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You do the best you can with what you have available and always work towards what's best for you and for those you care about, every day. Making the right decisions as often as possible (diet, nutrition, exercise, sleep, passion, fulfillment, altruism, friendship) will build up over time and will lead to a healthier organism.
Have you used ancestral supplements at all?If you can afford it I would probably do: eating nose-tail of healthy cows/lamb. Emphasis on homemade gelatin broths (including pastured chicken feet/neck), organs, dessicated glandulars. An added carb and fat source you tolerate well. Enough hcl and digestive enzyme supplementation to ensure it’s all fully digested as you rebuild your digestive strength.
where do you begin and is it even possible to jump-start things and even thrive when there are so many factors interfering such as:
subpar genes
vaccines
emf
childhood trauma
poor nutrition growing up
formula feeding
dental work
heavy metals
thank you jib for your heartfelt response. Ever since I started experimenting with my diet to improve health, I started observing myself very closely, not just physically but also my emotional states, the wild fluctuations in my moods started to make more sense and I realised that my responses to things could be so different. I realised those blissful moments when I'm calm are the result of a series of events/reactions in my body and that it can be replicated and sustained. For the first time in my life I actually see myself as separate from those moods and it does help calm down. I noticed whenever inflammation calmed down in one area it manifested in another way and my moods were not exempt from this. Nothing seems to be without a side effect, always a trade-off, which is why I decided maybe it's best not to take the medications I'm perscribed and take the risk of finding the way by self-experimentation- so that I can regain strength and health and not at the cost of my happiness. Hopefully it's possible to have it all. But I realise it doesn't all revolve around insulin resistance, high cortisol etc and I need to address my childhood, because nothing is without an effect and being calm is perhaps the most valuable asset in navigating the way to healing, assessing things rationally and not entering the vicious cycle of emotional stress causing health problems, health problems causing emotional stressI'm gonna single out childhood trauma here, as it's a big one. Long story short: to jump-start thriving, start addressing the childhood trauma.
Though I relate to the rest. C-section birth and poor nutrition growing up. Had 8 huge cavities, one in every molar, filled with mercury amalgam. Went through severe anorexia when I was older, probably almost died from it. Years and years on powerful psychiatric medications. Getting bullied, dealing with a completely dysfunctional and disconnected family, social distress/disaster/conflict. The list just goes on and on.
I've been wondering the same thing lately: is it possible to thrive when you have such a history? Childhood trauma is especially standing out to me lately though, and is why I'm zeroing in on that in response to your post.
How do you know that childhood trauma is affecting your life? What comes to mind when you ask yourself, "How do I know that it's affecting my life?" That's step one. Give yourself some space to identify what is going on in your mind. In NLP they call these "internal representations," and they're of utmost importance. It's your "map" of the world. Your "how-to manual" for operating in the world. For most people, these things are subconscious. They aren't aware of their patterns or tendencies, and simply act on them.
That's because our subconscious mind is similar to driving a car. Once you know all the steps, you just do it. You don't think, "Oh, I'm gonna turn the keys, now I'm gonna let my foot off the brake, now I'm gonna hit the accelerator."
You just do it. The subconscious works the same way: it develops patterns and tendencies and it just does them without you having to think about it at all. It's auto-pilot. It knows how to "get you there" (dysfunctional/self-defeating thoughts and behaviors) just like you know how to get to the grocery store without thinking.
What is your how-to manual for operating in the world? What is your map of the world? How do you know that your childhood trauma is affecting your life?
Can you imagine yourself without these limitations? Can you imagine living a life as someone who's free? Instead of a prisoner of your past?
That's a lot to take in. But I advise starting there. I am more than a 100% advocate for the power of nutrition and "alternative" therapies, like red light exposure, and appropriate supplementation, to help recover. And those go a very, very long way.
But depending on the severity of your trauma, how deep it goes, and how much it affects your daily life, that could be the kingpin in jumpstarting your recovery. I'm realizing that's what it is for me. I feel like all the physical BS I went through, and the damage that was done to my body, would not seem anywhere near as hopeless, or discouraging, if it weren't for the childhood trauma I went through. It broke me completely and turned me into a person that is absolutely terrified of people and terrified of participating in the world.
