By Jenny Peterson
How long does it take to heal? I have been doing mind body work for over a year now, how come I’m not better? How come other people are healing faster than me?
These are all questions I get from those that I talk to and most likely you have asked them yourself if you have chronic conditions.
While there really is no magic formula for knowing how long it’s going to take to heal, there are ways to, in my opinion, “speed things up”.
Today I will be sharing the 6 mistakes that I consider big factors that affect how fast you heal.
One of the biggest questions that I get is how long did it take you to heal? While I understand why that question feels important, it’s really not a question that I like to answer.
Why? Because when I answer that, your brain will most likely go into 2 different modes. First, comparison mode. Comparing my journey to your journey. Your situation to my situation.
Or, you may go into what I like to call expectation mode. If I say I healed in 7 months, then your brain will file that number and remind you when you are at 7 months that Jenny was already healed and you’re not, so you must be doing something wrong. By the way 7 months is not the answer to that question, it’s just an example.
The truth is, you’re a unique individual.
The patterns and programs that got you to where you are today are yours. I don’t have those same programs. The experiences you experienced in your life are yours. No one else has those. These are all factors in how much “work” there is to do in your healing journey. All of that work takes time. It’s not a quick fix.
But if you put the effort into changing these patterns and programs, you will forever be changed for the better on so many levels, not just your health.
So, if you want to speed up your own unique healing journey, there are some mistakes that you want to avoid.
Now I’m a big believer in making mistakes and learning from them. But I’m also a believer in working smarter, not harder. So these 6 mistakes will help with both, speeding up your healing and helping you work smarter not harder to reach your healing goals.
#1 - Getting More Tests
I have been there.
I was so desperate to find answers that I would try to find a different specialist that would test me for this or that. I would get excited when they offered a test that I haven’t had yet. In my mind hoping that this would be the one that would give me the answers.
But they never did.
“Sorry Jenny, but everything is coming back normal.”
More tests are not the answer. With every test, you are delaying your healing. The label isn’t the answer. It’s just a short feeling of comfort “knowing what is wrong” But it’s really not helpful.
Keep in mind that those tests are just a snapshot of what your body is at in that moment.
And if those tests come back with a high level of white blood cells, a fungus, virus, or bacteria, that is an indication that you are in a healing phase. Now, the doctors do not know this so they will tell you that you need to “kill” these bad guys.
Once these bad guys are killed, it puts you right back into the conflict phase, and this cycle will continue.
Plain and simple, more tests delay your healing.
Think about it, let’s say you want a particular test for something. You have to make the appointment which will most likely not be tomorrow, then you have to wait for the results, then make an appointment to discuss the results. This whole process could take up to 1-2 months.
During that time you could be working on the root cause of your symptoms. In 1-2 months, we have clients that have up to 50% improvement. While sitting and waiting for that test, there are no improvements.
Now we don’t want to throw common sense out the window here, if you have a life or death situation, get a test. What I’m referring to here is when you have had chronic conditions and have gone doc to doc without finding answers, one more test will not be where the answer is at.
#2 - Doing More Than One Protocol At A Time
We are a culture that thinks multi-tasking is a way of getting more things done but in all truth, it’s not effective. It’s no different in your healing.
I hear people say all the time that they are doing a blend of many programs together, hoping they will get ahead but then in no time, after applying all of these different protocols, they are so confused on what to do. They will say, this protocol says to do this, but this one doesn’t, I just don’t know what to do. Not only are all of these together confusing, they don’t help you stay focused.
When there is a lack of focus there is a lack of results.
#3 - Doing A Cookie Cutter Program
There is no shortage of programs out there to help you with your healing. But just like I mentioned earlier, your programs, events, memories, and patterns are specific to you.
Even more important, there is a biological connection to each symptom that you have. If you are not targeting those specifically, in my opinion any other work is a waste of your time.
You are a unique individual and your healing protocol should be specific to you.
#4 - Avoiding Getting Help
Now there is no doubt that there are parts of your healing that you can do on your own. But there are many parts that you can’t.
I invested in many coaches along my healing journey. It’s honestly one of the reasons why I believe I healed as quickly as I did. I hired a coach not because I didn’t think I could do the work on my own but because I wanted to work smarter and not harder. I knew that there were parts of me that I didn’t want to look at on my own nor be able to see on your own.
