Category Archives: Advice

    Diane Vich   →  Advice
    Categories Advice, Anxiety, Emotional pain, Fear, flare up, freedom, Health, motivation, positivity, self-actualization, Self-doubt, Speak your mind, stress relief, Worry

    Rock Bottom to Awareness

    Author Diane Vich Posted on

    How do you get up from rock bottom?

    What do you do when you fall on your butt?

    What do you do when it feels like everything is falling apart?

    What do you do when life keeps sending you obstacles that throw you off course?

     

    Life always seems to send obstacles and challenges to throw us of course.  These obstacles can create frustration, stress and anxiety within us.  The journey can be annoying and difficult when you allow the stressful emotions to take over.  But actually each unique challenge is meant to make us stronger as we learn and grow. I have had plenty of rock bottom moments.  So many moments that threw me completely off course because stress got in the way.  And in the heat of the moment getting caught in the overwhelm and frustration creates havoc in our lives.  I have made plenty of these mistakes by getting caught in overwhelm and losing sight of my goals, dreams and purpose.  The amazing thing I have learned is that even after really challenging moments, everything works out in our favor in the long run.  In the midst of chaos it appears that our world is caving in around us but after all the dust settles, we evolve and life is better.

     

    Think about a stressful moment in your past.  Something that felt overwhelming and frustrating in the moment.  Maybe it was a physical injury, a lost job, a break up, a big argument or an illness.  In the heat of the moment you likely got caught up in the stressful feelings making you feel helpless and hopeless.  The effects of this stressful moment can last hours, days, weeks or months.  Trust me I know that some of these obstacles can truly get in our way and make us feel like the world is against us.  I have felt that way plenty of times.  Now think about that same situation after a few months passed.  Things settled and life started to return to normal. Your drive and motivation returned.  And life returned to its typical pace.  And when you reflect on those events, you might notice that everything worked out. But it wasn’t exactly as you planned it. For example, back in November 2019, I had an upset customer throw my life completely off balance.  In the heat of the moment, I was caught in my stressful emotions and felt a deep dread and impending doom.  I was caught in negative emotions and let the stress take over my life for weeks.  During this stressful situation, I felt helpless, hopeless and alone.  And literally in that moment when it all transpired, I was alone.  It all happened when my husband was away with my oldest son.  I was home alone with my youngest.  And I could have been enjoying this fun bonding time with him.  But instead I was dealing with the subconscious self-limiting beliefs that made me spiral into a sense of fear and overwhelm.  I was so stressed and anxious that I completely felt like my world was caving in on me. And I forgot I had 15 years of amazing customer service on my side.  I forgot that everyone has a bad day sometimes.  I forgot that sometimes you can’t please everyone even when you do everything in your power to support them.  I forgot that I am amazing at my job and that my colleagues all new it.  I lost sight of who I am and I lost hope for everything.  And that extreme stress caused sudden emotional shifts and crying fits. And this wasn’t the first or the last intensely stressful situation.

     

    In the heat of the moment, I let stress, anxiety and fear get the best of me. The situation left me feeling drained, exhausted and frustrated on all levels. I was physically drained of energy.  I lost mental focus and productivity.  I was emotionally frustrated and overwhelmed.  The funny thing is that I know better.  I know the power of using your awareness to free your body and mind of negative emotions.  And I teach my clients to use their awareness to take action and get out of these situations.  But everyone makes mistakes, even me. Because the subconscious mind is more powerful than we can imagine.  And I let myself spiral into the old frustrated version of myself.  I lost sight of all the amazing things in my life because I let the stress of that situation get the best of me.  And when stress gets the best of you, it can completely take over your life.  And it did for quite a while, until I began to slowly take charge of my life again.

     

    That challenging moment kept getting in my way as my self-limiting beliefs and negative thoughts took over my mind.  It continued for a few months as I worked through those negative thoughts, feelings and emotions.   And as I dealt with the true root of the problem my awareness and clarity began to unveil itself.  I have always known the root cause of our emotional shifts come from deep in our past experiences.  The emotional turmoil feels like it is the result of the current situation.  But that deep sense of overwhelm and frustration stems from something way in our past that is imbedded in our subconscious mind.  These overwhelming emotions usually stem from our past childhood and adolescent experiences that were never processed or resolved thoroughly.  And I have worked through many but the subconscious mind always needs attention.

     

    I slowly regained my self-confidence, motivation and drive.  But the journey back was dreadful and I know it was my choice to allow that to take place.  I could have responded differently and ended the torment quickly.  Thankfully, my reputation for great customer service, kindness and compassion prevailed.  And that dreadful day slowly disappeared from my mind.  In that moment of intense anxiety, stress and overwhelm; I was stuck in emotions from the past.  I was processing emotions from my childhood as a Special needs child.  Most people don’t realize that I had a Learning Disability.  They can’t believe that a successful Nurse and Educator could possibly have had learning challenges.  But I did and the journey was not easy.  I worked hard to get out of special classes and eventually graduate with honors from High school and college. But my unprocessed emotions from my childhood were hidden far away in my subconscious mind.  I honestly had no memory or recollection of my experiences as a special needs child.  Actually my childhood was all a blur and I know now it is because I was always stuck in the fight or flight response.  I spent most of my life stuck in this dreadful state of overwhelm and my health declined progressively till I took charge in my 30s.  The stress response was always in motion for me creating havoc on my body physically and emotionally. Just to paint a little picture of what stress can do to your body. I had lost half of my hair by my 20s.  I had severe digestive issues that eventually required surgery and multiple prescriptions.  I had chronic pain and numbness that began in High school. And my health was at a point of crisis in my mid 30s.

     

    Now let’s jump back to the experiences with self-limiting beliefs as a special needs child.  I honestly had no recollection of my experiences as a special needs child until the dust settled after the incident in November.  I realized that all those intense emotions had nothing to do with the situation at hand.  But rather my physical and emotional response mirrored my childhood when I was bullied for being different.  I was teased and picked on because it took me longer to take tests.  I was teased because math and reading was harder for me.  I was ridiculed because I was different from everyone else.  I was isolated because I was the girl that had to leave mainstream class to go to several special classes during the day. I was made fun of because I was bigger and more voluptuous than girls my age.  I was under so much stress due to this emotional turmoil and frustration that I had completely blocked most of my childhood memories.  As a means of protection my mind literally shut down and hid most of my childhood memories, even the good ones.

     

    A few weeks after issue in November, the dust settled and life came back to normal. My career was intact and my overwhelming emotions had resolved.  And as families reached out to me for support to help their special needs children with anxiety a huge realization happened within.  And I finally realized bullying was part of my past that I had never recognized or recalled.  And I never would have realized that truth about my past if this challenge wasn’t placed in my path.  That customer through me off course because it was time for me to evolve and grow from that experience.  It was time for me to process the past and let go of those negative feelings that no longer serve me.  And I needed to realize that I had the power to decide if I would let people push my buttons.  I was finally in charge and I didn’t need to allow others to impact my emotional state or drain my energy anymore.  It is ironic because I knew that I needed to set boundaries, I even talk about it in my book, “The Truth about IBS and Anxiety.”  But I didn’t realize I needed to set clear boundaries with everyone including strangers.  It is funny how sometimes you need a slap in the face to wake up and see the clear picture in front of you.  It all worked out in the end and I learned from my mistakes.  But it took a while for the truth of this experience to enter my conscious mind.  And it all happened this week as a much more obvious obstacle came in my way.  And sometimes the challenge is a wakeup call.