I've had very sparse experiences where I felt like I overcame some of that trauma, by acting in ways I never acted before. Having new experiences I never thought I'd have. That will energize you like nothing else. It's worth asking yourself what those experiences might be for you.
I'm currently in "shut down" mode; despite my diet being more "Peaty" than ever, and taking a slew of helpful supplements, getting red light and sunlight exposure, resting, etc.
My energy and mood are absolutely horrible because of the stress I've been going through. And I believe it all goes back to childhood trauma. Because the stress I'm currently going through is directly related to the psychological adaptations I made to the abuse I went through: hiding, avoiding, staying silent, letting people abuse me/take advantage of me and not standing up for myself, and simply withdrawing and isolating instead. And letting the damage fester.
And so it is extremely apparent that childhood trauma can have an absolutely tremendous negative impact on thriving. If I had to sum up childhood trauma in a sentence, it would be that it destroys a person's ability to thrive.
Now. I do have hope, and I believe it can be healed. I don't believe it's a death sentence. But the very definition of childhood trauma, to me, is that it destroys a person's ability to thrive. Until it's addressed, that is.
Perhaps other people who went through severe trauma have found healing simply through nutrition, and not doing any psychological work at all. I am definitely not one of those people and for severe trauma, it's something I believe needs to be addressed specifically.
If you want to thrive, you need to start addressing this stuff. I believe that 100%.
As for how to address it? I'm working on that myself. The effects of trauma vary from individual to individual. Only you know what you went through, and only you know how it's affected you. Giving yourself some attention, and acknowledging that you've been hurt, is the first step. The next (and harder) step is having some tough love for yourself.
I, for example, can acknowledge myself, but I can also enable myself, like I'm giving myself an excuse to keep hiding from the things I'm most afraid of. You definitely want to avoid this. And at the very least, if you can't, acknowledge that you're enabling yourself, so enabling yourself will feel less comfortable. I'm trying to think of it almost like re-parenting myself. Doing to myself what my parents failed to do with me. Being healthily authoritative. Not abusive. But authoritative enough to provide some amount of discipline and structure in a healthy way. A sense of direction and purpose, even though it can feel uncomfortable.
Traumatized people likely confuse any uncomfortable feeling with the experience of trauma. Simple conflicts, normal conflicts, normal problems, can seem absolutely overwhelming and panic-inducing. The tricky part is realizing that problems are normal. When a person is traumatized, they're going to be hyper-reactive to normal problems, and unable to cope with them like a non-traumatized person. The hardest part of rehabilitation for traumatized people might be their having to accept that problems and conflicts in everyday life are normal, and common. They will tend to see the problems/conflicts as the issue, rather than the real issue: their trauma, which is making them hyper-reactive to said problems and conflicts.
Anyway, I could ramble on about this for hours. I hope you can get some positive takeaway from this, and possibly do some introspection. The best part, sometimes, of introspection, can be fantasy: imagining what your life could be like, if you could have any life you want. Because, remember: the goal is to thrive. We can go into our past to start healing, but never lose sight of the fact that the only point of addressing childhood trauma is so you can have a better life, and thrive. That's the ball. Keep your eye on the ball. The ultimate goal is to feel empowered, to feel good about being alive, to have hope. Not to get lost in reliving or dwelling on what happened in the past. It's a fine line to walk.
I'm very sorry for rambling, I can't help myself. This is something I feel very strongly about but have a hard time articulating. But I think as far as jump-starting yourself to a position where you can thrive, the childhood trauma is the priority. Perhaps alongside having a diet that works well for you, which is extremely important and will support you in healing.
Good luck to you. I'm on my healing journey as well, and from the sounds of it, coming from a very similar background that you are. I choose to have hope and faith that recovery and a satisfying, thriving life is possible for people like us.
