Photo credit FOODISM360
I get it.
My family hears me say, “Mold may be the root cause of your [fill in the blank]” and they translate it to the Peanuts’ authority-figure voice.
Mret-Mret-Mret-Mret-Mret
I don’t blame them. Whatever I’m studying tends to becomes the next Big Thing. The next Silver Bullet. The next Aha which is going to tie everything together.
They’re tired of hearing the connections between what they eat and their gut health. They’re tired of hearing the connections between what they eat and their mental health. They’re tired of hearing the connections between what they eat, how they sleep, how they play and their optimal health.
Period. Yeah, they’re tired of hearing about that, too.
They’re tired of hearing that they have a role in how they feel. In how they experience life. So they’ve stopped sharing everything with me. They don’t want me to tell them to eat better. To take XYZ supplement.
I get it. So, yes, I’ve changed my approach accordingly. I get it. But still...
I like to talk about my Aha’s. I enjoy sharing what I’m learning. To me it is exciting.
To them it is too close to home.
Their father can share his work tidbits without danger of them taking it personally. I keep trying. And asking permission if I’m aware it might hit close to home.
You can lead a horse to water...
I can continue to offer the water knowing that, perhaps, if the need becomes great enough, I may have planted a seed which supports them in opening their eyes to the wonders of holistic healing. Or not. They may choose to continue with the pill-for-an-ill thinking which leads many people further and further from health.
Or some combination thereof. It is not necessarily one or the other. My goal is to drop inspiring nuggets to get them thinking about root causes. To bring them into Curiosity Land.
They acknowledge, “Yeah, Mom, I know, I just don’t want to do anything about it.”
It’s tough to wake up to our power. It’s a hard, ah, pill to swallow that 1) my gut impacts my emotions and my aches and pains and, 2) what and how I eat, live, breathe impacts my gut. Et cetera.
I am grappling with it myself. Perhaps this will be a breakthrough for all of us. Perhaps not. It will be what it is.
That brings me to my Latest Thing.
Molds have mycotoxin spores which are infinitesimal. These are the things that cause the problems in our bodies. Wreak the havoc. Sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. If my house has spores I’m sensitive to then I have no business being there.
About 30% of the population is apparently sensitive to mold. Meaning we can have one hundred people in a water-damaged building and some thirty will react to it. Although we can push ourselves into sensitivity by prolonged exposure, repeated exposure. And combined with other stressors such as trauma, chronic stress, illnesses, environmental toxins, insufficient diet, the mycotoxins can gain the upper hand.
Once we are sensitized to mycotoxins we can have as many reactions as there are people to have them.
Mold has been found to be a root cause of SIBO which is largely seen as the cause of IBS. Mold has been found to be a root cause of neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. It is implicated in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. To say nothing of anxiety. Depression. ADHD. Violence.
When people locked away in prisons are tested for mycotoxin toxicity guess what? Yep. And the prisons themselves are generally rife with molds.
Molds which shed mycotoxins. Many of which can be dangerous to us.
Our schools are full of mycotoxins. The place we send our children to thrive. Any leak, any water damage improperly treated is a breeding ground for mold--is a breeding ground for mycotoxin illnesses.
It’s an elephant in the room for sure.
If it’s been that way for me, I know it’s that way for millions.
With at least ten million people in the country being highly sensitive there are many more of us who are less so—and still experiencing effects without understanding the cause. There’s always a cause. Always.
I am now keenly aware that the symptoms my children exhibit--the myriad, varied, unique-to-each, symptoms--Gosh, my husband as well--all point to mold exposure.
Mycotoxins affect hormones. Mycotoxins affect literally every pathway in the body, darn it. There is no escaping this. We get to continually bind them up and chase them out. Get clear of them and keep clear with daily maintenance.
But isn’t the body a healing miracle? Isn’t it designed to detox?
Yes and yes. But we’ve upped the ante. We’ve added multiple layers of toxins to the soup we live in and our bodies have not evolved alongside. Our bodies have not grown enhanced defences or detox systems. We cannot keep up so we get knocked down by such disparate symptoms, speaking for myself, as gassiness and eczema. Tendon strains and hormonal imbalance.
I feel as though I’ve been playing Whack-A-Mole for years. Healing on one metric only to have another system breakdown. I am tired of holding myself together with pieces of duct tape made of supplements. I have been eating clean, breathing, bathing and drinking clean, getting decent sleep (for the most part), connecting spiritually, exercising regularly—doing all the things—and it has not gotten me where I would like to be.
Nutritional therapy (healer heal thyself). Chiropractic. Physical therapy. Acupuncture. Massage. Reiki. Ionic foot baths.
I am taking the next step which has been laid at my feet. It is bold. It is courageous. I declare it is an adventure. Rather than dragging myself by the nails from the comfort of my home of 22 years, I embrace it as an opportunity to learn, grow, connect with a new friend, and heal.
I am taking a mold sabbatical. I am taking a toxin sabbatical--the home I will be living in for the next eight weeks does not have a cat, does not have scented conventional laundry detergents. Does not have chemicals in use. A clean house where I can give my body a chance to breathe deeply and freely and access my body’s full healing powers.
I embrace this as an opportunity to heal such that I may be a light for others.
And I look forward to sharing this journey with you.
Please reach out with questions. Please reach out with curiosities. I am healing my own body as I support you in healing yours--together we are powerful. Together we are miracles.
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