I’ve been a “thyroid traveler” in the “thyroid world” for more than 13 years. During my long “thyroid journey”, I came to realize how many factors play a significant role not only in our thyroid sickness but also in our thyroid healing.  

I’ve found that our environment (social, family and work) has a tremendous role for the onset of thyroid disorders. Not only that: stress (chronic or single traumatic event) often acts as a trigger. Certainly, everyone has stress in their lives of all kind but how we handle it is another question. 

The reason why some people handle it and others cannot be explained with special personality traits and personal characteristics (so-called the Five Big Personality traits). “Thyroid people” possess a unique combination of these personality traits, allowing them to accumulate stress and stay in highly stressful and harmful situations until they become literally physically or mentally ill. 

In addition to that, their basic needs are not met on a constant basis (so speaking: belongingness, validation, nourishment, sensory and sexual need), all this generally due to the lack of sufficient self-esteem. I know from personal experience that a person with adequate self-esteem (not self- confidence!) will protect his boundaries, will know what is good or bad for him or his body, will not exhaust his mind and body for the sake of others, will not overwork himself to the point of exhaustion, will be able to say “no” when necessary. Because see, 13 years ago I couldn’t any of this. The list is not exhaustive or complete. But let’s see how all this relates to your thyroid disorder?

Sickness has its cycle, it has a beginning and it has an ending. Sickness starts because something went really wrong and can only end when things are done right. It is all possible, sickness is reversible, I know that from personal experience. 

To examine the self-esteem specific domain (which I believe is one of the most important when talking about treating thyroid disorders) please read and check below which of these you proudly possess (Be brave, I am not watching).

1. Overworking yourself to the point of exhaustion.
2. Not taking good care of yourself.
3. Suffering and going above and beyond your limitations, physical or mental, so that others can feel good and happy.
4. Not able to say “no” when you feel you need to do so.
5. Tolerating and accepting assaulting behavior, unnecessary criticism and people causing you harm.
6. Blaming yourself for all the things that went wrong.
7. Trying to be responsible for everybody, for their actions and behavior.
8. Doing things for people whom you don’t like.
9. Being very critical toward yourself and others.
10. Difficulty knowing who to trust and when to trust.
11. Thinking that other people are focused on and critical about what you say or do.
12. Tendency to let fear and anxiety control many of your decisions.
13. Avoiding making changes in your life because you are fearful of making a mistake or failing.
14. Being very fearful of criticism, disapproval, or rejection.
15. Feeling guilty because you have your own needs and desires.
16. Staying in and keeping relationships that are abusive, insulting, or offensive.
17. Fulfilling unreasonable demands, because you are hungry for the approval of others (you can admit it to yourself, I am not judging you).
18. Feeling like a victim of people and circumstances and as a result, becoming emotionally stuck and immobilized.
19. Being unable to affirm or reinforce yourself positively even though, let’s face it, you are an overachiever.
20. Being unable to make an honest assessment of your strengths, qualities, and good points, thus, you find it difficult to accept compliments or recognition from others.
21. Making decisions based on what would please others, rather than on what you want or without even considering what you want.
22. Feeling others are mistreating you, or are taking advantage of you.
23. Being unable to speak up for yourself.

If you checked many of the above items, you, my friend, are in big trouble. Bluntly put, this might be the biggest cause of your sickness. And you have to change your mind, right now, first.

Because low self-esteem, besides the “action” side (things that we do as a result of this low self-esteem), also has an “emotional” side, unfortunately. As a result of all of the above “wrong doings”, people with low self-esteem are very likely to accumulate a bouquet of negative emotions like (check again): anxiety, sadness, irritation, frustration, annoyance, emotional sensitivity and liability, hostility, shame, aggression, resentment, embarrassment, loneliness, lack of spontaneity, constant self-doubt, and insecurity. This is just unavoidable. At some point all this will result in inability to handle stress and everyday life challenges in general.

Do you see now how it is all related? Then the disease (thyroid or not depending on your character traits) is just a step away because your whole system will simply collapse.