     

    This week those pesky negative thoughts were pushing me once again. It all became clear after I literally fell on my butt.  This time it wasn’t an event that made me stumble and fall.  It wasn’t an argument or confrontation.  It was literally an internal fight within my mind that threw me off balance.  Let’s just say it started 20 minutes before the moment I lost my balance and fell on my butt.  And it occurred because I wasn’t practicing what I teach.  I wasn’t transforming the negative voice in my head.  I wasn’t using my awareness to set myself free from the stress.  Instead I was letting the negative voice take over my emotions and creating a sense of hopelessness once again.  Some people might call this negative voice, Chatty Cathy, but I call her Negative Nancy.  Or for the gentlemen I call him Negative Norm.  Let’s just say Negative Nancy was on overdrive in my mind and those thoughts were getting in my way.  And since I wasn’t paying attention, I was about to get a rude awakening. It was time for me to practice what I preach but I wasn’t listening or observing the message. I was falling back into my stress cycle and I needed a wakeup call to see it.  Something had to give for me to see clearly.

     

    And boom the signs were all about to become super clear once everything fell apart.  I stubbed my big toe. My subconscious mind didn’t budge and I kept allowing Negative Nancy to take over.  And as the helplessness grew in my mind, my anxiety began to take over.  My emotions of frustration were building and I was getting grumpy for no apparent reason.  The day had been beautiful, peaceful and relaxing but I was not feeling relaxed at all.  My mind was stuck on negative overdrive for no apparent reason.  The message was going to be very different this time.  And boom I stubbed my pinkie toe with metal.  This bump made me see stars as the sharp pain radiated up my body.  It was so hard there was an instant hematoma.  It hurt so bad I had to breathe deeply to catch my breath.  It took a few minutes to get blood flow back to my head because the pain was overwhelming.   I was seeing black spots as the pain slowly resolved itself.  A few minutes later I realized my toe was bleeding and went to clean it up.  But my negative mind was still at full force and things were about to tumble quickly.

     

    I had no idea that I was going to experience an epiphany as my life flashed before my eyes. I had my right foot on the counter as I tried to clean my pinkie toe. I leaned over to reach for a tissue paper that was just inches away from me. But my body was not stable or balanced.  And suddenly I lost my balance and my life flashed before my eyes.  I tried to grab the toilet and stop the tumble to the floor.  It all happened in super slow motion as I remembered all the other times I had fallen and injured myself over the last 40+ years.  I slowly went down twisting in midair till my butt hit the toilet rim. After the sharp intense thump on my butt and hip I stumbled to the ground.  I laid on the ground for several minutes taking it all in.  I took deep breaths to regain my vision and energy.  It took some deep breathing to relieve the intense sharp pain in my lower back and butt. In this brief moment of breathing and reflecting, I realized that each of these injuries could have been avoided.  All of those events were under my control but I had chosen to let the negative voice take over.  I avoided using my awareness to set me free from the stress and the stress clouded my vision.  It is interesting how life literally needs to throw a curveball for you to see clearly.

     

    I took it all in.  Step by step from the moment I walked out of the car feeling stressed out.  I was worried about something.  And the impending doom made those negative thoughts and emotions go haywire in my brain.  And when your mind goes haywire everything goes off balance.  It literally throws your entire day off balance.  I didn’t realize how powerful the subconscious self-limiting beliefs were until I reflected on the events that had occurred since November.  My anger and negative emotions took over until I felt it in my body.  Yep, that is exactly what happens, when you stub your toe, hit your funny bone, cut your finger, etc.  You are thinking of something that the universe, god or whoever you believe in wants you to stop obsessing over.  To make a point and create a sense of awareness within you something will happen.  And that means an event, accident or confrontation will come into your life to get you to open your eyes and see it.  And hopefully you get the message and stop the negativity and self-loathing.  Hopefully you stop breath and reflect. And wake up and Smell the coffee.  The life events that come into our path are all learning experiences.  And life is great at changing the subject when you are smack in the middle of a stressful situation.

     

    We have all felt extra stress during this quarantine.  As a nurse, I left so many close friends, family and colleagues at the frontline.  It has been devastating to be far away from them when they needed support and love.  Yet, my fear and negative thoughts kept getting in my way.  I let all those negative thoughts stop me from reaching out to them when they needed me most.  And I spent the last few weeks working up my strength and resilience to help those I love most.  And it was my awareness after falling on my butt, that made me realize, this moment is exactly where I am supposed to be.  I was given a gift to share with the world.  And I have been hiding it because of my own insecurities and self-doubt.  I have been hiding because I fear what people will think of my uniqueness.  But the truth is it doesn’t matter.  Because the people I love at the frontline deserve to see the silly side of me.  They deserve to have the funny girl that brings a smile, a joke and inspirational words into their days.  And if that means I get on Camera with a wig and make a funny joke as I teach a relaxation technique then so be it. So after falling on my butt, I realized that my uniqueness can inspire others to use their awareness to set themselves free from the turmoil within.  And I was inspired to create a unique experience for my friends and colleagues at the frontline.  So I created a video teaching some simple relaxation techniques wearing one of my wigs. So the moral of this story is get up and get out of your own way.  The world is sending me challenges and obstacles for you to evolve into the person you dream.  Sitting at the sidelines doesn’t serve anyone. So get up and get moving.  Your awareness and action can set you free from the stress that lies within.

    Categories Advice, autoimmune, autoimmune crisis, Biohacking, Chronic Pain, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Emotional pain, Fibromyalgia, flare up, Health, hope, Inflammation, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, pain, Physical Pain

    Manifest Wellness

    Author Diane Vich Posted on

    What is wellness? How do you know you have achieved wellness? Is it the same for everyone?

    Can I go from feeling crappy to happy? Can I stop the cycle of feeling sick and tired all the time?

    Does my medical history have to be my fate?

    Wellness is a state of wellbeing and good health.  Wellness is achieved progressively as we develop our own supportive routine and lifestyle.  Wellness includes a variety of activities, choices and lifestyle shifts throughout our life span.  We can each experience our own unique wellness regardless of life’s challenges and obstacles.  Your medical history doesn’t have to be your fate.  It took me 7 years to find my Wellness because I lacked the understanding of the importance of tackling life’s challenges with a synergistic approach.  My journey was difficult and traitorous because when my health crisis happened I was stuck in the scientific and conventional world of medicine.  Conventional medicine is amazing for life saving approaches but it is lacking insight in health promotion and prevention.  Prescriptions are designed to cover up one problem and new symptoms emerge.  Going outside the box of conventional medicine is the way to truly tackle to root of your illness, disease and symptoms to heal the body.  It took me years of suffering through meltdowns, rock bottom moments and illness because I was unaware of the importance of tackling the emotional and physical root of illness and disease simultaneously. The gift I learned in the process is that the journey doesn’t have to be so difficult or torturous.  You deserve to find your unique wellness.  Everyone deserves to feel better.

    My name is Diane and I have a genetic condition called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome type III (EDS III).  This condition impacts the entire body requiring many prescriptions, treatments and surgeries to deal with the overwhelming symptoms. I went to see a geneticist because I knew as a nurse that something wasn’t right.  It wasn’t normal for a 35 years old to be taking more than 13 prescriptions and spend most of her life in doctor’s offices.  By the time I was diagnosed I had more than 6 surgeries and more to come.  I also spent months in physical therapy for frequent injuries.  The health issues caused me to spend my life at neurologist, allergists, endocrinologists, gynecologist, pain clinics, rheumatologists and gastroenterologist’s offices to deal with the expanse list of symptoms.  Trust me that is not a happy or healthy way to live.  But after suffering for so long, I realized prescriptions, surgeries, injections and physical therapy were not my answer.  I was in search of a true solution and desperate to feel healthy and free inside my body.  I had felt trapped and helpless for so long that I was desperate for a solution.  And I chose my health and myself for the first time in my life.

