February 2, 2024 • 30 mins
It's now been 13 years since the end of my horrific flare of the autoimmune disease, Ulcerative Colitis, 13 years since the beginning of my healing journey, and 13 years remaining completely flare-free!
In this episode, I honor this flare-free anniversary by sharing with you 13 of the many things that have helped get me to this place. 13 of the tools, methods, concepts, and strategies that have helped me to heal from years of mild to moderate flares, and then from the fallout of the major flare, and have helped me to successfully stay healed from my disease for all this time. These are the tools that I believe can help to achieve the same results for you too.
The path to healing and staying healed has proved to be a marathon, not a sprint, with both joy and pain as companions. It has encompassed not just physical, but emotional, mental, and spiritual healing as well, and this list reflects and reinforces that. Every moment of this journey has been, and continues to be, so, so worth it. Have a listen to be encouraged and motivated by my “Lucky 13!”
Website: www.kellybhaney.com
Email: info@kellybhaney.com
Instagram: @kellybhaney
Facebook: Kelly B Haney Wellness
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
Welcome to the Heal and Stay Healed podcast, where
we talk about healing and, moreimportantly, staying healed from
chronic disease and otherailments and issues.
We'll cover all the crazythings about health and life the
good, the bad, the ugly and thehilarious.
My name is Kelly and I am asurvivor and overcomer of severe
(00:31):
autoimmune disease, and I can'twait to share with you what
I've learned so that you canheal and stay healed too.
Thanks for listening and enjoythe show.
I am extra excited for thisepisode today and I am so glad
(00:55):
that you've joined me becausethis time of year is a time of
celebration for me.
It's the time of year when Icelebrate two things.
One is the anniversary of theend of my massive, horrific,
life-threatening, year-longflair of the chronic autoimmune
disease ulcerative colitis thatstarted back in early 2010 and
(01:15):
finally ended in early 2011.
And the second thing I'mcelebrating is another year
that's gone by where I am sograteful to have remained
healthy and flair-free.
So this year I am celebratinglucky number 13.
It's now been 13 years sincethe end of my last flair and the
(01:35):
start of my health journey,which began slowly when that
flair finally wrapped up andreally got kicked off later that
year when, in a blessing indisguise situation, side effects
forced me to start coming offof what seemed to be the only
thing that was keeping me stableimmunosuppressant drugs and
that's when I knew I had to finda different and better way to
continue to heal from all thedamage that the flair had done
(01:58):
to me but, more importantly, tostay healed, against the odds,
from the disease itself.
So I've been on this healingjourney ever since, and now I
can officially say that I havebeen flair-free from my chronic
disease for 13 years andcounting, and I have not been on
any autoimmune-relatedpharmaceutical drugs, including
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any preventative medications,for over 12 years and counting.
Whew, that feels so incredibleto say, and I am so thankful.
If you haven't listened to myfull story and that's of
interest to you you can hear allabout it in the very first full
episode of this podcast, andthat episode is called my
Autoimmune Story from BarelySurviving to Truly Thriving.
(02:40):
I'll just quickly share, for thesake of context today, that my
specific disease again wasulcerative colitis.
Ulcerative colitis is anautoimmune disease of the colon,
also known as the largeintestine.
It's one of the twoinflammatory bowel diseases, the
other one being Crohn's disease.
It's characterized byinflammation in the colon
leading to ulceration, bleeding,diarrhea, pain, weight loss,
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malnourishment all kinds ofproblems and flares of the
disease are commonly frequentand can range from mild to
severe, all the way up tolife-threatening.
It's labeled as a chronic, akaincurable condition.
So that's why having made it 13years and counting flare-free
is a huge deal to me and that'swhy I am celebrating big time.
(03:26):
So I want to dedicate thisepisode to sharing many of the
things that have helped me makeit so long without any flares
and without needing to be on anyrelated medications.
In honor of this flare-freeanniversary today, I'm going to
talk about 13 of the many thingsthat have helped me get to this
place, 13 of the tools, methods, concepts and strategies that
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have helped me to heal fromyears of mild to moderate flares
and then from the fallout ofthat major flare, and have
helped me to successfully stayhealed from my disease for all
of this time.
And many of these things thatI'm going to mention today are
going to be greatly expanded onin future episodes, so I won't
go into too great of detail inmost of them, at least I'll try
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not to, or else this wouldquickly become a 13 hour episode
.
So, without further ado, let'stalk about some of the things 13
of the things, to be specificthat have helped me to heal and
to stay healed.
Naturally Number one if you knowme at all, then you already
know what number one is going tobe diet and nutrition.
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Our diet has to be number one.
What we put into our bodies isthe most important, most
essential part of healing andstaying healed.
For those of us with autoimmuneor other chronic illness, if we
want to truly heal and trulystay healed, then we just don't
have the luxury of continuing away of eating that is not full
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of healing and health promotingfoods.
Hippocrates nailed it a longtime ago when he said let food
be thy medicine and medicine bethy food.
One thing I was fortunate enoughto learn very early on in my
healing journey that probablymade all the difference was to
eat real food, real, whole,nutrient-dense, healing and
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health-promoting food.
Real food is fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans and
legumes, nuts and seeds, andherbs and spices.
Real food is essentially foodthat hasn't been messed with or
has things added to it.
High quality meat, fish andeggs are other real foods too.
What I also learned early on isthe importance of limiting or,
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better yet, avoiding entirelyhighly and ultra-processed foods
, refined sugars, hydrogenatedoils, food dyes, chemical
preservatives and additives,pesticides and genetically
modified foods.
While, ultimately, for me, it'sall about focusing on real food,
I do want to add a quick notefor anyone who is really going
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through it right now with IBD orother damaged gut issues.
In the very beginning of myhealing journey, I not only cut
out gluten, which is somethingthat I still fully avoid to this
day, but I cut out all grainsand legumes entirely for a while
, and I believe that reallyhelped my gut to be able to have
the time and the space to healBecause, though wonderfully
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healthy, those foods wereactually acting as inflammatory
foods towards my gut.
That was still pretty messed upat the time, and after a while,
after much healing had occurred, I was happily able to
incorporate those wonderfulfoods back into my life again.
I'll talk more about that inthe future episode, but I
thought it was important to justmention that today as food for
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thought for anyone who is veryearly on in their healing
journey.
