HEALTH REVOLUTION

Pharmaceutical companies should be non-profit by their very nature, working for the greater good, not for-profit entities that function for greed of the investors.

The monetization of illness is a sign of moral bankruptcy.

COLONOSCOPY Results – COLITIS HAS GONE! – Healed Naturally

OK friends, I am very overdue with a blog post, so here goes.

The truth is I am considering winding up my holistic stuff, both here on WordPress and my Facebook page. I know there is some value for people who need inspiration and some guidance in these troubling times of chronic illness and confusion, but I can only do so many things and put my focus in so many areas, and my attention is drawn to my wife’s work, retreats and meetings we do together, and my poetry and music.

I am not sure so if you have anything to say please let me know.

ANYWAY…

Recently, in December, I finally succumbed to having a colonoscopy screening for colon cancer. I haven’t had a colonoscopy for over 8 years and have not wanted to have one. But since being here in the US, having some symptoms and a history of ulcerative colitis, the clinic persuaded me (through fear) that I should have one. I resisted because I don’t respond to fear based invitations, but last year (2018) as a result of a very intense detoxification program (thanks to Medical Medium protocol – link at the end) I started to get blood and mucus in my stool. It tested positive for blood and I managed, through grace, and living in progressive San Francisco, to get myself a colonoscopy FREE!

Believe me, that is a result, and one for which I am very grateful, because the cost of a colonoscopy can be up to $3000.

But I was very reluctant because I simply don’t like responding to life from fear.

The procedure happened December 20th at Kaiser hospital in San Francisco. What an experience! Talk about conveyor belt of colonoscopies, I have never seen anything like it. Apparently Kaiser in California hold the Guinness World Record for the most colonoscopies in one day (https://k-p.li/2TBUAeN )

It was super efficient and unlike the English more laid back system. This was AMERICAN! That means pretty big, efficient and no nonsense.

I had prepared for the procedure with the usual muck to clean the system, but to be honest it wasn’t very tough, just some tablets and drink and lots of bowel movement until I was empty, no solid food and so on. It’s not that scary when you have done these things before.

They sedated me in the procedure room and talked about what would happen and I expected to be half awake like in England and then boom! I woke up with Amoda next to me in the recovery room, totally oblivious to what happen. They knock you out here, simple as that.

So then we delicately made our way home for some nice food and a day of recovery.

RESULTS! This is what you want to hear about…

Well, the big news is double pronged.

First. No sign of any colon cancer. Done. I didn’t expect any but of course I am in increased danger because of a history of colon inflammation. But all clear. Yay!

Second. There is no inflammation, and therefore no colitis, in the colon. There is a small amount of inflammation in the rectum, and they want to call that proctitis. That means, and I am going to shout this so that if you want to share it with those who have ulcerative colitis or inflammatory bowel disease, THERE IS NO COLITIS, AND NO INFLAMMATION, IN MY colon. I do not have ULCERATIVE COLITIS any more at all. It’s gone. There is a small amount of inflammation in the rectum. That does not call for much action, although of course their recommended treatment involves pharmaceuticals (Canasa, whatever that is!)
This is really great news and supports the notion that this chronic disease and therefore many other chronic auto immune conditions, can actually be healed, certainly vastly improved, through NATURAL METHODS. Because in all the 12 or so years I experienced this thing called ulcerative colitis, I didn’t take one tablet of medication. That was my firm decision, and even though it was challenging and demanding, and the whole journey of healing was extraordinary, the results are in…

IT IS NOT THERE ANY MORE.

The consultant I saw in University College Hospital in London in 2005 told me, absolutely and without any discussion, that ‘You will have it for life, and you will be on medication for life.’

I wish I could see him today, and show him the letter I have from my MD who did the colonoscopy.

So there you have it friends. All those years of healing work, from the physical, diet, and body work and exercise, to the emotional, the cathartic, the spiritual, the forgiveness, the acceptance, the resolve to dig deeper, the whole shebang of the healing journey, all worth it.

But not worth it because of this colonoscopy, although I do feel proud and vindicated because of it, worth it because it forged me as a warrior who decided to find his own way, to buck the system that says ‘You can’t do that,’ and to choose to find out for myself. I did find out for myself.

