No Silver Bullet: Things I Have Learned Along My Non-Linear Healing Journey

Just do X-Y-Z, and you will be healthy again!

Would it not be amazing if there was a sure-fire way of treating illness?! It sounds too good to be true. And it is. Medication and lifestyle changes can, at times, take the pain away, but neither eliminate the disease. When you live with illness, it is necessary to grieve the loss of good health – for a time. 

Unique Healing Journeys

It would be misleading to say that this journey of approaching healing from an alternative perspective is easy or successful for everyone. In my opinion, there are two key points to keep in mind when using alternative methods to treating disease:

1. Every individual is different. What works for one person does not always work for another. Give yourself and each other lots of grace.

2. Healing is not linear. There will be obstacles. Sometimes you will feel like you are back at the beginning of the healing process, even if you have been doing the right thing for years. Often, the healing journey is two steps forward and one step back. Be patient and steadfast.

I passionately share the life-changing results of my starch-free diet to manage ankylosing spondylitis with others. However, I will be the first to admit that even the strictest starch-free diet does not guarantee relief of symptoms. Those who have traveled this road before me will also tell you that various factors are involved in the healing process.  

Healing The Mind.

For myself, healing the mind involves praying and meditating on God’s truth. Daily, I seek to focus on the Healer instead of agonizing over my situation. I make reducing stress in my life a priority as stress often causes me physical pain.

Healing The Body.

Rest and exercise are both critical in the healing of the body. I found this very frustrating when I was still in lots of pain because resting/sleeping for long periods seemed impossible. Pain used to cause me to wake up after only a few hours of sleep. If this is the case for you, revert to point #1. Do not stress over lost sleep. While resting is helpful, exercising is equally important. I try to be as active as possible! I stretch a bit in the mornings, and I do a lot of running after my kids and playing sports with them the rest of the day. I feel best when I keep moving!

One extra thing to note here is that removing stressors from the body can, for some people, be key to seeing reduced disease activity. Internal stressors can manifest physical pain in our bodies. As such, healing the mind is important. In the same way, external stressors, such as environmental chemicals, food additives, or physically applied chemicals (make-up, lotion, etc.) can sometimes cause a manifestation of physical pain. Part of my healing process included cleaning up not only my diet but also stress caused by my environment.

Healing The Gut.

Resting the gut is critical in the healing process. I believe healing a leaky gut plays an integral role in relieving symptoms of AS. I have found that eliminating starches (and other commonly inflammatory foods such as dairy, nuts, nightshades, etc.) for an extended period gave my gut time to heal. The longer I give my gut a break from inflammatory foods, the better I feel. Thankfully, I have been able to reintroduce many foods (except for starches), and I attribute this to the significant healing in my gut.

No Silver Bullet

Not everyone will choose the natural healing route – and that is ok! Some people may give dietary modifications a try and decide it is not for them – that is ok too! However, considering lifestyle modifications can be worthwhile for individuals who suffer from ankylosing spondylitis. The ‘down days’ can be discouraging. But, eventually, the ‘up days’ make the journey worth it!

There is no silver bullet to managing ankylosing spondylitis, but there is hope!