What I've come to knowregarding diet nutrition is that
when we clear away thebombardment of fads, magic
bullets and misinformation thatcan lead to disappointment
instead of better health.
It actually breaks down tosomething that's fairly simple
Eating, nurturing, nourishing,real foods equals healing and
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health.
Eating highly in ultraprocessed, refined, sugar laden
and chemical junk equalssickness and disease.
I highly encourage you to takeyour diet and nutrition super
seriously and treat it like thebeautiful medicine that it is.
Number two is movement.
Moving my body on a regularbasis through various physical
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activities has definitely helpedme to heal and to stay healed.
In the beginning of my healingjourney, walking and yoga were
the two things that reallyhelped me.
Walking brought back my staminaand yoga made me feel strong
again.
Both of them really helped meto regain my endurance, my
confidence and my sense of self.
They both helped me to feelconnected to my body in a
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positive way for the first timein a long time, and I still do
those two things regularly, andthey still are my two favorite
forms of movement.
As my body became more and morehealed over time, I was able to
incorporate a variety ofmovement, and over the years
I've enjoyed other activitieslike jogging, hiking, softball,
biking, playing badminton andother games with my kid, and now
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that I'm in my early 40s, I'min the gym for strength training
on a regular basis because Idon't just want to heal and stay
healed, I want to age well andage gracefully too.
My plan is to do this bykeeping my body strong and agile
as I get older.
No matter your age or where youare in your healing journey,
whatever movement you can dowill be a huge help.
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Movement is vital for our health.
It flushes out toxins that cancontribute to disease.
It strengthens the immunesystem, thereby preventing and
healing disease.
It improves sleep, which sleepitself comes with a multitude of
benefits, and it also improvescognitive, mental and emotional
health, among many other things.
So I'm convinced that movementis one of the things that has
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contributed greatly to mysuccess, not just physically,
but emotionally as well.
I've learned to appreciatemovement so much and I've
learned to really enjoy it, andnow, on days when I don't move
enough, it just doesn't feelright.
So consider starting where youare today, moving in whatever
ways, feel good.
Number three sleep.
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Sweet, sweet sleep.
When I was recovering from mymassive flare 13 years ago, I
slept for about 10 hours a nightfor many months.
I was so fortunate to be ableto have the time to do that as I
recovered from the flare, and Iknow that that not only gave my
body the required time to heal,but it most certainly helped me
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to heal faster.
13 years later, I continue tomake sleep a huge priority, both
sleep quantity and quality, asI understand more and more how
the body undergoes vitalprocesses while we're sleeping
it cleanses, regenerates anddefends us from infection,
disease and inflammation.
I prioritize sleep so much thatI even make fun of myself now
(10:08):
for my sleep habits.
I go to bed pretty early mostnights and my sleep regimen
involves blackout curtains, asleep mask, a white noise
machine, earplugs, a ceiling fanand I have a system involving
up to four pillows for myself,all to help make sure that I
sleep as well as possible.
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So I'm obviously a total sleepnerd, but that's how much I
respect sleep as a tool forhealing and staying healed.
On to number four.
Number four is my naturopath.
I am so thankful for mynaturopath and her seemingly
endless wisdom when it comes tonatural medicine and treatments.
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Naturopaths, as well asfunctional medicine providers,
are physicians who believe innatural healing.
They work to find the source ofthe issue and they work to
treat it naturally as much aspossible, therefore leading to
true healing.
And my favorite part they focuson educating their patients,
which not only informs us, butit empowers us.
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I found my naturopath when I wasa couple years into my healing
journey, but looking back, I cansee that I found her at exactly
the right time for me.
I had made it over the initialhump of healing and remaining
flare-free for a while, and then, when she joined my team, it
felt like I moved up to the nextlevel of healing Through her
guidance and support.
She's been just an angel in mylife and I give her so much
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credit for all that she's doneto get me on the right track and
to keep me on the right track.
There was lots of clean-up workthat my body had to do after
being so beat up for a wholeyear and after being on a wide
array of toxic medications forso long as well, and my
naturopath supported me throughall of it, and she continues to
support me to this day as mytrusted guide.
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I can come to her with prettymuch anything, knowing that she
will have some answers for me.
I highly recommend anyone withany health issue, but especially
those with autoimmune or otherchronic disease, look into
finding a naturopath or afunctional medicine provider, if
you are able.
Number five is therapy.
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I'll say it over and, over andover because I believe it so
much Physical, mental, emotionaland spiritual health are all
connected.
They are all intertwined andwhile one may take precedence
over the others in certain times, eventually we have to really
look at all of them in order totruly heal.
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I started therapy actually inthe middle of my year-long flare
and initially it helped me dealwith what I was going through,
and then, once the flare wasover, it helped me to start to
process what had just happenedto me.
And then it helped me to startto recover from the trauma of
the flare.
And then, over time, therapyhelped me to start digging into
all of the other stuff that wasalready there and that likely
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contributed to me getting sickin the first place.
I've learned over the years justhow much stress, certain
emotions, trauma, suppressedmemories, etc.
How all of these things canhave a direct and powerful
impact on our physical health.
And there is more and moreevidence to suggest that
unmanaged stress and undelt withtrauma are big triggers of many
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chronic diseases, includingautoimmune disease, in terms of
the disease onset and subsequentflares.
So it's not always fun, it'snot always comfortable, to say
the least.
But to truly heal and to trulystay healed, I wholeheartedly
believe that we've got to dealwith the stress of the present
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and we've got to face the traumaof the past.
I continue to meet with mytherapist every other week and
there's still plenty for us tolook at and dig into, plenty to
keep us busy during our sessions.
Now it's often present daychallenges or situations that I
want to walk through with her,but we certainly still spend a
lot of time visiting the past tocontinue the process of healing
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childhood wounds which we allhave.
So big fan of therapy and notjust talk therapy.
There are many kinds of therapyout there and I highly
encourage you to give it a tryand find what works well for you
.
Having a trusted therapist allthese years has definitely
played a massive role in myhealing and staying healed.
The more I heal emotionally,the more confidence I have in my
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physical healing as well.
Number six is meditation.
Meditation is just so great andit's really only been a part of
my journey for the past fewyears.
