Energy levels are the currency of health. When Hashimoto’s zaps your energy, you can’t show up in the world like you used to. You might find yourself saying, “I just want to feel like myself again!” You can have better energy (without relying on caffeine and stimulants.) There is hope!

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“I just want to feel like myself again.” Have you ever said or thought that?

Please know that you are not alone.

Hashimoto’s steals your energy

When you think that Hashimotos is stealing from us this autoimmune condition that attacks our thyroids, it does steal from you. It takes your energy it takes your metabolism and it can make you feel like you are not yourself. Some women say they feel worthless.

When you have Hashimotos and you’re dealing with low energy levels. You can feel like you’re a mess. You can feel like you can’t show up in the world like you used to and like you want to.

Hope for more energy

Today on this episode I am here to offer you hope there is hope for a better tomorrow and a better next year. That is what I have for you on this podcast is not just hope and pie in the sky, but I give you true, simple, and sustainable ways to create whole health even when you are dealing with Hashimotos hypothyroid. Hashimoto’s and hypothyroid do not have to stop you from being you.

You are not alone

You’re not alone. These feelings are so common. Now. Common doesn’t mean normal. I know a lot of people talk about things that they’re just normal no common. I want you to know the difference between common and normal. Common is a lot of people are dealing with it, you are not alone. Normal is what is supposed to be going on in your body and your mind and your spirit that is normal.

And when you have Hashimotos it is very common to not have any energy but when you are a human being, it is normal for you to have energy.

Energy is the currency of health

In fact, you can look at energy as the currency of health. When you think of somebody and their wealth you can think of are they rich or they poor, and in that case, we’re talking usually about money or financial status or security in society. And perhaps you automatically think about that as far as health.

When you think of somebody who is sick. You’re not picturing somebody who has a lot of energy, right? When I’m thinking of somebody sick. I’m thinking of somebody who is confined to the bed or who is you know, housebound because they don’t have the energy to get out and it’s easy when you have a physical illness, something obvious from the outside. It’s easy to tell people or for them to see and for them to recognize that you don’t have any energy.

Invisible illnesses

An invisible illness which almost all autoimmune diseases are invisible in the way that when somebody looks at you, you don’t appear pale. You don’t appear sickly. You don’t have a rash all over your body. They can’t glance at you and know that your energy is low. Because intuitively we understand that when somebody looks sick, they don’t have energy.

How women with Hashimoto’s feel

Your energy is the currency of your health. And the number one complaint of women who have Hashimotos is that they feel fatigued or that they have low energy. And this comes across in a lot of different phrases.

Here are some phrases that women have said:

• My health kept declining.
• I thought it was all my fault that I thought I was falling apart.
• I was just too tired to do anything.
• I felt like I was letting everyone down.
• I can’t be the mom that I want to be.
• I cried today quietly so my kids wouldn’t see.
• I wanted to give up frequently.
• My mental headspace is a total jumble.
• No matter how much I slept, I don’t feel energized.
• I always feel fatigued.
• I feel worthless.
• I act mean.
• I’m so forgetful.
• I don’t have any energy and people think it’s all in my head.

As you listen to all of those phrases and all those things that other women have said, are any of them resonating with you?

Thyroid hormone impacts energy

Again, I want you to know that you are not alone. These things are common when your thyroid isn’t working right because your immune system is attacking it. Well, that is going to cause problems in every single cell because your thyroid creates obviously thyroid hormone, and your thyroid hormone is kind of like the key that unlocks the energy of your cell and you need healthy energy or healthy cells to have healthy organs and healthy organs to have a healthy you.

So if your cells aren’t turning on if the energy of your cell is not being activated, you know the energy production of your cell is from your mitochondria, but your thyroid turns that on. So if that’s not happening, then of course you’re going to feel like things aren’t working well. Of course, you might feel broken.

Your symptoms are real

There is hope. There are things that you can do. But before you do something, I want you to know, in your mind, in your heart. I want you to know that it’s not in your head that all of these things that you’re feeling are real, that when your cells are affected and when your body does not have energy coming from every cell, it is going to affect you and even though you might look fine on the outside, it’s real.