Because it all comes down to this…. You can’t see your own shit.
Even if you know some of the shit that you need to work on, your brain will fight very hard to try to avoid working on that shit. Remember its job is to keep you safe and if you work on that deep shit, it’s going to be uncomfortable. Your brain doesn’t like discomfort. It likes sitting in your own pile of poo because it's comfortable.
Besides being able to see shit that you would never see on your own, there are other areas that coaches help you with. They help you stay on top of doing the work. There is no slacking when you have a coach. It forces you to do the work rather than find an excuse to not do it.
They ask questions to challenge your thinking
Help you identify goals
Uncover your fears and beliefs
Work with you to create a plan
Keep you focused
Answer questions quickly
Have a structured process to assist you in being successful
Lastly, if you work with a coach like myself or my coaches, we have all been in your situation and can provide knowledge and learning experience to you that you would have to spend time figuring out on your own.
I speak to so many people that have been taking years to get well and the truth is that it doesn’t take that long when you work with a coach. You are able to focus on what is important, do the work and get back to your life much faster.
I understand coaching may bring up financial concerns for you. When I was sick, we sold everything that we had to get well. We used our savings and equity line. Yes, those times were tough, but honestly I don’t regret doing that at all.
I was able to get back to life much faster. Therefore I was able to contribute financially to recover those costs. Plus when I focused on just my mind, I was able to stop all the supplements and special diets, which saved us money as well.
For me, the cost of not getting help out weighed delaying my healing by trying to piece it together myself.
#5 - Constantly Interrupting The Healing Phase
The healing phase is when you feel like poo. It’s when you have the worst symptoms. It’s the phase that happens after you resolve a conflict and your body gets the message that it’s time to come back into balance.
Most people are unaware of this natural cycle of healing that happens in the body. Instead most people think that during this time they are sick and something is wrong. So rather than allowing this natural cycle to happen (which is where your healing happens) they interrupt it with numerous things. The biggest thing being fear.
Taking your brain to a place of fear is activating your sympathetic nervous system and puts you right back into the conflict phase. The most common fears that happen at this time are the fear that there is something really wrong, that their body is failing them and that they will never get better.
It’s these kinds of fears that cause interruption of the healing phase and delay your healing.
This part of the healing is the most challenging and it’s the area that as a coach I need to support my students with the most. Whenever they jump onto the fear train, I jump in to help derail them.
Your brain at these times of fear is just trying to protect you. You have programmed it on a subconscious level to go to this place. In order to get out of those patterns of fear, you need to redirect your thoughts and most importantly understand and trust what is happening in your body.
#6 - Focusing On Things Outside Of You
I work with people that have mold, food and chemical sensitivities. What I see the most with people that have these sensitivities is that they are so focused on avoiding those substances that it interferes with their progress. If they see mold in their house, they are now feeling like they need to get a specialist, paint or sometimes even move.
For those with food or chemical sensitivities they are putting so much time towards avoiding these substances or substituting them with something else that it takes them away from focusing on how to actually resolve them.
Rather than putting the focus on these outside objects, true healing comes from working on the inside. Rather than running away from the things that are causing a reaction, why not spend time on resolving why your nervous system is reacting the way that it is.
That would be a better use of your time and ultimately speed up your healing.
Ok, let's recap the 6 mistakes again:
Getting more tests
Doing more than one protocol
Doing a cookie cutter program
Not asking for help
Constantly interrupting the healing phase
Focusing on things outside of you
I hope this discussion has inspired you to focus on working smarter with your healing rather than harder. Ultimately by working smarter, you will speed up your healing and be able to get back to living life much faster.
The world is waiting for you dear, don’t delay it by making choices that are delaying your healing.
We get it, you're desperate to have your illness be a thing of the past, not something that defines your days. But trying to heal WITHOUT a custom plan is costing you precious time, money and energy!
You are unique, your symptoms are connected to very specific patterns within your subconscious.
Without a plan unique to you, you will continue struggling and miss out on the life you deserve to be living! To help you get started on your long-lasting healing journey, we would love to provide you with a healing plan that is unique to you. Get your custom healing plan today!
You can also Download my free healing guide, “Why Can’t I Heal” where you will learn the 5 reasons that you haven't healed despite everything you've tried. These are the missing pieces to your healing and the key to resolving your symptoms for good.