But when I really startedexperimenting with meditation, I
quickly learned what I had beenmissing out on this practice.
Even for just brief periods oftime, like 10 to 15 minutes a
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day, or even less than that, canreally help my state of mind.
It's actually kind ofridiculous how effective it's
been for me.
It's helped my anxiety andstress levels not just in the
moment, but overall.
I've noticed it's helped mewith mental clarity and with
being a little more presentthroughout the day too, and it's
really helped me with beingless reactive, with thinking
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more before reacting, and thatis something I've been working
on for years.
And since I've startedmeditating, I have straight up
marveled at the fact that I canfeel myself in the moment,
slowing down and thinking beforereacting, and that has been
good for me and certainly hasbeen good for my closest
relationships too.
If you haven't tried meditating,there's a zillion free guided
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meditations out there on YouTube.
Look for a simple one, onethat's maybe 10 minutes long and
has a bunch of good reviews onit, so that you know it's
probably going to be a nice one.
Or just start with closing youreyes and counting 10 deep,
cleansing breaths in and out.
It really doesn't take much toget some benefit.
Meditation has been one of myfavorite additions to my healing
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journey in the recent years.
Number seven is supplements.
My naturopath has frequentlytested me over the years for
vitamin deficiencies, and thathas allowed us to know the areas
where my body needs some extrasupport when it comes to
vitamins.
For me, that's mostly thingslike folate, b12 and vitamin D,
as well as some herbal supportfrom various other herbal
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supplements.
For those with inflammatorybowel disease.
We can have problems properlyabsorbing nutrients due to
scarring and damage in the colon, and many people, even without
IBD, have damaged guts for avariety of reasons, which can
lead to similar absorptionissues.
Another culprit of vitamindeficiencies is our soil.
The soil where crops are growntoday generally is less vitamin
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and mineral rich than it wasdecades ago, and when our soil
is depleted, we can becomedepleted too.
So while it's ideal to get allthat we need from eating real,
whole, beautiful, healing foods,between the depleted soil and
or our gut damage,supplementation can still be
necessary.
So taking the right kind ofquality supplements has been
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super important for me, becauseto heal and to stay healed, we
need to make sure that, as muchas possible, our bodies are
fully equipped with what theyneed.
Over the years, there's beentimes where I've needed
different supplements anddifferent amounts, and this is
where it's important to have anaturopath or functional
medicine provider help to guideyou according to your unique
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needs.
And if you can't see anaturopath or functional
medicine provider, conventionaldoctors can certainly test for a
lot of nutrient deficiencies aswell.
Number eight number eight isminimalism slash simplicity.
I used to just use the wordminimalism, but I think that
that can cause folks to kind ofshrink back at that term,
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because unfortunately,minimalism has kind of a stigma
now of being like, oh, you'vegot to get rid of all your stuff
and go live in a van, which isnot what minimalism really is.
So a word that I've found to bemuch better and much more
encompassing is simplicity,because it's not just about the
stuff that we own.
It's really more about the waythat we live our lives.
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Keeping my life as simple anduncomplicated as I reasonably
can has been huge in my healingand staying healed Physically,
mentally, emotionally andspiritually.
Simplicity hits it all.
It plays a role in everything.
As mentioned earlier regardingtherapy with autoimmune disease
and other chronic illness,stress can be all that it takes
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to bring on a flare.
That has certainly been truefor me in the past, and so one
thing that I intuitively knewwhen I started out on my healing
journey is that I have to tryto keep my life simplified.
Now, of course, I, likeeveryone else, don't actually
have a whole lot of control interms of what happens throughout
the course of my life, but Irealized early on that there are
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some areas where I can controlwhat I can control, and I came
to understand that I couldsimplify in these areas.
What I've come to know is thatexcess in any area leads to
stress, which can lead tosickness.
Less to manage, to clean, tostore, to repair and maintain,
less to deal with is less tostress about.
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But, like I said, minimalismslash, simplicity is so much
more than just the stuff andphysical possessions.
It's about simplifying our time, simplifying how we spend our
energy, and really it's aboutsimplifying our whole approach
to life as we move towardsbreaking away from the culture
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of glorified busyness, keepingup with the Joneses and status
competitions.
These are stressors that leadto deteriorating physical,
mental, emotional and spiritualhealth.
Yet we've all grown accustomedto it, as air quotes, normal in
our society.
Simplicity creates the time,space and energy needed to focus
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on healing.
Okay, I'm going to cut myselfoff on this topic for now before
I get too amped up, but I lovetalking about this so much.
I have so much more to share,so trust that I will be doing a
dedicated episode on simplicityvery soon.
For now I'll just saysimplicity has brought me so
much healing.
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Number nine is mindset.
As you move to living a lifethat is health promoting and
healing, changing the majorthings about your life is not
easy, and I learned very quicklythat having the right mindset
on a healing journey can makeeverything easier.
Having the right kind ofmindset can make all the
difference really.
There will be lots of trial anderror, some missteps, some days
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will be harder than others andin the beginning everything can
feel really difficult.
It can be hard to let go of theold.
It can be a challenge to acceptthe new, even when you know
it's for your great benefit.
A mindset of commitment,perseverance, positive self-talk
and optimism are all a must.
And it's funny and I'm laughingbecause in other areas of life
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I am a recovering pessimist.
My natural tendency is not oneof seeing the glass half full
and I've had to work really hardon that as part of my healing
journey and I'm still working onit, but I'm so grateful that
when I was starting out, thiswas an area where I immediately
had a positive attitude andmindset.
I had made up my mind that Iwas going to do whatever it
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takes to heal and to stay healed, and through the help of my why
, which I've talked about inearlier episodes, I was able to
go in with the right mindset andto keep the right mindset
throughout, even on those morechallenging days, and I'm
confident that that has made aworld of difference in my
staying healed.
Number 10 is my support network.
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The people you surroundyourself with on your healing
journey can really help to makeyou or break you.
When I talk about a supportnetwork, I'm, of course, talking
about your physical and mentalhealth team, but the medical
team that you put together isonly part of the support network
.
The emotional support that youget from family or friends is so
important too.
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Those friends and family whocan be there to encourage you
and to help keep you motivatedas you travel your path of
healing can truly be a lifeline.