And the news was good.

Thanks for reading!

 

Medical Medium Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie – http://www.medicalmedium.com/blog/heavy-metal-detox-smoothie

Update on Gut Healing and IBD, Colitis Books

Greetings!

I want to update you about some links to the best books I know for general gut healing and specifically colitis, crohn’s and all things ‘colonic.’

Some old links will no longer work from tomorrow, August 1st. Those links are to Jini Patel Thompson’s ‘Listen To Your Gut’ book on my site. And to her website in general, which has lots of products and information about healing IBD, colitis and crohn’s.

This is the new link to her shop:
Listen To Your Gut Shop

Her book has been downloaded and bought many times and it seems to help. At the very least it provides a springboard to new ideas. At best it gives very detailed and practical knowledge of what to do during acute episodes of colitis and crohn’s, what probiotics to take, how and what to eat, and the emotional side of IBD.

It is worth a look if you are still lost and wondering what to do.

 

Click on the book picture to check out the book itself.

Thanks, and have a great day.

Kavi

Buck the System and Find Your Own Way

Haggard in 2005

Did you know I got very sick in 2005 and was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis, and given a prognosis of medication for life, an incurable illness and probably surgery to remove my colon?
It was pretty serious, as were my symptoms.
None of the things they told me that day came true.
I took ABSOLUTELY NO MEDICATION from that day to this, for that disease. None, nada.
I have had NO SYMPTOMS of UC for a few years. I don’t care whether that constitutes a ‘cure’ or not. It’s gone.
As for the ‘surgery to remove my colon.’ WTF?
I am 58 years old. If I had believed all they told me and not undertaken my own research, inquiry and attempts to heal (which took a long long time and much dedication) I would have been medicated up to the eye balls with steroid and anti inflammatories immediately and that would have put all sorts of pressure on a system that was already under pressure. I would have gotten weaker and sicker, and NEVER HEALED. Thus I would probably have had my colon removed .
I walked out of the hospital and decided to find my own way. I know thats pretty scary and wild, but thats what I did and it led me to my own power and authority.
And my healing.
That makes me a warrior. 

Now, sometimes you have just got to go with the medical model, and take great advice from those who know more than you do. But honestly, looking at the whole thing from my perspective after this long journey, I would say that most people have given over way too much authority and power and influence to a system that DOES NOT have healing as its core principle. If you really want healing, whatever that might mean to you, I am afraid that at some point you will have to buck the system and find your own way.

That’s the way it is. Bucking the system means you will have to take deeper and more intense responsibility for what is happening in your body/mind system. It will inevitably bring you face to face with yourself, your wounds, traumas, fears, hurts, angers and grievances. It will bring up your stuff on emotional and means levels, and thats the transformative power of it.

If you can grow into that, take responsibility, become wiser and more knowledgeable, find healers and alternative professionals who will support you and guide, and resolve the energetic stuckness that underpins all physical issues, you are very likely to heal, to grow, to transform in ways that are unimaginable.

Or you can just carry on.

I chose to buck the system. It never worked for me except for diagnosis and testing, even then I have my doubts. It didn’t offer me the hope or possibility I needed. That had to come from me. It’s in everyone, it’s in you.

Thanks for reading!

Thyroid Inquiry

 I have been forced, invited, demanded, to look at this confusing and mysterious area of thyroid over recent years, and increasingly so in the last year as I began to see links and connections between certain symptoms that have been appearing.

For example, a full blown skin rash that appeared last year which was shocking and intense, covered my entire body in red spots and then developed into welts that were very scary and painful. I still have the residue of these issues and am finding it hard to ‘kick them into touch.’

Both my wife and I suspected, intuited and rationalized that all my symptoms, from the rash to swollen calves, to foggy brain and increasingly causeless anxiety were somehow linked to a thyroid imbalance, which may or may not have been exacerbated by a very poor mercury amalgam removal in Costa Rica about 2 years ago.

(More on that fiasco some other time, but needless to say, if you are going to get your mercury removed, GO PROFESSIONAL!)

MY TERRIFYING RASH LAST YEAR!

I saw doctor after doctor in the UK, both at the outset of the symptoms and when they were at their peak.

