Welcome to Creating your own sunshine!

Hi there, my name’s Laura.

I’m a thirty something mum of two, living in the beautiful county of Devon, England. Trying to live life to the fullest despite dealing with an array of health issues.  I live with inflammatory arthritis (see my story here ), an under active thyroid, Raynaud’s disease, chronic dry eyes and a multitude of musculoskeletal problems. I have learnt how to manage these (there is such a thing, I promise) so that I don’t suffer unnecessarily.  This has taken a LOT of trial and error but I feel that I am at a point now where I understand myself well.

A change is needed.

It took being diagnosed with inflammatory arthritis (an umbrella term used to describe a group of conditions that affect your immune system) for me to wake up and realise that I wasn’t living my best life. It wasn’t until I was incredibly unwell that I delved into health and wellness and really started my journey.

I’m not sure why it takes a big life event for a change to feel necessary, but this is the case for most people. I guess your “why” doesn’t matter, as long as you figure out that a change is needed.  For me, the way I wanted to do this was naturally. I do not take any medication for my conditions, this is not to say that I am against them. They play a role in a lot of journeys, but just not in mine, for now.

I decided to change my lifestyle completely, in every way. Exercise was important to me before I became unwell; Karate, stretching, yoga, weights, and I also regularly meditated and kept various journals. I did not however do all of these regularly enough.  I worked in a caring environment, helping others and volunteered weekly to help people struggling with their mental health. This did not mean that I was always kind to myself though. This all changed, and looking after myself physically and mentally has made a big difference in my overall health. I cannot stress this enough, but the main thing that changed and what has had the most impact on my health is my diet.

Food is thy medicine.

Mine was a typical western diet; I loved take away food, junk food and I was a sugar addict.  Nothing could curb my sweet tooth, I liked nothing better than a nice cup of tea along with something sweet (actually this hasn’t changed, but it looks very different now).  I knew exactly how to eat to be healthy, I just couldn’t do it. Yo yo dieting was my forte and I struggled with my weight because of it.  I cannot tell you how many diets I have done over the years, probably most of them. They all work, but only temporarily, but the damage you are doing to yourself physically and psychologically is insurmountable.

Overnight I changed to a whole food plant based diet. I eradicated all foods that were inflammatory to the body or that were not benefiting me. This included: processed food, meat, eggs, dairy, gluten, sugar, oil, caffeine and alcohol.  This was, as you can imagine, NOT easy, especially for someone who ate so terribly. I also embarked on an elimination diet to identify the plant based foods that my body didn’t like, both of these things helped my pain and inflammation levels dramatically.

Is this really attainable?

It absolutely is, if I can do it then anybody can.  There are difficulties beyond the obvious, like how to manage with other family members who aren’t eating the way you are. How to find a way to eat out or go on holiday, but it can be done, I assure you.  So many people have questioned how an earth I have managed it. Or they make statements about the reasons they “couldn’t possibly survive” living the way I do but this is how I see it.

Food and drink are small simple pleasures, I realise it runs deeper than this, I for one was an emotional eater, but ultimately this is what they are. For me though there are no simple pleasures that can possibly come close to feeling as good as it feels to be able to get out of bed in the morning without help. Or being able to walk down the stairs unaided, or just living my life without lots of pain and suffering.  None of those small simple pleasures are important enough to compromise my ability to live my best life; nothing tastes as good as healthy feels.  To me it’s that straightforward.

My reason for starting this blog.

I have been toying with the idea of writing a blog for a long while. I finally decided to do it after realising that one of the hardest things about living with a chronic illness is the loneliness. Especially if you choose to make drastic life changes that are out of the ordinary societal norms.

Do not mistake my saying this to mean that I am literally lonely. I am surrounded by love and have support beyond my wildest dreams. The loneliness comes from your nearest and dearest trying their best but never really being able to comprehend the enormity of your plight.  It is the look of sorrow on a loved one’s face when they want to take your pain away but can’t.  If you do not suffer with similar conditions you cannot understand it fully, no matter how much you try, this is sad but true. It is the empathy from others in the same or similar situations that can really help. Alongside the absolutely essential love and support from family and friends.

This is what made me realise that creating a blog could really help others.  Knowing that someone is there for you, who is going through a similar situation and can offer advice and compassion is powerful. So is having someone in your corner to help you feel strong enough to take control of your own health.  So, creating your own sunshine was born, with this in mind.  I endeavor to empathise and to help and support as best I can. I will post plant based recipes and share a bit of me and my journey to where I am now and where I am going in the future. In the hope that it at least helps someone. After all, one of the best ways to create happiness within your own life is to help others.

Thank you for reading, and i wish you all the health and happiness possible.

Laura