Having an invisible illness isn’t always the most fun. Not that having any sort of chronic disease is fun, but it can be even more complicated when no one can physically see what kind of things you have to deal with day in and day out. Many people in my life deal with invisible illnesses like Crohn’s, lupus, thyroid disease, anxiety, depression, and a whole host of other things. What frustrates me the most is society’s general lack of compassion for those diseases and situations. For some people, myself included, it’s hard to wake up some days and go to work and continuously be “on.” While I’ve made leaps and bounds in my experience dealing with thyroid disease, it’s not always sunshine and rainbows.
So, in the spirit of understanding and a little bit of trial & error, I compiled a list of 5 things you should know about dealing with Hashimotos. While these aren’t totally medical or technical things, they’re prized advice I wish I knew before I started to really dive into my wellness journey.
1. FIND A DOCTOR YOU TRUST.
I don’t think I can even start to comprehend what my life would be like if I didn’t have a doctor who truly understood my goals in healing. I think one of the best things you can do is find a doctor that is on the same level of understanding and course of treatment as you are. I got lucky because my family is involved in the medical field and I had immediate access to phenomenal physicians who listened to me and offered remarkable medical advice and treatment options. I have always felt like my voice was heard, and I know that a lot of people don’t have the same experience as me when it comes to finding the “right fit” for a doctor.
If you aren’t satisfied, it’s time to look around for something new. I know that once you fall into a habit or a course of treatment, it’s not easy to uproot and move on to the next option. However, sometimes it takes trial and error, doctors you like and dislike, and even experimentation on treatment to really find what works best for you and your body. I’ve been fortunate enough to explain my desire for a more naturopathic approach to my treatment, and be met with a doctor (who practices a variety of treatment methods depending on the patient, might I add) that has been encouraging and helpful along the way. Stay positive, and find a good doctor! I know they’re all around, but sometimes it just takes a little digging.
2. IT’S OKAY TO NOT FEEL OKAY.
This one is huge. Society tells us far too often that it’s not okay to not feel okay. Whether it’s a physical or mental issue, we’re programmed to power through and put on a brave face regardless of how we might actually feel on the inside. Well, surprise! I’m here to tell you that it is okay to not feel okay! Sometimes you just need to hear it. You aren’t designed to wake up and feel like you are perfectly rested and balanced, your energy is completely symmetrical, and that you can handle an 8 hour work day behind a screen without a problem. You are, however, designed to be a human that has good days and bad days.
I can’t tell you how many days I attempted to wake up in high school, but couldn’t because I was so physically exhausted (a fun side effect of Hashimotos). I couldn’t understand why my body didn’t want to work, no matter how hard I wanted it to. It became a running joke with some of my close friends and teachers— but it wasn’t that funny to me. I was really not okay. And somehow, I laughed about it with everyone because I was told that it wasn’t okay to feel the way I was feeling, or that somehow it was a joke. I even remember people giving me crap because my mom let me sleep in and miss first period when I couldn’t manage to get out of bed, they’d say “you’re so lucky.“ To be honest, it was miserable, but I laughed it off because I was under the impression that I had to pretend it was all okay. And suppressing those emotions won’t help with stress or anxiety, either.
It took me many years to realize it, but now I look back at that and think of how silly it all was. It’s perfectly okay to not be okay sometimes. There isn’t a single person who has it all figured out (even though it might look like it from the outside). We’re all human. We all have our vices and struggles. So yeah, just remember to affirm to yourself that it’s okay to not feel okay sometimes. I still have to tell myself every single day that what I deal with is different than other people’s battles. It’s gotten easier over time, but that affirmation is still crucial today.
3. WHOLE CARE IS THE BEST CARE—DON’T TAKE SHORTCUTS.
When it comes to healing, and particularly with healing or improving invisible illnesses, it’s important to not take shortcuts. It might be easier to do it another way, or to start and give up, but after all these years the one thing that’s constant is that whole body lovin’ is the best way to feel better. I can’t even calculate the number of times I’ve “fallen off the wagon” when it comes to routines and taking care of myself. I went through almost a full year-long bout off of the wellness wagon not all that long ago. And what it taught me is that it absolutely makes a difference to stick to a whole-body care type of a mindset.
