Healing Journey for Chronic Illness

A chronically ill person lives in a chronic state of instability. They are called to live in the present through pain, discomfort, uncertainty. Don't say to someone chronically ill: "hope you have a speedy recovery!", "don't worry, you'll get better soon", "just have a positive mindset and you'll get better, you'll see". While they are well-intended, it's not helpful at all for the chronically ill because they are really just trying to make it through the day. What would be more constructive (if they are seeking help), respond to them with "try practicing stress relieving activities", a simple, effective, and forward way to ground someone. If they just want someone to listen to their aches and pains, you can say "let me know if I can do anything to help relieve any stress". Transmutation of the spirit and body can be a process with no end in sight, so be mindful on where they are at on their healing journey.

Healing is the process of the body and mind learning how to get to homeostasis, stability and safety; healing is an alchemizing process that affects the brain/spirit and can transform the body's capacity (through movement of energy within your body). Healing is trying to find harmony/symbiosis within your body, where energy can move freely, between body and mind. Your innate character will not likely change, but your efforts can change your habits (with time and intention, patience and discipline) so that you can practice with consistency to develop a discipline (for health) and refine your transformation. Conversely, this can go in the opposite direction where a once healthy body/mind succumbs to prolonged stress and unhealthy habits, or receiving toxic energy from an individual/outsiders, which transmutes and manifests as an autoimmune disorder or other chronic health problems (like mine back in 2011).

I am also aware that not everyone has the opportunity or capacity or luck to do the things that make the healing process more attainable. Our society makes it near impossible for a seamless recovery process with horrible health care, the wage slave system, and no concept of work life balance. I've always had the innate character to be able to cultivate a practice and create a discipline if I had the will power/drive for it (an ADHD and ASD super power). With the help of my mom's support and my skills in art, I was able to start tattooing again after a 4 year hiatus due to my two acute kidney failures caused by an autoimmune disorder (I would say caused by my toxic marriage). After two hospitalizations, a grim prognosis, and 9 years of high dose (and tapering off) big pharma, I can proudly say I've been in remission and off all pharma meds for 6 years through hard work and some luck on my side. It took baby steps for rehabilitating my body with physical activity, but for my diet, I was extremely disciplined with immediacy because I truly believe food is medicine and in life or death situations, results can be achieved through diet sooner than later.

Our body requires different needs at different times and intensities of illness or stagnation. I've experienced every stage within a tumultuous health recovery journey: deterioration, rock bottom, boundless doubt, baby steps, small wins, trial and error, partial remission, full remission, phoenix rising, and maintenance. At every stage of our life, we might need something different, but we must keep moving (with our mind and/or body) with intention.

I like to use the "health train" as an analogy (something I made up years ago and like to tell people when they ask me how I got so healthy after being so sick). A train requires a lot of energy and fuel and consistency in work in order to get the train to move. It requires a lot in order to create the momentum to gain speed in one direction. Let's say the direction we are heading is the healthier way of living. In the beginning, the train moves very, very slowly. If you provide the right fuel, energy, and consistency to the slow moving train, eventually it will gain speed, more power, more kinetic energy, it will then move with very little effort but with some consistent work. Now that the train is heading in the direction with speed and force, it is very difficult to derail this train. You would have to throw a lot of unhealthy habits and inconsistency to slow it down. Eventually, you can stop a train if you stop all efforts to keep it going. Even worse, you can go so far as to derail the train by unfortunate circumstantial fated karmic debt.

Some key things that helped me heal from an autoimmune disease:

1. reduce stress: practice yoga, breathing exercises, tai chi, etc

2. in my case, get a divorce aka dump their ass, dump the toxic energy

3. create a ritual of eating practices

4. cut the noise (outside drama, gossip, TV)

5. have consistent sleeping times, even if you can't sleep, bed rest

6. very strict about cooking and only eating whole organic foods at home but reframed as delayed gratification

7. no bags or boxes of junk food, processed sugar, chips

8. no extremely salty foods like pickles or bacon (kimchi is fermented, which is great)

9. no dairy

10. no alcohol

11. drawing for fun (not for work), create for fun

12. no extremely fatty foods, no burgers, no cheese

13. small amounts of fruit

14. sleeping and resting a lot

15. walking daily or daily rehab exercises

16. lots of genuine laughter and joy

17. bone broth

18. high protein high fiber intake

19. herbal teas

20. dancing

Other additional helpful things that were introduced to my lifestyle with momentum on the health train:

1. functional mushrooms

2. dark fruits (if I eat raw fruit)

3. work life balance (boundaries with work)

4. no cannabis smoking

5. herbal tinctures (please message me if you'd like to know what tinctures might help you)

6. acupuncture (I've seen various acupuncturists and when I am need of acute stabilization the mind and body and it requires several months of consistent sessions to see results. I currently am not seeing an acupuncturist, but did two sessions a week from 2021-2023)

7. acupressure massage (when I was hustling tattoos a lot, I was getting two acupressure massages a week to keep my body in great shape from unhealthy tattoo postures, now that I work less I maintain with stretches throughout the day)

8. chinese herb formulas (see your herbalist for recommendations when you feel like you need rebalancing)

9. eat foods that your ancestors would enjoy (unless your ancestor died from indulging in such foods)

10. traveling to beautiful places (reaping the benefits of working your ass off hustling)

11. organ pills

12. livfresh or NHA toothpaste

13. limited, moderate, guilt free junk food pleasures (burgers, bacon, candy, ice cream, cake)

14. kettle bell work outs

15. exercising throughout the day, resting day after big exercise days

16. unilateral exercises and balance exercises (pilates)

17. dead hanging for grip strength

18. L sit head hangs

19. infrared sauna blanket and meditation

20. trail running/hiking aka forest bathing

21. cardio rebounder/roping 15 mins every other day

22. everything in moderation including moderation

23. make efforts to do the things you've always wanted to do, for me, learning to play a new musical instrument

Juju on her birthday Nov 2025, she's 15 (and 4 months now)