If you aren't getting supportfrom your closest relationships,
you can seek it out in theother relationships that you
currently have in your life.
And if you still can't findsupport IRL, then there are many
super supportive online forumsand groups that can likely be
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found, specific to whatever yourparticular health challenge is
there.
Strangers can become likefamily through the common bond
of walking a path of naturalhealing together.
But ideally, your closestfamily and friends will be on
board and will be there tosupport you.
Having a support network goeshand-in-hand with having a solid
mindset, because when othersbelieve in you, it's so much
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easier to believe in yourself.
I have been so fortunate tohave an incredibly supportive
network and that has been hugefor me.
All of them deserve mysincerest gratitude.
Number 11, laughter and humor.
Laughter really is the bestmedicine.
Laughter can significantlyimprove our short-term and
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long-term health.
A simple thing like laughter,it's amazing.
Laughter relieves stress,improves mood and boosts the
immune system, sometimesdramatically.
So I try to find the humor inlife as often as I can, whether
that's telling or hearing funnystories and laughing with others
, watching a hilarious movie orTV show, or just cracking jokes
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in my own head, which I actuallydo a lot of.
Looking for the less seriousside of things has been a great
help in my healing, for sure.
So right now, in a nod tolaughter.
Here is my favorite joke of alltime Are you ready?
Grasshopper walks into a bar.
Bartender says hey, grasshopper, we have a drink named after
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you.
Grasshopper says Really, youhave a drink named Steve.
Come on, did you laugh?
I'm laughing and I've told thatjoke like a thousand times.
It's just so funny.
Okay, moving on, number 12,music.
Music has played a veryimportant role in my healing.
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It's one of my favorite tools.
I'm one of those people thatfinds deep meaning and
connection in song lyrics.
I always have.
Ever since I was a kid, I'vebeen looking to music to express
what my own feelings and wordsjust can't quite communicate.
I find deep meaning,contentment and healing in
connecting with the stories thatmusic tells, and for me, it has
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always been one of the toolsthat I've used to process
through emotions, trauma andgrief.
I'm talking about findinghealing in songs of all genres
rock, rap, pop, gospel, countryand even in classical music,
especially some modern-dayclassical, which is highly
emotion-provoking, and I canfind myself connecting deeply to
it even when there are no words.
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So many songs from so manydifferent kinds of music have
helped me make it through thetough times and have lifted me
even higher in the good times.
Okay, we've made it to number13 on the list of things that
have helped me to heal and stayhealed.
Number 13 is giving back andthough this one is relatively
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new, it is the closest one to myheart.
I remember the confusion andconcern I felt when I was
diagnosed with a chronic diseaseas a teenager.
I remember the frustration anddepression that came with
dealing with years of mild tomoderate, life-disrupting,
embarrassing flares throughoutmy 20s, and I remember the
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darkness, helplessness andhopelessness that I was consumed
by during my horrific flair of2010.
What I would have given forsomeone to come into my life
during that time and tell methat there could be a way out,
that I could not only survivebut that I could thrive.
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Someone to give me the hopethat I was so desperate for and
to stand before me as walking,talking, living proof that
healing is possible.
Someone to help me understandthat a life controlled by my
disease doesn't have to be mydestiny.
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So when I say that my number 13is getting to give back, I say
that with the utmost humilityand gratitude, because now,
after traveling the path ofnatural healing for all these
years, with all the ups anddowns, twists and turns, trials
and errors, all the lessonslearned.
Now I get to be that personthat I so desperately wished for
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during those hopeless,frightening days of being ill.
I get to have the extreme honorand privilege of being that
person for others now.
So giving back is my number 13in the list of things that have
helped me heal and stay healed,because the act of giving back
helps others, yes, and that'sabsolutely what I want to spend
my days doing, but it's notcompletely selfless.
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Giving back a part of what'sbeen given to me on this journey
certainly helps me too.
It is helping me to continue toheal and stay healed, too,
because, as I strive to supportothers in their healing journey,
I feel as though I am honoringmy younger self, that young
woman who was so sick for solong, who didn't get to have
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someone coming in and tellingher with confidence that there
is a path to healing.
I feel like I'm returning toher, my scared, suffering
younger self.
I'm returning to her and sayingall of this will not be in vain
.
It's so beautiful how, ingiving back, by working to heal
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others, we can contribute to ourown continued healing as well.
As I work to give back, I do sowith the humbleness of knowing
that, while I'm beyond thankfulto have learned as much as I
have and to have made it so far,I certainly haven't arrived.
I can't sit back now and crackopen a case of beer or tear into
a bag of fast food.
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I can't ever neglect exerciseor sleep or meditation or any of
the other 13 things discussedtoday.
I can't quit therapy, throwaway my supplements or fire my
support network.
I know I have to stay vigilant.
I have to keep making healingand health-promoting choices
every single day.
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If I want to have the best shotof making it to 14 years, 15
years and so on, remainingflare-free, I have to continue
on the path of healing forever.
Or a better way of saying it isI get to continue on the path
of healing forever.
Healing and staying healed is alifelong commitment and a
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lifelong adventure.
The journey never ends, and soI will be happily walking this
path of healing for the rest ofmy life.
So there we are.
We did it 13 of the many thingsthat have helped me to heal and
stay healed.
It's been 13 wonderful,difficult, thrilling,
challenging, joy-filled,pain-filled, beautiful years of
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life, and I'd be remiss if Ididn't say that behind these 13
and all of the other things thathave played a role in my
healing and staying healed,there absolutely is a miracle to
be found.
Here too, friends, I've said itbefore and I'll say it again If
I can do it, then I believe youcan too.
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Likewise, if a miracle canhappen for me, then I believe it
can happen for you too.
I so hope you have found thisepisode helpful, motivating and
encouraging as you walk your ownpath of healing.
If you have found value in thisepisode, I would greatly
appreciate it if you would takea moment to subscribe to the
(30:11):
podcast rate and review and todownload this episode and please
share it with anyone who youthink may find value in it as
well.
No matter where you are on yourhealing journey, I am honored
to walk alongside of you as weheal and stay healed together.
Welcome to the Heal and Stay Healed podcast, where
we talk about healing and, moreimportantly, staying healed from
chronic disease and otherailments and issues.
