New Rule--Value yourself enough to rid toxins from your life

New Rule--Value yourself enough to rid toxins from your life

So, you've read my last couple of posts about the dangerous chemicals that can be found in your every day personal care products. You are probably thinking that no matter where you turn your head you are going to be assaulted by some rogue chemical.

You have a mountain of products sitting in your bathroom drawers, shower, medicine cabinet and don't know where to start. Don't get too overwhelmed. It will all begin to make sense as you continue to read and research. Try replacing your products one by one. Yes, you will have to make some sacrifices, but I guarantee you, it is worth it! And the sacrifices really won't be as big as you think.

Yes, I know you've invested a lot of money in the products that are sitting in your bathroom.
I also know that the hair gel full of chemicals in your medicine cabinet makes your hair curl just right and that it took you ages to find something that would work for your hair. Or you think it's wasteful to just throw a half used bottle of perfectly good lotion into the trash. Believe me, I get it.

But here is where I am going to get tough with you. Think of it as tough love.
Think of anyone that you love a great deal. Really hold the image of that person in your head. It can even be someone who has passed away, or a pet that you hold dear to your heart.
Now think of this--knowing that a chemical could cause that person to suffer, to get sick, to possibly die of a terrible disease, or make them depressed and fatigued, would you ever willingly give that person a daily dose of that chemical throughout the course of their life?
The answer is obviously "NO!".

So why are you treating yourself like this?

Really think about that. Why are you not worth the same care that you would give to those you love and want to protect. Most of us do so much for others that we have little time and energy to take care of ourselves. It's time to stop this destructive pattern and realize that we can't take care of our loved ones if we are always sick, tired, depressed, or have some other malady. So why would you willingly continue to put a product on your body that will make you suffer?

A lot of my relatives and friend's relatives are reaching their mature years. And I am seeing them develop all sorts of complications, falling ill, memory loss, needing surgeries. Many of these illnesses are linked to a build up of the chemicals you can find in your every day environment. Or years of smoking, or not eating well, etc...Seeing the people I love suffer in their later years makes me realize--I don't want to feel that way when I am their age! And I wish I could go back in time and help them eliminate things from their lives, that they didn't know would cause them to get sick later on in life.

In the past year alone, I have had two aunts who are very dear to me diagnosed with aggressive forms of breast cancer. Both women maintained a healthy body weight, and ate relatively well throughout their lives. The cancer in both cases seemed to come out of left field. Considering that the average woman uses 12 paraben containing products every day, wouldn't that tell you something?

So while you can--put an end to this madness and treat yourself well by getting rid of these toxic products in your bathroom. Do it for yourself, and for those around you who love you. To give the best of yourself to others, you have to replenish yourself first. If you have children, use this opportunity to break the toxic chemical cycle, and teach them how to live healthier lives and how to respect their bodies by not loading them up with chemicals every day.

You may be reading this and thinking "I don't feel that bad, I think I feel okay most of the time, so these chemicals must not be affecting me". That's not necessarily true.

When I first started getting rid of the chemicals in my diet and in my personal care products, I didn't think much was going to happen. I did seem to get an awful lot of colds (my record was 8 severe colds in only 1 year, any doctor will tell you that's a sign of a somewhat compromised immune system) but I just thought I was "one of those people who gets a lot of colds". Other than that, I felt like I was doing okay. I had a little trouble waking up in the morning, but I thought that was just how everyone feels. Sometimes I'd feel a little tired, but again, I chalked that up to "normal".

After a few months of trying out the "chemical-free" lifestyle, I realized that what I had thought was "normal" was actually no way to live your life! My mood had improved dramatically (I didn't even know that my mood was low before), I had a lot more energy than before. A lot of mysterious little illnesses or colds that would pop up from time to time became non-existent. I never knew that people could feel good like this on a day to day basis--I had just accepted and thought that the way I felt before was normal and that everyone felt like I did.

You may think you feel fine, but maybe you just don't know what it's like to feel differently than you feel now.

I'm not saying eliminating as many chemicals as possible from your daily life is going to be like some miraculous revelation. For some, that does happen. But revelations rarely come in those "flash" moments for most people. Instead, most likely, you will commit to eliminating chemicals from your daily life as much as possible and then a few months or a year later you will stop and look back and say "wow! I didn't realize I feel SO much better".

That's it for now. Be good to yourself, and remember you deserve more than what these manufacturers are trying to sell you!