Psychological Life Changes

This article is about psychological life changes.  It's the first
necessary step before sustainable lifestyle changes.  Life changes
refer to the psychological non-physical changes.  Lifestyle changes
refer to the physical changes like changing diet, exercise, detox,
and all things related to the physical whole body.  Real life
changes must happen first because without it, lifestyle changes
would be unsustainable, and just a mechanical exercise in coping.

Real life changes begin with honestly assessing your psychological
self.  What is your attitude about your health?  Do you look at your
PN as some punishment, some horrible disease to scorn?  Or a disease
you can learn lessons? Do you want to optimize your health?  Or do
you just want to do the minimum to get rid of PN symptoms?  Do you
look at PN symptoms as warning signs you need to heed? Or do you
look at PN symptoms as something to suppress and forget?  Do you
feel any responsibility for your PN?  Or do you feel it happened for
no particular reason like it was just a spontaneous flare-up?  Are
you glad you have warning symptoms that allow you a precious second
chance to make a difference?  Or do you feel you have plenty more
chances to make a difference?  If you decide to make some lifestyle
changes, do you TRULY AND WILLFULLY WANT to do it?  Or will you do
it reluctantly and begrudgingly?  Be honest with yourself because
your answers to these questions will give you an idea where you are
psychologically, and whether you are truly ready for lifestyle
changes.

All of us know there are some things we should do, need to do, and
or like to do.  But some of us still don't do it.  Some
procrastinate, or do it halfheartedly, without purpose or focus.
Why is that?  It's because real life changes have not occurred, at
least not enough to change your psychology to the point where you
TRULY have the right attitude, the right belief, the commitment and
discipline necessary to sustain the lifestyle changes ahead.

How do you get to that point of real life changes with real
psychological transformation?  I don't know what it will take for
you to make your psychological life changing transformation.  But I
can tell you what it took for me to make the psychological life
changes, necessary to sustain my lifestyle changes.

My most important reason to make the psychological life changes was
I TRULY AND WILLFULLY WANTED to get well, so I got rid of any
excuses, useless laments, and rationalizations.  Instead of looking
for reasons not to do something, I found important enough reasons to
do the things I needed to do consistently.  My will to heal is the
difference.

If one is looking for reasons not to do something, one can fill in
the blank _________with almost any reason or rationalization to not
do something.  However, if one is truly motivated to do something,
only one reason matters.  I was fortunate to find more than one
reason to make meaningful life and lifestyle changes and I'm happy
to share it with you.  May you find your reason(s) too!

I believe all of us have the ability to do the same things or
similar things I did, and continue to do.  But not all of us have
the same will to truly heal.  It's easy to say you really want to
get well.  But do you really have the will to actually do it with
commitment and discipline?  Your attitude and actions hereafter,
will answer that.  These were the ten main points I felt at
different times in my healing journey.  Some points were more
pivotal and important to help me make my psychological
transformation.

1) I was not afraid to fail since I knew failure is the mother of
success.  My first choice was Allopathic medicine because I naively
assumed they had all the answers.  I figured they must have a magic
pill or cream, a quick easy fix for me, and they would not require
too much out of me.  What a big MISTAKE for me!!  But, it was
nonetheless a very important lesson.  I needed to try enough
Allopathic medicine, and fail, before I was satisfied that current
Allopathic medicine would not cure me.  I needed to psychologically
let go of Allopathic medicine before I could fully embrace Non-
Allopathic medicine.  The practical side in me guided me towards
Natural Healing because all I needed to ask myself was, "Do I have a
better option to deliver safer positive results?"  My answer was and
is no, so there was nothing more to think about but to go forward
with my best option.     That's simply practical.

2) I was sick and tired of being sick and tired.  I felt very
vulnerable because my doc or derm was controlling my health
decisions and I had no idea whether they knew what they were doing
or not.  That's a very sad state of powerlessness.  There was also a
point in my life when I considered suicide, and those thoughts
really scared me.  I started thinking about my family, my friends,
and my employees who work in my companies.  Suicide would be the
easy way out, but what a selfish thing to do since many of these
people depend on me.  I knew I must snap out of it, if not for me,
then for the people in my life.  I've always been successful in most
of the major things I've done in my life.  Yet this challenge with
PN was very humbling.  I could not think or control my way out of
PN, because it controlled me.  At one point, I was even desperate
enough to consider some dangerous drugs like Thalidomide,
Prednisone, Protopic, Cyclosporine, etc.  But after researching
these drugs and realizing how potentially dangerous it can be, I
knew if I took these drugs, it would be psychological suicide for me
because it meant I gave in to my desperation.  For me, suicide is a
physical death and taking these dangerous drugs is a psychological
death.  But there was a ray of hope.