NONE of them were interested in connecting the symptoms with the thyroid gland, or inflammation, or gut problems, or even my auto immune problems. No, they wanted to send me to dermatology, or rheumatology, or some other more specialist department that sounded like it was helpful but was not. 

WHY NOT?

Because at the end of the day, after all diagnoses and investigation, and this is my most important point ever, and after all tests were in, THEY COULDN’T OFFER ME ANYTHING USEFUL, or any useful connection between symptoms, and they couldn’t offer me any treatment that was natural or dealt with root cause.

They had no idea what the root cause was, and they had no methods to find out. Neither was that their remit.

That was it basically. I was alone with the internet. I couldn’t afford to see a Functional Doctor which is what I would always recommend for someone with auto immune related issues.

I saw a fantastic acupuncture therapist and herbalist who helped me restore some balance, and there really are imbalances in the whole body system.

I bought this book. http://a.co/azf2chL

And I  really started to focus on what I could do to calm things down and restore some order. I have a long way to go, but I am delighted that I haven’t had to take any medication at all.

My main areas of focus are: GUT. LIVER. ADRENALS.

My current skills are: PATIENCE. CONSISTENCY. RELAXATION.

My current awareness is: MIND is as important as BODY in healing.

If you, or anyone you know, is experiencing mild, or harsh, symptoms that might be diagnosed as thyroid related, be warned about going down the medical route on its own.

Seek second opinion and further testing by alternative practitioners, functionals doctors, chinese medicine doctors etc. It might save your thyroid gland and prevent you having to depend on pharmaceutical medication for the rest of your life.

Here are some resources to pursue:

http://hypothyroidmom.com/when-thyroid-disease-masquerades-as-psychiatric-disorder/

http://hypothyroidmom.com/anxiety-panic-attacks-depression-mood-swings-the-thyroid-roller-coaster-ride/

 

And here are some ideas from Dr Axe. They are pretty basic but they introduce the principles. An anti inflammatory diet is ESSENTIAL, no question.

Natural Hypothyroidism Treatment – FROM DR AXE.

Here are the 8 Secrets to fixing your thyroid issues:

1. Go Gluten and A1 Casein FREE – the most common allergies and food intolerances today are from wheat and dairy products because of the hybridized proteins of gluten and a1 casein.  These proteins can cause “Leaky Gut” which in turn will cause inflammation of the thyroid and effect it’s function.  Follow a grain-free diet or at least go gluten free.  Then only consume dairy products that come from A2 cows, goat milk, or sheep milk.

2. NO BPA – Bisphenol A (BPA) is found in plastic bottles and can disrupt your endocrine system and effect your thyroid.  I recommend only drinking out of glass, stainless steel, or BPA free plastic bottles.

3. Check Your Iodine Levels – If they are low use a kelp or organic liquid iodine supplement.

4. Heavy Metal Detox – I recommend using a combination of Milk Thistle, Turmeric, Chlorella, and Cilantro to detox these harmful metals from your cells and organs.

5. More Selenium – Make sure you’re getting enough selenium in your diet but also don’t go overboard.  Some of the best selenium containing foods are brazil nuts, salmon, sunflower seeds, beef, mushrooms and onions.

6. Adaptogen Supplements – Can lower cortisol levels and improve thyroid function like Ashwagandha and Tulsi.

7. Silver Fillings Removal – if you have amalgam fillings talk with a DAMS mercury safe dentist about proper removal.

8. Lower Carbohydrate Intake – Lower your intake of sugars and grains and replace them with healthy fats.  Most women especially consume far too many carbs which increase estrogen and negatively effect the thyroid.  Instead consume healthy fats that will balance hormones, like: coconut oil, coconut milk, avocado, grass-fed beef, wild salmon, chia, flaxseeds, and hemp seeds.

https://draxe.com/8-secrets-to-cure-hypothyroidism-and-other-hormone-problems/

Good luck and thanks for reading!

 

STRESS and its effect on the body systems – My Personal Revelation!

I am going to share something with you today. And its going to be about stress. And its dramatic effect on the body when it is allowed to run rampant and un-dealt with.