Working on your self-esteem is one of the most important factors in your healing process, believe it or not. I am not saying that it is an overnight cure, but it is an important starting point (along with your diet, supplements, and physical exercises). Then everything will start to fall into place and your healing will begin!

How do you work on your self-esteem and is it possible to change it for good? Yes, it is possible. Details on how to do that are included in my newest book “Mental, Emotional and Psychological Aspects of Thyroid Disorders” (ebook), now available on Amazon, (paper book) Kindle and Nook for Barnes& Noble (click on the corresponding links or directly below to purchase). 

To further prove my point that your mind can, indeed, help the healing of your thyroid, I am also providing coaching consultations. You’ll also need the Skype program installed on your computer (it’s free) and a camera so we can see each other. Details about the sessions you can find here:

Coaching sessions for thyroid patients

I am specifically interested  in working with people with their thyroid still intact (if possible), those who are highly motivated to reverse their disease or desperate people who think that “nothing else helps” their condition. Because there is always a way out, no matter what.

I’ll look forward to helping you!

Svetla

Your Thyroid and Emotional Health

by Svetla Bankova

(P.S. For the purposes of this writing, I would define unhappiness in a few different ways, including, but not limited to: strong dislike of your job, marriage or relationship, constantly worrying about money, living in resentment, lack of enjoyable hobbies, anxious and “wandering” mind, loneliness, tolerating chronic stress, low self-esteem and last but not least, disapproval and dissatisfaction of your own self).

I’ve always believed in the hypothesis that the mind and body are connected and most of our diseases are psychosomatic, meaning that there is a relation between the mental/emotional states and the physical symptoms. I have a good reason to believe this because for most of my life I’ve worked as a body psychotherapist and studied people’s physical and mental diseases for a living. I have studied the applied extensively the works of Wilhelm Reich and Alexander Lowen, as well as some other psychosomaticists,  and have found good support of their findings on a very practical level.

I know for sure that unhappy people do get sick with physical disorders more often than happy people do and that specifically pertains to autoimmune disorders. I know for sure that the thyroid and emotional health are closely connected. When the emotional state of my clients improved, so did their thyroid disorder.

Scientifically speaking, there are few scientific pieces of research on the connection between overall life satisfaction, happiness, and autoimmune disorders. This correlation is important to be acknowledged and investigated in sense of prevention and successful treatment of autoimmune disorders, and not only Graves’ Disease, but other autoimmune diseases like Diabetes type 1, Rheumatoid arthritis or Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Vitiligo and in rare cases Lupus syndrome. In many cases, I’ve seen people suffering from more than one autoimmune disorder and some of you can definitely relate to this.

But why is that so, I thought?

I am not the first one asking myself this question. Many research studies in the past covered the connection between general well-being and other diseases, including but not limited to spinal cord injury, snoring, obesity, osteoporosis, Turner’s syndrome, cardiovascular disease, and migraine, however not enough studies have explored their connection with the autoimmune disorders. Here is some scientific support in that aspect as well:

1. According to Barak Y., (2006) from the Psychogeriatric Department, Abarbanel Mental Health Center in Israel, humans possess the ability to experience positive and negative emotions and these emotions have a tremendous effect on the physiological and immune processes. The study he conducted discusses the connection between affection, psychological well-being, and the immune system. 

The results of his study showed that pleasant emotions, regardless of the origin, increased the secretory immunoglobulin A (an important antibody agent) and decreased the salivary cortisol, which is responsible for the stress levels in individuals. Shall we go for the aromatherapy?

2. A similar study, involving pleasant stimuli, was conducted by Watanuki S, Kim YK. (2005) from the Department of Human Living Design, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan. The results of their study revealed that the pleasant odor (used as pleasant stimuli in the study), increased the activity of the left frontal brain region, while beautiful emotional pictures increased the vasomotor activity of the sympathetic nervous system.