You see, after experiencing these emotions, I never wanted to feel
so vulnerable, so powerless, so scared, and so desperate ever again.
Therefore, I decided to learn as much as I could about PN and
surround myself with knowledgeable and experienced people to help me
with research.  Armed with research information, I felt empowered
with confidence to take control of my health and healing.  Reading
and understand the research information was not enough.  The
difference was actually using the information and taking action.
This challenge motivated me to make the psychological transformation
because I didn't want to return to this depressing state again.
Frankly, I don't think I could psychologically or physically survive
a return trip to this depressing state.  The practical solution was
to use these negative emotions as motivation for positive change,
which is what I did.

3) I found more important reasons to get well other than just for
me.  Parents will relate to this point.  There are parents out there
who would do just about anything for the good of their children.
They would sooner do something for their children before they do it
for themselves.  What are your important reasons that go beyond just
you?  I challenge you to find these more important reasons because
it can help you to make psychological life changes so you can truly
have the right attitude, belief, commitment and discipline aplenty
to sustain the lifestyle changes ahead.  Remember, your family share
in the morbidity of your PN.  If you will not do it for yourself,
they do it for your family.

4) What we believe is very important psychologically.  There are
plenty of studies about the positive belief from the placebo
effect.  In an ICU, when a person truly believes they will recover,
they have a better chance of recovering because their belief is not
only psychological, but biological too.  When they don't believe,
they lose a very important tool in their healing in terms of the
placebo effect.

5) Closely related to belief is your attitude.  I realized that
having the right attitude is my MOST IMPORTANT psychological tool.
Your attitude shapes your beliefs, which determines your actions,
which leads to your results.  Start off with the wrong attitude and
it will cascade you towards the wrong results, just like starting
off with the wrong question will lead you towards the wrong answer.
Regardless of our circumstances, we all have control of two things,
our attitude and actions.  You choose what attitude and actions, and
your results will follow.  If you look at the people who have made
significant improvements, unquestionably, their attitude and actions
played a very important role!

6) I also found strong enough reasons WHY to make these lifestyle
changes.  Call it a promise to myself.  I promised myself that if I
could get back my health, I would never take it for granted ever
again.  I would seize my precious second chance no matter how much
work and effort it took to maintain it.  My WHY was just simply
keeping my promise!

7) Sometimes in life, we look for guarantees, or an assurance that
the work, the effort, and our commitment will pay off.  Some people
want 20/20 hindsight so they could know the outcome before they
decide whether they will do something or not.  Perhaps you can say I
took my first step towards Natural Healing only by faith, since I
did not know I would be where I am today.  But don't you realize we
all live by faith every single day of our life.  When you get into
your car to start it in the morning, how do you know it will start
for sure?  When you drive on that road, that freeway, that bridge,
how do you know it's safe and will not collapse?   The answer is we
don't know.  During a typical day, there are plenty of examples of
things we do, where we don't know exactly what the outcome will be,
but we do it anyway.  Since you demonstrate you can have faith
everyday of your life with your daily activities, then just extend
that faith towards your health and healing.

8) I also changed my perspective to focus on whole body healing,
instead of just the PN symptoms.  Since you are what you focus on
most frequently, I didn't want it to be just about PN symptoms
anymore.  My perspective needed to expand, since my previous narrow
focus on just PN symptoms with Allopathic medicine failed me.

A man complains about not have shoes, until he meets the man who
does not have feet.  I'm not saying that you should find joy
comparing yourself to someone less fortunate than you.  But, the man
was able to change his perspective once he changed his focus.

I think about all those people who died of heart attacks, and other
diseases with little or no symptoms, and wonder how many of them
would have gladly welcomed some warning symptoms to give them a
precious second chance to make meaningful changes?  One man's curse
is another man's blessing.  The difference is their relative
perspective.  Once we can step back and expand our perspective on
our disease, it's amazing how many more things we can see
differently, and in many cases, more clearly.

