Not Listening to the 'Experts' and Finding Your Own Way

Back in May, I was diagnosed with the early stages of Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, which is

when your immune system begins attacking (and eventually destroying) the thyroid.

I was devastated. And embarrassed. How could someone as healthy as me have this disease? And especially as a health practitioner— what were people going to say?

I went into a tail spin. I cried, I sulked for days. And then, I hit action mode. I read every book, listened to every lecture, scoured the internet for every bit of information on Hashimoto’s and autoimmune disease I could find. I was determined to reverse it (in hind sight, an enormous ambition to have) and rigorously studied the cases I came across where women had successfully done so.

At the recommendation of my naturopath, I underwent a serious elimination diet to heal my gut, which can often be linked to the onset of Hashimoto’s. I jumped into it with much vigor and enthusiasm, on a determined mission to save my beloved body.

I came across another wellness practitioner who specifically worked with what I was going through. She was a bit harsh on me for not being a meat-eater, and recommended a diet of just vegetables and fish three times a day for at least a month. I cried after the session in complete overwhelm. How could a diet that sounded terrible and overloading on foods I don’t want to eat be the solution to my problem?