I would like to say this is difficult for me to admit to, but quite honestly if it serves you or anyone else I feel that my experience will not have been in vain. So please, share this post if you know someone who may benefit from it.

Some of you may know I am now in America with my beautiful wife, author and teacher Amoda Maa Jeevan. We have been here for over two weeks, in California. It has been a long and, at times, very difficult journey to get here. We are here on a long visa as it is our intention to live here long term. We left here in December 2015, and from then till now we have been nomadic, homeless, moving around, AND Amoda has been applying for the visa AND writing her new book. Both of those things have been seriously hard core tasks, but to achieve them successfully over our days, weeks and months of nomadic, erratic living, was a massive undertaking. She is an amazing human being!

Here is the confession. I have carried the experience, the ups and downs, the challenges, stresses, fears and difficulties not so well. My body tells the story of my life. Since the days of my Ulcerative Colitis, auto immune issue, I have had a very sensitive relationship with my physical body. It reveals everything to me, and mirrors all my emotional and mental turbulence and anxiety. I cannot hide it from my body. Some people can, they just don’t feel it in their body. I DO! You might as well, some folks do and thats a gift and a burden.

Have I shared with you about my ongoing rash this year? Oh it has been dreadful, and very very full on. Whole body rash, skin flaking, swollen arms, welts, inflammation, the whole works. It has been thought of, at various times, as urticaria, psoriasis, fungus, bacterial infection, mercury poisoning, tropical infection, and so on. Yet it has been elusive.

Since we got here I have seen a doctor, who has taken blood and I get results next week.

HERE IS THE REASON FOR THIS BLOG.

I got a referral to a Dermatologist, who I saw yesterday. I stripped down and showed him my skin, he prodded and peered, asked a load of questions and then I expected him to agree with the doctor that it was ring worm and fungal infection.

“NO.’ He said, “It’s not any of that.”

“It looks like it has multiple causes that have arisen as this rash, certainly your immune system is a big factor as it is still (and forever will be) damaged with the auto immune you have carried. But the other factor is STRESS.“

STRESS!!! Not just Stress!

And it really struck me in that moment how powerful STRESS, ANXIETY AND FEAR are on the physical body systems.

Immune system and nervous system, they are the two main systems that are affected by mind and emotions. And they impact every area of health. If you are one of those people who feel it all in their bodies, you have a gift and a burden. The gift is all your mental and emotional burdens, stresses and traumas are revealed to you dramatically and viscerally, and thats your invitation to deal with them consciously. The burden is that it hurts and you can get away with nothing. It gets tiring having a sensitive body. 

It gets REAL TIRING! My answer is surrender and acceptance and a refusal to medicate unless I absolutely bottom line have to, and settle for nothing, never accept a diagnosis unless it feels 100% spot on, and ALWAYS LOOK FOR THE MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL COMPONENT. 

Taken two days ago – I am getting better, the rash is clearing!

You see, we all want these problems to be caused by something outside ourselves. That makes it easier to deal with. I have dealt with so much over the years, I mean I cannot begin to tell you what I have dealt with, emotionally, mentally, spiritually and physically, WOW! And I guess I thought I had reached some kind of level where I was beyond it.
But this last year I admit I have felt the fears in my body, I have felt the anxiety about the future in my body.
I have felt the sudden pit of fear in my body.
I have felt the fateful feeling of foreboding in my body.
I have felt deep feelings of ancient abandonment in my body, and I have felt childhood traumas and existential troubles in my body.

Never, never, never underestimate the power of the mind over the body. Body will ultimately surrender to mind, thats the bottom line. Mind is, to a certain extent, more powerful than the body, until the body dies.

And I have learned that this is my life’s lesson. I am here to learn how to relax fully regardless of outer circumstance, regardless of what is happening. I am here to learn to be ok with life AS IT IS. That is a life path.

So we each need to find our life’s lesson. It’s all about our spiritual/existential/soul/karma and how it manifests. What are we here to learn?

What are you here to learn? If you have an issue with the physical form, if any of what I’ve said resonates with you, look inside, investigate and inquire.

It helps to know, it brings some relief to one’s personal suffering and gives a greater context for any illness.

Thank you for reading!

