Same, Blame, Reframe, or Change the Game?
When I was first diagnosed with hypothyroidism about 15 years ago, my thought was that I would be prescribed a medication called Synthroid, all the symptoms would go away and I would be my healthy self again. That is what the doctor said anyhow. Unfortunately, that wasn’t how it turned out. The symptoms not only continued, but they kept getting worse. I went to see a second doctor. My blood work looked normal, that doctor had nothing more to add. I visited a third doctor, still no help.
A friend suggested that visit a holistic practitioner that she was seeing. Insurance doesn’t cover that, it would be too expensive was my thought. My husband retorted that there was no science to prove what this person was suggesting would work. The doctors even made fun of the holistic practitioner and clearly suggested that I not see her. What was I to do?
I have found that there are 4 stages or choices we have in any given problem we face. Stay the Same, Lay the Blame, Choose to Reframe, or Change the Game.
- Stay the Same – As I struggled to feel better after the diagnosis of hypothyroidism, I found that even after visiting doctor after doctor, I was not finding a solution to the symptoms I was feeling. I kept doing the same thing over and over, visiting one endocrinologist after another, and getting the same results. They say, insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. That is what staying the same got me – insanity – along with progressively worse health.
- Lay the Blame – The thing is, if we ‘Stay the Same’ too long, we eventually end up in the ‘Lay the Blame’ mode. I started to blame the doctors for not having a clue how to help me. I started to blame the insurance companies for not covering holistic care. I even blamed the insurance companies for making alternative options ‘expensive’. I blamed my husband for not being open minded when expensive studies had not proven holistic methods to his satisfaction and that of the health care industry. But in the end, I wasn’t getting any better by blaming; in fact, it made me feel worse because I felt stuck and hopeless.
- Choose to Reframe – After recognizing I wasn’t getting anywhere, I decided to reframe some of my thoughts. I may have to pay for holistic care out of my pocket, but what is the cost if I don’t? I KNOW that not changing anything is making me worse. If there is a possibility of getting better, will that money be worth it? Will it feel so expensive if I get results? And how will I feel if I don’t even try? And what about that science? Do I need science to know if a solution helps me or not? If I try a solution and it helps me, then it works for me. I’m a study of 1. If I try it and it doesn’t help, it doesn’t work for me. I just wanted to make sure I did my research to make sure that it wasn’t going to hurt me. And what about the approval of the doctors? They laughed at the holistic practitioners. Heh, they sure didn’t have a solution, so I’m not sure why I can take their ridicule seriously.
- Change the Game – After a lot of contemplation, research, and negotiation with my husband, I chose to change what I was doing. I dove in and tried many holistic methods over the years. I’ve never looked back. Some helped, others didn’t. But I’m happy to say that one by one, the many debilitating symptoms of Hashimoto’s are going away! I still rely on my doctor to prescribe the medication to keep my thyroid levels normal and to reduce the medication dose as the holistic methods improve my thyroid health. That is what Western Medicine doctors are good at. But I’ve learned that by changing my thoughts and then changing what I am doing, by exploring something new that I may not understand or even know how well it works, brought me to new solutions to a problem I was not finding answers to!
So how about you? Do you have a problem that you are struggling with and not finding a solution? Are you Staying the Same? Laying the Blame? Is there a way you can Choose to Reframe so you can Change the Game?
Kelly Robbins draws upon extensive life coaching and energy work experience to help people identify thoughts, beliefs, traumas, trapped emotions, and stuck feelings which no longer serve them to bring wellness to people’s careers, relationships, physical body, mental health, spiritual health, and even their pets! To learn more about Kelly, click here.