    I began my journey outside the box of conventional medicine to truly tackle my illness once and for all.  In the beginning I had tunnel vision that blinded me of the full picture.  I started with nutrition, fitness and supplementation to heal and repair the severe damage my body had undergone since childhood.  By the age of 35, I was taking 13 prescriptions and injections for pain were a monthly must.  I was diagnosed with EDS III after several years of focusing on nutrition, fitness and supplementation.  I went to the genetics simply to prove that my hypothesis was correct and the doctor’s that had treated me were clueless.  My hypothesis was “Nutrient malabsorption, poor diet, lack of exercise and genetics was causing my expanse list of symptoms.”  My visit to genetics was proof for myself that I was on the right track.  When I was diagnoses I was already 60% better but there was a missing element I hadn’t realized yet.  Nonetheless the geneticist and my specialists were all astonished at the transformation I had already achieved.  I was on only two prn prescriptions (as needed), pain was under control without prescriptions and I was living a healthier lifestyle.

    Nutrition, fitness and supplementation worked on the physical root of my illness and disease.  This is the physical stress we experience when life stress and diet create inflammation, toxins and damage in the body.  I had that under control with supplementation, nutrition and fitness but injuries, pain flare ups and irritable bowel symptoms still occurred frequently.  My worst symptoms to control were indigestion, heart burn, bloating, fatigue and chronic pain.  My digestive flare ups would trigger the muscle pain and fatigue to return.  And my gastroenterologist decided a psychiatrist was the answer to calm my anxiety and reduce stress with a prescription.  I started on Celexa to help control my symptoms and finally had to face the fact that my symptoms had an emotional component.  I didn’t want to accept that my emotions were triggering my symptoms but after they diminished the truth was clear.  The quest then became to tackle that emotional pain without a prescription and truly overcome my symptoms. I did not want to be on anti-anxiety medications my whole life.  It was a difficult journey but worth the fight because I knew I wasn’t alone in this struggle.  I am not the only person that is sick and tired of being sick and tired all the time.  I am not the only one who is sick of all the prescriptions that wreak havoc on the body and cause more problems than good.  I am not the only person that feels trapped inside their body. I am not the only person that wants to find a solution to all their symptoms.

    Fast forward to 2018, the missing element, emotional pain, would prove to be my most difficult obstacle to face and overcome.  I realized that there was an emotional root to my symptoms that stemmed from my childhood.  By this time, I was trying to overcome a new fear and my physical symptoms were back with a vengeance.  My fear of being seen and being heard.  I desperately wanted to share my story and create videos on social media but my emotions kept getting in my way.  I underwent hypnosis to tackle the subconscious blocks and self-limiting beliefs from my childhood.  And suddenly, the symptoms were less frequent and I was making great progress with my fears.

    We all have experienced negative thoughts, self-limiting beliefs and emotional pain.  This occurs due to unprocessed emotions from our childhood.  We experience events, circumstances and situations in our childhood that are difficult for us to understand and process because we were never taught ways to process and release our emotions.  This vicious pattern continues throughout our lives as we re-experience these emotions and feelings.  The simple truth is that we all have a negative voice inside our heads.  And this little negative character controls are actions and reactions to everything we perceive in our lives.  I call these negative voices, Negative Nancy and Negative norm.  My Negative Nancy was a dominant voice in my head that controlled all my actions in life causing me to feel frozen and stuck.  She was holding me back from my dreams and hypnosis helped me realize that I could regain control of my subconscious mind.

    The simple truth to share with you now is that your physical and emotional symptoms are connected.  You may be skeptical as I was in the beginning but it a very powerful truth.  To achieve your own unique wellness there needs to be a shift in the physical and emotional realms to truly create a lasting effect.  And once that is introduced into your lifestyle, you can absolutely go from feeling crappy to happy.  You can prove to yourself and others that your medical history doesn’t have to be your fate.  It will end the cycle of feeling sick and tired all the time.  It will help you thrive and create the life you dream.  So the question is… Do you want to Thrive?  Do you want to find Your Unique Wellness?

    Categories Advice, pain, Podcast

    Words Matter

    Author Diane Vich Posted on

    Words are powerful and the impact they have on others are significant.  We have all heard the statement, “Sticks and Stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me.”  I call bull shit on that statement.  Words hurt more than sticks.  Words can break you down at your core.  They can tear you down to nothingness.  Words can make you feel lost, lonely and alone.  They impact those we love and care for much more than we realize.  Words impact strangers, colleagues and loved ones in exponential ways.  We often speak too quickly, forgetting that our ego tends to spread words from a hurtful place.  We have all said something in the heat of the moment that we regret once we breath and let things settle.  Have you ever had a conversation that made you want to curl up into a ball and cry?  Have you ever had a confrontation that made you want to throw something?  Have you ever had a fight that left you feeling lonely and isolated?  I am sure you all have experienced this painful truth at some point in your life.  It can happen with an absolute stranger.  But it is even more painful with someone you love and cherish.  This is something I have learned in my evolution from feeling Crappy to Happy.  We often let the words others say penetrate to our soul and break us down to oblivion.  But in order for you to understand and process it, you need to picture it in your mind and feel it in your body.

    I want you to picture a conversation with a loved one but first connect with yourself.  Simply take in a deep breath right now.  What is the worst thing you have told yourself inside your mind?  What is the most hurtful and painful word you have used to describe yourself?  What is the most rotten feeling you have experienced for yourself?  What has your negative Nancy or Negative Norm said inside your head? Maybe it was, You are ugly, You are stupid, You are Worthless.  Now, that you feel that yucky and icky feeling.  Imagine what it would feel like if someone you love utters those painful words to describe you.  Or maybe they utter words that make you re-experience those painful words again.  That’s right. It doesn’t feel good when we say them to ourself.  And it feels worse when someone you care about uses them either. It hurts because your little girl or little boy inside feels that assault.  The words break you down to your core.  Words can make you hit rock bottom and want to curl up into a ball.  Words can make you want to stay in your sheet all day.  Words can make you want to stop in your tracks.  Words can make you feel stuck or frozen in time.

    And in the midst of this crisis as we all experience added stress and anxiety it is important to breathe before we speak.  It is important to slow down and smell the roses.  It is essential to change the events in this crisis to create unity in the world.  Our words matter in the physical and emotional world.  Words create symptoms and feelings inside our bodies.  You may not have realized it but think about that experience I mentioned before again.  Close your eyes and really feel it.  Do you remember that moment? Do you remember what you felt?  Did you experience tension, pain or discomfort?  Words create emotions in our bodies and emotions create feelings or sensations inside our physical reality.  Trust me it is weird at first. I come from a very scientific background in nursing.  I never expected to find a world into alternative healing to truly impact my autoimmune disease and chronic pain but I did.  And in this journey, I realized how our perception and internalization of experiences impacts our physical reality.  We literally experience symptoms in our bodies as a result of our social experiences and interactions.  We also experience these symptoms by bombarding our minds with news and other painful stimuli.  And now in the midst of this crisis the news is extra painful.  It is important for us to realize the impact this constant assault from the environment has on our bodies.

    Have you noticed how your stress accumulates more and more when you watch the news all day long?  Have you noticed how anxiety develops when you constantly see the negative things around you?  Well it is time to make a change for your own health and happiness.  It is time to stop the hurt and heal the world.  And it all begins with the words we speak to ourself.  And the words we speak to others.  To truly change this quarantine experience we need to treat others as we wish to be treated.  We need to experience life from a new lens.  We need to filter out the negativity and bring in the light. And the easiest way to do this is to write.  Yes, write to create unity and kindness.  Write a new story for yourself.  Write and journal about the way you feel now.  And then re-write it again into a new reality.  And the most effective way at changing this hurtful truth is to learn something new starting with your letter.  It all begins with a simple meditation practice using the initial of your name.  Trust me it took me months to figure it out.  It took me months to accept that my little girl was hurting inside.  It took me continuous and constant rollercoasters from Crappy to Happy to find out this simple fact.  I invite you to try something new.  Try something revolutionary, yet simple.  And it will open your eyes to a new perspective.