A request for support to get thoroughly medically tested

Help me return to this

Friends of my blog, some of you may know and most don’t know but this year I have experienced the most incredible skin problems, from a full body peeling rash in which my arms and legs swelled up, to some extremely painful weals that appeared on my legs, and are still around…

I’m here in California and have no insurance, and now I simply have to get thoroughly tested to find out and address what the heck is going on. I live very very healthy, I have detoxified to the max, I healed my Ulcerative Colitis, I am emotionally and mentally grounded and clear, and yet something is still not right.

I NEED YOUR HELP. If I can raise some money I can get properly tested at a good testing centre here in California.I do not have the money..If you helped by even a small amount I would be so grateful…I am  here to do good work uplifting others and helping transform the world from its present state of breakdown…But its so much harder when my own vehicle is suffering…

PLEASE CHECK OUT MY ‘You Caring’ site and consider this…Its  rare that I make this request but needs must..Thank you so much for reading…
The link: https://www.youcaring.com/kavi-jezzie-hockaday-661853

Or click the picture below.

Click the Picture to find out more.

Here are some of the pictures of what Ive been through. I wont show any more, its not fair to anyone..

 

Strangely Coincidental Spontaneous Remission – Or Actual Healing?

In recent years I have dropped much of the anger at doctors I used to carry. It wasn’t healthy and there was probably a lot of projection involved. I also started to see deeper into the whole medical, science based paradigm, saw its huge benefits to mankind, and also saw how we are all trapped by something. So I became more understanding of the position doctors are in and how they are dictated to by the system that educated and trained them. I saw the bigger picture and stopped focusing so much on individuals. 
It is the system that is the problem, not the individuals.

BUT. There is something that gets my goat, as the saying goes. And that is arrogance and dismissiveness. I don’t like it in any walk of life, on Facebook, in the bar, in the bank, politics or anywhere. But when it is in the area of health it stirs me up and brings out the radical feisty rebel in me, and I have tendency to rise up and speak my mind.

I have just been reminded of this after reading an article by Dr Mark Hyman about healing auto immune conditions.
He talked of being in a group discussion with a conventional doctor, a rheumatologist, and one of his patients who was cured of a complex autoimmune disease by addressing the causes.

What he said was this, and I quote, ‘When my patient described how he cured his autoimmune disease by finding and eliminating the causes of inflammation in his diet and environment, it was dismissed as a “spontaneous remission.” In the face of a paradigm-shattering medical case, these doctors were hardly curious and quickly dismissive, describing what was shared as anecdotal.’
http://drhyman.com/blog/2010/07/30/how-to-stop-attacking-yourself-9-steps-to-heal-autoimmune-disease/

That makes me pretty mad I have to say, for many reasons. One of them is because they are talking about me! If you read yesterday’s blog, and I urge you to do so, you will read that I talk about healing my IBD completely.
https://acidtoalkalineliving.wordpress.com/2016/07/27/where-is-my-colitis-now-gone-no-symptoms-at-all/

So what I am reading is these ‘professionals’ dismiss my healing as ‘spontaneous remission,’ and any proof as anecdotal.
The remark that Dr Hyman makes that sends my blood pressure rocketing (only joking, I am too caring for my health to let that happen!)is this ‘these doctors were hardly curious and quickly dismissive.’

I have experienced this, as you may well have, and it is infuriating and offensive. It is the height of arrogance, and arrogance is the height of ignorance, and needs to be held to account.

When they don’t want to know it is maddening.

The only way to deal with this is to
a. meet it head on and face the doctor with his, or her, own arrogance, with your indignation and contempt.
b. Then find another doctor.

They are not all like this, I am glad to say. When I have had this kind of attitude I simple cannot stay with the doctor long.

Arrogance is an unpleasant syndrome unworthy of doctors. They need to know there is a world outside their paradigm, and it actually heals people. Western medicine is the new kid on the block, Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine have been around for at least 4000 years! 

And to actually use the term ‘spontaneous remission,’ is very disarming. It clearly suggests that nothing the patient has done, or not done, all the lifestyle changes they have made, have in no way contributed to this ‘remission,’ because it was just ‘spontaneous.’  It happened by itself for totally unknown reasons. It didn’t happen before though, it happened at EXACTLY THE SAME TIME as the patient made serious lifestyle changes and pursued healing the root cause of they dis-ease.’
Maybe the term should be ‘strangely coincidental spontaneous remission.’