We'll cover all the crazythings about health and life the
good, the bad, the ugly and thehilarious.
My name is Kelly and I am asurvivor and overcomer of severe
(00:31):
autoimmune disease, and I can'twait to share with you what
I've learned so that you canheal and stay healed too.
Thanks for listening and enjoythe show.
I am extra excited for thisepisode today and I am so glad
(00:55):
that you've joined me becausethis time of year is a time of
celebration for me.
It's the time of year when Icelebrate two things.
One is the anniversary of theend of my massive, horrific,
life-threatening, year-longflair of the chronic autoimmune
disease ulcerative colitis thatstarted back in early 2010 and
(01:15):
finally ended in early 2011.
And the second thing I'mcelebrating is another year
that's gone by where I am sograteful to have remained
healthy and flair-free.
So this year I am celebratinglucky number 13.
It's now been 13 years sincethe end of my last flair and the
(01:35):
start of my health journey,which began slowly when that
flair finally wrapped up andreally got kicked off later that
year when, in a blessing indisguise situation, side effects
forced me to start coming offof what seemed to be the only
thing that was keeping me stableimmunosuppressant drugs and
that's when I knew I had to finda different and better way to
continue to heal from all thedamage that the flair had done
(01:58):
to me but, more importantly, tostay healed, against the odds,
from the disease itself.
So I've been on this healingjourney ever since, and now I
can officially say that I havebeen flair-free from my chronic
disease for 13 years andcounting, and I have not been on
any autoimmune-relatedpharmaceutical drugs, including
(02:18):
any preventative medications,for over 12 years and counting.
Whew, that feels so incredibleto say, and I am so thankful.
If you haven't listened to myfull story and that's of
interest to you you can hear allabout it in the very first full
episode of this podcast, andthat episode is called my
Autoimmune Story from BarelySurviving to Truly Thriving.
(02:40):
I'll just quickly share, for thesake of context today, that my
specific disease again wasulcerative colitis.
Ulcerative colitis is anautoimmune disease of the colon,
also known as the largeintestine.
It's one of the twoinflammatory bowel diseases, the
other one being Crohn's disease.
It's characterized byinflammation in the colon
leading to ulceration, bleeding,diarrhea, pain, weight loss,
(03:03):
malnourishment all kinds ofproblems and flares of the
disease are commonly frequentand can range from mild to
severe, all the way up tolife-threatening.
It's labeled as a chronic, akaincurable condition.
So that's why having made it 13years and counting flare-free
is a huge deal to me and that'swhy I am celebrating big time.
(03:26):
So I want to dedicate thisepisode to sharing many of the
things that have helped me makeit so long without any flares
and without needing to be on anyrelated medications.
In honor of this flare-freeanniversary today, I'm going to
talk about 13 of the many thingsthat have helped me get to this
place, 13 of the tools, methods, concepts and strategies that
(03:49):
have helped me to heal fromyears of mild to moderate flares
and then from the fallout ofthat major flare, and have
helped me to successfully stayhealed from my disease for all
of this time.
And many of these things thatI'm going to mention today are
going to be greatly expanded onin future episodes, so I won't
go into too great of detail inmost of them, at least I'll try
(04:10):
not to, or else this wouldquickly become a 13 hour episode
.
So, without further ado, let'stalk about some of the things 13
of the things, to be specificthat have helped me to heal and
to stay healed.
Naturally Number one if you knowme at all, then you already
know what number one is going tobe diet and nutrition.
(04:33):
Our diet has to be number one.
What we put into our bodies isthe most important, most
essential part of healing andstaying healed.
For those of us with autoimmuneor other chronic illness, if we
want to truly heal and trulystay healed, then we just don't
have the luxury of continuing away of eating that is not full
(04:56):
of healing and health promotingfoods.
Hippocrates nailed it a longtime ago when he said let food
be thy medicine and medicine bethy food.
One thing I was fortunate enoughto learn very early on in my
healing journey that probablymade all the difference was to
eat real food, real, whole,nutrient-dense, healing and
(05:19):
health-promoting food.
Real food is fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans and
legumes, nuts and seeds, andherbs and spices.
Real food is essentially foodthat hasn't been messed with or
has things added to it.
High quality meat, fish andeggs are other real foods too.
What I also learned early on isthe importance of limiting or,
(05:41):
better yet, avoiding entirelyhighly and ultra-processed foods
, refined sugars, hydrogenatedoils, food dyes, chemical
preservatives and additives,pesticides and genetically
modified foods.
While, ultimately, for me, it'sall about focusing on real food,
I do want to add a quick notefor anyone who is really going
(06:02):
through it right now with IBD orother damaged gut issues.
In the very beginning of myhealing journey, I not only cut
out gluten, which is somethingthat I still fully avoid to this
day, but I cut out all grainsand legumes entirely for a while
, and I believe that reallyhelped my gut to be able to have
the time and the space to healBecause, though wonderfully
(06:24):
healthy, those foods wereactually acting as inflammatory
foods towards my gut.
That was still pretty messed upat the time, and after a while,
after much healing had occurred, I was happily able to
incorporate those wonderfulfoods back into my life again.
I'll talk more about that inthe future episode, but I
thought it was important to justmention that today as food for
(06:44):
thought for anyone who is veryearly on in their healing
journey.
What I've come to knowregarding diet nutrition is that
when we clear away thebombardment of fads, magic
bullets and misinformation thatcan lead to disappointment
instead of better health.
It actually breaks down tosomething that's fairly simple
Eating, nurturing, nourishing,real foods equals healing and
(07:09):
health.
Eating highly in ultraprocessed, refined, sugar laden
and chemical junk equalssickness and disease.
I highly encourage you to takeyour diet and nutrition super
seriously and treat it like thebeautiful medicine that it is.
Number two is movement.
Moving my body on a regularbasis through various physical
(07:33):
activities has definitely helpedme to heal and to stay healed.
In the beginning of my healingjourney, walking and yoga were
the two things that reallyhelped me.
Walking brought back my staminaand yoga made me feel strong
again.
Both of them really helped meto regain my endurance, my
confidence and my sense of self.
They both helped me to feelconnected to my body in a
(07:55):
positive way for the first timein a long time, and I still do
those two things regularly, andthey still are my two favorite
forms of movement.