    We have all said, “There are two sides to every story.”  We interpret that as being Their side and Our side.  But what if there are two sides to your own story.  What if you have been stuck inside a tormented reality replaying your story over and over?  What if this story is holding you back? What if it is time to change the story? What if if is time to find your new reality?  Trust me I have been stuck in my story.  I have only seen one side.  And then I realized that I had two different stories inside me waiting to be revealed.

    Join me for my course Crappy to Happy.  Learn simple ways to tackle the stress and thrive again.  Find the power of your words to transform your future. Crappy is what you feel when you hit rock bottom.  It is the way you feel when you are frozen and scared.  It is the way you feel when words penetrate you and break you down. It is the way you stay stuck and unmotivated.  Join me to unveil the secrets to re-writing your reality by releasing the stress.  Let’s rewrite your story.  Let’s transform the way you feel.  Let’s impact the world with a united front.  With mindful awareness you can change the way you feel and impact those around you.  Let’s support those Frontline workers by impacting the health and wellbeing of our community.  Listen to my podcast tomorrow at 7am or 7pm EST as I share a special meditation to support the community and my friends, colleagues and family at the Frontline.

     

    Categories accomplishment, Advice, Anxiety, autoimmune, autoimmune crisis, Chronic Pain, Digestive Issues, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, fatigue, Fibromyalgia, gym, Health, hope, pain, Physical Pain

    Autoimmune Warrior

    Author Diane Vich Posted on

    What does it mean to be an autoimmune warrior?  It means you fight hard to overcome your symptoms and live the life you dream.  It means that there are battles and sometimes your fail but you get back up and do it again.  But most of all it means that once you finally succeed, it is time to share your story and help others accomplish the same.  It wasn’t an easy journey.  It was filled with obstacles and challenges.  It took me 7 years to perfect my process.  There were tons of rock bottom failures.  But we all learn from our mistakes.  That is when you find a way out, dust yourself off and do it again.  There were many times that I wanted to give up and eat junk food.  There were many times I wasn’t motivated to exercise.  There were plenty of hard days.  There were plenty of horrible days.  But every challenge I faced only made me stronger.  I have autoimmune leaky gut and a genetic syndrome called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome.  The combination can be pretty debilitating and overwhelming.  If I wouldn’t have chosen to make my health a priority my life would be very different right now.  It wasn’t an easy decision to put myself before others.  After all I am a mom, wife and nurse.  All those amazing things means you put everyone else before you.  And I absolutely love doing that but when my health started to fail and it impacted my children’s joy, I stopped to reflect.  If I didn’t find a way out they would be faced with the hardships of having a chronically ill mom to care for and they didn’t deserve that fate.

    Leaky gut is a condition that allows particle of food to travel throughout your body.  These particles begin to wreck havoc everywhere.  Then your immune system begins to attack the food particles and your own body in the process.  Leaky gut and autoimmune disease is a backfiring of your own immune system.  Your body attacks itself creating physical symptoms and pain. I suffered from symptoms since childhood.  But I had no idea what or why it was happening until my 30s.  I’ve learned a lot on this journey to find wellness.  My journey took me through an educational journey to find answers for others that ended up helping me.  My career evolved from a Special Education teacher to a Registered nurse in hopes of helping children with special needs overcome their health battles.  And the amazing gift that unveiled was the very answered I needed for myself.  In the process my health eventually failed and crisis struck.  I desperately searched for a solution to my horrible digestive issues. Slowly my body began to heal and transform.  The journey helped me develop an incredible technique that I have used to support my clients and children.  I reduced and practically eliminated all my symptoms in my body.  And boy were those symptoms extensive.  I used to experience all of these symptoms almost daily: reflux, bloating, cramping, anxiety, fatigue, chronic pain, frequent illness, migraines, headaches, etc.  The symptoms became overwhelming and my life seemed to be falling apart.  I knew that there had to be a better way to live.  And I knew my children deserved better.  And I am so thankful and grateful for the journey that brought me here. But to truly understand the hardship, it is time to take you into a journey about genetics.

    I went to countless specialists and as my research evolved I knew there was a genetic condition behind all my extensive medical diagnosis and symptoms.  But it wasn’t easy to find.  I went to rheumatologists, Gastroenterologists, neurologists and then finally a geneticist.  And that was finally when I got the answer I was looking for, I was diagnosed with EDS III. Ehlers Danlos Syndrome is a debilitating condition that impacts every organ, muscle and tissue of your body.  Most people with this condition have tons of surgeries and need assistive devices.  The pain and frequent injuries leave you feeling ashamed and useless.  Thankfully I was able to overcome that dreadful time in my life.  It has been amazing to see that I was able to develop a routine that has helped me become more active and energized.  It has been a long journey.  But I learned a lot along the way.  And the most valuable gift was that all genetic conditions, illnesses and diseases have a root cause that needs to be addressed synergistically for true success.  Trust me I was skeptical. I didn’t believe myself for years.  I didn’t truly accept that there were 2 root causes of my illness.  And then suddenly in 2019, as I wrote my book, “The Truth about IBS and Anxiety,” everything became crystal clear.  As I helped people heal, I truly began to see the transformations that were possible with my process and the gifts they experienced.  You see the truth about what I teach, is that it doesn’t only help mom, dad, grandma, or grandpa; it helps the kids and grandkids too.

    Think about it this way.  Reflect on your week or your month.  Was there a day that you were super stressed, anxious or overwhelmed?  Did it change the way you behaved?  Did it change the way you felt? Did it change the way you spoke to others?  Did it change their reaction? I bet if you truly think about it, you will say, YES, YES, YES.  I will give you an example.  My client, Demi, suffered from chronic illness, reflux, chronic pain and fatigue.  She felt hopeless and alone when we began working together.  She was sure she was doomed to fail and hopeless.  As we worked together to create a supportive routine for her, she began to transform easily.  Her weight seemed to melt away.  Her symptoms seemed to disappear.  Her energy and motivation increased.  And her life completely changed.  But it didn’t stop with her, it extended to the entire family.  Her husband and children began to eat healthier.  The more energetic and happy she became, the more fun and exciting their relationship became.  And her children began to change too.  When we started working together her youngest had anxiety and trouble sleeping.  He often complained of stomach aches and headaches.  As she began to improve the way she felt, their health began to change too.  She began to really see that her own health impacted the entire family.  She began to notice that the days she was stressed and overwhelmed, everyone was stressed and overwhelmed.  She noticed that when she screamed and lost her temper, her kids suddenly had a symptoms arise.  She noticed that when she wasn’t following her routine, it affected the world around her too.

    The beautiful gift she thanked me for her compassion and courage

    The funny thing is that I didn’t realize I gave her that gift until now.  I actually created that audio about courage and compassion for myself.  Because getting on camera, writing my book and sharing my story has been a difficult journey.  It has tested my resilience and perseverance.  It has tested my patience and kindness.  It has tested me in all facets of my life.  But Demi reminded me that my journey is not only to help women.  She reminded me by helping one person, I help everyone around them heal as well.  Because if one person can make a different to transform the world around them, imagine the possibilities if more people do the same.  We all deserve to feel happy, energized and vibrant.  We all deserve to thrive in life.  We all deserve to reach our ultimate potential.  And it all starts by working on yourself first.  I never thought I could overcome my chronic debilitating pain.  I though I was destined to live a life of pain and fatigue.  I thought that surgery and physical therapy was the only way to reduce my symptoms.  But now I surpassed all my physical limitations.  I went from a girl that never exercised or played sports because her pain was so intense.  To a girl that rock climbs, dances and repels down waterfalls.  And it all began with a decision to work on me first.  And the same magical transformations happen when my clients unveil their own healing powers.

