Hair testing is one way to get some accurate information about your current health situation.
Hair tests give you an insight into what’s happening with your metabolism. They can also show mineral ratios and toxin levels but they need to be interpreted properly.
This is the first one I did in June 2002 when I hit the wall. This is what is called ‘low’ four lows and a serious health issue. Severe burnout or complete adrenal exhaustion is one way to describe it. Hell is probably another way to describe it. Mineral levels are meant to all be in the ‘ideal’ range which is the shaded area. Even better, they should be close to the black lines within the ideal range.
‘Low’ Four Lows 🙁
2002. Age 28. As you can see, only Zinc is where it should be for me. I was completely burnout back then. The big four – Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium and Potassium, got used up as I ran on adrenalin and willpower for too long. Short bursts are okay, but going for months or years on end will use up these reserves.
The second test I did was in 2010; I was 38. Now you might be wondering what happened in between. Well, I didn’t realise how serious these imbalances were. The treatment plan was not what I wanted to hear, perhaps because it was too hard and was going to take longer than I was hoping. I was in denial and I obviously wasn’t ready to get better. I was jumping from one fix to the next. I was also listening to doctors who just said keep busy and working and stay positive. I needed more than that. At the time, I was looking for quick fix, I just wanted to get it over and done with so I could get my old life back. But my old life was destructive, why would I want to keep doing that? Because along with the lows came highs, I was obviously willing to do anything for those highs. This is where I had it all wrong and it took me along time to work out why.
The above test was done around Nov 2010. There hadn’t been any significant change after trying to do it myself. I had found a few treatments that had some positive effect on me, but I added in more supplements and gave it another go. I can’t recall exactly what happened but I think I began to feel better and thought I had fixed things.
I completely underestimated the discipline and effort required to balance these levels out once and for all. I also did not understand ‘retracement’ and how it can make you feel worse before you get better. Supplements are part of it but most likely will not work if they are solely relied upon. It takes a holistic approach that is ultimately designed by yourself, for yourself. Others can guide you, but no-one is ever going to be holding your hand every day telling you what to do and what not to do. It took me so long to stop relying on some other person or product to get me well.
Between 2010 and 2013 I had been making some progress but was still looking for some final pieces of the puzzle. I had stopped fighting it all and using willpower to get things done. It felt like I had given up in a way but this was part of recovery – not trying so hard. Giving up the fight and struggle and willing yourself to get well is not the way.
In late 2013, I decided to give it another shot and got a 3rd hair test done to see where I was at.
Here is a snapshot:
And the link below is the original in PDF format:
JH hair Test Oct 2013
After years of trying all sorts of treatments and then to be told I’m still severely burnt out was hard to take. I had to stop everything I was doing and have a complete re-think. It was obvious I was still going the wrong way about it. I had a few things right but I was completely missing other crucial areas. I had no choice but to keep on trying.
