A chief complaint of fatigue is very common in patients and when you treat stressed out corporate workers, it often goes along with the territory. I have talked about treating adrenal fatigue before and that is a big reason for fatigue but today I am going to talk about another reason for fatigue. The organ involved is called your thyroid and more specifically,  it is an autoimmune disease that attacks the thyroid gland. Hashimoto’s disease is the name of the disease and is one big reason for fatigue in patients. It is very common in women, especially in middle age, but it can also occur in men, less commonly.

Common symptoms of hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s disease, more specifically, include fatigue with extreme sluggishness in the am, poor stamina, dry skin, constipation, muscle weakness, depression, loss of libido, poor cognitive function, cold intolerance, heavy menstrual periods, weight gain, hair loss, and infertility. People can sometimes present with a ‘fullness feeling’ in the throat or an actual sore throat. Some patients, if left to the extreme, will present with a goiter. The reason I bring this topic up is that it is a very common autoimmune disorder so it is wise to have it ruled out if you have chronic, unrelenting fatigue.

When most people go to their doctor to get a screen of the their thyroid function, the first test that is done is of thyroid stimulating hormone or TSH. If TSH is high (>5.0 ), typically more tests are run. When I am evaluating and testing for thyroid gland function, I run a full panel that includes testing for antibodies against the thyroid gland- TPO or anti-thyroglobulin antibodies. Hashimoto’s is one big reason for fatigue that can be missed, so be sure and ask your medical doctor for some additional testing if you are concerned.

Causative agents are suspected to be environmental factors such as infectious agents, environmental chemicals and pesticides, not to mention a diet that may include a lot of gluten along with many other factors. Getting off gluten is very helpful if you have Hashimoto’s as most autoimmune diseases can be aggravated and made worse from gluten intake. Nutritional deficiencies can be part of the picture and could include Vitamin D, Vitamin A, Selenium, Zinc, iodine and/or omega 3 fatty acid deficits so additional testing to uncover these may be very helpful. Additional heavy metal testing to rule out mercury or lead toxicity can sometimes be necessary when approaching any thyroid imbalance.

I use Biotherapeutic drainage to support the physiology of the thyroid gland. Organotherapy can be useful to act as a decoy to get the antibodies to attack the supplemented medicine versus the thyroid. I refer out if it is a more complicated case but often the body will respond well to comprehensive support involving natural medicine. For additional information on the thyroid gland and imbalance, check out Mark Hyman’s book, The Ultra Thyroid Solution.  Please book an appointment to discuss if you are interested in thyroid testing at Parallel Wellness in Calgary, Alberta.

The end of the year is a great time to take inventory on your health on all four levels. I have talked about the physical, the mental, and the emotional levels of health so all that is left is the spiritual. Some people are wary of the spiritual because they may have had negative associations with organized religion in the past. I grew up in a religious home and I see the spiritual side of healing as absolutely sacred and necessary for me.

Most people do not even put an emphasis on the spiritual level of health unless they have dealt with a personal crisis in some way- it may be a health challenge that drives you to seek out the spiritual- my health challenge certainly led me back to living a spirit filled life and made me feel much happier and peaceful as a result. Some people may find a financial crisis leads them back to seek out the spiritual or it might be a divorce or the death of someone they love that throws them into a existential crisis. It is usually a situation that is overwhelming to the ego in some way and makes you feel very small and powerless in comparison. You surrender to a divine presence (some people call this God or the universe-use whatever term you are comfortable with) in hopes of coming to a better understanding of your circumstance; hopefully you will receive some guidance that will light your path moving forward and allow you to come back into balance.

God is intuition talking to you. We all have an inner voice that whispers to us. The journey of faith is trusting that voice and allowing that voice to guide you. How are you feeling about your connection to your inner voice? Are you connected to your intuition? Can you start listening more to that voice and follow its lead? The way you establish a stronger connection to the spiritual level of healing is very individual. Ask your intuition which way feels right for you? I started going back to church more consistently this year. It feels like a healthy ritual for me to have.  I have connected to other friends that make their spirituality more of a priority and it feels right. This is one side of healing that is very near and dear to my heart. For you, it may be getting out into nature more; perhaps, that is where you feel more of a spiritual connection. Whatever feels right is the right way.

Meditation is a great way to commune with your soul. I do morning and evening meditations to help me stay aligned with my core God self. There are plenty of ways to meditate whether it be basic breathwork, visualizations (candle flame, chakras, rose) or guided exercises (Doreen Virtue, heartmath). The consistent checking in with yourself and establishing that connection to a higher power keeps your day to day living on a more even keel and establishes that is an important value that you have. Consistency makes it a part of your everyday core self. We all need this with the chaos that is in the world today. It is a core foundation from which to operate from.

The spiritual level of healing is tremendously important in dealing with a health challenge. Establishing a strong connection to a power higher than yourself leads you on a journey where you will confront your shadow, see and re-establish your light and love and accept yourself far more than you ever would had you not had this challenge. It will reconnect you with you, your goals, your authentic self, your values, your heart centered intentions for your life and ultimately your life purpose. I call this living in alignment. It is connecting your own personal will with divine will. It is saying ‘how can I best serve in light and love?’-God please use me. in however way you can. to help others heal on their journey. To continue this discussion and set your intentions for living a health filled life on all four levels of your being-physical, mental, emotional and spiritual-please book an appointment with me at Parallel Wellness-4032321283. Be well and be happy! Dr. Robin Vinge, N.D.

Now that you have taken inventory on the physical and mental levels of your health, it is time to look at the emotional level of your health. I have always been an emotionally sensitive individual so this is an important level in me to keep balanced. It is useful to evaluate what emotion in you is the predominant one? Most people have an emotional set point- an emotion which they default to when they are feeling out of balance or under more stress. Is might be anger, sadness, hysteria or it might even register as indifference or apathy which is almost a lack of emotion. Get clear on what emotion you default to.

There are a few schools of thought of how to handle overwhelming emotional states. The first one is to feel what you are feeling in the moment and express your emotions. If you feel sadness, allow your tears to flow. Release your emotions and get rid of them so your emotional state can feel neutral once again. If you feel angry, punch a pillow or take a boxing class. Physical exercise can really channel emotions and help them be released. Emotional states can be changed by accessing your creativity. Express your feelings on a canvas letting the paint tell your story. Journal-ling your feeling state can be incredibly cathartic. If you dump your thoughts and feelings onto the page, you can walk away feeling much lighter.

At this time in our evolution we are ascending in our consciousness, so emotional states can feel heightened. The trick is to not react to how we are feeling; it can be helpful to witness the emotional state like a dispassionate observer. Be mindful of your emotional state but do not be consumed by it. One mantra I use repeatedly is ‘this too shall pass’. No emotional state ever stays the same. Finding your center in the midst of emotional chaos can be a challenge but it is not impossible.

My favorite technique to deal with negative emotions is Emotional Freedom Technique. This is a tapping technique that works on Chinese meridians to balance emotional states. Tapping on specific meridians sends a soothing signal to the hind brain (the primitive brain). Tapping helps decrease the stress response. Chinese medicine talks about emotions being linked to different organs- anger is linked to the liver, sadness is linked to the lungs (for example). This tapping technique runs through a sequence of points that are accessed while reciting affirmations; it pairs western  psychology with eastern medicine to bring you to a state of emotional contentedness. EFT is my best soul oriented counseling technique. For more information on balancing emotional health, please book in for an Emotional freedom technique session at Parallel Wellness in downtown Calgary.