I'll make a broth and eat organs. Will have to wait a bit till I can afford the rest. I got some digestive enzymes and will do the baking soda stomach acid test this morning though I'm pretty sure it's low. For the past two days every time I eat meat my stomach starts burning which has not happened before. Either things are deteriorating at a more rapid pace or it's because I started eating meat on its own as I read it digests better that wayIf you can afford it I would probably do: eating nose-tail of healthy cows/lamb. Emphasis on homemade gelatin broths (including pastured chicken feet/neck), organs, dessicated glandulars. An added carb and fat source you tolerate well. Enough hcl and digestive enzyme supplementation to ensure it’s all fully digested as you rebuild your digestive strength.
thank you jib for your heartfelt response. Ever since I started experimenting with my diet to improve health, I started observing myself very closely, not just physically but also my emotional states, the wild fluctuations in my moods started to make more sense and I realised that my responses to things could be so different. I realised those blissful moments when I'm calm are the result of a series of events/reactions in my body and that it can be replicated and sustained. For the first time in my life I actually see myself as separate from those moods and it does help calm down. I noticed whenever inflammation calmed down in one area it manifested in another way and my moods were not exempt from this. Nothing seems to be without a side effect, always a trade-off, which is why I decided maybe it's best not to take the medications I'm perscribed and take the risk of finding the way by self-experimentation- so that I can regain strength and health and not at the cost of my happiness. Hopefully it's possible to have it all. But I realise it doesn't all revolve around insulin resistance, high cortisol etc and I need to address my childhood, because nothing is without an effect and being calm is perhaps the most valuable asset in navigating the way to healing, assessing things rationally and not entering the vicious cycle of emotional stress causing health problems, health problems causing emotional stress
I wish you luck too in healing and for the day to come when you begin to thrive
Great post!I'm gonna single out childhood trauma here, as it's a big one. Long story short: to jump-start thriving, start addressing the childhood trauma.
Though I relate to the rest. C-section birth and poor nutrition growing up. Had 8 huge cavities, one in every molar, filled with mercury amalgam. Went through severe anorexia when I was older, probably almost died from it. Years and years on powerful psychiatric medications. Getting bullied, dealing with a completely dysfunctional and disconnected family, social distress/disaster/conflict. The list just goes on and on.
I've been wondering the same thing lately: is it possible to thrive when you have such a history? Childhood trauma is especially standing out to me lately though, and is why I'm zeroing in on that in response to your post.
How do you know that childhood trauma is affecting your life? What comes to mind when you ask yourself, "How do I know that it's affecting my life?" That's step one. Give yourself some space to identify what is going on in your mind. In NLP they call these "internal representations," and they're of utmost importance. It's your "map" of the world. Your "how-to manual" for operating in the world. For most people, these things are subconscious. They aren't aware of their patterns or tendencies, and simply act on them.
That's because our subconscious mind is similar to driving a car. Once you know all the steps, you just do it. You don't think, "Oh, I'm gonna turn the keys, now I'm gonna let my foot off the brake, now I'm gonna hit the accelerator."
You just do it. The subconscious works the same way: it develops patterns and tendencies and it just does them without you having to think about it at all. It's auto-pilot. It knows how to "get you there" (dysfunctional/self-defeating thoughts and behaviors) just like you know how to get to the grocery store without thinking.
What is your how-to manual for operating in the world? What is your map of the world? How do you know that your childhood trauma is affecting your life?
Can you imagine yourself without these limitations? Can you imagine living a life as someone who's free? Instead of a prisoner of your past?
That's a lot to take in. But I advise starting there. I am more than a 100% advocate for the power of nutrition and "alternative" therapies, like red light exposure, and appropriate supplementation, to help recover. And those go a very, very long way.
But depending on the severity of your trauma, how deep it goes, and how much it affects your daily life, that could be the kingpin in jumpstarting your recovery. I'm realizing that's what it is for me. I feel like all the physical BS I went through, and the damage that was done to my body, would not seem anywhere near as hopeless, or discouraging, if it weren't for the childhood trauma I went through. It broke me completely and turned me into a person that is absolutely terrified of people and terrified of participating in the world.
I've had very sparse experiences where I felt like I overcame some of that trauma, by acting in ways I never acted before. Having new experiences I never thought I'd have. That will energize you like nothing else. It's worth asking yourself what those experiences might be for you.
