Today we’d like to introduce you to Tamy Anderson.
Tamy, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
For over two decades, I struggled with personal health issues: bouts of severe “phantom” intestinal pain; chronic and debilitating allergies; chronic bronchitis; frequent colds and infections such as strep throat, asthma, acne and other skin disruptions; anxiety; inflammation and weight gain despite “eating right” and exercising; chronic muscle and joint aches and frequent running injuries; lack of energy; irritability; brain fog; and an inability to concentrate on simple tasks.
I was a mess, and life was a bit of a suck-fest.
As an overly-scheduled young mom, I pushed through the symptoms and tried to DO IT ALL (and perfectly)…I worked full-time as a classroom teacher, cooked, cleaned, organized play dates, shuttled the kids to all their extracurricular activities, planned perfect holidays, and trained for and ran marathons to stay “fit”. I was exhausted, angry, overwhelmed and irritable pretty much all the time. Being sick makes you cranky.
By the time my thirties rolled around, I was taking several long-term pharmaceuticals for allergies, asthma, and anxiety along with frequent rounds of antibiotics for chronic infections.
The icing on the cake was a severe, 20-month health crisis starting in 2009, during which I nearly lost all hope. I went through the cycle of trial and error, from practitioner to practitioner, ranging from conventional medicine which included multiple surgeries, 21 rounds of hefty gut-busting antibiotics (in 14 months), MRSA treatment, and anti-inflammatory steroids, as well as non-conventional treatments and therapies which focused on treating my symptoms with a more natural approach.
By the end, I was clinically depressed and felt completely ravaged and hopeless. It seemed that I had tried everything. Through my own searching and research, I came upon a different approach to healing…one that required me to take ownership over my own health and heal from the inside out. Using functional lab testing to uncover the root causes of my symptoms and making changes to my diet, sleep and exercise habits, and the way I perceived and managed stress, I healed my body completely.
Today, I enjoy my life symptom-free. I wake up looking forward to the magic of each day with boundless energy. I feel joyful. I look forward to making special memories with my family. I participate in athletic endeavors that I enjoy.
Through living with, and recovering from chronic illness, I became passionate about helping others who are suffering find their way back to radiant health so that they can enjoy each of their precious days and be there for their families.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think that one of the most disappointing expectations we can have about life is that it’s always going to be a newly paved, perfectly smooth road. The truth is that there will always be struggles along the way; bumps and curves in the road that come along unexpectedly and either slow us down or steer us in a different direction.
The most empowering understanding I have gained is that we each have within us the power to overcome any obstacle or challenge that life throws our way. Adversity is a part of the human experience… part of the ebb-and-flow of life, and each challenge is a new opportunity for learning and growth; an opportunity to find our purpose.
It is in how we choose to respond to life’s challenges that matters. Energy and emotions are feelings that are self-generated and we are each responsible for the thoughts we allow to penetrate our minds, the emotions we choose to feel, and how long we choose to keep them there. Every bump in the road has within it a lesson to be learned and personal growth to be gained. BUT… we must be open to receiving the lesson in order to be able to benefit from it.
My own life has been peppered with struggles along the way, each of which has shaped me into WHO I am today. From growing up in a household filled with strife with an alcoholic father and mentally ill mother, being the kid at school rejected by her peers because of her home life, having to give up my cross country running career in college due to chronic illness, over two decades of health issues, autoimmunity, raising kids as a full-time working mom, having a spouse who suffered multiple years of chronic pain which culminated in his suicide death, and the near-death of my teenage son in a car accident, just to name a few.
Ladies, we have a lot of expectations upon us, and we are more susceptible to stress-related illnesses because of it! Here are a few tips to help you handle life’s challenges with more grace and prevent some struggles that aren’t really necessary, to begin with.
1. Ask for help! You can be, do, and have anything you set your mind to. The options are limitless. But nobody achieves their highest goals without the help of others, so PLEASE, don’t try to do it all alone! As women, we think we are supposed to do it ALL, and perfectly, which is the perfect formula for burnout.
2. Lean into gratitude and appreciation! Every single day, write down a list of things that you have to be grateful for. During times of struggle, this habit will help you to see beyond the immediate challenge that is in front of you and hold an appreciation for the things in your life that are good.
3. Say NO more often! As women, we tend to over-commit ourselves, leading to an overly-scheduled, stressful life. Evaluate what is MOST important, and when an opportunity arises, if it is not a big HELL YES immediately, then get into the habit of saying “No thank you.” and sticking to it.
4. Meditate. Every single day. Even if it’s only for five minutes, this daily practice will help you manage and perceive the stress in your life better.
Please tell us about Tamy Anderson Functional Wellness.
I help moms love life again!
As a functional health coach, I help women who have been struggling with chronic health issues get back to enjoying their lives. Using an investigative approach to the root cause of symptoms, including a comprehensive look into my client’s health history and life experiences from childhood through the present time, along with functional lab testing, I create a road map to guide my clients to self-healing. The goal isn’t to treat symptoms, but rather to heal the underlying causes so that the symptoms disappear.
The majority, but not all, of my clients have a diagnosed autoimmune condition.
In addition to my individual clients, I also run corporate group wellness programs. By improving the overall wellness of employees, companies can greatly reduce their health care expenditures, increase their profits due to greater employee productivity and less absenteeism, and improve company climate at the same time. My program is a holistic approach that looks at all the variables contributing to health issues, including diet, rest, exercise, and stress reduction.
What sets me apart is that my programs are focused on understanding the whole person, not just their isolated symptoms or specific diagnosis, with the goal of uncovering the root cause of dysfunction and helping clients achieve their best health.
Often it feels as if the media, by and large, is only focused on the obstacles faced by women, but we feel it’s important to also look for the opportunities. In your view, are there opportunities that you see that women are particularly well-positioned for?
As women, we are natural leaders. We are creative problem-solvers. We are empathetic. We are nurturing. I would love to see more women in positions of leadership where their action and voices empower and inspire other women to take action on their dreams.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tamyanderson.com/
- Email: tamy@tamyanderson.com
- Instagram: @tamyanderson_fdn
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thrivingprimallywellness
Image Credit:
Julie Magnussen
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