Here’s my annual year-end gratitude post! I am so grateful to you, readers, for following my posts and joining the My Inert Community!
As 2024 draws to a close, I’m grateful for so many things this year: improved health, friends, family, peace, time spent in nature on our beautiful earth, and your support!
This year was the most stable year for my health in decades, and as I wrote in my book, Rocks and Roots, I credit that stability to nervous system retraining with the Safe and Sound Protocol, healing my gut, and the healing power of nature.
Truly, I’m amazed that I could conquer the barriers to solo backpack one mile, let alone journeying over 300 miles alone in the forest! I’m still basking in the glow of my time spent on the Superior Hiking Trail (SHT) from May through October this year. Each time I see my backpack hanging on its hook in the basement I am flooded with fond memories of miles spent in solitude on the trail, the challenges I successfully confronted, and the fun people I met along the way.
So many people were helpful to my SHT journey. I’m grateful that the Superior Hiking Trail exists, for the volunteers who maintain it, the benefactors who donate to its upkeep, and the many property holders along its length who generously share their pieces of the trail with users. Without them and the Superior Hiking Trail Association, none of it would be possible.
I’m grateful to my osteopath for helping to keep my body humming this past year and for turning me on to the Supergut diet. The gut healing I sustained from that diet was crucial to expanding my list of tolerated foods to include homemade dehydrated meals which made solo backpacking the SHT possible.
I’m grateful to my family, and especially my husband David, for supporting my many trips up north to backpack. I was gone from home for a total of 29 days while covering over 196 miles of the SHT. Added to that, I trained for 34 days at Afton State Park to improve my conditioning to cover over 320 miles in total. Thank you to David and my kids for keeping things humming at home while I was away.
I’m grateful to my parents for being my role models for tackling the SHT. My parents both completed the SHT in day hikes several years ago, and I walked in their footsteps as I trekked the SHT. Thank you!
My time spent in nature seemed to paradoxically mitigate my MCAS symptoms. While it took effort and planning to get out on the trail, the more time I spent in nature, the more regulated my nervous system became. Along with doing nervous system healing, the actual time spent in nature contributed to tolerating a wider number of foods, managing in more challenging environmental conditions, and stretching my mileage goals as the momentum of good health propelled me further.
And thank you, dear readers! I was so amazed that the first printing of my book sold out so quickly. I gained new followers online from various communities such as the Superior Hiking Trail Facebook group, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome groups, and solo female travelers. I appreciate your support so much!
Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) is a chronic condition that affects all organ systems. It can cause severe, disabling symptoms every day, including potentially fatal anaphylaxis. MCAS often occurs with other chronic conditions like Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). Managing MCAS is challenging because many healthcare providers are unaware of it, and diagnostic tests can be unreliable. Treatments involve using antihistamines, mast cell stabilizers, and avoiding triggers. Check out this post on how to manage MCAS.
The bucket theory simplifies understanding symptom reactions with MCAS. Imagine your body as an empty bucket you don’t want to overflow. Reactions to various stimuli fill the histamine bucket at different rates, forming the total histamine level (how full your bucket is). More histamine means more symptoms. By managing triggers, reducing exposures, and taking medications and supplements, you can control your bucket’s level.
Knowing your symptom progression in a symptom flare is the key to developing your rescue plan. This post discusses how to recognize your symptom progression so you can be prepared to address those symptoms.
Want a tool to easily keep track of your symptoms? Sign up for my newsletter and you will receive my free 50-page ebook of lower-histamine, grain-free, sugar-free recipes, my free symptom log, and a free two-week meal plan!
Rocks and Roots chronicles my journey solo backpacking the Superior Hiking Trail and overcoming nervous system dysregulation, gut dysbiosis, and Mast Cell Activation Syndrome symptoms to hike 328 miles successfully.
Healy is an individualized microcurrent device I use to reduce inflammation. Check out this post for more about Healy.
I provide one-on-one in-person and remote chronic illness and caregiver coaching and Sacred Self-Healing Sessions based on the Sacred Self-Healing Method, a proven novel co-creative healing modality detailed in my Books.
Click here for more information.
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The preceding material does not constitute medical advice. This information is for information purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, cure or treatment. Always seek advice from your medical doctor.
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