Gut Brain Glow Up

Going to be a little philosophical today, so bear with!  For anyone dealing with a 'hidden illness' it can feel like you're knocking your head against a brick wall sometimes trying to get people to understand what you're experiencing. Usually it's because it's not obvious or isn't shown physically, or even one of the more well known health issues such as the big C. This is where I've found the 'its all in your head' phrase popping out quite a lot. Now for me, I guess yes technically this statement is right, my physical symptoms are a manifestation of mental pain, but that doesn't mean the statement comforts me in any way. If anything it makes it feel like what I'm experiencing is somehow lesser than a physical issue and can be easily fixed if I wake up one day with a different mind set; It also has the impact of making me feel like I'm crazy.  With physical issues and more widely known illness there appears to be a more sympathetic un...

To be completely honest with you, the idea of accupuncture used to scare me slightly because of the idea of having pins stuck into me, it also brought about a good amount of skepticism. Now though, I love it and believe it is one of the main things that has improved my condition.  Before I tried it for myself, I'd had friends and colleagues say how accupuncture has helped their migraines or their sleep issues, but I was skeptical and thought there maybe a healthy dose of placebo going on. However, now I've had it myself and know a little more about it, that skepticism is gone and replaced with a new found respect for the ancient medical practice. Accupuncture has been around for centuries and has been adopted by 'modern medicine' for use in a few different areas, including long term pain. As to how it works, I have a very limited understanding that revolves around my particular issues, but here's what I've managed to get my head around; accupuncture works by sti...