why i choose holistic alternatives 1st

I had never put much merit in to holistic alternatives. I always lived a lifestyle of convenience and fast foods and believed without doubt anything the doctor told me about my body. It was a perfect concept, I ate what I wanted, when I wanted. When ailments popped up, I simply went to the doctor's for a pill that would take away my pain or illness so I could resume life as usual. It was magical and easy. I assumed whatever was wrong with my body was fixed when my symptoms subsided. I never considered the idea that the magical pills I consumed were masking the only way my body knew how to tell me that something was broken through a symptom. The only holistic thing I remember while growing up included fruit smoothies made by my mom with something called kefir and taking colostrum pills when I was sick. That was the extent of anything considered “natural”. When I was in my early 20’s my mother became very ill. She only found treatment through a local holistic doctor. I did not care to know much about it because it was a complete hassle from what I observed. The natural treatments were misunderstood by her western medicine doctors which always caused confusion and arguments. Therefore, I kept my distance from anything holistic. I was just fortunate I did not need it. Until…

I decided to go back to school for nursing after giving birth to my daughters. I had always loved helping people and needed to do something with a flexible schedule. I was doing great until I got pregnant again. Since all of my pregnancies were c-sections, I was forced to withdraw from nursing school after 2 semesters. I came out a complete germophobe! The most remembered bit of information nursing school taught me was that there are no guarantees with medicines. Doctors do not know how you are personally going to react to drugs, they work within their own areas of specialties rather than treating the body as whole and they manage health after illness occurs rather than promoting prevention.

H1N1 was a huge scare to everyone and I felt helpless. I did not know how to protect my family and I was not confident the doctor's knew how to help so I did the only thing I knew would help and did my best to seclude my family from this virus. I did everything I could to keep us away from people which caused complete anxiety when I couldn't. It wasn't until I was introduced to doTERRA essential oils that I felt empowered and protected. In short, my oldest daughter contracted the belly bug. I ran an essential oil in the diffuser and ironically she got better faster than usual and the rest of my family did not get sick! It was at this point in which I started to believe that holistic alternatives could work. Essential oils were my gateway drugs to holistic alternatives. They worked so well that I could not keep them to myself. I wanted to help save other families the way mine had been saved.

There's a saying essential oil users say, "there's an oil for everything." I am not however, one of those users. I am a firm believer that holistic health is achieved through many natural remedies.

In my early 30’s I became very tired. Exhausted really. All the time. I would wake up exhausted, lay on the couch while I home schooled my daughter because my head felt too heavy to hold up on it's own, and then go back to bed as soon as my husband returned home at 3:15pm. I only woke to eat a dinner that he prepared before heading back to sleep for the night. I had bloodwork drawn and was told by 3 different western medicine doctors that all my results were within normal ranges. They insisted I was depressed and prescribed antidepressants. In desperation, I agreed to take 1. The pill made me highly suicidal for 2 days. I felt like no one was listening to me. I did not think my problem was psychological. I had previously suffered with anxiety over germs as you've read. I knew how different I felt between mental and physical ailments. This was physical. But I could not convince western medicine doctors of that because my bloodwork was not abnormal to them and it was not within their expertise to look elsewhere. Reluctantly, I agreed to see the holistic doctor that helped my mom years ago. He diagnosed me with hypothyroidism and treated me with holistic supplements. It was the first time in months I had been heard and treated. I was out of bed and enjoying life as a young mom should.

A few years later I found myself stuck in bed again. Not because of my thyroid but my back. With x-rays, I was diagnosed with a herniated and bulging disk with stenosis which would explain my constant pain. I would grunt as if it gave me strength to move if I were not just lying flat on my back in bed. The pressure of just sitting up right caused pressure and pain. Western medicine doctors prescribed me steroids and suggested back surgery. I did everything holistically that I knew of by using essential oils to help alleviate the pain and inflammation while visiting a chiropractor 3 times a week for adjustments and stretching. It helped as long as I made time to go and didn’t overdo it on activities. After months of this and not being able to physically enjoy my kids the way I wanted to, I was ready to accept surgery. I called a few neurosurgeons and was ready for some consults when a holistic doctor offered to help. I had nothing to lose and accepted the challenge with little confidence. I had 1 weekly visit for adjustments and some major dietary changes. My results were immediate, and I was pain free! It’s been over 3 years now and I’m more active than I’ve been in 15. I even run!

In another situation, I was suffering with what I believed was a UTI. I was sent home twice from the doctor’s office because my tests came back negative. No one would treat my symptoms with negative test results. The UTI turned in to a kidney infection and the ER finally gave me some relief. It took weeks to recover from this. When something happens to me now, I am blessed with a holistic doctor who treats me according to my body’s needs, not numbers on a paper. He builds my immune system by working personally with my diet and natural supplements. It is why I do not feel the need to get a vaccine. I know the alternatives and I am confident they work. I am also working every day to build my immunity so that I am strong enough to naturally fight illnesses through my diet.

Holistic alternatives have changed and saved my life. I am not against western medicines. There are appropriate times in which they can help when eastern meds cannot. But there are a ton of times where eastern medicines can work so that western meds are not needed. It is just unfortunate that most people are completely unaware of these benefits because western medicine doctors are not educated or paid in holistic alternatives since our society does not include them into their pay checks and insurances. Instead, we are forced to personally pay for eastern practices out of our own pockets. Western medicines also allow us to eat whatever we want and live sedentary lifestyles until we run our bodies down and need a pill to fix our ailments. These doctors are then only needed once you get sick. On the contrary, Eastern medicines prevent illnesses and diseases from starting which is not much of a money maker in our society. These medicines are used to support your health preventatively and address the problems causing the symptoms rather than the ailments themselves.

My biggest point in all of this is to use your head. Only you know what your body is telling you. Maybe you do not fit in the majority like I didn’t. You do not need a doctorate degree to know your own body better than someone else not living in it. Statistics and tests are not always correct in determining what is best for you. Take the time to evaluate who benefits from convincing you of those statistics and fear. For example, sugar is one of the worst things for you. I am confident no one will argue that. If you were to eat a “healthy” diet based on the USDA food pyramid, you would receive most of your food in the form of bread, cereal, rice, and pasta. Guess what those foods turn in to if you are living the traditional sedentary US lifestyle? We should all be considered blessed to find a doctor whose first medicine suggestion is a diet change over a pill. Holistically, you would turn that table upside down to prevent illnesses and diseases. I will never tell you what to do with your body. But I will educate you with alternatives that have the possibility of helping support your wellness goals naturally, so you need western medicines less often.