    Categories ADHD, Advice, Anxiety, brain disorders, Empath, fatigue, Health, kids, Mommy

    Sensory Overload

    Author Diane Vich Posted on

    What is sensory overload? It occurs when input bombards your senses from all directions.  This is exactly what happens when you receive stimuli in all 5 senses simultaneously.  It can happen in loud parties, conferences, schools, public places, work, events, etc.  Many events and public venues create this feeling of increased stress due to the magnitude of sensory assaults that are emitted from equipment or people.  These constant and repetitive sensations trigger a reaction in the body.  It is the flight or flighty response.  You know the fear of the situation takes over, all your stress hormones turn on and you can fight back or run.  You can either be stuck in the moment and allow the stress to build until you explode.  Or you can step away and relax your senses.  We are all impacted by noises, visuals and sensory stimuli but some have a significantly more potent experience.  And for those that are anxious like me, sensory overload can be overpowering and exhausting.  That’s right.  It is exhaustingly depleting your energy every moment you stay stuck in that uncomfortable situation.  And if the stress left unaddressed it accumulates in the body creating a sense of panic.  That is why children and adults exhibit feelings of anger or frustration when sensitivities accumulate resulting in a reaction of some sort or a tantrum.  A child might have a tantrum or cry during fireworks.  A teen might get in a fight or scream at someone in a loud concert.  And an adult might have an argument during a music festival.   Of course there are unlimited possibilities and unlimited scenarios.   But I’m all about positive solutions for the life we live in the environment around us.  Helping others finding the mental wellness they desire through simple modifications in their daily lives.

    So let’s get back to overstimulation in public venus.  In public events there are often many groups of people talking, kids laughing, babies screaming, overhead lights, flashing lights, loud music, etc.  It feels like an overwhelming assault on your senses and it happens every second.  You might be engaged in a conversation but all the stimulation keeps distracting you.  Its difficult to speak or understand everything.  If you are trying to do something on your phone, its 10 times harder to concentrate.  Any task or action you need to perform becomes excruciatingly difficult.  Every second builds into minutes and hours of stimulation entering your 5 senses.  And after many hours your body is completely drained and devastated.  I bet you know someone who is highly sensitive.  They may have an official diagnosis or medical condition.  If you know someone you feel in your gut or body when you imagine them.  The diagnosis or condition doesn’t matter.  It is just a name given to a condition that is covered by an insurance.  Its a name for something that will helps you acquire treatments or services.  But this is simply about understanding your body and taking ACTION to help yourself relax.  I am talking recognizing the symptoms or pain your body send you.  It is about Recognizing the triggers that cause you to experience the stress in your body.  If you can picture a friend who is always sick or has a headache.  A friend who always has a stomach ache or pain.  Or maybe its you.  Maybe you always have this creeping pressure in your chest.  Or your stomach feels like you swallowed a basketball.   Take a moment to think about the last time you felt that way.  What where you doing?  Where were you?  What did you feel in your body?  How did you feel in that place?  What emotion comes to mind.

    Ok so now that you have a better idea if you are sensitive or you know someone who is sensitive let’s take a deeper look.  Highly sensitive individuals include but are not limited to those diagnosed with a conditions like Autism, Seizure Disorders, ADHD, Multiple Sclerosis, PTSD, Anxiety and Mental health issues.  It is prevalent in all ages (infants, children, teens and adults).

    Here are some possible examples:

    • A child that is very spacey and distracted.  They appear to be in another world many times a day.
    • A friend that keeps fidgeting and looking at their watch during your conversation.
    • A coworker that loses eye contact during conversation and is looking at everyone in the room instead.
    • An infant that is unconsolable and crying in her mother’s arms.
    • A friend that screams at you during a normal conversation for no apparent reason.
    • A child that hides in a tent during fireworks.
    • A person that is pacing back and forth.

    Some symptoms of sensory overload: difficulty focusing, irritability, restlessness, urge to cover your ears, urge to shield your eyes from light,  feeling overly excited, feeling anxious (fearful or stressed) and feeling sensitive to things rubbing against your skin (textures, fabrics, clothing tags and nails).  Some symptoms may be even more confusing than you thought.  I experienced sensory overload after attending a child’s party.  The event was in a loud party venue (loud music, bright colors, kids, laughing, kids screaming, bright lights and tons of talking).  As the time passed I felt more tired and drained.  By the end of the event I was in such exhaustion that I needed a nap.  Napping is not my typical routine.  I usually have more than enough energy to complete my day.  I might need an afternoon meditation but a nap usually won’t happen.  Years ago I was exhausted like this every day.  I had chronic fatigue and realize now that sensory overload was a huge part of this.  So I returned home after the party tried a meditation but was still exhausted.  And I cuddled up into my sheets to sleep for 1.5 hours.  I woke up did another meditation and finally felt vibrant again.  Interestingly my son exhibits symptoms of sensory overload too.   But his energy was not impacted in the same way mine was.  He actually developed a headache.   After all the stimulation was over and it was time for bed, his head was pounding.  I’ve been learning his symptoms along with mine for several months now.  Becoming aware of your symptoms takes some effort.  And observing your child is important to understand their symptoms.  It is also important to ask them questions about their day and how they feel.  Its important to help your child deal with sensory overload.  It also helps you develop strategies to reduce sensory overload regularly.  And have a plan in place for full fledged sensory exhaustion.

    Our nervous system has two important parts that need to work together to establish balance: the sympathetic and parasympathetic. The sympathetic nervous system is involved in activities of wakefulness and alertness.  The sympathetic nervous system is involved in the fight or flight response.  This response helps us defend ourself during dangerous situations.  Dysfunction of the sympathetic nervous system results in nervousness, stress, and anxiety.  The parasympathetic nervous system is involved  in our restful activities like sleep and digestion.   It promotes healing, regeneration, nourishment and elimination.  Activating this system in your body is essential to reduce stress, sensory overload, and anxiety.  Dysfunction of the parasympathetic system appears in symptoms of lethargy and fatigue.  If the body is unable to calm and rebalance in response to these changes causes oxidative stress in the body. A prolonged stress response leads to stress on the adrenal glands and immune system.  The prolonged stress response begins to exhibit symptoms and eventually illness in the body.

    As an empath, I realize there are many people that experience this deep inner sense of stress.  And these people experience it like me, every moment, in every second, in every activity.   But I hadn’t realized its impact on the body until recently.  It is so overwhelming that symptoms arise quickly.  The stress builds and symptoms accumulate over time.  I’ve noticed the prevalence of children exhibiting symptoms of pain or digestive issues is a growing trend.  I was the same as many of the patients coming through the hospitals regularly.  Children with inexplicable symptoms and negative lab results.  Test after test just leads to no answers or solution for your child.  So what if we decide to take a step back and observe.  Taking time to understand your child a little closer and observing the symptoms that arise.  Here are some common symptoms of sensory overload.  And I also have some relaxation techniques to help your child calm their senses.  But there are plenty more strategies that help calm the nervous system.   And everyone is different, so its imperative to create an individualized routine for yourself or your child.  The routine should be based on the individuals needs and preferences.

    Symptoms of a Child with Sensory overload:

    • Tantrum
    • Throwing things
    • Kicking
    • Screaming
    • Zoning out/Day dreaming
    • Cover their eyes or ears
    • Shift in mood

    And there are scientific methods of reducing this overload in yourself and your children.

    Strategies to avoid sensory overload:

    • Plan to leave events early from parties- have an exit strategy and take breaks
    • Shopping- Plan, write a list and prepare before you enter the store.  Being prepared will enable you to gather everything you need and exit the store quickly thus reducing the impact of sensory overload.
    • Learn your triggers and those of your child – It will help you plan for new events and have methods at hand to reduce symptoms.

