Thought of the Day

Happy Tuesday! Think about today's quote and what you could gain from changing in your life. Could it be an old habit you want to kick? Or a relationship you need to fix? How about your relationship with yourself?

Today's quote is particularly thought provoking for those of us who suffer from endometriosis. There are likely some elements of our daily life that we could change to improve our overall health and endometriosis, whether it's reducing stress, kicking a habit (ie smoking) or eating more nourishing foods.

We all get caught up in the whirlwind of life and it's easy to bypass challenging ourselves for the better. Breaking old habits isn't a bad thing. I try to do this every week and am making positive health choices that my future self will thank me for. This week, I'm cutting out coffee to help boost my liver's health and help it function better. It might not last for too long but I am trying, for my endo's sake!

Today I challenge you to pick one thing in your life that you can alter for the better. You might never look back, and that's fantastic.

- A.T.

Welcome to NOvember - Positive Thinking Month

As we enter the penultimate month of the year and the darker weather closes in, it's hard to keep up the motivation we have in abundance at the beginning of each year. When we know that Spring is on the way and the lighter evenings are approaching, there's a sense of positivity in the air and we feel enthused about the new beginnings on the horizon.

I find that it's easy to fall into the rut of giving up on healthy eating and exercising when the festive season approaches as we know there's a chance to wipe the slate clean come 1st January. The same applies for positive thinking. So, this month I'm setting myself the challenge of saying no to my usual end of year rut, and no to the voice in my head that wants me to give in to negative thoughts and feel as dull as the weather.

This NOvember, I'll be putting my energy into saying no to the following:
- No negative thoughts
- No feelings of despair
- No giving up
- No losing hope
- No procrastinating
- No surrounding yourself with people that drain your energy

I know that for my wellbeing, and to help keep my symptoms of endometriosis at bay (pains and tiredness which lead to anxiety and low moods), I need to keep going with the positivity I have been ramping up in the last few months. Starting a meditation class and reading about the way our minds work has massively helped my new found positivity and outlook. It has also changed the way I treat myself and endometriosis, as well as the way I react it to it emotionally. I will elaborate on this in the coming weeks.

For now, think about how you can succeed in having a positive November, even if you've had some bad news regarding your endometriosis or if your symptoms feel like they are worsening. We have to live in this body along with our disease so we need to realise the effect that feelings of sadness and despair have on the disease as well as the rest of our bodies.

Make a list of your blessings and remind yourself of these every time you fall off the positive track and spiral into negative thinking. You'll be surprised at how it can calm you down. I used to suffer badly from downward spirals into negative thoughts about my endometriosis, and some days still do, but now I recognise the bad thoughts and know to bring myself back to the positive side.

Finally, just remember to breathe. because at the end of the day you are alive - the greatest blessing of all - and there's no better thing to remind you of this than your breath.

- A.T.

Endometriosis and Nutrition: What Do We Know?

Being the caring person she is, my mum sent me an endometriosis 'self help' book in January. This is the book accountable for starting my belief in the power of food and eating to benefit your body. I changed my eating habits and believe this has, in part, helped me to clear some of the symptoms associated with the disease; mainly the pains and tiredness.

A Key to Healing and Fertility Through Nutrition, Dian Shepperson Mills MA & Michael Vernon PhD HCLD

The book itself is excellent and I recommend it to anyone who is looking for an alternative path to surgery in order to heal their endometriosis. My nightmare is having repeat operations; I do not want to get to 30 and have had 5 laparoscopies. That cannot be good for the body. My endometriosis returned not long after my surgery last year, so I was apprehensive about having another operation so soon. This is why I wanted to find alternative remedies.

The book is full of testimonies of women who have used nutrition, mental wellbeing and exercise to heal themselves. You wouldn't believe the number of women who have been pulled out of a deeply dark place into a relatively normal, pain-free life due to the remedies offered in this book.

The book states that "Endometriosis... is a systemic disease, maybe an autoimmune disorder. When drugs and surgical treatment are used, they often just mask the symptoms and do not remove the cause. Women need to listen to the messages their body gives them. Illness is an imabalance and good nutrition can help to reduce that imbalance."

I now think so carefully about what I eat. How is this food going to benefit my body? What nutrients am I going to get from it? Will it improve me in any way? This helps me steer clear of saturated fats and unnecessary bad foods. Like anyone else, I will have the odd cheat day where I may indulge in chocolate or a takeaway, but for the most part I am extremely careful and have also started to buy organic foods where possible. Pesticides cannot be good for the body so I am willing to pay a little extra to ensure my vegetables are not doused in them.

I'll be sharing more inspiring theories from this book soon. In the meantime, take a look at your diet and how it could be impacting your endometriosis. Start a food diary to allow you to reflect on what you're eating and make positive changes. Try to eat fresh, nutrient-rich foods - stuff that your body will really thank you for.

"Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food." - Hippocrates 460 BC

- A.T.