Enjoying and reading good books seemed to increase the secretory immunoglobulin A (s-IgA) and reduced the salivary cortisol (s-cortisol).  The study undoubtedly proves the correlation between different pleasant experiences and the immune system and accordingly, presumes that the well-being and happiness of the individual are connected with the performance of his immune system even on a pure chemical level. 

3. Stress and anxiety are other factors influencing the general feeling of happiness as recorded by General Psychological Well-Being Index (PGWBI), and therefore affecting the immune system. As proven in a study conducted my O’Leary, Ann (1990) regarding connection between stress, emotions and immune system, acute stressors in the form of single events may produce different reactions on the immune system, while chronic stress factors like unemployment, unhappy marriage and being under stress for a prolonged period of time definitely leads to suppression of the immune system, which may or may not recover with the time.

4. How happiness is good for people’s health and if this has anything to do with longevity is discussed in a research paper of 30 different studies regarding happiness and longevity by Veenhoven, R. (2008). He studied the effect of long-lasting unhappiness, triggering the flight or fight reaction, which has negative effects on health in a prolonged period of time and lowers the immune system response.  However, he found, happiness helps people not to get sick somehow, benefits preventing illness and has a great effect on longevity.

5. These findings followed a study, conducted in 1973 by Dr. Grossarth-Maticek, who used a special test to measure the level of pleasure and satisfaction of a thousand old residents of Heidelberg, Germany.  He conducted another test 21 years later and discovered that 300 people out of the tested reported high satisfaction of life and are thirty times more likely to survive and still feel well.  It appears that satisfaction of life can make you not only healthier but also can promote long life.

6. The influence of emotions on people with thyrotoxicosis, which is an autoimmune disease as well, were also discussed in a study by Mandelbrote B., MD, Wittkower  E.,  M.D, (1955). They studied, together with an endocrinologist, surgeon, a radioactive-iodine expert, two psychiatrists, and a psychologist, 25 cases with thyrotoxicosis. Among some of the other important results, it was found that the patients with thyrotoxicosis demonstrated increased anxiety and depression compared to the control group.

Speaking of all of the above, I would suggest that you try to raise your “happiness levels as soon as possible if you want some permanent cure of any disease for that matter. And don’t forget that the three grand essentials of happiness are: something you enjoy doing, something to love unconditionally, and something to hope for.

More tools to be happy:

101 Self-Loving Acts

101 Ways to Deal with Stress

References

Barak Y., The immune system and happiness. Autoimmun Rev. 2006 Oct;5(8):523-7.

Blakeslee, T. R., & Grossarth-Maticek, R. (2000). Feelings of pleasure and well-being as  predictors of health status 21 years later. http://www.attitudefactor.com

Mandelbrote B., MD, Wittkower  E.,  M.D, Emotional Factors in Graves’ Disease. Psychosomatic Medicine 17:109-123 (1955)

O’Leary, A. (1990). Stress, emotion, and human immune function. Psychological Bulletin, 108(3), 363-382. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.108.3.363

Olivier Chassany MD PhD, Elof Dimenäs PhD, Astra Zeneca, Dominique Dubois MD FFPM, Albert Wu MD PhD MPH, The Psychological General Well-Being Index (PGWBI) User Manual, MAPI Research Institute 2004

Veenhoven, R. (2008). Healthy happiness: Effects of happiness on physical health and the consequences for preventive health care. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9(3), 449-469. doi:10.1007/s10902-006-9042-1

 Watanuki S, Kim YK., Physiological responses induced by pleasant stimuli. J Physiol Anthropol Appl Human Sci. 2005 Jan;24(1):135-8.

Living with Graves Disease: 4 Quick Life Style Changes for Better Health and Better Life

 Watch your thoughts, they become words; Watch your words, they become actions; Watch your actions, they become habits; Watch your habits, they become character; Watch your character, it becomes your destiny!

Author Unknown

Let me tell you why I think the above is true. I discovered that by changing the way I think and by guarding my thoughts (really, really guarding them). I can change my perception about the world, how I act and react. This finally will determines what I do every day and certainly my future.

