Today, I am a Geisha.
My new husband stares at me in awe. “I can’t believe that’s you.” He shows me the pictures on our camera. I am refined, elegant, magnificent, nurturing and genteel. I have always believed I was elegant and nurturing. I have always been a Geisha (just without the uncomfortable shoes).
What happens when we decide to change the person we currently are? When we want to feel different in our body and our appearance? When we want to feel what it would be like to live like someone else?
This is how I felt when I was first diagnosed with Hashimoto’s. I couldn’t stand all the aches and pains that went along with this condition…the fatigue, the insomnia, the hair loss, the bloat, puffiness, weight gain…the anxiety, the panic, the overwhelm and the depression. I didn’t want to feel like this anymore. I wanted to feel like myself again.
Feeling like myself meant having energy to do what I wanted to do – explore, adventure, try new things…and it also meant feeling good enough to be an active mom, happy wife, present friend.
Some days, you just have to stop yourself from engaging in your normal pattern and say, “I don’t like how this feels. I want to live differently, to feel better, to be the real me.”
Then you have to go out and do it.
Right before we got married, my husband and I were hit by a semi-truck. I had severe physical injuries, a brain injury and PTSD. I was afraid to drive and travel, the PTSD left me so anxious, so I basically was a shut-in, hardly venturing out.
This was so unlike me.
Prior to the accident, I had traveled quite a bit; always loving to experience new cultures, languages and food and here I was hiding. Hiding from the pain, from my friends, from myself and from my life.
One day, as I was lying there bored and depressed, I had a thought…”My life doesn’t have to be like this anymore. I can choose adventure. It may look differently than it did before, but my life could still be rich and interesting.” So I made the choice.
[bctt tweet=”I am more than just my symptoms. Thyroid Disease Doesn’t Define Me! @ThyroidLove”]I told my husband I’d like to go to Japan for our honeymoon. I was ready to be renewed. And the way I wanted to do that was to try on a new identity, one so different than my current identity of pain and suffering. I decided to go to Kyoto, to transform into a Geisha.
Apparently, this is also a favorite thing for young Japanese women to do as well. Sitting amongst a row of women in a makeup chair, my transformation began…a white painted face, garnet lips, a heavy wig brimming with beautiful metallic embellishments. Then there was a room of kimonos to choose from. Thick tights and those tragically uncomfortable wooden shoes that geisha have to wear.
It was an experience I needed to choose to feel something else, and it gave me the courage to embody health and adventure and to literally, live in someone else’s shoes.
This is what living Your Best Thyroid Life is all about. Making the choice to take your health back so you can live exactly the life you want to live. I wasn’t my injury, my PTSD, my anxiety, my diagnosis, and you are not your thyroid condition. Thyroid disease doesn’t have to define you. Stand up and claim that now: “Thyroid disease doesn’t define me.” And, share this post to inspire others.
Want more inspiration, recipes and practical solutions to reclaiming your life from a thyroid or autoimmune condition? Check back here daily and follow me on my adventures to a vibrant, healthy life.
If you are ready to discover more about how you can heal your thyroid from a place of power and hope, I provide a ton of resources on healing your thyroid, including:
- Our totally free Thyroid Healing Type Assessment, Report and Coaching Sessions
- Right here on my blog, where I talk about what’s worked best for me and my clients, as well as the latest research and resources I come across. You can subscribe to get new blog posts delivered right to your email by signing up on the righthand side of the page.
- My book, Healing Hashimoto’s Naturally — part memoir, part instruction manual for how I personally healed my Hashimoto’s disease.
- My exclusive free 6 Thyroid Myths That Can Keep You From Healing workshop — with info on the comprehensive Thyroid Fix in 6 program, which walks you through, step-by-step, the exact actions you need to take to heal your thyroid and get your life back! We’ve seen hundreds of participants in the Thyroid Fix in 6 avoid, decrease, or even eliminate the need need for thyroid medications.
- The incredible Your Best Thyroid Life Video Bundle, in which I personally invited 27 of the world’s top health experts to share their best tips for living with and healing thyroid disease.
Remember, no matter what diagnosis you’re facing, you always have a choice. Keep your chin up and take small daily action and you can heal and have a normal life again!
Jen Wittman is a Certified Holistic Health Expert, Chef, Author & Vitality Coach, who teaches women how to reverse thyroid and autoimmune conditions naturally. She’s helped hundreds of women decrease (or even eliminate) their thyroid medications and has helped others stay off thyroid medication entirely.
Through her free Thyroid Healing Type Assessment, Jen teaches easy and simple steps to thyroid healing that can fit into your busy day. She also provides print outs to bring to your next doctor’s appointment so you can get the support and respect you deserve.