In part 1 of this article I spoke about autoimmune disease and alopecia, about what it is and how it is affecting me. I want to now speak about treatment and what I am going to do.
I am into holistic medicine (of course) and I believe my body can heal from alopecia (I wish I had listened to myself long ago). I wanted to see if I could find a cause for the alopecia through visiting my GP and having some blood tests.
I have been doing quite a bit of fasting recently and wanted to make sure that the thinning of my hair was not due to lack of nutrition. (In fact I think the fasting has helped keep me going for longer as it helps to repair the body. Learn about autophagy to learn more).
I went to see my local GP. He confirmed that I have alopecia and that it is an autoimmune disease. He also took some blood tests. He sent me to a dermatologist and said that I can have a steroid injection into the bald spot or steroid cream.
There are no guarantees that these treatments will be effective, and it will take at least three months to see if it’s going to work. This to me is like saying let us poison your system even though it is already depleted. This was the only resolution offered to me by my GP.
Treating the symptom rather than the cause is never going to aid the body to heal fully. I decided I had to take healing into my own hands. (I am fortunate and do have a team of holistic experts on my team as well).
After going home I was faced with a dilemma. Do I wake up every morning in fear, dread and anxiety about losing more hair on my pillow? Do I dread taking a shower and washing my hair in case I lose more handfuls of hair?
Do I increase the anxiety and stress that caused my disease in the first place or do I take control of my disease and put my mind at rest?
I decided to take control and love myself regardless.
An Act Of Self Love To Heal From Alopecia & Autoimmune Disease
I decided the best thing I could do for myself is to start listening to the messages by body is giving me and reduce my stress and anxiety.
I had to start loving myself. I had to look after ME first. I wondered HOW I could do this.
I had to look at the amount of work I was doing. What can I delegate? What is important for me to do right now? What can I leave until later? I had to look at my lifestyle and the breaks I was giving myself during the workday.
I had to look at the time that I was spending with my friends, doing the things I love and I realised my life was SO OUT OF BALANCE.
I came up with some strategies of what I needed to put into place to make some changes. One of the things that kept coming up for me was to shave my head.
HOW CAN SHAVING YOUR HEAD BE AN ACT OF SELF LOVE?
Self-love can manifest in many forms. For me self-love is doing anything that makes you feel better, physically, emotionally, spiritually or mentally.
I know that losing my hair and the dread I was feeling was not making me feel good on any of these levels.
What Lead To My Decision?
The day I did these videos I had a photoshoot booked with a girlfriend for her assignment at college. I was to be her female model. (The photo shoot was done in between these videos). We had arranged this a few weeks ago and I did not want to let her down.
I was having a VERY BAD hair day. She took photos of my real balding hair and ones wearing my wig. Once I compared the two sets of images my decision was made, my hair had to go.
I felt better knowing that I didn’t have to wake up with the dread and that if I had to wear a wig every day I would feel better about myself. So the decision was made. The hair comes OFF!
I shaved my head on live camera. I wanted to be open and honest. I wanted to help others to listen to their body before their body gave them a message that will stop them in their track.
In doing this I no longer wake up dreading finding my hair on my pillow. I no longer dread taking a shower. I no longer wake up thinking people will think I am a fraud, running a health and wellness business while being sick myself.
In fact I prefer my bald look. I bought some great wigs that I will wear in the future for certain occasions but generally day to day I actually like my natural look.
I wanted to write this to empower anyone else who is going through something similar. Our appearance does not define us. I am NOT my hair or lack of hair. I am me and I feel empowered with or without hair.
I have done a lot of work on myself in the past on self-love (we have a FREE magazine on this too for all of our members) and I guess it worked.
If you are going through something similar right now and you want some help in navigating your feelings, or fear about what others will be thinking, or feeling anxiety about your appearance I am happy to help.
I see clients privately via skype. Please know you are not alone and there is help out there if/when you need it.
You can find much more information on living a holistic lifestyle in these free magazines and on our YouTube channel.
Sharon White – Subconscious Mind Expert