Sometimes science is an ass. Without nature, without humanity, without consideration of the mystery of life, science is a dry box, defensive and arrogant. And even though, as I say again, it is incredible at what it does, there is no denying that, healing chronic disease (and I don’t mean suppressing symptoms) is not something it is good at.

And it will be left behind as a healing modality, unless it climbs down from its pedestal and becomes considerate and compassionate and available.

We could have the best of all worlds if the systems worked together. Divided is old paradigm. Collaboration is the new way. And that collaboration will have to involve a healthy respect for others.

And what it means with regard to your health is that you step up and take responsibility for your health, you speak your truth and only work with health practitioners who respect your choices, decisions and your healing. The system will change when we demand it changes.

My rant is over.

Thanks for reading!

Where Is My Colitis Now? GONE – No Symptoms At All

I’m writing this blog today for anyone who thinks they cannot heal chronic disease.
I’m writing this for those who have cancer, those who have inflammatory conditions, those with blood issues and all the chronic ‘hopeless’ conditions.

And I am writing this for the consultants and doctors who, over the years, dismissed my notion of healing my condition as ‘impossible’ and even stupid. Yes, I’m writing this in defiance and wrathfulness.

I am not angry anymore, but for years I actually was angry at them for giving me so little hope and so few options.

Now I see part of my mission on earth is to spread the news to ordinary people, to show them that there ARE possibilities, and there is hope, and how we should never give up and resign ourselves to what other people, even if they are so called ‘professionals, say.

If I had listened to some of those voices many years ago, if I had followed some of their professional advice and let myself be led like a horse to water, I can only imagine what state I would be in today, ten years later. It wouldn’t be good.

You see, when I was first diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease in 2005 in a London hospital I was told in no uncertain terms that I would have it for life, I would probably be on medication for life, and that I may have to have surgery to remove some of the infected areas. That is a colonoscopy.

Here is the report they sent to my doctor. Click to view in detail.

If you look at the report it suggests I should be started on a drug called Asacol.
It is an immunosuppressive, which is something I will never understand. I have just, for the first time, searched on Google for the possible side effects of this drug and I found crazy things!
Here is the link, have a quick look.
https://www.drugs.com/sfx/asacol-side-effects.html
For a start, some of the ‘side effects’ are actually exactly the same as the effects from the colitis itself! Like ‘ulcerative colitis aggravated (up to 15%)‘

But when you are prescribed these drugs it is very very rare that you would be told about these side effects. They are terrifying! Worse than the disease itself.

And here is the thing. Chinese herbs and acupuncture, Ayurvedic herbs and treatments, herbal medicine, naturopathic remedies, NONE of them have any side effects. And they DON’T suppress the immune system. They will support and modulate the immune system, but there is a big difference between this and forcing the system to quell its activity. To me one is force the other is healing.
I have just found another great article about this:
http://restorativemedicine.org/journal/natural-support-for-autoimmune-and-inflammatory-disease/

Well that fateful day I was told of the possible future I faced is forever etched in my mind, for the single reason that I chose, as it says in the report, not to take their advise but to follow my own instincts and knowledge and pursue natural treatments. At that stage I had no idea what those natural treatments would be, but I already knew Ayurvedic (Indian) and Chinese herbs were very powerful and useful, so I imagined I would start there.

But that is not my point, that is for another blog. My point is always this, and I have said it before time and time again.

Despite what little hope I was offered that day, and during subsequent assessments and diagnoses, I never took any medication at all. NONE, ZERO, ZIP. And that was quite tough, because my symptoms got pretty serious at a couple of points.
In fact a recent discussion with my doctor about something else involved him asking me about my natural healing path and how I coped with the ‘acute phase’ of this dis-ease. ‘Good question,’ I thought and answered, because it meant he was taking me seriously. It is the acute phase that lands most people in hospital with very serious symptoms that demand urgent intervention. The answer was that I let it flow, and that meant sometimes 20 bowel movements a day and pouring mucus and blood (sorry for the squeamish among you!). Remember I wasn’t taking any meds, so I thought of it all as somehow the natural actions of a body in crisis.

