Days Two through Five – Elemental Diet – Plus Tips!

I felt too awful to write a post the past few days, so I’ve consolidated four days into this one post. I’m writing this on day six, but it’s early yet!

Tips and Links!

Before I tell you about how I’ve been feeling, I wanted to give you some tips based on my experience. Plus, I’m going to provide links I’ve found helpful.

Notes:
There are a number of formulas available, but I’m using the Physician’s Elemental Diet™ Dextrose-Free. I’m tolerating it shockingly well, considering I haven’t been able to tolerate any supplements for years!

Day One – The Elemental Diet

Today is my first full day doing an Elemental Diet. And I plan on doing a daily post about my experience with it.

If you don’t know what the elemental diet is, the simple answer is that it’s a short-term, pre-digested, liquid replacement for food as a way to get nutrients into someone with a really messed up gut (e.g., SIBO, IBS, Crohn’s) and to give your digestive system a break. You can read more about the elemental diet here.

According to the nutrition consultant monitoring me, the plan is to do two weeks, but I honestly think I’ll need to be on it for a month.

It may seem extreme, but for people like me, it’s actually a God-send and a tremendous relief!

I’ll talk more about which formula I picked, and why, shortly. But first, I want to tell you how I got here.

New Kindle Art Book on Emotional Sobriety

I’ve just published a new book, the first in a series of short Kindle books called, “The Sum of Our Parts: An art book on emotional sobriety, chronic illness, and the mind-body connection.”*

In this little book of 56 original inspirational readings and artwork, 
I share my experience, 
strength, and hope (along with more than a bit of my struggle)
 on the topics of emotional sobriety, chronic illness, and healing 
from mind/body syndrome (also known as TMS).

Price $2.99

Buy Now on Amazon

Plus, I’ve written an essay at the end of the book (called, “Why These Topics?”) explaining more about the subject of the book in the context 
of my personal journey, for those new to the concepts. The book also includes 
a list of my favorite resources.



 (By the way, you can read the whole essay in the Amazon preview.)

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Whatever you are going through, remember you are not alone. 

May you find comfort in these words and images.

Price $2.99

Buy Now on Amazon

If you are interested in seeing more of my work, please follow me on Instagram (@HealingDoodle) or on my Healing Doodle Facebook page.

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*Link to the Amazon book contains an affiliate link where I will receive a small royalty if you purchase through the link.

Just Move the Trash Can

I recently returned from an amazing trip seeing friends and family. On the last leg of our journey, we stayed with a dear friend of mine who shared a unique perspective on problem-solving that was both funny and amazingly relevant to my own life. So I’d like to pass it on to you.

We were talking about handling challenging situations. Now, my friend is a dog, cat, horse, fox, goose, snake, you name it, whisperer. She can train any living creature.

She told me a story about a man whose dog kept eating out of the trash can. He was utterly miserable and at his wit’s end on what to do about it.

So how should he handle it, she asked me? I started coming up with possible strategies (from many years of watching Cesar Millan on TV).

Free Your Creative Spark!

This post is for those who believe they aren’t “allowed” to make art because they lack training. It’s for those who put aside creative pursuits for years, maybe decades, and think it’s too late to heed the call now. It’s for those who let fear stifle that still, small voice inside urging their creative expression, believing their efforts won’t be good enough so there’s no point in trying.

We talk about “igniting” our creative spark, but I maintain that if you have any desire to create, your spark is already lit! And if you aren’t expressing your gifts despite the call, the problem is not that there’s no spark, but that it’s imprisoned somewhere deep inside of you, banging on the bars of its cell, desperately seeking escape to light the fire within you that will propel you to make manifest your unique creative gifts.

From my experience, the solution to freeing the spark is simple, but may feel impossibly hard because of our resistance.

I am Not an Artist

That’s what I’ve told myself all my life.

So why, you may ask, did I create an online presence around my “healing doodles?”