I have my fears. Questions like: What if I fail? What if does not happens that way I want to? What if I die in poverty, and cannot deal with the situations that will come?  What will happen to me? I would wake up a few times per night with nightmares and questions like those running in my head. Accordingly, all my actions the next day will be guided by these thoughts: I’ll be upset, angry and in general my actions will be driven by my fears! How fun! Needless to say, “I attract in my life whatever I give my energy, focus and attention to, whether wanted or unwanted” as Michael Losier said in his “Law of Attraction”. I was attracting problems of all kind.

The Graves’ Disease trap: This is crucial for people suffering from Graves’ Disease and Hyperthyroidism.  They cannot sleep anyway, they are anxious and worried about everything and anything. This is because of some of our personal traits, but also because of the rain of excessive thyroid hormones running through our bodies. Living with Graves Disease is not an easy thing to do, I admit that. 

 So this is what I came up with:

1. Living with Graves disease and hyperthyroidism requires you to guard your thoughts

While I am not able to control what’s happening to me, I can choose how to interpret the things that are coming on my way. I could be positive or negative. Glass half full, or half empty. My choice.

Worry is the #1 happiness and energy drainer. The fastest way to fill yourself with never-ending joy and energy is to quit worrying. How in the world you can achieve that? Each time you have a destructive and harmful thought, immediately replace it with an optimistic and constructive thought such as a solution to your miseries, real or imaginary  People who focus on solutions rather than problems are optimistic, happy and confident, not to mention healthy. I am pretty sure that they are also very healthy!

2. Living with Graves Disease and hyperthyroidism requires you to guard your words

I became very careful what I am saying: am I complaining, blaming, being negative or am I using positive affirmations and words? How do I talk about people and events, and most important about myself?  I have a sticky note on the mirror in my bathroom: “You say it, you own it”. That sentence helps me to remember that everything that goes out of my mouth goes into God’s ears. Are my words in my control? Yes, they are.

Changing the way you speak can actually change your attitude, emotions and feelings. Use “upbeat” words, instead of “upset” words.

For example, you can say, “I feel exhausted and tired” which is upsetting. Or, you can say, “I would take better care of myself…by doing so and so..”, which is positive. One of the most interesting differences between happy and unhappy people, says Maryann Troiani, Psy.D., is that happy people never or rarely use the word ‘try’ or ‘but.’ These two words leave people feeling hopeless and not in control of their lives. Happy people feel hopeful, and they know they can do it. The words ‘try’ and ‘but’ are excuses and unhappy people have tons of excuses for everything.

3. Living with Graves Disease and hyperthyroidism requires you to guard your actions

I noticed that I am doing things that are not necessarily of my best interest- they are time consuming, they don’t serve me anymore, they are not useful for me. For example small talk with people about things that I really don’t care about (and spending hours!). The Graves’ disease trap: we are overly nice with people who don’t deserve it, or are not important for us. Let’s talk about self-care!

I also have not being consistent when learning new things- like a new computer software or program- I’ll never follow the instructions or tutorials. First I’ll try it in practice and then, if I have problems, I’ll start looking for solutions. And if there are too many problems- I’ll just give up.

Needless to say, most of the above are big challenges for me. So, I decided to finish what I start, if I start to write an article- finish it, if I have to install a program- learn how to operate it and so on. If I don’t know how I’ll call someone who knows. Living with Graves disease requires to dedicate your time to things that really matter to you!

4. Living with Graves disease also requires you to guard your habits

As we all know not all of our habits are the best for us. Examine them, see what’s working and what’s not and change what needs to be changed.

If your habit for example is to argue with your boss/husband (not of your best interest!) try to listen to him/her next time and RE-position yourself (in that case meaning to try a different approach). If you don’t know exactly how, let me know and I’ll help you with this.

Do I get tired of guarding all these things? Yes, I do- sometimes I just want to soak into my old behavior and old self-pity mood, it’s so attractive to be unhappy sometimes, but these moments became shorter and shorter. I try to remind myself that the optimism and good attitude is the hidden key to my personal success and health.