As my body became more and morehealed over time, I was able to
incorporate a variety ofmovement, and over the years
I've enjoyed other activitieslike jogging, hiking, softball,
biking, playing badminton andother games with my kid, and now
(08:19):
that I'm in my early 40s, I'min the gym for strength training
on a regular basis because Idon't just want to heal and stay
healed, I want to age well andage gracefully too.
My plan is to do this bykeeping my body strong and agile
as I get older.
No matter your age or where youare in your healing journey,
whatever movement you can dowill be a huge help.
(08:42):
Movement is vital for our health.
It flushes out toxins that cancontribute to disease.
It strengthens the immunesystem, thereby preventing and
healing disease.
It improves sleep, which sleepitself comes with a multitude of
benefits, and it also improvescognitive, mental and emotional
health, among many other things.
So I'm convinced that movementis one of the things that has
(09:04):
contributed greatly to mysuccess, not just physically,
but emotionally as well.
I've learned to appreciatemovement so much and I've
learned to really enjoy it, andnow, on days when I don't move
enough, it just doesn't feelright.
So consider starting where youare today, moving in whatever
ways, feel good.
Number three sleep.
(09:25):
Sweet, sweet sleep.
When I was recovering from mymassive flare 13 years ago, I
slept for about 10 hours a nightfor many months.
I was so fortunate to be ableto have the time to do that as I
recovered from the flare, and Iknow that that not only gave my
body the required time to heal,but it most certainly helped me
(09:45):
to heal faster.
13 years later, I continue tomake sleep a huge priority, both
sleep quantity and quality, asI understand more and more how
the body undergoes vitalprocesses while we're sleeping
it cleanses, regenerates anddefends us from infection,
disease and inflammation.
I prioritize sleep so much thatI even make fun of myself now
(10:08):
for my sleep habits.
I go to bed pretty early mostnights and my sleep regimen
involves blackout curtains, asleep mask, a white noise
machine, earplugs, a ceiling fanand I have a system involving
up to four pillows for myself,all to help make sure that I
sleep as well as possible.
(10:29):
So I'm obviously a total sleepnerd, but that's how much I
respect sleep as a tool forhealing and staying healed.
On to number four.
Number four is my naturopath.
I am so thankful for mynaturopath and her seemingly
endless wisdom when it comes tonatural medicine and treatments.
(10:50):
Naturopaths, as well asfunctional medicine providers,
are physicians who believe innatural healing.
They work to find the source ofthe issue and they work to
treat it naturally as much aspossible, therefore leading to
true healing.
And my favorite part they focuson educating their patients,
which not only informs us, butit empowers us.
(11:12):
I found my naturopath when I wasa couple years into my healing
journey, but looking back, I cansee that I found her at exactly
the right time for me.
I had made it over the initialhump of healing and remaining
flare-free for a while, and then, when she joined my team, it
felt like I moved up to the nextlevel of healing Through her
guidance and support.
She's been just an angel in mylife and I give her so much
(11:34):
credit for all that she's doneto get me on the right track and
to keep me on the right track.
There was lots of clean-up workthat my body had to do after
being so beat up for a wholeyear and after being on a wide
array of toxic medications forso long as well, and my
naturopath supported me throughall of it, and she continues to
support me to this day as mytrusted guide.
(11:54):
I can come to her with prettymuch anything, knowing that she
will have some answers for me.
I highly recommend anyone withany health issue, but especially
those with autoimmune or otherchronic disease, look into
finding a naturopath or afunctional medicine provider, if
you are able.
Number five is therapy.
(12:14):
I'll say it over and, over andover because I believe it so
much Physical, mental, emotionaland spiritual health are all
connected.
They are all intertwined andwhile one may take precedence
over the others in certain times, eventually we have to really
look at all of them in order totruly heal.
(12:36):
I started therapy actually inthe middle of my year-long flare
and initially it helped me dealwith what I was going through,
and then, once the flare wasover, it helped me to start to
process what had just happenedto me.
And then it helped me to startto recover from the trauma of
the flare.
And then, over time, therapyhelped me to start digging into
all of the other stuff that wasalready there and that likely
(13:00):
contributed to me getting sickin the first place.
I've learned over the years justhow much stress, certain
emotions, trauma, suppressedmemories, etc.
How all of these things canhave a direct and powerful
impact on our physical health.
And there is more and moreevidence to suggest that
unmanaged stress and undelt withtrauma are big triggers of many
(13:23):
chronic diseases, includingautoimmune disease, in terms of
the disease onset and subsequentflares.
So it's not always fun, it'snot always comfortable, to say
the least.
But to truly heal and to trulystay healed, I wholeheartedly
believe that we've got to dealwith the stress of the present
(13:45):
and we've got to face the traumaof the past.
I continue to meet with mytherapist every other week and
there's still plenty for us tolook at and dig into, plenty to
keep us busy during our sessions.
Now it's often present daychallenges or situations that I
want to walk through with her,but we certainly still spend a
lot of time visiting the past tocontinue the process of healing
(14:06):
childhood wounds which we allhave.
So big fan of therapy and notjust talk therapy.
There are many kinds of therapyout there and I highly
encourage you to give it a tryand find what works well for you
.
Having a trusted therapist allthese years has definitely
played a massive role in myhealing and staying healed.
The more I heal emotionally,the more confidence I have in my
(14:28):
physical healing as well.
Number six is meditation.
Meditation is just so great andit's really only been a part of
my journey for the past fewyears.
But when I really startedexperimenting with meditation, I
quickly learned what I had beenmissing out on this practice.
Even for just brief periods oftime, like 10 to 15 minutes a
(14:51):
day, or even less than that, canreally help my state of mind.
It's actually kind ofridiculous how effective it's
been for me.
It's helped my anxiety andstress levels not just in the
moment, but overall.
I've noticed it's helped mewith mental clarity and with
being a little more presentthroughout the day too, and it's
really helped me with beingless reactive, with thinking
(15:15):
more before reacting, and thatis something I've been working
on for years.
And since I've startedmeditating, I have straight up
marveled at the fact that I canfeel myself in the moment,
slowing down and thinking beforereacting, and that has been
good for me and certainly hasbeen good for my closest
relationships too.