My perspective also changed because I realized the paradox, where
Allopathic medicine was still treating PN like an external skin
rash, when all along, it originated internally.  Dr. Wayne Dyer
clearly illustrated this paradox with a funny story.  During a power
outage, a man lost his keys inside his home.  He tried to find his
keys but the darkness inside his home made it difficult.  Later, he
saw one streetlight still on across the street.  He decided to go
outside, across the street, to search for his keys.  He thought it
would be easier to find his keys under the streetlight.  A person
with common sense would realize this paradox and ask, "Why would he
search outside under the streetlight, when he lost his keys inside
his home?"  Isn't this paradox similar to what some people are
trying to do with Allopathic medicine, by searching for an external
solution to a problem that started internally?  Once I saw the
paradox, changing my perspective was the common sense thing to do.
Remember, you cannot solve a problem if you don't even see the
problem.

9) I also needed to develop enough patience to do Natural Healing.
When we grow up with microwaves, drive thru restaurants, ATM, etc.,
many of us just don't have much patience.  One reason Allopathic
medicine is a preferred first choice for many people is because it
appeals to their impatience.  It's attractive and appeasing for some
to think there must be a magic pill that allows us to take a short
cut and provide a quick fix.  Some people think why bother to work
so hard to heal diseased organs when you could have a quick fix with
surgery to remove the organ?  And why bother to address the root
causes of a disease when you could pop a pill to suppress symptoms?

We really cannot put all the blame on Allopathic medicine because in
many cases, they're just giving the patients what they want.  I have
enough common sense to realize that I got myself into this PN mess
with years and years of unhealthy lifestyle habits.  It's
unrealistic for me to expect to heal overnight, or in a relatively
short period of time compared to the amount of time it took to
create this problem.  Therefore, I knew I needed to have enough
patience if I wanted to successfully do this safely, properly, and
comprehensively.  Alkalizing, Detoxing, Balancing, Optimizing all
takes time.  Just like one cannot hurry love, one cannot hurry
healing.  All of us have our own unique healing timetable.  Once I
psychologically prepared myself to be more patient, and had a more
realistic expectation for my healing timetable, I had more enjoyment
with my healing journey.

10) My last point is purely practical.  After the Allopathic
failures, I needed to find healing methods I could use safely and
sustain indefinitely.  With Allopathic medicine, there was always
this lingering question about safety, about the advisability for
long term uses, about dangerous side effects, etc.  I didn't want
the next method to carry such lingering questions, so it was just a
practical decision for me to choose Natural Healing.

I cannot say that if you do what I did and continue to do, that you
will have the same results.  You have enough common sense to know
that we are all different people, with different associated health
problems, different healing responses and different healing
timetable.  I made a practical decision to go with my best option.

The remainder of my website have many articles covering lifestyle
changes in details.  When you are ready, these articles will give
you the guidance you need to continue your healing journey.  Good
Luck!  I hope you read, understand, and apply the lessons I shared
here to your own situation, so you too, may experience your
psychological transformation, necessary to sustain the lifestyle
changes ahead.

MY HEALING JOURNEY

I've been symptom free, with no PN recurrence since November 2004.
I do have some scarring.  I decided not to use the term, cured (at
least not yet since it has only been about 2 years as I write this
article in January 2007).

I learned a very important lesson by observing some cancer
patients.  I noticed some cancer patients wait at least five years,
to see if they have any recurrence or experience any new symptoms,
before they declare themselves, cured.  Since PN doesn't have such a
timeline, I felt it was prudent to use at least a five-year
threshold, to see if I experience any recurrence or new symptoms,
before I declare myself, cured.  This 5-year threshold is important
because cancer patients understand if all they did was remove the
clinical detection of cancer, but they did nothing else to correct
the root causes that made them more vulnerable to cancer in the
first place, it's probable they will see a recurrence within 5-
years.  Similarly, if all we did was mitigate and suppress symptoms,
and we did nothing else to correct the root causes for PN, it's also
probable we will see a recurrence within 5-year.  Just like
mitigating and suppressing symptoms doesn't equal cure, the absence
of disease doesn't equal health.