    5 Ways to Calm your Child’s senses:

    • Guide your child to relax with visual imagery and story telling
    • Relax outside in Nature
    • Cuddle and watch a relaxing nature show
    • Blow bubbles
    • Noise cancelling headphones with peaceful nature sounds

    If you want to learn more ways to help your child with special needs.  Then stay tuned for events and webinars coming soon.  I will be presenting soon at Miami Family Friendly Hands in October.   I will be discussing sensory overload and its impact on children and adults with disabilities.

    Categories Advice, Anxiety, freedom, Health, hope, positivity, self-actualization, Self-doubt

    Fight the Fear

    Author Diane Vich Posted on

    Fighting your fears is definitely a life changing experience.  I never thought I would be where I am today.  This past year has been an enlightening and nurturing experience.  We all have fears in our lives.  The biggest problem with fears happens when they overwhelm us and hold us back in life.  If we let the fears win then we don’t get to live the life we deserve.  Letting our fears get the better of us causes us to let our dreams dwindle away.  Thankfully I didn’t let that happen. Fighting my fears has been an uphill battle and the ultimate learning experience.  Learning my triggers and challenges through awareness has been an enlightening experience.  Tackling your fears is a slow process but worth every moment.  We need to start with the fears that impact us in our daily lives and progressively work up to the really difficult ones.  We face fears everyday during our regular life experience.  They can come up during conversations, work, daily life, music, television and even social media.  I started with little fears that were impacting my creativity and voice.  Its hard for many to believe that I had a fear of creating videos, public speaking and writing.  I was able to tackle my fears by reframing the subconscious blocks in my mind that made me believe I wasn’t worthy of achieving my dreams.  I learned to develop strategies to cope with the stressful physical response fears created in my body.  Over time I learned exactly what helped me relax, unwind and connect with my inner sense of calm.  Everyone has their own unique interests and coping mechanisms to deal with stress.  We don’t always know the techniques that work until we begin to invest in ourselves and find strategies that are proven to work to relieve stress.  Over time I developed my proactive approach to stress management which brought me my sense of happiness and joy.  The interesting thing that happens when you begin to unravel your fears is you true path in life emerges.  When you clean away the debris stress leaves behind inside our bodies it uncovers your passions and desires.  The path to emergence creates a proactive approach to overcome obstacles and challenges.  Developing this proactive approach which I now call my happiness framework took me almost a year to solidify and reinforce.  The interesting fact that emerged this week is that everything I have done to tackle the little things actually works for the big fears.  As I thought back to my past experiences with travel and airplanes I realize that fear used to shut me down in life.  I used to need a prescription to deal with the stress of travel and the anxiety that built when I felt confined in an airplane.  I remember my last long flight to Europe wasn’t an easy task and the only reason I was able to deal with it was because I had Celexa and Ativan on hand.  I am so thankful that I found my way out of the prescription patch up and developed a true proactive approach to deal with my stress.  I was a completely different person on the flight to Hawaii.  This was by far the longest flight I have ever taken.   Two separate flights lasting about 11 hours total.  The true test of my happiness framework came during the 8 hour flight to Honolulu.  Not only was I on a huge plane for 8 hours the seating arrangements were less than idea.  I was traveling with my boys but we were separated by strangers.  I was too far away to speak to them but close enough to see them.  It was impossible to get their attention to ask a question or to get something from them.  You see I was stuck in the center seat between two complete strangers.  And they were also stuck in two center seats between two strangers.  The old me would have been overwhelmed and panicked by this situation.  Instead I used everything that I new worked for me to connect with my inner calm and relaxation.  I listened to meditations and hypnosis sessions focused on empowerment, true purpose, wealth and abundance.  I glanced at my boys during the flight and filed with happiness at the peace and calm that they were experiencing.  I calmly closed my eyes and focused on centering myself through breathing and feeling.  Any emotions that came up during that long flight were washed away quickly allowing the sense of calm to grow.  When I was tired of relaxing I played tetris and listened to my dance album.  The old me would have been worried about what others thought of me and what I was doing but I truly didn’t care.  At times a song would come up that made me want to dance and I did.  Granted I was still stuck is a chair between two people but I wiggled and moves my arms in that tiny space jamming to the beat.  Sometimes I was so entranced in the song that I would close my eyes and jam even deeper.  I’m sure people walked by and thought I was a little strange but I didn’t care.  I didn’t care because I’ve learned and weird is a good thing.  I’ve learned that being myself is empowering and that no one can take that from me.  I’ve learned that the only person that needs to feel comfortable with it is me.  In a long day like this one tons of emotions came up but I let them flow easily and effortlessly.  Experiences from your past will pop into your head at any time and any situation but allowing yourself to feel centered and calm releases their hold on you.  When things would pop up I used Ho’oponopono, stretching and self-hypnosis to release them.  This unique proactive approach kept me feeling serene in a less than ideal situation.  I would normally have been pacing up and down the isle or worried about my kids but I felt completely aligned, safe and relaxed.  The flight was long and exhausting but fear didn’t get in my way.  It was truly an empowering experience to see that everything I had put into place for myself over the past year was exactly what I needed.  There was no longer a need for prescriptions to fog my brain or hide my experiences.  I am thankful for the journey to enlightenment because it truly set me FREE to live the life I desired and dreamed.  I am thankful that I can use everything I’ve learned to help others find their peace and calm.  It truly is a beautiful day.  I may be exhausted and unsure of the time but I know that my peace and calm is here to stay.  So if you want to connect with your sense of calm and inner strenght, check out my Facebook Group: Unleash Your Inner Strength today. I will begin posting videos today from Hawaii.  There will be some videos on You-tube as well but the bulk of the content will only be in Facebook.  I invite you to connect with your sense of calm in any situation.  You are powerful and resilient too.  It just takes a little guidance and support to get you feeling centered again.