If you haven't tried meditating,there's a zillion free guided
(15:37):
meditations out there on YouTube.
Look for a simple one, onethat's maybe 10 minutes long and
has a bunch of good reviews onit, so that you know it's
probably going to be a nice one.
Or just start with closing youreyes and counting 10 deep,
cleansing breaths in and out.
It really doesn't take much toget some benefit.
Meditation has been one of myfavorite additions to my healing
(16:01):
journey in the recent years.
Number seven is supplements.
My naturopath has frequentlytested me over the years for
vitamin deficiencies, and thathas allowed us to know the areas
where my body needs some extrasupport when it comes to
vitamins.
For me, that's mostly thingslike folate, b12 and vitamin D,
as well as some herbal supportfrom various other herbal
(16:23):
supplements.
For those with inflammatorybowel disease.
We can have problems properlyabsorbing nutrients due to
scarring and damage in the colon, and many people, even without
IBD, have damaged guts for avariety of reasons, which can
lead to similar absorptionissues.
Another culprit of vitamindeficiencies is our soil.
The soil where crops are growntoday generally is less vitamin
(16:47):
and mineral rich than it wasdecades ago, and when our soil
is depleted, we can becomedepleted too.
So while it's ideal to get allthat we need from eating real,
whole, beautiful, healing foods,between the depleted soil and
or our gut damage,supplementation can still be
necessary.
So taking the right kind ofquality supplements has been
(17:09):
super important for me, becauseto heal and to stay healed, we
need to make sure that, as muchas possible, our bodies are
fully equipped with what theyneed.
Over the years, there's beentimes where I've needed
different supplements anddifferent amounts, and this is
where it's important to have anaturopath or functional
medicine provider help to guideyou according to your unique
(17:29):
needs.
And if you can't see anaturopath or functional
medicine provider, conventionaldoctors can certainly test for a
lot of nutrient deficiencies aswell.
Number eight number eight isminimalism slash simplicity.
I used to just use the wordminimalism, but I think that
that can cause folks to kind ofshrink back at that term,
(17:52):
because unfortunately,minimalism has kind of a stigma
now of being like, oh, you'vegot to get rid of all your stuff
and go live in a van, which isnot what minimalism really is.
So a word that I've found to bemuch better and much more
encompassing is simplicity,because it's not just about the
stuff that we own.
It's really more about the waythat we live our lives.
(18:15):
Keeping my life as simple anduncomplicated as I reasonably
can has been huge in my healingand staying healed Physically,
mentally, emotionally andspiritually.
Simplicity hits it all.
It plays a role in everything.
As mentioned earlier regardingtherapy with autoimmune disease
and other chronic illness,stress can be all that it takes
(18:38):
to bring on a flare.
That has certainly been truefor me in the past, and so one
thing that I intuitively knewwhen I started out on my healing
journey is that I have to tryto keep my life simplified.
Now, of course, I, likeeveryone else, don't actually
have a whole lot of control interms of what happens throughout
the course of my life, but Irealized early on that there are
(19:00):
some areas where I can controlwhat I can control, and I came
to understand that I couldsimplify in these areas.
What I've come to know is thatexcess in any area leads to
stress, which can lead tosickness.
Less to manage, to clean, tostore, to repair and maintain,
less to deal with is less tostress about.
(19:23):
But, like I said, minimalismslash, simplicity is so much
more than just the stuff andphysical possessions.
It's about simplifying our time, simplifying how we spend our
energy, and really it's aboutsimplifying our whole approach
to life as we move towardsbreaking away from the culture
(19:43):
of glorified busyness, keepingup with the Joneses and status
competitions.
These are stressors that leadto deteriorating physical,
mental, emotional and spiritualhealth.
Yet we've all grown accustomedto it, as air quotes, normal in
our society.
Simplicity creates the time,space and energy needed to focus
(20:05):
on healing.
Okay, I'm going to cut myselfoff on this topic for now before
I get too amped up, but I lovetalking about this so much.
I have so much more to share,so trust that I will be doing a
dedicated episode on simplicityvery soon.
For now I'll just saysimplicity has brought me so
much healing.
(20:25):
Number nine is mindset.
As you move to living a lifethat is health promoting and
healing, changing the majorthings about your life is not
easy, and I learned very quicklythat having the right mindset
on a healing journey can makeeverything easier.
Having the right kind ofmindset can make all the
difference really.
There will be lots of trial anderror, some missteps, some days
(20:47):
will be harder than others andin the beginning everything can
feel really difficult.
It can be hard to let go of theold.
It can be a challenge to acceptthe new, even when you know
it's for your great benefit.
A mindset of commitment,perseverance, positive self-talk
and optimism are all a must.
And it's funny and I'm laughingbecause in other areas of life
(21:11):
I am a recovering pessimist.
My natural tendency is not oneof seeing the glass half full
and I've had to work really hardon that as part of my healing
journey and I'm still working onit, but I'm so grateful that
when I was starting out, thiswas an area where I immediately
had a positive attitude andmindset.
I had made up my mind that Iwas going to do whatever it
(21:32):
takes to heal and to stay healed, and through the help of my why
, which I've talked about inearlier episodes, I was able to
go in with the right mindset andto keep the right mindset
throughout, even on those morechallenging days, and I'm
confident that that has made aworld of difference in my
staying healed.
Number 10 is my support network.
(21:52):
The people you surroundyourself with on your healing
journey can really help to makeyou or break you.
When I talk about a supportnetwork, I'm, of course, talking
about your physical and mentalhealth team, but the medical
team that you put together isonly part of the support network
.
The emotional support that youget from family or friends is so
important too.
(22:13):
Those friends and family whocan be there to encourage you
and to help keep you motivatedas you travel your path of
healing can truly be a lifeline.
If you aren't getting supportfrom your closest relationships,
you can seek it out in theother relationships that you
currently have in your life.
And if you still can't findsupport IRL, then there are many
super supportive online forumsand groups that can likely be
(22:36):
found, specific to whatever yourparticular health challenge is
there.
Strangers can become likefamily through the common bond
of walking a path of naturalhealing together.
But ideally, your closestfamily and friends will be on
board and will be there tosupport you.
Having a support network goeshand-in-hand with having a solid
mindset, because when othersbelieve in you, it's so much
(22:59):
easier to believe in yourself.