I'm currently in "shut down" mode; despite my diet being more "Peaty" than ever, and taking a slew of helpful supplements, getting red light and sunlight exposure, resting, etc.
My energy and mood are absolutely horrible because of the stress I've been going through. And I believe it all goes back to childhood trauma. Because the stress I'm currently going through is directly related to the psychological adaptations I made to the abuse I went through: hiding, avoiding, staying silent, letting people abuse me/take advantage of me and not standing up for myself, and simply withdrawing and isolating instead. And letting the damage fester.
And so it is extremely apparent that childhood trauma can have an absolutely tremendous negative impact on thriving. If I had to sum up childhood trauma in a sentence, it would be that it destroys a person's ability to thrive.
Now. I do have hope, and I believe it can be healed. I don't believe it's a death sentence. But the very definition of childhood trauma, to me, is that it destroys a person's ability to thrive. Until it's addressed, that is.
Perhaps other people who went through severe trauma have found healing simply through nutrition, and not doing any psychological work at all. I am definitely not one of those people and for severe trauma, it's something I believe needs to be addressed specifically.
If you want to thrive, you need to start addressing this stuff. I believe that 100%.
As for how to address it? I'm working on that myself. The effects of trauma vary from individual to individual. Only you know what you went through, and only you know how it's affected you. Giving yourself some attention, and acknowledging that you've been hurt, is the first step. The next (and harder) step is having some tough love for yourself.
I, for example, can acknowledge myself, but I can also enable myself, like I'm giving myself an excuse to keep hiding from the things I'm most afraid of. You definitely want to avoid this. And at the very least, if you can't, acknowledge that you're enabling yourself, so enabling yourself will feel less comfortable. I'm trying to think of it almost like re-parenting myself. Doing to myself what my parents failed to do with me. Being healthily authoritative. Not abusive. But authoritative enough to provide some amount of discipline and structure in a healthy way. A sense of direction and purpose, even though it can feel uncomfortable.
Traumatized people likely confuse any uncomfortable feeling with the experience of trauma. Simple conflicts, normal conflicts, normal problems, can seem absolutely overwhelming and panic-inducing. The tricky part is realizing that problems are normal. When a person is traumatized, they're going to be hyper-reactive to normal problems, and unable to cope with them like a non-traumatized person. The hardest part of rehabilitation for traumatized people might be their having to accept that problems and conflicts in everyday life are normal, and common. They will tend to see the problems/conflicts as the issue, rather than the real issue: their trauma, which is making them hyper-reactive to said problems and conflicts.
Anyway, I could ramble on about this for hours. I hope you can get some positive takeaway from this, and possibly do some introspection. The best part, sometimes, of introspection, can be fantasy: imagining what your life could be like, if you could have any life you want. Because, remember: the goal is to thrive. We can go into our past to start healing, but never lose sight of the fact that the only point of addressing childhood trauma is so you can have a better life, and thrive. That's the ball. Keep your eye on the ball. The ultimate goal is to feel empowered, to feel good about being alive, to have hope. Not to get lost in reliving or dwelling on what happened in the past. It's a fine line to walk.
I'm very sorry for rambling, I can't help myself. This is something I feel very strongly about but have a hard time articulating. But I think as far as jump-starting yourself to a position where you can thrive, the childhood trauma is the priority. Perhaps alongside having a diet that works well for you, which is extremely important and will support you in healing.
Good luck to you. I'm on my healing journey as well, and from the sounds of it, coming from a very similar background that you are. I choose to have hope and faith that recovery and a satisfying, thriving life is possible for people like us.
Great post!
I'll make a broth and eat organs. Will have to wait a bit till I can afford the rest. I got some digestive enzymes and will do the baking soda stomach acid test this morning though I'm pretty sure it's low. For the past two days every time I eat meat my stomach starts burning which has not happened before. Either things are deteriorating at a more rapid pace or it's because I started eating meat on its own as I read it digests better that way
Thanks!
Keep us posted with how that's working out. I take digestive enzymes occasionally (Digest Gold brand) and they seem to help me feel less sluggish or bloated, especially after eating a lot. I've never had stomach burning though, so I wonder what's causing that?