Although it was mentally and emotionally very challenging, I tried hard to see that what was happening was the body taking the right action to try and eliminate toxins and pathogens and restore balance. The body was trying to detox and purify, but the effect was dramatic.

There is a big difference between seeing your own body from a compassionate, supportive and caring position, and seeing your body as having gone wrong and being angry, or fearful, or brutish with it. Your body hears and knows and responds to what you feel and say and think.

I know what I’m saying is hard and challenging and even with the best will in the world, sometimes intervention and hospital, medications and urgent treatment, are the only way. That is, as they say, the way it is.

I think what I am saying is to always look at your own mental attitude towards yourself and your body. Although I was freaked out by what was happening to me over the years it took me to heal, I never viewed my body as my enemy. I devised meditations and healing visualisations for myself to listen to every day. I explored my unconscious mind and emotions to the deepest level I knew, and left absolutely no stone unturned in my commitment to supporting the healing process, no matter what. I became a servant of my own healing.

Doctors don’t know about the healing journey. Most people don’t. We are all thinking in the same box most of the time. It is very limited. It is a mindset that works when it works, but when there is a breakdown, the mindset is sadly lacking in its ability to explain it or deal with it.
It is the same in mental health, psychological problems, addictions, and even societal problems.
We are caught in this mechanistic mindset that reads symptoms in a linear manner and attempts to rectify problems by medication, removal or incarceration.

Very rarely do we hear anything about healing, rehabilitation, forgiveness, compassion. Yet these are surely vital aspects of the human species?

I never took any medications, and it has now been over ten years. And guess what has happened? Well slowly slowly, and sometimes very slowly indeed, and sometimes forward and sometimes backwards, I have healed my wounded colon and reduced my inflammation, restored gut integrity, nurtured and nourished the physical needs of my body, dealt with emotions and mind, and now, for the last two years at least…

THERE HAVE BEEN NO SYMPTOMS OR SIGNS OF THIS ‘LIFE LONG DIS-EASE.’

I don’t think about it any more. Occasionally if I am suffering with something else, it can trigger some gut sensitivity, because I think I will always be sensitive in that area. And I have a tendency to immune weakness. I took a hard blow back there and I believe these hard blows, when they are chronic, always leave their mark, as though this is where we always need to pay attention.

But on the day to day level, there are no signs of IBD, colitis, or anything. Even I am shocked sometimes. My symptoms were powerful back then, for example I was almost 90% housebound for two years, I weighed less than 45Kg, had sometimes 20 bowel movements a day and was always losing blood and mucus, I couldn’t eat anything, was nauseous and semi anaemic. It was hard core and I had to dig so deep into my inner resources just to stay with it.
But I did.

And you can. Whoever is suffering from a ‘chronic dis-ease’ hear me good.

YOU CAN DO WHAT I HAVE DONE.

Is Google a Health Resource or a Rabbit Hole of Fear?

Have you used Google search to look up your symptoms?
Have you speculated about what you are suffering from and found Google useful?
Have you looked up health tips?
Foods to eat?
Exercise regimes and tips?

If you answered yes to any or most of these questions you are in good company!
Because the truth is that, even though Google searching is fraught with the potential for wrong information and misdiagnosis, the benefits, at least to this writer and researcher, far outweigh the drawbacks.

Imagine a world without a decent search engine. Imagine it being taken away from us at this point where we have got so used to it. It’s nigh on impossible to imagine. Google is intertwined with our existence, for good and bad, and usually both, and like most of these things, we either make it work for us or it may well work against, or leave us behind.

Make no mistake, it’s almost a certainty that the doctor you go and see in real life, who you depend on for precision diagnosis and ‘absolute authority,’ uses Google. Some don’t, most do. I have witnessed this with my own eyes twice, and at first it shocked me and even made me laugh, but since the second time I remember actually thinking, ‘Why Not?’
What is wrong with my doctor using this extensive resource?

I think we have old paradigm beliefs about the sacrosanct role of the doctor. Somehow we have elevated doctor to the level of wise man, sage, ultimate authority and ‘god.’ Well maybe god is a bit much but you get my point! We expect the doctor to be the font of all knowledge and never have to refer to books or Google. Surely they are supposed to know all?