So give yourself some grace. Give yourself permission to go to bed early and not to feel bad about it. Take a nap when you need it and don’t feel bad about it. You need to do what you need to do. You need to listen to your body and figure out “what do I need.”

Now for me, when I was starting on this journey before I even suspected that it was anything related to my thyroid, I would evaluate the afternoon slump and I would say am I tired because I’ve just been sitting around? You know, a body in motion will stay in motion a body not in motion will not be in motion. I think I’ve paraphrased a law of physics. But if I just been sitting around, sometimes I recognize that I am tired because I have not been moving and sometimes I would recognize I’m not moving because I’m tired. And so depending on how I would recognize how I would identify what’s going on, then I would take action and sometimes that action was going for a walk or exercising. And sometimes that action was laying down on my bed and taking a nap but learning to recognize what’s going on today what is going to help me have more energy was crucial.

Application can’t be read or heard

And that’s not something that you can read in a book. That’s not something that you can listen to me via this podcast. And just know like I can’t tell you. Hey, friend, you need an app today. I wish it was that easy. I can’t tell you that. If you have Hashimotos you must do XY and Z and then you’re going to be better. Now there are some books that have that philosophy. Like “every single person with thyroid problems. Every single person with Hashimotos needs to do this exact thing and you will be on the path toward better health.” I don’t believe that.

I believe that you are a unique individual. You are in this space you are in this time you are in your family, you are in your environment. You have so many different things around you there is nobody like you in all of time and all of the world. You are in a unique person and because you are unique. There is not an across-the-board prescription is going to help you get more energy.

Now, are there things that will work across the board? Well, yes, definitely. We’ve talked about reducing stress is reducing stress going to work for everybody to increase their energy a little bit. Yep. Is it the only thing? There are so many different things that you can do.

Your role in creating energy

And your job as the CEO of your own health is to figure out what am I going to do today? How am I going to be 1% better today? What am I going what small steps am I going to take to work on my overall health that’s your job as the CEO of your own health. And thankfully, there are a lot of different ways that you can improve your health and when you improve your health was the currency of health, more energy. So when you have better health, you’re going to have more energy.

With more energy, you can live better

I absolutely love it when women are feeling more energy. With more energy they tell me that they feel like themselves when they feel energetic. When they feel like they used to feel they can love better, and they can love on their family more. They can be present more, they can serve better. They can play well; how many times have you opted out from playing with your kids or playing with your family or maybe even playing we don’t really call it playing with your girlfriends. But you know when you go out and about and you do something fun with your friends. When is the last time you played well? How about your work? Is your work suffering if you had more energy would you be able to work better?

In summary, when you have more energy, you can live well. You can live better, you will be more fully present with those you love.

In January you always see everybody’s goals for the new year. I see:

• I want to be more present.
• I want to show up for my family.
• I want to exercise more.

What do all of these have in common? Energy.

You will need that currency of health energy to show up to be present to love, to serve, to work.

Glimpses of the old me

I saw a post on Instagram just yesterday. It was somebody who said that they are “catching glimpses of the old me.” Because the number one complaint I hear from women is “I just want to feel like myself again,” that post definitely caught my attention.

She said

I’m catching glimpses of the old me…

The woman who had enough energy to get through the days without napping.

The woman who had enough energy to go for a walks and enjoy the sunshine.

The woman who can do the “mom” things-running errands, doing piles of laundry, doing the dishes, and not being completely exhausted and run down. 

The woman who can be fully present for and with my kids.

That is the goal. That we can be. We can be ourselves. We can show up in the world like we know we can, like we used to.

Hashimotos does not have to steal you from your family Hashimotos does not have to steal you from yourself. Hashimotos does not have to steal you from anywhere. You can have your health back. There is a path to better health. There is a path to more energy.

How to create more energy

I would love to talk with you and help you figure out your next step. That is what I do in my Hashimotos health session.

When you sign up for one of the coaching sessions, I will send you a wheel tool. And this tool has a bunch of different areas where you get to rate your energy and your health and how that area is doing. Because in one hour together, we’re not going to look at every single thing you can do well that would be completely overwhelming. And I don’t know about you, but when I am overwhelmed I tend to shut down and not do anything.

So in our Hashimotos health session together, we will figure out what’s one simple thing that you can do to improve your energy. How can you take that next step towards better health? And, of course, better health is more energy. That’s the currency.

