Safara Fisher

As we begin to heal from being unwell, it is important to consider ourselves “Wholistically”.

When we suffer a flare it affects our minds and our bodies. Both have undergone tremendous changes which are not always visible to our eyes. We need to take time and look at how we to build ourselves physically and mentally. Our minds as our bodies need exercise. As we gain back our physical strength, we may find that our minds are in need of a pull and stretch of those thoughts and ideas that give us inspiration and call forth our enthusiasm for life.

This can feel hard and we may at first find that though we may want to move in this direction we have become in some ways “addicted” to the unwell state of body and mind we have come to know. It has become our safety zone and it may be more difficult to release ourselves from this mentally than physically.
We don’t have to let our UC flare paralyze us. We can use this as an opportunity, a new beginning, a chance to reconsider our intentions for living. I know that when I left the Hippocrates Health Institute when people asked me what it gave me I would simple reply “it gave me back my center”. My “center” is that feeling of knowing, being able to recognize myself and feel the ground beneath my feet concretely. We all know when we are off balance; we can feel it in our bodies as well as our minds, our instincts kick in and tell us something is wrong. When we breathe life back into our cells we also do so to our spirit and this is incredibly important to the healing process.

I find having gone through a series of flares and reflecting on this process that I can recognize that I have reached a grounding place when I begin to ask myself questions like “What do I want to do with my life now? Who am I now? What interests me? How can I regain my independence and the passion about my life?” I tell myself I am no longer in the “fight or flight” mode, with my defenses up or running looking for safety from the physical or mental pains that I endure during the flare. I am above water, comfortably getting air into my lungs and looking around for where I would like to begin to swim to next. It’s time and I am ready to begin. Are you beginning with me?