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).
- Overworking yourself to the point of exhaustion.
- Not taking good care of yourself.
- Suffering and going above and beyond your limitations, physical or mental, so that others can feel good and happy.
- Not able to say “no” when you feel you need to do so.
- Tolerating and accepting assaulting behavior, unnecessary criticism and people causing you harm.
- Blaming yourself for all the things that went wrong.
- Trying to be responsible for everybody, for their actions and behavior.
- Doing things for people whom you don’t like.
- Being very critical toward yourself and others.
- Difficulty knowing who to trust and when to trust.
- Thinking that other people are focused on and critical about what you say or do.
- Tendency to let fear and anxiety control many of your decisions.
- Avoiding making changes in your life because you are fearful of making a mistake or failing.
- Being very fearful of criticism, disapproval, or rejection.
- Feeling guilty because you have your own needs and desires.
- Staying in and keeping relationships that are abusive, insulting, or offensive.
- Fulfilling unreasonable demands, because you are hungry for the approval of others (you can admit it to yourself, I am not judging you).
- Feeling like a victim of people and circumstances and as a result, becoming emotionally stuck and immobilized.
- Being unable to affirm or reinforce yourself positively even though, let’s face it, you are an overachiever.
- 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.
- Making decisions based on what would please others, rather than on what you want or without even considering what you want.
- Feeling others are mistreating you, or are taking advantage of you.
- 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