Optimists create a clear vision of what their lives should look like, assertively working on their goals to achieve their vision and take self- responsibility. That pertains to your health goals as well. How can we have career goals, family goals but we are lacking health goals?

In contrast, pessimists have no clear vision about how their life should look like, and they love to whine, blame and moan. So which do I want to be: the happy and optimistic, or unhappy and pessimistic? The choice is yours again.

Living with Graves Disease requires you to set your own goals, not somebody else’s. 

Final thoughts:

What will be my or your destiny? We don’t know. What I know is that I’ll do my best  to make my experience on this Earth more pleasant and I’ll believe that whatever comes on my way- I can deal with it and it’s for my highest good. I prefer to believe this, instead of the option that I could fail.

I cannot resist sharing a Latin proverb with you, which reminds me why we are all here on this Earth:

“Fuga i dearum” or “ The Purpose is Pleasure”. So, whatever makes you feel well, do more of that and more often. That’s your mantra.

Wellness and Health Coaching for people suffering from Thyroid Disorders

by Svetla Bankova

If you were diagnosed with a thyroid condition, or you just left the doctors office with your brand new diagnose, or you already had that for a few months and it’s not getting any better at all? Scenarios may be all different…

I know- you can’t heal your Graves’ Disease if you keep doing the same things as you did before, no way. You have to fight Graves’ Disease on a few different levels, not only one, or as I call them “axes”.

– Psychological level- understanding the cause of the disease
– Healthy Diet (what to eat and not to eat, drink and not to drink)
– Appropriate physical exercises/ workout programs (actually no workout!)
– Herbs that can help you and how to use them
– Vitamins and Supplements to strengthen your immune system
– Other alternative methods that can improve your health

Thyroid Healing Plan

–  change your mind
– change your life style
– change what you eat and what you drink
– change your relationships
– change your exercise/ workout program
– change what do you do every day
– change your job, if you have to
– change the way you view yourself and the others
– change your vitamins and supplements
– change your doctor, if necessary

And this is not just a life makeover… This disease is here to change everything in your life.The question is:

Are you ready for a CHANGE? And most of all, do you need someone to help you with this process? Some one who has been there, who knows what is like to has Graves’ Disease & hyperthyroidism and what exactly needs to be done first?

This is called Health and Wellness coaching.

How it works?

1. Book your coaching session  with the “Order” button bellow. The cost is $75.00 for a 60 min coaching session, or, if you think can not afford it, I also work on a sliding scale, depending on your financial situation at the present time. It’s a fair game and bad karma otherwise. Send me an email to mythyroid@gravesdiseasecure.com to discuss details.  I do understand that people go through different hardships and I want to help you to feel better!

2. You’ll be taken to another page, where you fill out details like name, email address, ph#, address, time zone and best time for coaching.

3. We agree upon date and time via email, and on the agreed date and time you call a ph# in USA, or skype #, depending on your preference. 

4. Coaching session will last up 60 minutes. We create a plan together for your healing process. You can book sessions as often as you need it.

Click here to book and order your coaching session. After the purchase you’ll be taken to a page, where you can fill out all your details, your time zone and address and your preferable coaching method- via skype or telephone.

Book your coaching session now and start your healing process, now!

Why #1:  If I wasn’t a difficult patient- I wouldn’t be  talking to you right now, or you even been able to read this article. Or many other thyroid patient stories, for that matter. Many years ago when I got sick with hyperthyroidism I literally had to fight for my treatment options, even though I was told that only 2% of all the hyperthyroidism patients get healed with my chosen method of treatment (i.e medication and alternative methods). I took my chances, and as you see, I did a good job, I survived.

Why #2: Doctors, some of them, no matter how well they are trained, how well they excelled in their education, and how many straight A’s they got at the medical school- they still treat you as a  diagnose (which might be very wrong indeed), but not as a person itself. You are a person, not a diagnose, even not a symptom!