I've only gotten stomach pain for aspirin. I am still on the fence about it. My understanding is that prostaglandins are necessary to stimulate mucus secretion in the stomach or something to protect itself from the acid that's in there, and the COX inhibition of aspirin can stop that process and leave the stomach without a layer of defense against its own acid. Either way, that's the only time I remember having stomach burning. Are you on aspirin? It has so many great benefits, I always go back to dabbling with it, but the stomach pain I was getting scared me off for a while.
If eating meat on its own is causing this issue, I'd try having it with other things as you normally do, and see if the problem goes away. For a long time I was on the "food combining" bandwagon and no longer follow it. Intuition is very important, and if you're having a problem doing something new, I'd try going back to the old way and seeing if the problem goes away.
I had an allergy to milk as a child, don't know about right now, have been avoiding dairy for three months. Almost every afternoon I break out in hives and whenever I have consumed protein around that time the flushing is more severe. It's similar to the type I got from niacin.@ursidae
Nutrition-wise: how are you with milk? Adding lots of milk back into my diet after years of abstaining really seems to be doing wonders. This may be especially helpful for you if you are having trouble tolerating meat, which on a Peat styled diet, we should be avoiding excesses of anyway.
Adding a couple tablespoons of hydrolyzed collagen is also very easy and really gives milk a boost. You can do this however often you like.
We seem to have similar histories, so if you're like me, you'll also appreciate how convenient it is. No preparation. No stress. No cleanup. You can get collagen in an 8lb bag from Great Lakes Gelatin, and store it in a 5 gallon pail with a Gamma Seal lid. And milk is self explanatory.
Fruit and milk seem to combine very well for me. Milk fortified with some collagen, and then some mandarin oranges, bananas, dates, apples, etc. on the side. Whatever you prefer. Compotes are also very good and simple to make, just stew some apples, pears, peaches, whatever you like, just to change things up. But for fresh, "fast" food, milk/collagen and fresh fruit are hard to beat.
I'm having some as we speak: whole milk with 2 tablespoons of collagen, and some oranges. Stores have been empty lately so I don't know if I'll be able to get more milk and oranges in the near future, but I sure hope I can. It's just super easy.
Keeping yourself out of the stressed state is very important. I notice I'm physiologically stressed when I start getting cold hands/feet, feeling 'spaced out,' feeling hungry. For me, hunger ALWAYS corresponds with feeling spaced out, cold hands/feet, feeling loopy, anxious, almost braindead. So "hunger" for me is not like "hunger" in a normal person. It will keep me awake at night and make it completely impossible for me to sleep, and it'll make me completely non-functional during the day. The greater the amount of time you spend in this state, the worse. It's better to prevent it completely by insuring that you have a steady influx of quality nutrients and calories to keep you going.
I think it's especially important for people like us who have damaged metabolisms, and a history of severe stress. Like I said, diet may not "cure" childhood trauma. But do not underestimate its value in recovery. I'm still stressed out right now about a conflict I'm having with someone, but the milk and fruit have at least shut down some of the obvious physiological signs of stress, despite the psychological signs still remaining.
So my #1 dietary recommendation is milk/collagen and fresh fruit, together as a meal. See how you react to it. I wouldn't go gung-ho at first, but try it as a replacement for one meal to experiment. You might find that it works very well as a snack too, just to keep your energy intake high and your stress hormones under control. Whole, fresh mandarin oranges are my personal favorite and I feel like the acidity and sweetness are a perfect compliment to milk. Saturated fat, sugar, and plenty of other goodies like vitamin C, hesperidin, not to mention all the vitamins and minerals, are all included here.
Your mind and body have suffered a lack of support for a long time. Nutrition is an excellent foundation to rebuild your health on. It isn't without trials and tribulations (my milk digestion has been slowly improving but is still not as good as I'd like it to be), but if you can start dialing this in, it will help a lot.
I made the mistake of fasting today, just because I was so stressed. It made me incredibly more stressed and I basically felt like I was dying. The worse your health is, the less you're gonna be able to tolerate stresses like fasting. At least in my experience. Another thing to keep in mind, if you're prone to unintentionally disordered eating when you get stressed.