I have been so fortunate tohave an incredibly supportive
network and that has been hugefor me.
All of them deserve mysincerest gratitude.
Number 11, laughter and humor.
Laughter really is the bestmedicine.
Laughter can significantlyimprove our short-term and
(23:22):
long-term health.
A simple thing like laughter,it's amazing.
Laughter relieves stress,improves mood and boosts the
immune system, sometimesdramatically.
So I try to find the humor inlife as often as I can, whether
that's telling or hearing funnystories and laughing with others
, watching a hilarious movie orTV show, or just cracking jokes
(23:43):
in my own head, which I actuallydo a lot of.
Looking for the less seriousside of things has been a great
help in my healing, for sure.
So right now, in a nod tolaughter.
Here is my favorite joke of alltime Are you ready?
Grasshopper walks into a bar.
Bartender says hey, grasshopper, we have a drink named after
(24:05):
you.
Grasshopper says Really, youhave a drink named Steve.
Come on, did you laugh?
I'm laughing and I've told thatjoke like a thousand times.
It's just so funny.
Okay, moving on, number 12,music.
Music has played a veryimportant role in my healing.
(24:27):
It's one of my favorite tools.
I'm one of those people thatfinds deep meaning and
connection in song lyrics.
I always have.
Ever since I was a kid, I'vebeen looking to music to express
what my own feelings and wordsjust can't quite communicate.
I find deep meaning,contentment and healing in
connecting with the stories thatmusic tells, and for me, it has
(24:49):
always been one of the toolsthat I've used to process
through emotions, trauma andgrief.
I'm talking about findinghealing in songs of all genres
rock, rap, pop, gospel, countryand even in classical music,
especially some modern-dayclassical, which is highly
emotion-provoking, and I canfind myself connecting deeply to
it even when there are no words.
(25:11):
So many songs from so manydifferent kinds of music have
helped me make it through thetough times and have lifted me
even higher in the good times.
Okay, we've made it to number13 on the list of things that
have helped me to heal and stayhealed.
Number 13 is giving back andthough this one is relatively
(25:33):
new, it is the closest one to myheart.
I remember the confusion andconcern I felt when I was
diagnosed with a chronic diseaseas a teenager.
I remember the frustration anddepression that came with
dealing with years of mild tomoderate, life-disrupting,
embarrassing flares throughoutmy 20s, and I remember the
(25:55):
darkness, helplessness andhopelessness that I was consumed
by during my horrific flair of2010.
What I would have given forsomeone to come into my life
during that time and tell methat there could be a way out,
that I could not only survivebut that I could thrive.
(26:16):
Someone to give me the hopethat I was so desperate for and
to stand before me as walking,talking, living proof that
healing is possible.
Someone to help me understandthat a life controlled by my
disease doesn't have to be mydestiny.
(26:38):
So when I say that my number 13is getting to give back, I say
that with the utmost humilityand gratitude, because now,
after traveling the path ofnatural healing for all these
years, with all the ups anddowns, twists and turns, trials
and errors, all the lessonslearned.
Now I get to be that personthat I so desperately wished for
(27:00):
during those hopeless,frightening days of being ill.
I get to have the extreme honorand privilege of being that
person for others now.
So giving back is my number 13in the list of things that have
helped me heal and stay healed,because the act of giving back
helps others, yes, and that'sabsolutely what I want to spend
my days doing, but it's notcompletely selfless.
(27:23):
Giving back a part of what'sbeen given to me on this journey
certainly helps me too.
It is helping me to continue toheal and stay healed, too,
because, as I strive to supportothers in their healing journey,
I feel as though I am honoringmy younger self, that young
woman who was so sick for solong, who didn't get to have
(27:43):
someone coming in and tellingher with confidence that there
is a path to healing.
I feel like I'm returning toher, my scared, suffering
younger self.
I'm returning to her and sayingall of this will not be in vain
.
It's so beautiful how, ingiving back, by working to heal
(28:03):
others, we can contribute to ourown continued healing as well.
As I work to give back, I do sowith the humbleness of knowing
that, while I'm beyond thankfulto have learned as much as I
have and to have made it so far,I certainly haven't arrived.
I can't sit back now and crackopen a case of beer or tear into
a bag of fast food.
(28:24):
I can't ever neglect exerciseor sleep or meditation or any of
the other 13 things discussedtoday.
I can't quit therapy, throwaway my supplements or fire my
support network.
I know I have to stay vigilant.
I have to keep making healingand health-promoting choices
every single day.
(28:45):
If I want to have the best shotof making it to 14 years, 15
years and so on, remainingflare-free, I have to continue
on the path of healing forever.
Or a better way of saying it isI get to continue on the path
of healing forever.
Healing and staying healed is alifelong commitment and a
(29:06):
lifelong adventure.
The journey never ends, and soI will be happily walking this
path of healing for the rest ofmy life.
So there we are.
We did it 13 of the many thingsthat have helped me to heal and
stay healed.
It's been 13 wonderful,difficult, thrilling,
challenging, joy-filled,pain-filled, beautiful years of
(29:28):
life, and I'd be remiss if Ididn't say that behind these 13
and all of the other things thathave played a role in my
healing and staying healed,there absolutely is a miracle to
be found.
Here too, friends, I've said itbefore and I'll say it again If
I can do it, then I believe youcan too.
(29:49):
Likewise, if a miracle canhappen for me, then I believe it
can happen for you too.
I so hope you have found thisepisode helpful, motivating and
encouraging as you walk your ownpath of healing.
If you have found value in thisepisode, I would greatly
appreciate it if you would takea moment to subscribe to the
(30:11):
podcast rate and review and todownload this episode and please
share it with anyone who youthink may find value in it as
well.
No matter where you are on yourhealing journey, I am honored
to walk alongside of you as weheal and stay healed together.
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Joyce Sapp, 76; Bryan Herrera, 16; and Laurance Webb, 32—three Miami residents whose lives were stolen in brutal, unsolved homicides. Cold Case Files: Miami follows award‑winning radio host and City of Miami Police reserve officer Enrique Santos as he partners with the department’s Cold Case Homicide Unit, determined family members, and the advocates who spend their lives fighting for justice for the victims who can no longer fight for themselves.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
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If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.