I Faced Most of My Health Challenges in Life Alone

Sometimes I wonder how it would have been with the support of a health community…

Me around ten years old—suffering from chronic fatigue and migraines

I still remember when my health started deteriorating. I was eleven years old and began to see the first signs.

I needed glasses because I could no longer see what the teacher was writing on the board. I started gaining weight. Then, I had the first migraine attack in my life. The severe pain in my head kept me bed-bound one day a week.

I became known as The girl who was always sick.

Known, but not understood. My poor health became a taboo.

Throughout high school, I had a migraine attack once a week. I would lie in bed all day long, unable to move, but also unable to sleep. Those were some of the loneliest days of my life.

No one seemed to understand what was going on, not even the doctors. “Exercise more.”, or “You’re overweight.”, was all they said. It only made me feel more alone.

Crying in Art class

I didn’t talk much about my health issues with my friends. I guess they also didn’t know what to say. At school, people started gossiping about my frequent absence from class. They said I was exaggerating and probably skipping classes out of laziness.

To try and clear my image, I forced myself to stay at school like all the other kids—even when my head was pounding and I could barely sit up straight.

Why couldn’t I be like everyone else?

One day in Art class it happened. It was the last hour before I could drag myself home and crash into bed. My head pounding, I tried to focus on the teacher’s words. “When working on your art project, I want you to really…”, his words faded into the background.

Too much. I snapped and tears started running down my cheeks. The girls at my table turned to me, worried looks on their faces, stroking my shoulders to comfort me.

From that day on, I frequently missed classes again. From that day, no one gossiped about my health issues again.

I was longing for answers

It helped to know people took my situation seriously now. But the questions remained in my mind. Why was I so different from everybody else? How could they sit through classes without becoming exhausted?

Years I spent wondering why I always got sick. I was longing for answers about the cause and—most of all—the solution. No diet, exercise plan, or lifestyle change seemed to work.

At the end of my teens, I accepted that “this was just how my body was”.

In university, I came close to part of the answer. Several friends told me they used to feel the same until they went gluten-free. In hindsight, I wish I would have listened to them. But I felt too hopeless to even try their advice.

Hope from an unexpected source

Fast forward some years, I met my husband. We started living together—I tried to run our young household while dealing with migraines and chronic fatigue.

My poor health was a heavy burden to us.

We were isolated but one person kept me going in an unexpected way. Somehow, I found Jessica from Three Rivers Homestead on YouTube. I instantly felt connected to her. Her videos got me through the day.

I found out Jessica had Crohn’s disease. It was the first time I learned about autoimmune diseases. She shared how she reversed her chronic health issues, especially recommending one book: Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon.

I don’t know why, but I knew one thing: I had to get that book!

That book turned my life around. I still remember flicking through the pages—shocked at what I discovered about health and nutrition. I started applying the advice step by step. Each day I felt a little better.

Then, help came from another unexpected source. My husband showed me a video that was “perfect for me”. It was by a certain man called “Dr. Berg”, talking about his theory of why chronic disease rates are low in the Middle East: Fasting.

Dr. Berg recommended cutting out all refined sugar and implementing intermittent fasting. So that’s what I did.

The results were amazing!

I lost weight for the first time in my life—something I thought was impossible. My headaches decreased to once per month. I no longer felt tired.

This was the start of my better health—sparked by unexpected sources.

Why community is crucial for health

My experiences with healing over the past years have taught me this: Community is crucial for health. We need each other to find answers. To find out what works for us.

This is why I started

Health With Ruth

—to provide a space where people can heal together. In the coming weeks, I will be setting up a community space where we can learn and grow as a health family.

I look forward to sending my health letters once per week to help you find your way to better health.

Because healing is done best together! 💛

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Next week, I will continue sharing my story of healing—there’s more good news coming up 😄💛