DIAGNOSTIC TESTS TO EXCLUDE PN

After my initial diagnosis of PN (based on clinical observation and
assessing my health history), additional tests were ordered just to
see if it could exclude PN.  Depending on your health history, your
doctor may order similar tests.  There is currently no inclusive
test for PN.  However, you can use various tests to exclude PN.

Comprehensive blood test: CBC/Platelets, Lipid Profile,
Comprehensive Metabolic Panel, and Endocrinology (Free T3). Special
attention for blood glucose levels to eliminate diabetes mellitus.

Urine Test: Analyzing many different things, but special interest
for serum creatinine and creatinine clearance to eliminate possible
renal disease.  Urinary Hormone Evaluation with Growth Hormone

Allergy Patch Test: Just to eliminate other possibilities.

IgG4 Blood Test: Food Allergies


MY CLINICAL AND SUB-CLINICAL FINDINGS

Clinical findings are things that are tested, and the test results
are far enough out of range to show up on standard lab tests like
Blood Test, Urine Test, etc.  Sub-clinical findings are things that
are tested, and the test results are not far enough out of range to
show up on standard lab tests, but nonetheless, it's far enough out
of range to prevent optimal health.

Clinical Findings:

Gut Wall Infection
Systemic Infections (Weaken Immune System)
Poor Digestion (leading to malabsorption, mild acid reflux)
Overuse of antibiotics (leading to Intestinal Dysbiosis and Weak
Immune System)
Dysbiosis (Imbalance between Good and Bad Bacteria)
Intestinal Disorder
Colon Toxicity (Sluggish Bowel)
Mercury Intoxication
Gum Inflammation and Infections
PN

Sub clinical Findings:

Systemic Infections (Weaken Immune System)
Allergens: Food Allergies and Environmental Allergies
Bacteria, Virus, Fungus, Parasite (from Acidic/ Anaerobic Biological
Terrain, Weak Immunity)
Endocrine Hormonal Imbalance (Mercury Intoxication)
Over acidity (Poor Diet)
Liver Toxicity
Kidney Toxicity
Gallbladder Toxicity
Blood Toxicity
Poor Lymph Drainage
Nutritional Deficiencies (Poor diet and Malabsorption from low
digestive enzymes)
Over Stressed
Enzyme Deficiencies (Systemic and Digestive)
Weaken Immune System
Weaken Liver, Kidney, Adrenal, Thyroid (Poor Absorption of necessary
nutrition)
Low Grade Inflammation


1) GETTING PSYCHOLOGICALLY READY

Getting psychologically ready is a Preparation Step.

I recommend you read the article "Psychological Life Changes" on my
site, for the details about how I got ready for the healing journey
ahead.   Do you have the right attitude to sustain the changes
ahead?  I believe all of us have the ability to do the things I
write about here.  But not all of us have the right attitude to
sustain these changes long term. Without the right attitude, any
changes are short-lived, done reluctantly, begrudgingly, and done
for the wrong reasons.

Secondly, do you have the right perspective to sustain the changes
ahead?  How do you see your PN?  I saw my PN as my body giving me
warning signs, and a precious second chance to make meaningful
changes.  Some of you may know someone who died of a heart attack,
where the first symptom was the deadly heart attack.  They had no
warnings, no clues, and no chance to make a difference!  I'm
thankful I had a disease, PN, which gave me plenty of warning
symptoms, plenty of clues, and gave me a chance to make a
difference.  Just like we do not lament our fire alarm going off
when we have a fire in our home, we should not lament our body alarm
going off with warning symptoms, since that is what it is supposes
to do.  Count your blessings since your body is still working and
not permanently damaged by drugs to mitigate and suppress
symptoms.

Thirdly, do you have the right focus to sustain the changes ahead?
Some people spend time accumulating information, but they still
don't take meaningful action.  It's like spending money to buy many
books, but instead of reading and applying the information available
in those books, they allow the books to just sit on the shelf to
collect dust.  Others mistakenly focus on mitigating and suppressing
PN symptoms, without correcting the root causes for their PN.  Not
surprisingly for them, recurrence is highly probable, since they
focused on the wrong things.  Others focus on appealingly easier
methods, like taking a drug, applying some ointments, or standing in
a light box, because what I'm recommending is not as easy to do, and
therefore is not as appealing.  I understand how you feel (as I
didn't write this to judge you) since I was initially attracted to
appealingly easier methods too!

