How to Get Healthy Again: A Holistic Wellness Plan

get well and stay well, illness health sign

Do you want to learn how to get healthy again in the face of a wellness challenge? The information in this article will explain how to create a wellness plan and self-care strategies that promote a natural holistic approach to improving your health.

Few things are scarier than a dreaded diagnosis, especially a serious one like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimers or multiple sclerosis. Painful degenerative conditions like arthritis and autoimmune diseases like lupus cause pain. Mental disorders like depression and anxiety make your world small. All illnesses cause suffering, fear, and diminish your quality of life.

First, let me say I am sorry for what you are going through. I understand and also have to deal with my own wellness issues and those of family and friends. It seems none of us are immune. Still, there are definite things you can do to feel better, get well, and stay healthy.

I'm not going to kid you that it is easy or fast to get healthy naturally if you have a serious illness. It may, however, be the only way to truly heal. Modern medicine may also play an important role in your recovery.

Note: This article is for educational purposes only. It does not address specifics for various health conditions; there are just too many and everyone is different. Why one person heals and another does not with the same methods remains a mystery. However, if you take a holistic approach and follow your wellness plan for how to get healthy again, including appropriate medical care as needed, you can create a healthier life and improve your specific conditions as well.

how to get healthy naturally, healing quote Terri Guillemets

Create Your Wellness Plan

Incorporate the following steps into creating and following your how to get healthy again wellness plan. Once you have created your plan, be flexible and open to making changes as necessary so that you can be successful over time. If time is on your side, phase in components of the plan until you have all the habit upgrades and support systems in place. If you need to up-level in a hurry, then implement as much as you can, as quickly as you can with support to help and encourage you.

1. Clarify what you want.

This is an important starting point that will help you set a course for your plan.

Yes, of course you want to get well, but what does that mean? And why do you want it? Please don't skip this step or gloss over it because you think it is silly or obvious or has nothing to do with you. This is a whole person approach.

Think deeply and journal about these seven questions. Answer yourself honestly:

Do you just want to get rid of a disease or do you want to feel radiantly healthy? Why?
What would achieving your desired level of wellness look and feel like?
How do you want to spend you time and energy?
What would your significant and casual relationships be like when you are healthy again? Describe how you think they will be and how you really want them to be.
What are the secondary gains you get from being ill? IE: disability checks, extra attention, a free pass whenever you want one, etc.
Are you willing to give up these benefits in exchange for getting well? Why or why not?
What do you need and want to feel fulfilled regardless of your health status?

Once you figure out what you really want, the next steps will help you make a targeted wellness plan for how to get healthy with sensible do-able ways to follow through.

2. Identify the cause of your physical or mental symptoms.

Work with your healthcare provider to figure out the root cause(s) of your symptoms.

It is tempting to say, "I have cancer, arthritis, diabetes...", but those are symptoms of a deeper cause such as food sensitivities, toxins, and gut microbe imbalances. Identifying that cause can by tricky, but it is essential for real healing.

Most lifestyle disease such as cancer, arthritis, heart disease, obesity, have their roots in lifestyle - what you eat, substances you put in your body, how you sleep, your stress levels and thought patterns, your exercise habits, and your vices. This is good news because you can change your behaviors in each of these areas. Even if you cannot totally reverse your condition naturally because it is too advanced, you can often halt its progression or achieve some positive results when you make the necessary lifestyle changes and stop adding fuel to the fire.

There may be a genetic component, but with few exceptions, your mental and physical habits cause your genetic vulnerabilities to turn on and off.

Learn all you can about your condition and its causes so you can figure out how to get healthy again or slow its progression.

Besides lifestyle habits and genetics, some possible causes of wellness challenges are:

Vitamin and mineral deficiencies
Heavy metal toxicity and environmental toxins
Health-harming and limiting beliefs
Food sensitivities
Brain trauma from many years ago
Pathogens
Chronic inflammation (this is a symptom that can lead you in the right direction)
High cortisol levels - often a symptom of chronic mental stress.

3. Make informed decisions and follow through.

Once you have clarified your desires and identified possible or actual causes for you wellness challenges, it is time to make a plan for how to get healthy again and to follow through on your plan.

When you are scared, confused and overwhelmed by illness it is easy to lapse into 'doctor knows best' or give into the panic and urging of loved ones. It is tempting to want a quick fix or a two percent better chance of surviving, even if that treatment permanently changes or damages your body.