DIY or Built-in support and accountability?

Some women meet with me for that one coaching session. And they have a great idea of what they need to do next. It sets them on that path and then they’re able to continue to go. As somebody who is a DIYer, a do it yourselfer, I totally resonate with that.

I know that sometimes you need somebody to give you guidance and then you can take the next step. And then when you’re ready for more guidance, you’re like, Oh, I’ve hit my limit. I’m not quite sure what to do. Next. Then you go back to the expert and you get another step. I’ve totally done that before.

And that is why I offer my coaching sessions one at a time so that you can customize your health coaching to your needs. That’s your job as the CEO of your own health.

Some women they know that they need that accountability. And they hire me they still do that one coaching session, but they pre-schedule so that they have one coaching session every other week. And I have worked with women weekly. I have worked with them monthly and quite honestly those who are most satisfied hire me every other week.

I want to read to you what one of my coaching clients has said. She said

I really liked the spacing of our sessions I had time to think and implement what we discussed. It gave me a sense of living and not just daily tasks. Holistic Health Coaching was like training wheels for healthy living. I developed a pattern of consistency in my thinking and healthy habits.

Which type of person are you? Are you the do-it-yourselfer who wants a little bit of input, a little bit of guidance, and help to figure out the next step and then you’re ready to run? Or are you the person who wants somebody to help them with follow-through and accountability? Are you someone who wants that person next to you every other week?

What is it for you? What is going to work for you? Neither one is better than the other is the one that’s better for you is the one that is going to help you achieve better health. It’s going to help you feel like yourself again because you will have more energy.

When you increase your overall health. Your health and your body, your mind your spirit, health through your diet, and even the environment around you. You will have more energy because energy is the currency of health.

How will holistic health coaching sessions impact your family?

And when you have more energy, what is that going to mean for everybody around you and for you yourself?

Bandaid solutions are not the answer

I mean sure, for energy you can just reach for another cup of coffee or another energy drink or some counterfeit energy. It will help get you through the day. But it’s not true energy is just a band-aid. It is a band-aid solution for a long-term problem. You have to address the root of what’s going on. Because if you don’t do that is going to continue.

Hashimotos is an autoimmune condition and autoimmune conditions, like I’ve talked to you about on some of the earliest episodes, autoimmune conditions, they attack the low-hanging fruit, and that low-hanging fruit is determined by your genetics. So some people are genetically going to be more predispositioned to have thyroid stuff attacked from their autoimmune problem. Other people it’s going to be it’s going to show up in a different system in their body. Maybe they’ll have lupus, maybe they’ll have fibromyalgia. Maybe they’ll have a different autoimmune condition. But whatever those autoimmune conditions are, it’s always your immune system attacking the low-hanging fruit.

If you don’t address the root cause, autoimmune conditions multiply

If you do not address the root cause then it’s going to climb up the next rung or the next branch on the tree. Your low-hanging fruit is already gone. Your immune system is already been attacking it. So if you do not address what’s going on at the root, it’s not going to be confined to just Hashimotos if you do not address your overall health, then the risks of developing another autoimmune condition on top of your Hashimotos are very great. And nobody wants that. One is enough! Let’s not do another.

You want to be able to love well, to serve well, to play well, to work well, you long to live well, to feel like yourself again. And that is what we are going to tackle in our Hashimotos health session.

Head down to the show notes right now and click to schedule your first session. When you do that you’ll be taken to a calendar and you’ll be able to sign up for a spot that fits you. If there’s not a spot that fits you and your schedule. Let me know, send me a message; if you signed up for my Hashimotos 101 guide, you have my email address. Or you can contact me on Instagram I’m @EstherY.RN and let me know that there wasn’t a spot that fits you and your schedule and maybe we can work something out.

I am here to walk with you on this journey. I can’t wait to help you figure out your next step on your path to Whole Health. I will see you soon on Zoom in our Hashimotos health session or I will see you next week on the next episode of Health with Hashimotos.

This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. Please be sure to discuss any concerns and plans with your trusted healthcare professional

This transcript is auto-generated by OtterAI and may have slight errors.

Photos by James Wheeler and Xavier Mouton Photographie on Unsplash