, I took immediate action to support my thyroid by changing my diet, getting more sleep, dialing back my exercise intensity, meditating ritually to offset stress, creating an even more toxin free environment, adding in additional supplements to promote the healing process and testing for other contributing factors such as viruses, parasites, bacteria and yeast.

I had all the “scientific” approaches nailed.  But something was still slowing down my healing process, and then I remembered something I tell my clients all the time…

Healthy is a way of being, not just doing.

I was doing all of the “healthy” things, but the question was, “who was I being that led to a decline in my thyroid health?”

I started to notice how I struggled with the negative self talk every time I looked in the mirror.  How I judged myself for not doing or being better. At times I would blame my body for failing me. I had a need to control everything, and yet I didn’t always openly or clearly communicate my needs.

That’s when the 3rd and final major step in reclaiming my thyroid health became very clear.

Step #3 – Trust & Communicate

In various Eastern medicine and healing modalities, the thyroid is related to the throat chakra.  Chakras are known as energy centers, located in specific places of the body that help to regulate processes such as organ function, the immune system and emotions.

The throat chakra, is located exactly as indicated, at th throat.  It is related to the thyroid, mouth, throat and ears (which is ironic given my history of ear infections as a child into my 20’s) as well as our ability to express and communicate.

When the throat chakra is out of balance it might show up as:

• Over or under communication
• Inability to express self, stand up for your beliefs or follow your dreams
• Sore throat, asthma and fatigue
• Struggling to find your words
• Thyroid disorders

Almost all of which have been obstacles for me throughout my life despite the fact that I was an overachiever A-type.

So as part of step 3, I engaged in some transformational personal self-growth work to rewire negative old belief systems and build my ability to communicate my needs with confidence in effort to rebalance my throat chakra to assist my thyroid in it’s healing process.

Along with this process I also had to learn to trust my body again.

It hadn’t failed me.  If anything I had failed it in a way.  I forgot to appreciate all the hard work my body and my thyroid were doing for me on a daily basis.  I pushed the limits and resisted taking days of rest due to my own internal judgements about what would happen if I did, or what others might think.

So one day at a time I shifted my mindset, I learned to trust my body again and built my ability to communicate confidently by:

• Looking in the mirror with appreciation
• Writing down 3 things I was grateful for daily
• Working with healers and coaches to realign my beliefs about my body and life
• Learning and using energy balancing modalities (Kundalini, breath work and tapping)
• Taking time to do one thing for myself each day (meditate, long lunch, massage, etc.)
• Talking openly about my journey and letting those around me know how they could support me

Not everyone around me understood what I was doing, or could relate, but that was ok.  Sometimes we have to leave people where they are (not behind) in order for us to move forward in pursuit of our goals and dreams.

As a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition® Practitioner and Master Transformational Coach, trained in functional lab testing, data-guided health protocols and neuro-linguistic programming, I help people reclaim their health in similar ways as I have done, and that I have described in this series, so they can feel like themselves again, or for the very first time.

If you want to get your hands on the right lab tests and resources, and guidance so you can prevent or reverse a thyroid issue, schedule an Ideal Health & Weight Discovery Call with me here