In February 2007, Oprah was unable to sleep for days and her legs started swelling. The lack of sleep made her feel tired during the day, yet she continued with her busy schedule. She started gaining weight. The less sleep she got and the more weight she gained, the more stressed out she felt. She found comfort in indulging in an entire bag of potato chips or corn chips. Things got worse. Whenever she tried to work out, she had rushing heart palpitations.
She went from a doctor to a doctor. 4 in total. Each doctor giving her pills to treat the different symptoms she presented, yet none checking her thyroid.
Watch her tell her story in this video.
Eventually, Oprah was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid) and then gradually started moving into hypothyroidism (an underachieve thyroid which results in a sluggish metabolism that can cause fatigue and weight gain).
People with thyroid problems in general struggle to voice their opinion that they need things to be different. They are afraid what others will think of them if they assert themselves. They want to keep the peace. They prefer to stifle their voice rather than to get into a conflict. For them, putting others ahead of them is more important than honoring their needs.
At a first glance this doesn’t sound like Oprah, does it? She is used to being in the public eye, speaking her truth and being assertive in her expression.
Oprah’s challenge was in putting work and others ahead of herself and not honoring her needs. As she said, “What I’ve learned this year is that my weight issue isn’t about eating less or working out harder, or even about a malfunctioning thyroid. It’s about my life being out of balance, with too much work and not enough play, not enough time to calm down. I let the well run dry … When I stop and ask myself, “What am I really hungry for?” the answer is always “I’m hungry for balance, I’m hungry to do something other than work.”
A common theme among people with thyroid problem is the perception of, “I need to put my responsibilities ahead of me; I need to take care of them first.” And then the sad realization, “When will it be my turn? Never?”
Is this you too? Then it is time we work together. Join our Healthy Thyroid group and let’s clear the emotional causes of your thyroid condition! What results is an emotional balance that allows the thyroid to repair itself.
We begin Tuesday, April 12. So join us today. You can sign up here.
Email me at [email protected] to see if the Healthy Thyroid Program is right for you.