This is a very important step because empowered patients historically have better outcomes than passive ones.

Take time to gather information about your condition unless you are in a full-blown emergency. Seek wise counsel from knowledgeable others as well as your inner guidance about how to get well and what medical intervention, if any, is needed.

Be an active participant in the decision-making process. Determine which conventional and/or alternative treatments are effective and right for you based on your finances, availability, your support system, and other relevant factors. Do not settle for only symptom-masking or control, which is what many medications do. Tell your doctor that you want to learn how to get healthy again and that you are willing to do what it takes.

When choosing alternative or complementary methods avoid the temptation to jump at every new or promising or best secret for how to get healthy. Stick with a trusted healer or coach and a few specific remedies and techniques. Give lifestyle improvements time to work. It may take months or longer. Give natural remedies and treatments at least a few weeks to work before deciding you need something different.

If you are troubled by pain consider natural pain relievers as a viable alternative or complement to pharmaceuticals.

Sometimes surgery and medication is necessary for survival or quality of life. Do not wait to get medical advice and treatment for life-threatening or persistent symptoms. Make this intervention part of your holistic wellness plan.

Consult your doctor before making changes to your medical treatment plan. Do not take herbs or supplements with medication until you get the okay from your doctor to avoid unpleasant or dangerous interactions.

Follow the recommendations for how to get healthy naturally even if your symptoms are being managed by medication or disappear with surgery. Managing symptoms only does not help you get well and may actually allow you to get more unwell over time. Do whatever it takes to improve your lifestyle habits.

Your Wellness Plan: Self-Care Tips for How to Get Healthy

Figuring our how to get healthy again can feel overwhelming. A plan of action will be a big help in navigating your course to renewed health. Creating a wellness plan will help you see where you are, where you want to go, and how you are going to get there. It is a valuable part of your recovery strategy. Your self-care plan is individualized for you and can evolve with your changing needs.

The following self-care tips are helpful parts of your holistic wellness plan. Choose the tips that align with your goal and needs. Write down your plan and post it where you can see it and use it. Keep it simple, yet thorough, and holistic. If you need help designing a plan you can live with, consult a holistic health professional and/or wellness coach.

Do what it takes to get healthy again.

When you are dealing with major health challenges, the following holistic self-care practices are top priorities to include in your wellness plan:

Cultivate a holistic wellness mindset. When you treat yourself as the whole person you are, you will get better results. Who is your support system? How will you nourish your mind and spirit?
Get mind, body and spirit support. Who is on your support team? What are their roles?
Nurture your spirit with spiritual practices, sacred space, purpose.
Add in symptom control and specifics for your condition as needed and recommended by your medical provider. This may include medication and/or natural remedies and treatments.
Practice consistent healthy eating and living habits. Include diet, sleep, exercise, rest, fun. Your lifestyle choices are at the foundation of how to get healthy naturally. Identify the most important steps you need to take and commit to them.
Minimize toxins in your environments and personal care products.
Avoid alcohol, cigarettes and non-prescription drugs.
Reduce mental stress. Stress and healing do not mix.
Detoxify your mind, body and emotions.
Get good stuff in bad stuff out - food, substances, thoughts, emotions.
Get enough quality sleep. Your body rests, cleanses, and heals while you sleep.

Correct nutritional deficiencies and eliminate problematic foods.

Your diet is a major factor in your physical and mental health. Sleep, exercise, detoxing and stress relief are all important parts of how to get healthy, but nutrition is a top priority.

Besides eating a healthy, nutrient-dense diet, add specific healing foods to your meals, and anti-inflammatory herbs and spices.

Ask your medical provider to do a blood test for vitamin and mineral deficiencies. You may have to order the tests yourself. Also, test for food sensitivities, as these are common and can wreak havoc with your health. Symptoms are not always obvious. Rather, they cause silent symptoms like chronic cell-damaging inflammation and auto-immune diseases. Gas, intestinal pain and bloating are three possible symptoms of food sensitivity. Gluten is common offender even if you don't have celiac disease. Consider eliminating wheat from your diet for a month and see if you feel any better. Other common offenders are soy, dairy, eggs, and corn.

