Today is National Fibromyalgia Awareness Day and in honor of that I think it fitting to share a guest post from my new friend Sue Ingebretson of Rebuilding Wellness.

Becoming your own truth sleuth

Are you addressing the symptoms of your illness, or actually tackling the root causes? Living with chronic illnesses such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Lyme Disease, etc. provides you with a plethora of symptoms. Knowing the difference between symptoms and causes is a great place to begin your wellness journey.

Tackling the roots

Let’s take a look at what tackling the roots is all about. Imagine you have a small herb garden. You’re growing fragrant herbs such as cilantro and basil, to use in the kitchen. You’re also growing something you didn’t purposely cultivate – dandelions. Before long, your garden is dotted with yellow and you wonder how it got out of control so quickly. You consider your options.

You could: A) Spray chemicals that will definitely kill the dandelions, (and likely the herbs, too). B) Search for chemicals that are supposed to kill only the weeds (and risk consuming toxins as you eat the herbs). C) Cut off the tops of the dandelions, so you’re no longer bothered by the yellow. D) Spray paint the dandelions green so you don’t have to bother snipping off the buds. E) Pull the dandelions out of the ground — root and all.

Using the above scenario, examples A-D provide illustrations of treating the symptom rather than the root cause of the problem. Using option D (removing the dandelion completely), you have a garden that is dandelion-free. Once tackled, the problem needs minor maintenance thereafter. Taking example E a step further – you look for dandelions in areas surrounding your herb garden. You begin to weed them out there as well. You may have noticed that tackling the problem at the root isn’t usually the easiest option.

Naturally, we all gravitate toward shortcut solutions, but when it comes to health issues, take heart and tackle wisely! Tackling health challenges at the root provides us with opportunities to become our own truth sleuths. We search for clues by putting on our own Team Captain hats and choosing what’s best for us. Through self-discovery and personal investigation, we discover (and uproot) the causes of our own illness.

To learn or hear more from Sue and about her own story (watch the video) at http://www.rebuildingwellness.com/. She is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to chronic pain – the causes, symptoms and cures. I encourage you to go to the above site and connect with her online.

About the Author: Susan Ingebretson is a writer, speaker and the director of program development for the Fibromyalgia Research and Education Center at California State University, Fullerton. Her book,FibroWHYalgia: Why Rebuilding the Ten Root Causes of Chronic Illness Restores Chronic Wellness, details her own journey from illness to wellness.