    Categories Advice, Anxiety, depression, Fear, Health, motivation, Self-doubt

    Thrive in Your Life

    Author Diane Vich Posted on

    Some days are filled with challenges or obstacles. They can be internal or external. The external ones impact our body in many ways.  Some of us get headaches, chest pain, shortness of breath, etc.  There are many physical responses that happen when you are stuck in Fear.  They are all due to our bodies fight or flight response.   It happens in the moment and it is intense.  It could happen for many different reasons and in many different situations.  It could be a confrontation by a superior or elder.  It could be a conversation that made you upset.  It could be a TV show that triggered some emotions.  But the fact is that they all stem from the subconscious beliefs we made in childhood.  It was based on our experiences and lack of coping mechanisms.  We simply were never taught how to deal with our emotions: anger, sadness, fear, worry, shame, guilt, etc.  We had no idea what to do with them.  And the way we dealt with these challenges before impacts the way we react now.  The interesting fact I learned this past year is that you can Thrive in Your life.  The tricky part that most people don’t realize is that it requires an investment in self-improvement and development.  Yes, that’s right, an investment in YOURSELF.  You can make little changes here and there by reading books and taking free courses but you still feel stuck.  The shift just doesn’t happen because your subconscious still doesn’t believe you Really DESIRE the change.  Trust me I’ve felt it and I’ve been there multiple times.  You take two steps forward thinking you are on top of the world, just to fall back on your ass when the next obstacle hits.  Yep, exactly you read a book and started to change the way you react to confrontation.  You are doing well and then suddenly someone you absolutely love and admire, throws you a curveball and boom you are back to square one.  Your body responds once again with a deep sense of Fear and the fight or flight response happens again and again.  Then one day I decided to truly get out of my comfort zone and surround myself with powerful, successful business women and entrepreneurs.  They were women I admired and honor for their courage and accomplishments.  Women that have overcome hardships and turmoil to get to where they are and I realized that was exactly what I needed.  It took time and investments to make the shift in my life but it all focused on Self-Development and Self-Improvement.  And when I speak of an Investment, I mean monetary investment and time.  The truth about psychology of the mind is that if there isn’t a monetary contribution then You won’t make time and truly invest in the transformation.  So I did, I took a leap, I cried and second guessed myself many times but in the end I took a leap.  I took the leap because I deserved better than the life I was living.  My family deserved the best version of me.  I had worked on improving my health for 6 years but the anxiety was still there.  I had to work on that subconscious and I had to actively get out of my comfort zone.  And the investment simply motivates and pushes you to do it.  I attended networking meetings, weekly meetings, coaching courses and online programs.  Each activity brought me a step closer to where I wanted to be.  Nothing worth achieving is Easy.  Nothing worth earning is FREE.  You need to put the time, money and effort into your Transformation.  And I did, just that and it finally stuck.  And I know it stuck because I finally took action for myself regardless of the obstacles that came my way.  I finally didn’t let a confrontation, conversation or challenge stop me in my tracks.  I used everything I learned through my health journey and my personal improvement to transform myself.  That meant actively responding to my self-Awareness and taking Action.  Then suddenly everything fell into place.  Obstacles came and went but I kept moving forward.  Confrontation made me uncomfortable and I took action.  Taking action through awareness means feeling your emotions and sitting with them.  Then the true Action happens, using everything you’ve learned and practiced to regain your composure,  focus, commitment and drive.  That’s right, you get down and dirty to fix the problem in the moment.  That’s when you feel the SHIFT.  You notice that conversation didn’t bother your quite as much as before.  Your notice the self-care and self-love you invested in the moment worked.  You realize that you are actively creating again and that your future is coming.  This only happens when you are ALL into the Change you Desire.  When you desire change and truly want to transform then you will achieve it. But first you need to Invest in yourself and Your personal development. Then everything will fall into place exactly how you desire. You can THRIVE in LIFE when YOU INVEST in YOURSELF.  That’s right, Imagine you are Thriving. FEEL NATURALLY AMAZING with a little self loving and nurturing for YOU.  Sounds to good to be true. Nope it is Powerful and Achievable.

    Some people need a visual of how Awareness and Action works.  Here it is:  A few weeks ago I woke up completely exhausted and unmotivated for anything.  It was time to go to work and get things done, so I needed to suck it up and move Right.  But remember this, I woke up like a zombie. I drove to work like a zombie in autopilot.   I had zero energy, my eyes were droopy and I felt like I hadn’t slept in weeks.  I was completely drained and unmotivated to work or even think. I need to act quickly to shift things. Which meant taking ACTION to switch from a snail pace to a Productive and Powerful day. Then, I took ACTION: I stumbled out of the car to grab some things from the back of the car (yoga mat, Kasina glasses, sound bowls and ear buds).  I Stumbled to the lake like a sleepy kid to Meditate, Breath and Rejuvenate. I set everything up and laid down.  I put in my ear buds and Kasina lenses to stimulate alpha waves.   I used the techniques I have developed over the year to relax, unwind and focus.  I Listened to a meditation (made specifically for me), practiced my relaxation techniques and 20 min later…I was ENERGIZED and feeling FANTASTIC.  One funny thing happened in the middle of this little relaxation session that could have thrown me into Fear and Worry.  An employee at the Hospital actually thought something was wrong with me.  Remember all my senses were involved so I didn’t hear or feel him approaching.  When he said, “Excuse me man, Are you ok?”  I heard him and lifted the glasses up.  LMAO I actually screamed.  I am someone that startles easily so thinking back that poor man must have freaked out.  I told him I was fine and jumped back in for the last few minutes.  My heart slowly slowed its pace, my breath relaxed and my body settled once again.  I finished my routine and I was Vibrant, Motivated and Energized.  The obstacle that happened didn’t stop me from my goal of getting back in my groove.  You can THRIVE IN LIFE with more Self-love, Positivity and Nurturing. You are POWERFUL.

    Categories Advice, Biohacking, Chronic Pain, Diet, fatigue, flare up, food allergies, food sensitivities, Health, hope, Inflammation, motivation, pain, Physical Pain

    Invisible Illness

    Author Diane Vich Posted on

    The unknown truth about invisible illness is that people live with it everyday and those around them usually have no idea. You might see a girl with a big smile going about her day hiding the pain she is experiencing. Only those close to them truly know and understand their pain. Even loved ones have trouble understanding their pain. There are many conditions that fall into this category and ehlers-danlos syndrome is one of them. This is the syndrome that I have lived with for years and never truly understood until a few years ago when I went to see a geneticist. Some of the symptoms of this syndrome are chronic pain, chronic fatigue, digestive issues, frequent infections and skin problems. I was the poster child for this condition. I had every possible symptom except a heart condition. Thankfully that was the one thing I didn’t manifest even-though I did need to see a cardiologist because I had frequent fainting episodes. The day I decided to see a geneticist I knew that this expansive list of symptoms had to be related somehow and I was right. The sad truth is there is no cure or treatment for it. The most you could do is use natural alternatives, exercise, diet modifications and prescriptions to help control symptoms. I was sick of using prescriptions and had already started incorporating diet changes and natural alternatives to help me feel better. I had reached a point in my life that covering up one symptom with a prescription that caused another problem was not an option. I wanted to get rid of all the prescriptions and I was well underway by the time I saw the geneticist. She told me everything I was doing was perfect. She said to continue my diet and fitness routine, use methods of stress relief and stay hydrated. At this point I was far from healthy but my body was slowly improving day by day. I had lived with pain to the right side of my body for almost 20 years. I remember feeling excruciating pain on my right arm beginning in 8th grade. The pain and symptoms worsened into adulthood. By the time I was 30 my right arm was always numb and in severe pain. By the time I was 35 my right leg was also affected and became numb as well. Any episodes of less physical activity or fitness routine would make all the pain and numbness worse. So I focused on staying active and eating what I thought was right. I was far from truly understanding my body and the foods that were harmful but I had already identified gluten and corn as huge culprits. By the age of 39, I had undergone a bunch of surgeries and I knew that more were eminent if I didn’t find a way to heal my body. Then one day my friend Daisy, who has Multiple Sclerosis another invisible illness came back into my life. She was experiencing some of the same symptoms and had found some relief in recent years. She spoke to me about nutrigenomics and using nutrient rich supplements to impact inflammation in the body. I was absolutely intrigued but I had to research it for myself. I took several months to research oxidative stress and nutrigenomics to see if it was my answer. I also had to research the ingredients to make sure I could take it. You see with all my food sensitivities, I had to be certain before I took the leap. Then one day, I jumped. I was pleasantly surprised that my energy was improving within the first few weeks. My pain pleasantly was down to 5/10 from 8/10 within a few months. After 4 months my numbness was gone and my pain was under control. I started to truly understand my body and the right fitness routine for me. This state of less pain also helped me identify more foods that caused symptoms to arise. I had flare ups and injuries at times but nothing compared to the life of severe pain I used to live. I was finally happy in my own skin and able to enjoy the world. I no longer had to hide behind a fake smile. I had a beautiful real smile that light up the room. I started to spread my story to the world. I am here to tell you invisible illness is real. You can never truly understand it unless you live it. People that live it need compassion and support. If you know someone with an invisible illness, I urge you to share my story with them. A story of hope is always a great thing to share. It is nice to know that you aren’t alone in the world. It is nice to know someone is here to support you if you choose to change your life. I fought back and won. It is a lifelong battle but I am here to support anyone through it with love and guidance.

    Categories Advice, flare up, Health

    Open the door!!