Fourthly, I also recommend you read my article, "Stages in the PN
cycle", and the "The Blame Game" on my site, so you can understand
it is human nature to experience many of the characteristics listed
in that article.   Just like every meaningful journey has a starting
point and a desired destination, your journey, just like my journey,
goes thru different stages, from Beginning Stage, to Transition
Stage, to True Healing Stage.   Your time in the Beginning Stage may
be very short, or it may be for the rest of your life, depending on
your Attitude, Perspective, Focus, Choices, and Actions.

My overall focus was and is, holistically taking care of my overall
health and correcting root causes, not mitigating or suppressing
symptoms.  The Right Attitude, the Right Perspective, the Right
focus, equals the Right Choices, the Right Actions, resulting in
true healing.

I use a very simple question to help me make better decisions.  Is
(_____________) going to make me healthier, or correct root causes?
I only proceed if the answer is yes.  I can fill in that blank with
any action, any product, or any method to test whether I should
proceed or not.  May you use this same question honestly, to help
you make better decisions too!

I've spent a large portion of this article covering psychological
preparation because I feel it is that important.  All the best
information and ideas don't mean anything, if one is not
psychologically ready to take action to sustain the changes ahead.
Are you ready?  Only you truly know.  If you feel you are truly
ready, please continue with the action steps below.  Please don't
proceed halfheartedly, or prematurely if you are not truly ready.

2) ALKALIZE DIET


See Alkaline Acid Chart for your Blood Type to put together your
safe foods list.
(Permanent change for long-term optimal health)

Eliminated Allergic and Inflammatory Foods

Common allergic foods include, but not limited to the following:
sugar, corn, wheat, oat, egg, cow's milk, chocolate, soy, citrus
fruits, and peanuts. Sugar, corn, and eggs are almost ubiquitous in
processed foods.  Other additional allergic foods may vary with
different people.  The most common inflammatory foods include but
not limited to the following: All processed foods, sugar, wheat,
soda, deep fried foods, alcohol, and dairy. Other additional
inflammatory foods may vary with different individuals.  (Permanent
elimination from diet for long-term optimal health)

Alkalize Ionized Water
I drink 2 liters a day.
(Permanent change for long-term optimal health)

Green Smoothies (Read the book "Green for Life" by Victoria Boutenko
for recipes)
I drink 1 quart a day.
(Permanent change for long-term optimal health)

If you are already eating 80% or more alkalizing foods, then
alkalizing supplements and or boosters is not necessary.

3) DETOX YOUR COLON, LIVER, AND KIDNEY

See the article "Instructions for a General Detox" on this website
for all the details.


4) SUPPLEMENT

Your best defense is a great healthy diet, and lifestyle.  Dietary
supplements are really just to help you fine tune.  The foundation
of your health is still your diet, not your supplements.  Healthy
diet without supplements, is still better than a bad diet with
supplements.

These are the supplements I use for fine-tuning.  In each category,
I listed the current brands I use.  I also list other brands I've
used, as I rotate my supplement brands, just like I rotate my
foods.  I'm not endorsing any brands or supplements, but just fully
disclosing what I use.  Each category is unchanged.  But the brands
within each category changes by rotation.  I try to keep my
supplements to a minimum and just focus on good healthy alkalizing
foods.  I did take many more supplements when I was beginning my
healing journey.  Back then, there was a lot more things that needed
attention.  Now, I'm just taking the minimum since I'm much
healthier now, and symptom free.