MEDICAL SYSTEM IS THE NEW CHURCH.

But this is quite obviously an illusion and I believe we should cut these doctors some slack and realise they are just the arbiters and representatives of a system called the medical system. While we uphold the medical system as the only system, the ultimate body church we all pray at, and the only answer to this vast issue of illness, we are going to be trapped in the need to elevate the doctor onto a pedestal. And we all know what happens when one is on a pedestal, the only way is down.

What I am saying is lets realise the doctor is fallible, human, and in the dark about many things. I have been let down, disappointed and frustrated as many times as relieved, by my doctor. So much of the time they simply don’t have answers and go through the ‘referring you to a specialist’ stuff. They don’t know about food and diets, they don’t know about how interconnected the mind and emotions are with health, they don’t know about herbs and traditional remedies and, in the UK, only spend 10 short minutes with you anyway. 

10 minutes is not enough time to get to grips wth your health or illness. Period.

Unfortunately the doctor is also caught in the elevation of their starring role in your health. many of them are caught up in their own power I am afraid to say. And then if you go to see them and happen to say ‘I have been researching my symptoms on Google and have some ideas,’ you may well get the ‘eye roll’ as I call it. Or they could be downright hostile to you.

DO NOT LET THAT PUT YOU OFF.

Recently I have had a relatively new doctor I have seen for this unbelievable rash I couldn’t get to grips with. I talked to this doctor honestly and openly about preferring natural healing, wanting to take responsibility, and what I have been exploring on Google. I was totally non confrontational and actually asked for his help. Luckily he was open to my ideas and we explored them. Some of them he said ‘Absolutely no way it could be that,’ and other ideas he said, ‘Let’s test and see,’ and so we did.

He reflected my need to be directly involved in my own health investigation. He could see how important it was for me to know what was causing this issue. I didn’t just want medication, in fact I didn’t want meds at all, but I wanted to know.

And he responded to this warmly and encouragingly. That is how change will happen.

Sometimes I think we want the system to change from the outside first, we want the doctors and the medical system to wake up and transform itself. But it has been proved time and time again that systems only change when there is a movement that forces them to change.

Which brings me back to Google. Now I am not suggesting Google is the answer to the problems facing us in illness and health. Google itself will not spark the revolution in health we so badly need.

BUT. Google is empowerment of the patient. Google is information. It is such a valuable resource it has to be included in your toolbox of resources. And the more you use it, diligently and intelligently, the better it gets and the more it reveals.

A couple of tips for using Google:
Take the emotionality out of it. Don’t let it inflame your fear. It can and it will feed fear if you let it. If you are afraid and fearful, don’t use it. Computers and internet tend to amplify our mental and emotional states, believe me I know this for myself. So be warned, and if in doubt do not use!!
Be open to what arrives through Google, and try different phrases and words, scroll down and find alternative sites not just the top ones, particularly the sponsored ones, and use it as an exploration of possibilities, until you get more experienced.
Ask a loved one to help and do it together. It sounds like weird fun but actually it engages you both in a kind of detective mission.

THE EMPOWERED AND INFORMED PATIENT OF THE FUTURE.

Consider this. You are, in the long term, changing your relationship to this holy ‘doctor’ idea. In the longterm it is you who are going to be at the centre of your health and wellbeing. With radical new testing gadgets and apps coming on line and usable at home, and with so many alternative possibilities available for healing illness, the future is all about change. And that makes the doctor a vital part of your health team, but only a part, not the whole thing.

And Google, or other search engines if you prefer, is going to be a very useful and necessary part of your research and responsibility.

But you are going to be at the centre of it. It is a vital part of the change. When we say, and this quote is so often used, ‘Be the change you want to see in the world,’ we need to include our personal care responsibility with every other thing we do. An informed and insightful, a wise and intelligent patient is one who will take preventative action as well as remedial.

There is a revolution taking place this century, and informed and engaged patients are at the centre of it. It is very exciting.

If you don’t believe me, check out this article recently published.
The Blockbuster Drug of the Century – An Engaged Patient.

Thanks for reading, happy searching!