7 Post Lyme Tips From an NYCIM Patient

You No Longer Have Lyme Disease

Wait, what? That’s possible? Yes.

I was so nervous that day. Pacing on my back patio in the sunshine, making sure I was in a section of my yard where the phone would actually ring and I could actually hear a voice on the other end. It did ring. And I did hear a voice. And I will never forget the words it spoke and how it felt to hear them; “You have no active Lyme. You were able to completely eradicate the infection”.

All at once, it felt as if my old world dropped completely out from below me while a new world appeared spontaneously before me. There I was with a decision to make; continue fighting the old, familiar battle because I’d been doing it for so long and it had become second nature, or, step blindly and faithfully into the great, scary unknown and trust.

Truth is, I have been making that decision every single day since NYCIM helped me to move through illness into wellness. Choosing joy and health over fear and habit is an art; a practice. And because I know how easy it is to make things complicated (especially once you’ve been chronically ill), I want to share with you 7 very simplified tips for choosing, cultivating, and maintaining wellness after Lyme. 

1. Finding Your Higher Purpose

I have spent a lot of time talking to current as well as healed Lyme patients and there is most certainly a running theme when it comes to jumping on the recovery train. Feeling moved by something greater, something deep within you that connects you instantly to the great beyond. It’s often when we reach our lowest low that this inner-knowing comes shining through in a way we never expected. Pay attention to that. Listen to it. Follow it. Ease and grace can feel so unnatural after so many years of struggle. Your higher purpose or passion will feel glorious and can even strengthen your immune system.

2. Facing Fear Through Journaling

I had so much fear after I went through treatment. Not only was I still rebuilding my immune system in what felt like an entirely new body, but I was also rebuilding my relationships, my finances, and my whole approach to life. I was so scared of screwing up, not grabbing opportunities, failing, getting ill again, and just being “weird” in general. Holding on to all of this inside (and often subconsciously) can create even more pain in the body and send you into unnecessary downward spirals. Through the suggestion of Dr. John Sarno, I found journaling as well as talk therapy to have a huge impact on my healing. This article from the New York Times explains his philosophies and methods for healing emotional-physical pain. When your body hurts, pay attention to your thoughts.

3. Building Community

It takes a village. At the time of my Lyme treatment, I was running my creative studio on Long Island and was more than fortunate to have an already established community of kind, concerned and open-minded individuals. I also made sure I spoke to people at the clinic every day I was in treatment, reaching out to others to hear their stories and learn about their journeys. Those people remain some of my closest friends. Here are my suggestions when it comes to choosing/building community:

1.     Ask for help. You do not have to heal alone and community appears when you ask.

2.     Choose positive, uplifting, and supportive people and environments and steer clear of anyone or any place using words like impossible, never, that’s just how it is, at least you don’t have… This goes for friends, family, doctors, healers, and especially online forums.

3.     Stay open-minded and proactive. As hard as it is when you’re sick, try to stay away from thoughts like “Nobody cares. I don’t have anyone. I’m going to die alone.” Just because a specific person or group isn’t showing up for you in the way you want (people often can’t or don’t know how) doesn’t mean someone else will not. Stay open and it will happen for you. It already is if you’re reading this.

4. Sleeping

Sleep is one of the single best things you can give your body to heal and is often elusive when we are in pain or freaking out. Here is my personal recipe for sleep – yours will be different but I encourage you to try different things until you find something that works.

1.     White noise – I was jumping and stirring and panicking at every single noise in the night when my nervous system was healing. An air purifier or white noise machine helps me to fall asleep and stay asleep.

2.     Blackout curtains- total darkness helps my body register the night and helps me hormonally adjust and shift into restfulness.

3.     Herbs or supplements- I use melatonin and magnesium spray and I notice a huge difference in my energy and sleep levels when I take Nadovim.

This is a good place to note that I also kicked someone out of my bed who I realized was draining me. My sleep undeniably and immediately improved. Do with that information what you will.

5. Nourishing the Body

The clinic will give you dietary recommendations that are really quite specific to your body’s needs at a given time. During actual healing, you may need to be vegan or up your protein, and after your cells dump toxins and your body begins to rebuild, you may need something else entirely. I listen to my body and have pretty much been cutting these things out for years: gluten, cow dairy, processed sugar, chemicals, and preservatives. I limit alcohol intake. I do drink caffeine and I purchase organic, whole foods. That recipe works for me.

If you find yourself unable to stick to a diet or make changes that you know will benefit you, go back to #2 on this list and ask yourself, why?

6. Connecting with Nature

A dear friend once said to me, “A flower does not worry if tomorrow will come or if yesterday meant anything. It just blooms.” At the time I was like, whatever dude. Just answer my question. And now I have come to know that all answers lay in nature because our bodies are extensions of it. Get outside even if you feel crappy and sit in the sun. Walk if you can. Hike when you’re ready. Move your body outdoors and breathe. And if you live somewhere where you can’t do this, help yourself out with some products that will improve your indoor environment. 

7. Giving Back Through Purpose

I’m a Virgo so I like when things tie neatly up and come full circle. My favorite part about being healthy today is that the actual thing that got me here is the thing that keeps me here as well as the thing that helps others get and stay here. Purpose. When I share my purpose and my passion with other people, it creates a sense of immunity and indestructibility in me that no treatment, supplement, or biodynamic organic berry can compete with. If you do nothing else, sit with your heart, find, feel, pray for your purpose, and then share it. You will see that absolutely everything else falls into place.