A) Digestive Enzymes

Elite-Zyme Ultra by Thropp's Nutrition (I use this currently)
Pancreatin by NOW Foods (I use this currently)
Zypan (Not used currently, but kept in rotation)
Digest-A-Meal (Not used currently, but kept in rotation)

B) Probiotics

Probiotic 10-10 by Nutraceutical Science Institute (I use this
currently)
Total Flora Support (Not used currently, but kept in rotation)
Jarro-Dophilus + FOS by Jarrow Formulas  (Not used currently, but
kept in rotation)
FOS by Swanson (Not used currently, but kept in rotation)

C) General Supplement

Albion Chelated Multi-Mineral by Swanson  (I use this currently)
Omega 3 Fish Oil by Carlson (I use this currently)
Wheatgrass by NOW Foods (I use this currently)
Chelated Mineral Complex (Not used currently, but kept in rotation)
Omega 3 Fish Oil by NSI  (Not used currently, but kept in rotation)

D) Colon Cleanser

Intestinal Formula 1 by Dr. Schulzes  (I use this currently)
Expel  (Not used currently, but kept in rotation)



5) STRESS REDUCTION (Tai Chi, Deep Breathing, etc.)

Stress is just a part of everyday life.  We all need to reduce as
much stress as possible because it not only affects us
psychologically, but biologically too.

EXERCISE (Cycling, Walking, etc.)
(Permanent change for long-term optimal health)

Our Circulatory System uses the heart as our pump to move vital
fluids around to the rest of the body.  However, our Lymphatic
System doesn't have a pump, so moderate exercise becomes our
lymphatic system pump.  Since our lymphatic system is our body's
sewer system, it's important we keep it effectively draining with
moderate exercise.

15 minutes of natural sun per day, without sunscreen, for natural
Vitamin D.  I usually get my sun during my lunch break, as I try to
eat outdoors as much as possible.

FILTERING:

I use these water-filtering systems just for my overall health,
since my criteria is not whether some method or product will help
PN, but whether it will improve my overall health safely.

These are the products I use:  (Permanent change for long-term
optimal health)

Jupiter Mavello: (Alkalizing Ionized Water Machine) to filter and
alkalize my drinking and cooking water.

April Shower: (Showerhead Filter) to filter out Chlorine and other
negative chemicals.

Tom's of Maine Toothpaste: (Fluoride Free Natural Toothpaste)
Purchased from my local health food store.


MERCURY AMALGAM REMOVAL /MERCURY CHELATION: (See Chelation Therapy
article for details)

This is a step I did for my overall health and is consistent with
the ideals of Holistic Healing.  I don't know if there is a cause
and effect relationship between PN and mercury intoxication, since I
cannot find conclusive evidence.  There is debate among allopathic
medicine and ADA dentist about whether mercury is dangerous or
benign to our overall health.  But since I cannot find any evidence
that mercury is beneficial to our health, I decided the prudent
thing to do was use a Biodentist to remove my amalgams, and follow
Dr. Cutler's Chelation Protocol, thereafter.

PERSONAL CHOICES

I don't microwave anymore.  I use my Flavorwave Oven, my Corning
ware, Pyrex glassware, and my 18/10 stainless steel cookware.  I
don't use non-stick cookware.  I don't drink milk (we are the only
species that drink another animals' milk into adulthood).  I do eat
some grass feed beef occasionally, antibiotic and hormone free
chicken, and different types of fish like Salmon, Bass, Red Snapper,
and Tilapia.  I stay away from processed grains.  I keep to my diet
as much as practical.  But for social, business occasions or
holidays, I do eat some comfort foods.  I don't use oils for cooking
anymore.  I do take Omega 3 fish oils.   I don't eat soy in any
form, but do realize it is in many food byproducts.  I try to eat
organic fruits and vegetables whenever practical, but sometimes, for
convenience, I will eat non-organic fruits and vegetables too.  I
drink green smoothies as a quick way to get more raw vegetables into
my diet.  I use Neem soap, and Tree Tea Oil shampoo.  I do try to
exercise 3 times a week, and get 15 minutes of sun exposure without
sunscreen daily.  I use full spectrum lighting for reading and in my
bedroom, as it is a very pleasant light.  These are just some of my
personal preferences.


CONCLUSION

I know there is a lot of information here to understand and absorb.
Some of you are committed and already do many of the things outlined
here, so I'm preaching to the choir.  I congratulate you and
encourage you to continue your commitments.  This article was
written for those who don't know what to do, what questions to ask,
or are still skeptical, still unsure and paralyzed with inaction or
indifference, still looking for short cuts and perceive there must
be easier solutions.  That's human nature.  I've been there, done
that.  I understand and accept it.  I can relate.  For those who are
ready to commit to these changes, may my results inspire you with an
unbreakable WILL to truly cure your PN!