You're a pillar of strength for others

Start where you are at! Have trouble standing for extended periods without aggravating exhaustion, brain fog, and even dizziness on standing? These suggest orthostatic intolerance (POTS/NMH), which means the blood is rushing to your legs when you stand up, and staying there. A simple two-minute quiz will tell you if you have it (see this article). Treatment is also discussed. Tired, achy, weight gain, and cold intolerant despite being on thyroid hormone? Some people have become deaf to regular thyroid hormone because of the fibromyalgia. A significant percent of these people will feel dramatically better using a special form of active T3 hormone called liothyronine (Cytomel). For this, you will need a holistic physician familiar with the protocol. When people hit the correct dose, they feel like somebody turned the lights back on in my body. Although rare, this treatment carries the risk of unmasking heart disease if present. As we dug further, he remembered that when he went away to college, he reinvented himself. He tried out for sports, met girls, and got elected to student government. But his attitude went the wrong way. Instead of becoming grateful and caring, he came across as arrogant and superior. This story has a happy ending. He had enough self-awareness and had felt enough pain that he was motivated to deal with the early hurts of his cold childhood and then do some productive grieving, letting go, and asking for support to replace what he had lost. Almost immediately, he saw his family and company with new eyes. He cared more for them, listened well, and willingly entered their worlds. Defensive grandiosity is simply a shell we construct to keep negative feelings at bay.

When the entitled person begins the process of growth, the shell begins to dissolve, and healthy feelings and behavior begin to form. The pure water found in those springs is believed to be capable of detoxing both the body and the mind. Strategy #6: Learn how and when to say no. To survive and thrive as an empath, one must learn how to set his or her limits and boundaries. If being with someone drains away from your energy, do not simply suffer in silence. You have complete control over how much time you would spend with that person. If you have been invited to hang out with them again, learn how to say no--with or without further explanation. If you do want to keep the relationship for whatever reason, try to express your preferences and needs to that person. It is better to be upfront about it early on in order to avoid any misunderstanding between the two of you. Another example of where you could draw the line is deciding upon whether or not you would accept an invitation to go out and spend time with other people. If you are not in the mood for a party, turn down the invitation. As you work the 8 Steps, note the obstacles and resistance that continue to pop up, challenging what you know. What message do they bring with them? What are the barriers in letting go of faulty beliefs, thoughts, and missteps that haunt you still? Can you imagine living your potential as the authentic healer, fully armed with the 8 Steps that confirm your calling to be? What does this look like? What is one thing (or more) you learned from this article? Take your fears head-on to your daily rituals, bathe these messages in your love, and learn, combat, and forgive now, renewing the real-I-zation to who you know you are to be. Continue to practice what you preach and walk the walk. Enjoy the work.

Be the Healer You Are Called to Be Optimizing testosterone is important in both men and women. Don't worry about getting pregnant (don't do so while on treatment). People with fibromyalgia usually do great during pregnancy. It is after delivery that they usually need help. Those of you with infertility can also email me for a free infertility information sheet. Adrenal Intensive Care When Is Cortisol Okay? The adrenal fatigue we discussed in article 2 is critical and applies for those with CFS and FMS. But other considerations are also important here, as those treatments may not be enough. This occurs because research shows that the hormonal mission control center in the brain, called the hypothalamus, is malfunctioning. Correction and Consequence Problems People need not only the right sorts of reward and praise but also the right sorts of corrections and consequences. This is the opposite side of the coin. It takes different forms. Companies have HR departments dedicated to solving performance and culture problems, and those solutions often involve communicating hard truths, offering first help and, if that doesn't work, then warnings, demotions, and sometimes letting someone go. Churches have a discipline structure. Parents have time-outs, withholding toys, and curfews. Each of those approaches, unpleasant as they may be, offers people the chance to grow with the right balance of grace and truth. But when we avoid setting the right boundaries and following up with the appropriate consequences, we can inadvertently encourage entitlement.

People young and old need to know the parameters regarding how they should behave. You may explain yourself, but remember that you are not obliged to do so. Just learn how to be consistent about your limits and boundaries in order to avoid sending out the wrong message to those around you. Strategy #7: Use visualization techniques. Visualization has been proven an effective way of achieving something with the power of your mind. In this case, if you feel that you are being affected too much by someone else's negative energy, visualize a cord connecting you to them. This could be stemming out from anywhere in your body, but most people imagine it coming out of their chests or stomachs. When the image becomes clearer inside your head, think about how you are going to cut that cord. Most of the time, people use either a scissor or a knife. Keep in mind that you are going to completely cut off your relationship with that person. You only wish to eliminate the unpleasant energies that you are drawing or receiving from him or her. Intuition is a sense of knowing how to act spontaneously without needing to know why. Sylvia Claire Impostor Syndrome Is Not a Symptom of Failure You will come to realize that the fear of being good enough is a common battle of high achievers and part of the process of becoming the healer you are called to be. As you have learned, any self-doubt you may carry is more normal than you may have given yourself credit for. It is being human to wrestle with the uncertainties within and without yourself. I hope you now understand that your insecurities and feelings of being an impostor are a result of wandering from what you know. You have become distracted with the outside-in chaos and the whirling of your mind, as this earthly journey encourages. Most days may feel like you are walking through a maze of twists and turns that make you dizzy, disoriented, and fearing you have lost your way.

As discussed, within each of the 8 Steps, this is an illusion as you have an inner radar that never gets lost and as you stop, reflect, and remember you know more than you know you know . Some of the earliest NIH research pointing to hypothalamic problems in fibromyalgia and CFS looked at hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis problems. So, intensive care is sometimes needed. This can easily be done by supplying the hormones that the adrenal gland normally makes. Begin with the recommendations in article 2. Using Bioidentical Cortisol Most directly, and especially helpful in CFS/FMS, is treating the underactive adrenal problem with ultralow doses of adrenal hormones. Most important would be hydrocortisone (Cortef), but fludrocortisone (Florinef), pregnenolone, and DHEA are also sometimes helpful. This usually quickly banishes the symptoms of low blood sugar and can markedly improve energy and immune function. I like to begin with bioidentical hydrocortisone (Cortef), available by prescription at most pharmacies. I usually keep the dose at or under 15 milligrams per day. Their right to do whatever they want ends at the point where it impacts others. No one gets a free pass on either their behavior or their words. We need these boundaries because they remind us that we aren't God. Some lines we don't have permission to cross. Israel did not thrive during its dark days when it had no king, for every person did that which was right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25 KJV). Some of these lines are good for us, not only because of the reminder that we are human and not God, but also because they help us take better ownership of and self-control over our own lives. When you know where you stop and the other person starts, you tend to better take care of your own backyard. I have worked with conflict-avoidant boards of directors, CEOs, pastors, parents, and spouses. They all dread hard talks and setting limits.