Why I See it Differently
When I was a teenager (a wee while ago) I was diagnosed with chronic juvenile arthritis and had operations on my thumb and knee, was told that I might grow out of it, or I might end up in a wheelchair. Not what an active, sporty girl wanted to hear. My Mum asked the Consultant about “alternative” approaches like diet changes and he pretty much laughed her out of the room. Unperturbed, she took me to a nutritional therapist and within days I’d regained my energy and within weeks my symptoms had reduced. In the years after leaving school I climbed Kilimanjaro, rowed for my college and ran a half marathon. No wheelchair for me. Mum bumped into the consultant some years later, told him my story, and he was baffled. Nutrition and lifestyle approaches simply didn’t fit into his medical paradigm.
For decades I didn’t really understand why or how this approach made a difference. However, in the last 10 years scientific research on the gut microbiome, and mounting evidence of the impact of ultra processed foods has ‘proven’ what the “alternative” folk (viewed in the ‘90s as hippies, quacks and weirdos) had known all along. Nutrition and lifestyle matter, not just for prevention but for long term resolution. If we support our body with all the good stuff that it needs for health, and remove the stuff that we know is harmful, the body’s own healing processes can do their thing. This applies not just food, but all the other day-to-day things that impact on our health and wellbeing.
Fast forward a few decades, now facing post concussion syndrome, I realised I was in a similar position. I knew that medicine and surgery weren’t solutions, and I wasn’t willing to just learn to live within these new limitations. Hell no. So I started looking deeply into nutrition and lifestyle approaches, and the evidence was overwhelming. But I knew I’d be swimming against the tide, as these still aren’t part of the mainstream medical paradigm. But things are changing.
Over the space of more than two years, I gained a deep understanding of the fundamentals of human health, trained as a Health Coach and used myself as a guinea pig. I read tens of books about the brain, and quickly realised that the mind, body and brain are all interconnected, and that true recovery from post concussion syndrome requires a whole body approach. I have made significant changes to the way I live my life, and they’re all here to stay.
I’ve just spent a week away with my family cycling, kayaking, running, swimming and even dancing in the disco to cheesy pop. In truth, I’ve never felt so good. This is why I’ve developed The Concussion Recovery Course, to share these approaches with people struggling with long term post concussion symptoms, desperate to find actual, lasting solutions that they can implement on a day-to-day basis, alongside any clinical care they are receiving. Let’s go!