Why# 3: Regardless of the Hippocratic Oath all the doctors took when finishing the medical school, many of them have to be reminded constantly that to treat appropriately the patient is even more important than the commission % they’ll get from pharmaceutical companies for prescribing medications and procedures that are not the best for their patients. Sorry, not all, but many doctors do that!  Some years ago I worked as a psychotherapist in a medical office with some doctors, and while I was trying to take my patients off the drugs, my dear colleague next door was generously prescribing all kinds of them, because, I quote to the best I remember ”I get 4% for prescribing certain drugs”. Needless to say, I left soon this medical facility for good, and never went back.

Why# 4. For many medical procedures, including thyroid surgeries and Radioactive Iodine Treatments the hospitals, and respectively the medical offices get paid times more, compared to the traditional medication treatment. Check, if you don’t believe me.

 Why not then, suggest, advise and push the hyperthyroidism patients to receive these expensive procedures, as they are believed to “remove the problem completely”, i.e the thyroid, faster and “safe”? The excuse here is: “Let’s completely destroy your thyroid, in case of possible remission in the future”???

Really? Doesn’t that sound like “Let’s cut your leg, in case you break it in the future….”? Same pertains to the numerous C- sections for pregnant women (to avoid possible complications they say. Yes, my grandmother is laughing right now), but that’s another story.

The other one that I hear constantly and really makes me laugh is “If you don’t do the RAI, your heart will fail!” Well, prescribe this patient some beta- blockers then instead of waiting…

Why #5: For the past 60 years or even more the only treatment options for Graves’ Disease so far invented by the traditional Western Medicine are: 1. Medication (methimazole or propylthiouracil), 2. Radioactive Iodine Treatment and 3. Thyroid Surgery (subtotal or total). That’s it. No matter how much money are spent on researches every year, endocrinology doesn’t seem to advance a lot on this particular subject. And Graves’ disease patients don’t seem to get less in number, either, compared to the disease rates from some 50 years ago.

Why then just you do your own research and try alternative, complimentary, Eastern- Medicine based, supplemental, herbal or any other methods available as well? Be a difficult patient, and try to work this out with your doctor. And if he seems uninterested in cooperation- just fire him and get another one.

Why #6: This is your body that’s sick and affected. You are experiencing all these debilitating symptoms, not the person who treats you, no matter how qualified he is.  Stop shaking then when you have to defend your own health choices. Your body- your choice.

Why #7: Doctors are never 100% sure which is the best medical option for you, theoretically speaking, just because we are all different humans. They can only guess and do their best experiment on you. They don’t know if the side effects on any medication will manifest on you or not, they don’t know how your body will react. There is no way to know that information no matter how experienced the doctor is. So why don’t you participate actively in that body experiment of yours, share your opinion, fears and concerns? That’s called again- a difficult patient. Be difficult.

Why# 8: Isn’t that strange how many people can argue with their auto mechanic about expensive car repairs, or try to negotiate a better deal with car dealer, or endlessly argue with their wives/husbands regarding unimportant stuff, but when it comes to their own health, they become speechless, and deliver themselves to the mercy of their doctors to make the health decisions for them. Now, go back to the medical office and be that problematic, tough, person for the sake of your own health!

Why #9. There is this doctor, whom I respect very much, his name is Bernie Seigel,M.D, he is a very old doctor on cancers, who also wrote a lot of books about treating cancer patients with non- traditional methods (and traditional as well). What I vividly remember from his books and observations was that cancer patients, the ones who are difficult and actively participated in the treatment process, cured from their cancers quicker, and at higher rates, compared to the other patients, whom were not involved so much in the process and relied mostly on their doctors. If this works for cancer patients, why would not work for Hyperthyroidism/ Graves ’ disease patients? It does, in fact.

Why #10. You are witty, clever, educated and intelligent human animal/ being. You have also access to all kinds of information, available in books and Internet, and in many other places. Step up on that rule and rule your own ship called “my health”. You have the absolute right to do so. Bon voyage!

To get help by a Health Coach, click here:

Thyroid Health Coaching

To check out the books on Graves’ Disease, click here:

Graves’ Disease and Hyperthyroidism Books