Welcome to part 3, the final leg of my healing journey with cancer. Cancer was a big wake up call for me and helped me focus all my energy into learning how to be well. My healing included body, mind and spirit work – and always will. I embraced emotional healing – something that had been missing before. I used modalities that worked for me – and found my team. And I learned that all these tools can help anyone with chronic health issues. My journey has made me a better healer – of myself and others – and a happier person. Please read on to hear the conclusion to my healing journey and the set of beliefs I now hold about all of us and how we can be well.
Treating ourselves as a whole (holistic healing)
Body, mind and spirit are connected. To be well, we must include healing of all aspects of ourselves. There is no way for us to separate these elements. For example, when we are stressed (which can be triggered by a mere thought of an unpleasant outcome), our body experiences physical symptoms, such as shortness of breath and increased heartrate (this is mind to body). When we exercise daily and get enough sleep, our minds become clearer and more calm (body to mind). When our hearts are broken, our brain creates beliefs around what happened, to try and keep us safe in the future (from spirit to mind). Once again, it becomes clear, that body, mind and spirit are intrinsically connected. By treating only our bodies, we will not achieve full healing.
Emotions are key to moving forward
Our emotions are critical to healing. We all hold trapped emotions about past events and they can create underlying hurt, anger and fear. Releasing these allows us to live in the present – and not react based on emotions from the past. This is an essential step if we are to improve body, mind and spirit, as our emotions can manifest as physical symptoms. For a really powerful video about this, check out releasing suppressed emotions.
There are lots of ways to clear old emotions. On your own, you can connect to past events through meditation and tapping, and “let go” of the emotions that arise. With the help of a professional (energy healer, emotional kinesiologist, psychologist etc.), you can recall events and the emotions attached to them. This can be a good place to start, especially if the events are more traumatic. Remember, that trauma is subjective – it’s whatever was traumatic to us. You don’t need to compare it to anyone else’s life, if it triggers emotions for you, it’s something that needs to be cleared.
By clearing our trapped emotions, we can start to make better progress with our other modalities for mind, body and spirit. So, if you are stuck in your healing journey, perhaps take a look at acknowledging and releasing your emotions.
Choosing healing modalities that are right for you
We each respond to different types of healing because we are all different! It’s not about finding one way to heal ourselves – black or white, medical or natural. Or about following the treatments others have found helpful. It’s about finding the right combination of modalities for each of us as individuals.
Find an amazing team, as I have done (see part 2 of my healing journey), of people you trust and who understand you. (My energy healer calls it “being on the same vibration”. I say “I just know” if they feel like the right person for me.)
I have learnt to stop seeing any practitioners who are not interested in my holistic healing journey and who don’t listen to my point of view. Life’s way too short! Find the souls who are on a similar path to you, or who at least support the path you are on. Only accept the doctors and healers who lift you up when you see them – and leave behind the ones who use fear to bring you down. (Especially with cancer, this can happen far too often. And it could not be more important!) I’ve had years and years of experience with doctors and more recently with others types of healers. It is crucial that everyone on your team is supportive, understanding and informed.
Getting the support you need
Not only is it crucial to have a great team of healers, it’s essential that everyone around us is supportive of our healing journey. This may be friends, family or a support group, or maybe a group of friends you meet at a new activity that you enjoy. I am forever grateful to my amazing network of friends, neighbours and extended family who rallied around and helped me when I needed it most. From the school friends who picked up my kids for a playdate, to neighbours, aunts and uncles who drove my kids to activities and were there when I needed to go back to hospital (again and again)… to my awesome close friends and immediate family, who dropped everything to be there to support me in any way they could. Thank you. My beautiful tattoo is a special reminder every day of the unwavering support I received throughout this journey with cancer. And a reminder that the journey of life has so much more to come.
Learning to ask for and accepting help was a big lesson for me, but turned out, not to be as hard as I thought. Now that I’m well, I still try to do everything, all at once, and my biggest lesson is actually learning to rest and make time JUST FOR ME. That is something I need to consciously work on every day.
Finally, on the topic of support, there is also a need to set boundaries. While many people are there to help, sometimes you just need space, peace and quiet. This goes for all times, not just in crisis. So, think before you say yes, then speak up for yourself and say what it is that you want. I know how hard this can be! I worked hard with an audiobook called Setting Boundaries Will Set You Free , and will be working on this one for the rest of my life.
My key learnings that relate to us all
Being on my own healing journey has helped me to understand the importance of emotions, body, mind, spirit and support – the true meaning of holistic health. As a result of all I’ve learnt, and all I’ve shared in this 3-part blog, I find myself with the following set of beliefs about our health:
- We are all emotional beings – we feel the whole range of emotions, even the ones we deny or hide in ourselves
- We are all social beings – we long for a feeling of connection and need people who support us and love us unconditionally
- We are all spiritual beings – and have a desire to connect with something greater than ourselves. This can be named whatever you like! Nature, the universe, God, Buddha… it’s all the same!
- We all have a soul – and it wants to be heard, it wants us to follow our dreams, do what we love, seek our own truths
- We are all physical beings – our bodies matter and our soul (or internal self) will use ailments and injuries to communicate with us – often very loud if we are not listening!
- Some of us are sensitive – physically and emotionally. We respond strongly to everything around us and many health professionals just don’t understand. I am a sensitive body and soul, and I have helped many more like me to heal themselves. (Have a look what some past clients have said about me.)
If you have any chronic health complaints – chronic fatigue, pain, migraines, weight issues, food intolerances, allergies, sensitivities etc. – then healing your spirit and emotions, as well as mind and body, can help you too. By prioritising myself (for the first time in a long time), I have learnt so much about how we heal. In addition to my nutrition advice, I now share this broader knowledge with my clients and can help you to heal yourself too. I have many new and existing tools, including tapping, affirmations, meditation, muscle testing, coaching, food as medicine, supplements and appropriate referrals (so you can build a team of professionals ideal to you). My testimonials from past clients show that I have a thorough approach and can help with even the most complex and chronic cases.
If you would like to book an appointment, I am seeing clients via Skype on Mondays – Thursdays between 10am and 2pm. Just send me an email at kate@ktsnutrition.com. Nutrition consults are still covered by many private health funds. Happy healing to you all.
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