There is no fast fix, especially for Hashimotos. You aren’t going to somehow manipulate your thyroid overnight to bump metabolism and lose the weight that won’t seem to come off. BUT, you can nourish yourself with every single meal to create an anti-inflammatory environment for your gut & let your body react. Knowing that you’re providing truly natural, healthy, and wholesome ingredients in your food will pay off over time. It might not get you down to your original pant size, but your body systems will be operating much more efficiently and effectively to provide overall health. And what’s more important—overall sustainable health or fitting into a size 2? That was rhetorical. Your body will thank you in so many ways if you nourish it the way it should be. Shortcuts are a fast fix, but sustained nutrition and activity will be the key for long-term results.
Physical activity over time is also important to whole body health. Switching up your training style is just one way to keep it exciting. I’ve found that if I can find a workout or activity that I like, I’m MUCH more likely to stick to it, which in turn allows me to feel better. So far, my favorites have been CrossFit and Alchemy. Mixing in some bouts of running (which hasn’t been for a while) and indoor cycling has diversified activities I like to participate in, and which I absolutely despised doing until I gave them a chance. Try it all, because you never know what might stick. I promise that getting sweaty does improve overall health, especially with Hashimotos.
4. PUSH YOURSELF, BUT REMEMBER YOUR LIMITATIONS.
This might sound contrary to the last section, but listening to your body is still the most important thing you can do. If you feel super tired, take a nap. If your body is not responding to your workout and needs a rest day, then take the rest day. If I have a super hard day with brain fog (another really common Hashimotos side effect), I might need to take a nap or eliminate screen time for a bit so I can try to re-focus. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. Either way, it’s frustrating to deal with because most people have never experienced brain fog for a minute of their lives, and you can’t even figure out what 2+2 is. You have to continue to be patient and listen to your body when it tells you what you need.
It’s a delicate balance between expectation and reality. The bottom line: set goals and work your hardest to attain them, but remember that it’s okay to have limitations or setbacks. I don’t want it to sound like a cop-out, because it’s not. Sometimes, Hashimotos can get in the way of goals you might set. Ultimately, it’s okay if you remember that you have special limitations. Don’t give up on anything, but don’t be too hard on yourself, either. Try to find the fine line between the two.
5. THERE MIGHT NOT BE A “CURE,” BUT THERE’S A LIFESTYLE.
This topic can be controversial, and I’m all about it. There are those who believe that you can absolutely “cure” chronic or invisible illnesses with modern medicine. Others believe that there’s no cure, and that the best we can do is find homeopathic or naturopathic remedies to fix it. Well, I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t matter which one you believe (even though I fall somewhere in the middle of the two). It doesn’t matter because every single person’s medical diagnosis and symptom profile is different. You might have the same disease or disorder as someone else, but it manifests differently between you. How you choose to proceed medically is a totally personal decision—you might choose the traditional synthroid and I might choose the naturally compounded pig thyroid treatment. Will we both be “cured”? Probably not. Is there something else you can do to help with continuing symptoms despite your method of treatment? ABSOLUTELY.
Your commitment to a healthy lifestyle is the ultimate factor for leading the kind of life you imagine. Eliminating environmental toxins, nourishing your body with nutrient dense food, getting as much sleep as you can, consuming enough water to really hydrate your body, getting a variety of physical activity, trying to eliminate as much stress as possible—these are all things you can do to create a truly whole-body minded path to recovery. Ever since I decided to really be mindful of all these things (note, I said mindful, not perfect), I started to feel better. I noticed my symptoms were starting to alleviate. I noticed that I slept better. I noticed that I was able to sustain tougher workouts and build more muscle. I noticed that my migraines were far less frequent or debilitating. The whole lifestyle change helped me manage my symptoms, not just a single factor. While I do think that food and nutrition made the biggest difference, I can’t just say it was one thing over another. It was the combination of the different systems working together.
A commitment to a health lifestyle isn’t easy. But, it has been the one thing that’s consistently made my Hashimotos symptoms better. It can apply to so many other autoimmune disorders, too. Pay attention to your lifestyle, make some changes, and you’ll start to see a difference. It may take more than just a lifestyle change, but it will be the first step towards finding true healing.
I hope that this list can serve as a reminder or inspiration for anyone that deals with any sort of invisible illness, whether it’s an autoimmune disorder (like me), anxiety, or anything else. While it might not be true for everyone, these are the things that I’ve learned in the last 10 years of dealing with it. Just remember that it’s all going to be okay, sometimes it just takes time, effort, trial, and error to figure out what works best for you and your body.
sustaining sloan 