From "Normal" to Natural
I’ve known for a couple years that I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis (an autoimmune disease where your body attacks the thyroid), but being a type 1 diabetic, managing my blood sugars has taken center stage for most of my years. This summer, after getting a new insulin pump that was a total game changer in my care, I noticed some changes in my body that felt like a nudge to pay more attention to my thyroid.
So working with a naturopath, a dietitian, and my endocrinologist, I asked for a full thyroid panel and when the blood work came back, my thyroid antibodies were extremely high and my other numbers were out of whack. My dietitian gave me a resource on the Autoimmune Protocol and, being the healing nerd I am, I’ve been diving right in.
I’d looked at the Autoimmune Protocol diet several years ago and wasn’t super jazzed about it because it focused on all the food groups you have to cut out, which made it feel too restrictive for me. But this ebook! This particular author emphasizes adding all the nutrients in, taking foods out that could be causing the body to be inflamed and in attack mode, getting therapeutic levels of sleep, moving your body gently every day, getting outside to see the daylight, and taking hikes in nature. Now I can totally get on board with that! Most of that stuff is already my jam.
The thing that struck me the most from reading this book was how often she mentioned type 1 diabetes - my first autoimmune diagnosis - and I’ve been pondering on how I never really focused on the autoimmune component before. Over the years, I’ve tried all the diets, all the supplements, all the exercise, and all the healing modalities. My management of it as of late has been the best I’ve ever had, and yet it still feels like I was missing something.
And that’s when it hit me: when I was diagnosed in 2000, I was 14 and about to go into high school that fall. The goal at that time in my life was to be as normal as possible. I just wanted to do what I needed to do (which was sometimes the bare minimum!) in order to get back to being a normal high schooler. And a normal college student. And then a normal adult artist!
When I was freshly diagnosed, one of the most encouraging things my doctor told me was the only two things in the entire world I couldn’t do as a type 1 was go scuba diving and go to war (because of blood sugars - thank the goddess!). Everything else was fair game! Well, I had no intention of going to war anyways and I’m a little claustrophobic, so I’m fine skipping the scuba diving. The freedom in not being defined or limited was huge and I think human beings are such multi-faceted creatures that labels can sometimes hinder the brilliance of how we experience the world.
And! At this point in my life, with my second autoimmune disease under my belt, I’m less concerned about being NORMAL.
(Besides, what is “normal” anyway and is “normal” actually healthy in this capitalist, patriarchal, white supremist world we live in? But I digress….)
This new way of looking at my needs as a person with autoimmune diseases feels more like getting back to NATURAL.
It’s like returning to a rhythm of life that feels more balanced, seasonal, restful. It’s listening to the body first, business second. It’s honoring the need to slow down, to be filled with nutrients, to let go of the day's stress like we did as kids rather than bottling it up like responsible adults.
Now, I also want to acknowledge how there’s privilege that comes into play here in trying to create a life that bucks the system. I’ve grown up in a working class, single parent family and I lived in New York for a time without health insurance, so just getting my insulin was as much as I could do sometimes and I get it. There may be some obstacles in crafting this kind of existence if it’s a struggle to find clean water and fresh food or if you don’t have a partner to help with the household finances or if you need to have childcare or you have to work 12+ hour shifts in your career. But my hope for us is the more we advocate for each other and these basic needs of thriving instead of just surviving (needs that are everyone’s birthright), the more it can be a reality for more folks.
So, long story short: my goal for this year is to continue to come back to a natural way of being.
And my wish for you on this full moon is for you to remember what makes you feel good.
To listen to your body first.
To find ways to add nutrients to your life, whether that be a quick nap, an art project, a bouquet of flowers or a new plant baby, a date with a friend, a snuggle with your pets, a big ol steak with a side of greens, a toe-curling orgasm, vitamin C, a big belly laugh session, etc etc etc!
To create a new normal that feels more natural.