I commented on a post recently in an endo support group from a woman who asked about getting off the pill. She was tired of the side effects from it and wanted to know if there are holistic ways to manage endometriosis instead.
Having been on a combined birth control pill for a decade, and off now for a decade, I lent some support in the comments that it’s totally possible to manage without it.
Another endo sister chimed in on the thread. She was just prescribed an unopened box of birth control pills and was hesitant about taking them.
Most people she’d come in contact with told her it was not possible to manage things without them.
I was the first one to tell her that it is possible to manage endometriosis holistically, and this gave her hope.
My response? Believe you can and you’re already well on your way.
Feeding the fears…
The truth is that many of us are fed fearful messages from our doctors following diagnosis… “If you don’t take this things will get worse.”
Perhaps, if you did nothing that’s true, but what’s missing from the conversation is that there are other things you can do to feel better!
Following a holistic path takes time, patience and commitment. It’s a longer journey than taking a pill to numb the pain and manipulate your brain (read more how birth control works here), but the results are longer lasting.
This fear that we pick up from the doctors can grow as you shift to researching endo online. I remember when I first Googled “endometriosis” and the negative messages that began to infiltrate my subconscious.
I read many stories full of pain and hopelessness. I was at a low point with near daily chronic pain. I couldn’t imagine things getting worse.
“There’s no cure for endometriosis.”
I recently asked the Peace with Endo community on social media what they wished people automatically knew about endometriosis and many of the responses that followed were that, “there’s no cure.”
This wasn’t surprising to me. After being immersed in the endo community since 2011, and being an advocate for the cause, I’ve seen the push to spread awareness that there is no medical “cure” for this dis-ease.
I understand where this comes from. You may be tired of people assuming you’re better because you had surgery or drastically changed your diet or…. you get the point.
There’s a lot of misunderstandings about endometriosis out there, for sure.
But I must pause and consider the impact this belief has when it comes to your individual healing journey. Do you believe you can feel better with endometriosis?
Or do you think that you’re stuck with the pain because there’s no “cure”?
The power of belief
I recently read a book called Cure: A Journey into the Science of Mind Over Body by Jo Marchant, and in one of the chapters she delves deeper into the power of belief when it comes to healing.
This is shown time and time again with placebo trials. Marchant shares research that has been done on this in the book.
In summary, when a patient believes that they’re getting something that will help them with their condition, then the brain responds by releasing endorphins, which are molecules produced in your brain that act as natural painkillers.
When the patient believed that the treatment was going to help them feel better than their body naturally responded and made it so. Endorphins are opiates except that the brain produces them itself.
The power of the placebo effect shows that belief is undeniable in the mind/body connection. The problem is we’re fed with negative beliefs about endo from the get-go.
Do you believe you can feel better with endometriosis?
Believing in the power of food.
My first step into the holistic world was through dietary changes. I found stories of other endo sisters online who were able to manage their symptoms with the help of the “endo diet.”
It helped reading other stories of women who had success. This helped shift my own beliefs from what I’d been told.
After nearly eight years since first changing my diet, I am passionate now about the power of food as medicine, and I see this passion in many other endo sisters that I’ve connected with on this holistic path.
I had a conversation with one last week and I could feel her passion and belief in the autoimmune diet she was following. The fact that she felt results helped grow her belief and stimulated a desire to help other women with endo feel better too.
I could totally relate.
There is hope.
A big part of why I started this space on the Internet is to provide some hope that it is possible to feel better with endometriosis, and that healing is possible in body, mind and spirit.
I’m not sure where I would be had it not been for those endo sisters who had shared their success with diet online, so in paying that forward, I continue to show up in this space as further inspiration for you.
It is possible to feel better, love.
But you have to believe it.
Regardless of what path you decide to take, when you believe you can get better, your brain responds and helps you do just that.
I know the journey’s not always easy. It takes time to heal and a part of that is feeling through the emotions that flow through, and not being afraid to face the pain.
There are deeper messages within if you’re willing to take a look.
Message in the pain
Despite diet changes, handfuls of supplements, and stress management techniques I still continued to struggle with horrible pain with my periods and infertility that made my heart space throb.
That was frustrating to me.
But I didn’t give up on the belief that I could feel better.
Instead, I dug deeper.
I believe that pain is a messenger. I sought out to find what that message was.
On the Positive Side?
Turns out healing came when I addressed deeper emotional and spiritual components.
As a result that horrible pain with my periods was finally released.
It’s been gone now for two years.
As so often is the case, the breakthrough happened right after the breakdown when I’d lost faith in the path, as I drowned in the pain.
I share more of the unfolding that happened in my new book, Energetics of Endo, which is now available!
➡️ Pick up an autographed copy here, or on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Kobo.
There’s magic in those pages and I hope that you pick up on some of that, in reminder of the miracle that is you, and the innate power that you have inside to heal yourself.
Believe it, love.