Vitamin D and magnesium are vital to hundreds of healthy cell functions. Deficiencies are common and manifest as a wide variety of symptoms. Vitamin B-12 deficiency is common among older adults and vegetarians. It requires sublingual supplementation or shots. Many people also need to supplement Omega-3 fatty acids.

Correcting deficiencies takes time, and may not be possible with food alone. Choose the best quality supplements you can afford. Poor quality, poorly absorbed supplements are a waste of money at best. Depending on your symptoms, proper supplementation and/or eliminating problematic foods might be your key for how to get healthy naturally. It can result in a swift, miraculous recovery.

Get support.

Your support team is vital to your success. Change is difficult and even when necessary for survival, many people cannot sustain new habits. Some don't even try.

This is not the time to go it alone. Enlist the help of family, friends, medical professionals, clergy, a therapist, a coach, and/or a support group. Different people may fulfill different roles. Try to fill all the following support roles so you feel fully supported and get the help you need:

love and compassion
spiritual support
a listening ear
medical advice. wellness advice
help with research
accountability
being there during appointments or after medical procedures to ask questions, share pertinent information, to call for help if you need it, and to tend to you until you can do it yourself.

When possible, work with a holistic physician or licensed naturopathic doctor. If that is not possible, consider health and wellness coaching in addition to conventional medical care.

Have people on your team who will hold your highest and best interests at heart. People who are not afraid to dish out a hug and tough love. You may only need help from certain people for a day. Others will be with you for the long haul. Make them part of your wellness plan.

how to get healthy again, get support and help

Mind your mindset

Your mindset is vital to helping you get healthy. Get it on board to support you. Be positive and open-minded about what it will take to improve your health. Be patient with yourself and be willing to make changes. Unload mental toxins that poison you from the inside as part of your ongoing wellness plan.

Forgive yourself and others for perceived and actual wrongdoing.
Mind your inner talk. Speak to yourself with kindness and understanding.

Have hope.

Believe that you can get well and feel better than you do now.

The good news is that even though preventing dis-ease easier and surer than cure, there is much you can do over time to get healthy naturally in mind and body.

Your body and mind are designed for wellness. The recipe for staying well and getting healthier is simple, but not always easy. It comes down to this. Give body and mind what they need and avoid what harms them. When you consistently do that, you may be surprised how readily you improve.

Yes, some conditions respond faster and more completely than others, sometimes remarkably so. No, cure is not always possible. It depending on a whole host of physical, mental and emotional factors and probably things we don't even know about yet. Do not let that discourage you.

No matter your prognosis, have faith and do what it takes to get well. Abandon the path that created your illness and keeps it progressing. There are no guarantees, but know that many people have enjoyed what can only be called miraculous and spontaneous recoveries. Many more have slowly and methodically healed themselves using a holistic approach.

Tap into the power of your mind.

Energy follows thought and intent. What you focus on is what your brain helps you create. This is not new age mumbo-jumbo, it is scientific fact.

Influence your subconscious mind to help you heal. Even if your illness only appears to manifest in your body, support your healing with mind-body techniques such as guided imagery, meditation, hypnosis, visualization, energy flow techniques, and healing affirmations.

Don't underestimate the power of the placebo and nocebo effects. They can help you get well or keep you sick.

Explore and eliminate limiting beliefs that stand between you and your body's natural healing ability. Your true subconscious beliefs have the power to help you heal or keep you from healing. Don't overlook this step.

Be prepared to fully engage in your healing as a partner with your health professionals. Accept and embrace responsibility for your wellness.

Not sure where to start? The wellness quiz takes 5 minutes (or less!) and will help you identify your primary focus areas. It also includes links to related pages to help you get started. Yours free with your newsletter subscription.

Give yourself every opportunity to regain better health naturally. Focus on how to get healthy again, not on your symptoms or disease. Take a holistic approach to wellness and follow the recipe to get healthy naturally and stay healthy in mind, body and spirit - bad stuff out, good stuff in. Love yourself into health and wellness. Do what it takes. You deserve it.

Need more help figuring out how to decide on health goals? Read about how to pick and stick with health goals that matter to you here.

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How to Get Healthy Naturally page updated 09/2021

For Educational Purposes Only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or medical condition. Please consult with your health provider before using natural remedies and/or complementary therapies if you are pregnant, nursing, or you are being treated for a medical condition. Be aware that certain herbs and supplements interact with medications.