How to keep moving forward
I’ve had many points throughout this “journey” of healing my gastritis (journey always sounds corny, but I can’t find a better word right now) where I’ve felt like all hope is lost, I’ll never be fully okay again, and I should give up on my pursuit of completely healing my gut issues.
Especially when the world feels so f*cking crazy all the time, it feels impossible to prioritize things like eating slowly and without distractions, meditating and staying off my phone before bed, and abstaining from alcohol (!!).
Despite all the obstacles, tempting me to step back into old habits, likely the same ones that caused this chronic illness, I’ve been successful with maintaining good habits. In fact, I have found that taking better care of myself has helped me escape the negative news cycle and negative thought patterns, ultimately combating negativity overall.
Here are a couple of mindset shifts that have helped me since I was diagnosed with gastritis.
I touch grass like it’s an item on my to-do list. In fact, I consider this and other habits I do as a to-do list item. I’m a very Type A person (should’ve been a Virgo), and anything I write down I will prioritize and do. But actually scheduling time to be outside, as if it’s a meeting, has helped me build this into my routine as opposed to it being a special occasion.
I romanticize my silly little habits. I try to meditate and journal daily, and sometimes that feels more like a chore than anything else. So I make it kinda cute and whimsical — light a candle, put on some fun music (if you have a record player, this adds to the whimsy), make a cup of tea (bonus points if it has some slippery elm in it to help you heal), and make this something to look forward to. Doing this right before bed is great. It’s also a good idea to do this after you finish your workday, signaling to your brain that you don’t have to think about work anymore. Allow yourself to pause on that until tomorrow.
I tell myself that this is just a season. In fact, I speak or write positively about how you are healing and how you’re feeling better each day. I do this even on days when it doesn’t feel true. It won’t just magically happen overnight, but when you shift your mindset about this illness in a positive direction, your brain will look for reasons and opportunities to make the positive perspective true. Practicing positivity is good for self-confidence as it encourages you to take action, making your healing more of a reality.
Decrease the overstimulation in my life. We’re all addicted to our phones. I spend most of my day looking at a screen, and that, unfortunately, is my reality for the time being. Sometimes I take a break from staring at my screen by…staring at my smaller screen. I used to watch TikToks during every second of downtime I had, while waiting for meetings to start, waiting for the train, waiting to fall asleep. I noticed that it made me feel so anxious, jumping in and out of my life constantly. Now, I keep my ereader by my side wherever I go so that I’m more tempted to pick that up than my phone. It works about 50% of the time (hey, I’m not perfect), but it’s gotten me to start looking to other, less overstimulating ways to pass the time. We only have this one life, and I don’t need to spend every free moment of mine watching 200 short videos of other people’s lives. Jumping into a book is still some sort of stimulation, but it doesn’t overwhelm me as much as social media. It’s a healthier escape.
I don’t have to be perfect to get better. With gastritis, it seems a common theme in The Discourse that we have to stick to a perfect diet, no exceptions, if we want to heal. But that’s not realistic and, in my opinion, not even necessary. Limiting the variety of food we consume for a prolonged period of time can cause damage to the gut microbiome and to our mental health, creating food fear and restrictive eating practices. Now, I generally follow an 80/20 rule, eating what I know makes me feel good 80% of the time and allowing myself to indulge 20% of the time. This will look different for everyone. Find out what foods you don’t mind consistently eating that both nourish you and are easy on your stomach.
Healing takes a long time, but the time will pass anyway. If you start focusing on your gastritis healing today, you could be healed in 90 days (many cases of stomach inflammation can be resolved or greatly reduced in this time). So before the end of 2025, you could be looking at a whole new reality in terms of your health. I personally love this time of year for starting a new project or working towards a new goal. It’s the last push of the year before productivity and life slows down over winter. Use these next 3 months to build good habits to make your life better and more normal, even though you have gastritis.
When I first started struggling with gastritis, my goal was to just feel normal again. Now, I feel better than normal. I feel healthier than ever, even though I still deal with flare-ups from time to time. It’s important to do things that get me out of my head and into my body.
I hope these mindset shifts help you. If you’re looking for more guidance on gastritis healing, download my e-guide or work with me.