Emotional & Psychological Healing

Healing the body can involve making emotional and spiritual changes along while you’re addressing physical symptoms. Here are some tips to help you navigate the emotional side of healing:

  • build a support network of family and friends
  • join a Hashimoto’s support group
  • become part of the HeyHashi community on Facebook
  • realize you are not alone in your struggles with autoimmunity
  • work with a therapist or coach to help you with this piece if needed
  • find a spiritual practice, whether that is church, prayer, or meditation

Stress Reduction

Managing stress is necessary when you’re living with autoimmunity, because our bodies are already under more stress than usual. Here are some simple ways to keep stress in check:

  • take breaks throughout the day
  • take naps and horizontal rests when needed
  • get adequate sleep
  • meditate
  • do gentle exercise
  • take up hobbies like playing music, art, sports
  • create community and gather with friends

 

Meditation

Because stress can have a profoundly negative impact on the immune system, it makes sense that meditation can promote healing in those suffering with Hashimoto’s Disease. And meditation isn’t just good for the mind and spirit, but also for the body. There are numerous meditation techniques that can promote healing so it may take experimentation to find one you’re comfortable with. The key is to stick with it because meditation’s positive effects only grow with time.

 

Acupuncture

The goal of acupuncture is to restore balance in the body, which helps thyroid hormone be metabolized successfully. For Hashimoto’s patients, a customized regimen of acupuncture can be part of an integrated treatment plan that promotes whole-self wellness.

Sleep & Relaxation

Try to get at least 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep in a dark room every night. It can be a challenge, but this is the time your body regenerates and restores itself. If you have trouble sleeping, try some of these tips:

  • have a consistent bedtime every night
  • don’t use screens or technology an hour or two before bed
  • have a relaxing bedtime ritual that helps you get in the mood for sleep—like reading in bed, taking a bath, or doing a meditation make sure your bed is comfortable, your room is completely dark, and that there are no distractions (like buzzing devices) to keep you up at night

Exercise

Movement is necessary to maintaining a healthy body with Hashimoto’s, but at times, we don’t have the energy we need to exercise as we would like to. If this is you, focus on gentle exercise, like yoga, qigong, or walking, instead. Make it a priority to get some exercise or simply move your body every day.

Responsible Sun Exposure

Regular exposure to the sun is important for making vitamin D. A responsible approach to maximizing the healthy aspects of sunlight is to engage in smart sun exposure, by getting some sun on your bare skin for 15-20 minutes every day, making sure never to burn. This ensures that you get enough sun to make optimal levels of vitamin D, which is extremely important for the immune system.

Documenting your Experience with Hashimoto’s

When you are attune to your body, you become capable of detecting subtle changes that are invaluable to getting back to health. Because of the complex nature of Hashimoto’s, between the high number of varied symptoms to the potential triggers and the progressive, long-term detriment to one’s health, it is crucial to create a deep connection to and understanding of your body and its surroundings. One way to do so is to document your experience through journaling in order to better identify triggers as well as self-testing so that you are able to provide detailed biomarker levels that you can review with your practitioner.

Journaling

You are the one who notices most closely when something feels “off.” Maintaining a journal to connect triggers to inflammation can be invaluable in getting back to health. Being able to reflect back on potential triggers, whether from stress, food or environmental changes, among many other factors, is important not only for you to avoid future inflammation and further damage to your thyroid but also to be able to review in detail with your practitioner to better tailor your program.

Some important items to take note of and document as you continue to learn more about your own nuanced experience with Hashimoto’s:

  • Amount of Sleep
  • Exercise & Physical Activity Levels
  • Nutritional Intake & Diet
  • Stress Levels
  • Environmental Changes
  • Thyroid Medication Dosage
  • Thyroid Panel Biomarkers

To further your understanding of these triggers and how they affect your thyroid levels, we also recommend self-ordered testing to provide even more data for you and your functional medicine practitioner to review together.

Find a Practitioner

Our provider database is a list of referrals that have been recommended by people just like you, and we hope that this list can be a source of support and guidance as you look for trustworthy resources on your own healing journey.

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