Karma Ayurveda Reviews USA: my psoriasis took over my life until it gave it back to me.
By Nathan Cooper, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
There was a time when my first port of call wasn't the laptop but the weather forecast each morning. I was never really asking what the temperature would be, more whether my skin would be likely to make me look a fool in a smart short-sleeved shirt on a June day.
My name is Nathan Cooper and I live in Salt Lake City, Utah. I am a 41 year old financial advisor. My life is made up of clients and client meetings, which require that I project trust and confidence. Confidence was something I lacked for almost 6 years straight.
It began, very innocently, as a tiny red patch behind my ear. Dry skin I thought. Within weeks it grew and then, by stages, my scalp, the backs of my elbows and knees resembled that of a tortoise. My work uniform – the smart, dark suit and shirt – I couldn't wear them. I was discussing financial predictions and client plans, but I couldn’t stop thinking of a tiny patch on my shoulder and wondering how much dead skin I had already lost. I felt that all my clients know something was up, although they never showed it.
Finally, I was diagnosed with psoriasis.Physically, the incessant itching was dominant, but emotionally, it was shattering. I went from having a large collection of dark clothes, to having only light-coloured items. I said no to every invitation to a lunch meeting, party or swim with the children. Anything that might involve displaying my skin required me to retreat and hide. Haircuts were a terrifying procedure with the Barber hovering nervously with his clippers as he neared an afflicted area.
It was, though, a rather blunt and unmistakable pointed avoidance of a patch on my neck by a client during a meeting, that drove me to my desk in Salt Lake City and hover the cursor over Google and search, "psoriasis sufferers share their stories." This led me to Karma Ayurveda Reviews USA. Although I really didn't have much hope (being rather cynical about my chances, to say the least!), I read more and more and I saw something beyond the "miraculous" cures, or lack of them. It was the people sharing that they had rediscovered themselves, and it was that I was craving more than anything else. My life again and not my skin.
I booked an appointment. The first visit was different from any before and although they were looking at my skin, they were also inquiring about my sleeping pattern, eating habits, level of stress, the number of meals that I skipped throughout the day; a whole range of questions which revealed a terribly unhealthy life running alongside my disease. I decided to entrust myself to their individualized Ayurvedic approach, in conjunction with my existing medical care plan.
The first month was not the whirlwind of recovery I was anticipating, but was certainly demanding of me and required a great deal of commitment and dedication. The amount of processed food I was eating dropped drastically and I filled myself with fruits, vegetables and whole grains. I made sure to give my sleep the importance that it required and made a vow that I would always allocate time to taking a stroll in the brisk Utah air before I went to bed. There were times in this first month when I really thought that I could give it up but, in the early hours of one morning I did not wake up scratching my skin until it was red and raw. Gradually, it began to reduce in size and intensity and then disappeared altogether. The flakes cleared and what’s more, my mind was far clearer than it had ever been.
One Saturday morning, the neighbor’s barbecue was well underway and, by my wife’s insistence, I agreed to go. I had been wearing a ridiculously useless hat up until that Saturday afternoon but I walked out in the sunshine without one and I really don’t think anyone noticed, and if they did, it didn't bother me. I enjoyed food and conversation and that was that.
On the drive home I had a real epiphany. It wasn't my skin which held me hostage, it was my own thoughts on the topic that had taken over my life. I knew from living in Utah that it was highly unlikely that I would get much support but, Karma Ayurveda made every single follow-up call, on-line appointment and query feel deeply intimate and reassuring. They were never overly promising or quick to suggest miraculous cures and always believed in understanding, commitment and disciplined living. It gave me a whole lot of trust in them.
A few months later I went to my daughters’ graduation ceremony, wearing a beautiful black suit (okay, it was navy, but black nonetheless!) without giving my skin a second thought. In the middle of the service my daughter hugged me tightly around the neck and whispered in my ear, “Daddy, you look really happy today”.
And I was. Happiness is not skin deep; I felt happiness deep inside and was truly content because I was free.
My life style has changed radically for the better and my food choices are governed by commitment to my healthy eating plan, stress levels have been considerably reduced and I am getting the rest that I deserve. I have lost the scaly symptoms of the psoriasis and my style no longer need cater for the condition. If you are reading this Karma Ayurveda Reviews USA you’ve likely come here searching for an answer to a chronic condition that you feel is a prison. A prison where you can't look yourself in the mirror, where you must decline every social occasion, and where you feel constantly under scrutiny.
Confidence will come back slowly when the need to control your condition ceases. I lost the scales on my skin, but what I gained was so much more, the feeling of walking into a room full of people and not having one iota of care for their opinions of you. Karma Ayurveda was a vital step in recognizing that healing is not about becoming someone else, it's about regaining yourself. Freedom. The freedom to choose your clothes and wear the dress that you desire, to shake another's hand without reservation, to laugh out loud, to cry if you feel the need and above all the freedom to know that your story doesn't end here.
So if you are reading Karma Ayurveda Reviews USA, believing that you need a cure, sometimes getting well does not require changing into another person but returning to who you already are.