    Author Diane Vich Posted on

    Do you feel trapped? Trapped in a vicious cycle of anxiety, stress and tension.  Feeling trapped was a huge part of my health journey but I was completely oblivious until now.   The emotional journey began this summer after I had healed the physical pain and symptoms.  The time for emotional healing and reflection was here and I was ready and open for it.  I began my emotional journey with holistic treatments and finally decided on hypnosis.  The hypnosis and transformational regressions helped me identify my feelings and emotions.  These emotions continued to reemerge and my progress would come to a halt.  Now, I realize I had been trapped in a vicious cycle of emotional pain that continuously locked the door to my future.  Little struggles, obstacles, relationships and stress continued to cause me to feel trapped.  I didn’t realize that theses emotional struggles were causing me physical symptoms as well.  It sounds crazy, I know, but its true.  Every time I felt trapped and unable to move forward in my career, a new symptoms would emerge and my progress would stop.  I have experienced many symptoms through this emotional healing journey.  I have felt physical pain, skin eruptions, illness and infections. I didn’t realize the emotional and physical symptoms were all linked together, until I started to reflect and journal.  I noticed some people and situations in life caused me to continue this pattern of disruption and destruction.  I’m sure you have heard this before, connect with people that boost you up and break the bonds with those that don’t.  It is often hard to identify the individuals that are harmful to our happiness and joy.  Trust me it is a lifelong journey to wellness and disconnecting from these people that bring you down is the key.  People that give off negative energy will pass it on to you.  I realized months ago that I feel the pain and stress of others I am close too.  If I have an emotional connection then your physical and emotional pain resonates throughout my body.  It can be a burden and a curse if I don’t break that connection with those that don’t want to be helped.  Absorbing the pain of others is toxic and harmful to my health.  It brings me down and shuts my progress.  Breaking that physical connection and identifying those people that bring be down has been the most difficult part of my journey.  The first step is breaking the connection and the second is tapping back into my positivity.  I had become disconnected from my physical need to unwind, relax and stress.  I had become so stuck in the pain of others that I had forgotten about my own.  I forgot that I am important and I come first.  It isn’t easy to tackle emotional pain and obstacles but I am determined to succeed.  I am finally free of the toxic pain I’ve been holding.  I am here with open arms for those that choose happiness.  I am ready to open the door to my future.  I am ready to help those heal that choose to make themselves the priority.  I am Finally Free…..

    Categories Advice, Biohacking, Health, libido, orgasm, Sexual life

    My burning desire…

    Author Diane Vich Posted on
    My burning desire is for women to truly enjoy their bodies, embrace their desire for pleasure and have fantastic orgasms.  The funny thing is my burning desire changed drastically over the past year.  It used to be a desire to help people feel healthier, happier, motivated and energized.  This desire transformed because my female clients all expressed desires for better orgasms and improved libido.  The interesting phenomenon is that people that are experiencing symptoms of disease or illness, also express concerns with libido and orgasms.  This was the same thing I experienced in my own journey to wellness.  I worked hard to reduce symptoms and inadvertently regained my libido.  There are a variety of factors that influence libido and orgasms.  Some examples are: stress, inflammation, disease, illness and medications.  My libido returned after I started fighting the root cause of illness which is known as oxidative stress.  Oxidative stress causes more than 200 diseases as a result of free radical damage.  This is the leading cause of cellular stress and inflammation which impacts the human body in a multitude of ways.  The fact is a body filled with toxins and stress is bound to develop illness and disease.  Physical decline and symptoms begin to arise as we age. Decreased libido is one of the symptoms of oxidative stress.  It is inevitable for libido to decline when illness prevails.  I saw this personally, you see my libido was intense in my teens and college years, yet as disease continued to progress, it slowly began to dwindle and disappear.  I’m not the only woman that has experienced this phenomenon.  Women all over the world experience decreased libido as they age.   The impact it places on your life depends on the individual.  So I ask you, are you willing to accept it and live with no libido.  Its up to you to take a leap and change your outcome.  Do you accept a future with no libido?  Do you want to spend the rest of your life experiencing difficulty with orgasms?
    You can have fabulous orgasms everyday and enjoy the moment fully.  Regaining your sexual desires and libido in this busy stressful life is hard for most adults, specially women.  Trust me I know first hand, how difficult it can be to relax and enjoy the moment.  Our exhausting lives prevent us from fully embracing the moment but it doesn’t have to be that way.  I have struggled with my own libido throughout my 17 year marriage.  Yet, there were no issues with libido the first 8 years of my relationship.  But guess what, my responsibilities and stress was also less before marriage.  The stress, anxiety and tension of life impacted my health, happiness and libido.  Thankfully, my health journey took me from 0 to 360.  What do you mean 0 to 360?  I went from thinking sex was a chore with no desire to initiate to an exponential desire for sex.  Now I desire sex everyday, sometimes multiple times a day.  I went from sex as a requirement to sex as a staple to end my day with a bang and release tension.   I was so preoccupied with emotional and physical stress that I could not enjoy myself and embrace my orgasms.  I’m not saying I didn’t have orgasms, but I simply didn’t have any desire to initiate anything.  I preferred an excuse or performed the act with little enjoyment.   I was so exhausted all the time, I preferred sleep over sex.  My orgasms were few and far between.  They went from a few orgasms a week to multiple orgasms a day.  I am talking about a huge amount of eye rolling orgasms everyday.  It is possible for everywoman to enjoy their bodies and embrace the gift of orgasm.  Sex doesn’t have to feel like a chore, it can be like your teenage years again.  No more faking an orgasm or a headache to avoid sex altogether. Sex can be fun and exciting again by reconnecting with your body and your own desires.  You can rekindle the romance and fireworks with your partner.  You have to do a little fun homework to get it back.  Remember, the vagina is a muscle, it needs to be used regularly to enhance the sensations.  The more you engage in foreplay and sex, the better the experiences becomes.  Overtime, the orgasms become more intense and satisfying.  So, here are some simple things you can do today.
    • Stretch your tight muscles & breathe deeply– combining deep breathing and stretching your tension areas will progressively stretch your muscles and reduce tension.  This little routine everyday will promote relaxation and prepare your body for the ultimate sexual experiences. I call this “You Play,” its about relaxing the body, embracing the sensations and preparing for deep intense orgasms.
    • Massage your feet – use a cream or essential oil and really dig in and stretch your toes and massage the sore spots.  Our feet hold a lot of tension and toxins.  A good foot rub will remove toxins, reduce tension and enhance relaxation to prepare you for fantastic sex.
    • Kegel daily – building those vaginal muscles again takes a little hard work and dedication. Strengthening your pelvic floor muscles will enhance muscle tone, increase blood flow and promote lubrication. You can also use vaginal weights to tighten up those muscles faster.
    • Lubricate – the vagina needs lubrication to enhance sensations and promote orgasms.  As we age, lubrication decreases and lack of sex makes the body forget its function.  Using coconut oil or water based lubricant will enhance the experience and help you reach orgasm more effectively.  Don’t be stingy reapply and use plenty.  This will prepare your body and enhance the sensations, to enable your own juices to flow.
    • Fight Oxidative Stress every day with Nr2 activation–  This was the most significant factor in regaining my libido.  Taking 1 little yellow pill everyday changed my sex life forever.  Stop the environmental and physical assault on your body and help it work the way you want.  Removes toxins from the body that cause inflammation and illness.  This is my most powerful secret to create the young vibrant orgasmic body you want.

    Do you want more tips and strategies to enhance your orgasms and sexual desires? 

    Check out my Fireworks class…..  A video series created to spice things up and teach you how to make your body experience the most intense orgasms ever.  Learn the benefits of sex, tips to spice things up and ways to target your body for a more intense experience.

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