Jo, Author at makeselfcaresimple.com

MindCraft

Self-Sabotage Proof Your First Challenge – Win the Day

By Jo

Just for a second a quiet corner of my mind reminds me of the latest self-care challenge I am ‘testing’ for the blog. The one I am supposed to be doing right now.

Today however, the UK has had its hottest day of the year and despite the best efforts of the fan I’m melting.

I really should start this new practice, but I just want to lie on my bed and not move, not do anything. Stay as cool as possible.

The truth is that this potentially health-changing new practice would only take a few minutes, no equipment or effort really needed, and could be done from the bed where I’m now laid.

But I’m also melting in this heat. On the hottest day of the year.

Sound familiar?

Excuses (some more valid than others) are how I self-sabotage my self-care efforts.

I know this because for decades I have been exploring self-sabotage when it comes to self-care. And me and my excuses have become old friends.

Today I want to help you self-sabotage-proof your first challenge so you can win the day. And then the challenge.

Jump to Recipe

Melting in the heat - a self-sabotage excuse?

Do you really want to fail (again)?

Whenever you do anything for the first time your mind can get in the way!

It can feel like self-sabotage, as if there is a part of you that wants you to fail.

This is because your mind is programmed to value known experiences and outcomes.

A cascade of Self-sabotage patterns are triggered when you start to make any new changes.

And these self-sabotage patterns feel like truth.

**Sneaky Self-Sabotage Signs that Feel like Truth**

It’s helpful to be prepared by knowing what sneaky self-sabotage signs to look for.

Here are a few common signs I’ve seen in clients and experienced myself.

*Keep forgetting/ignoring any reminders
*I don’t have enough time/energy etc (Excuses).
*Doubts – will this even work? I’ve never heard of this before.
*Fears – am I doing this wrong? Will I look foolish or be judged?
*Limiting beliefs – this won’t work for me (nothing does)

These (and others) are all examples of how your brain tries to protect you.

AND

These thoughts will be accompanied by uncomfortable feelings which strengthen the message.

For example, when you realise you forgot to complete today’s challenge you may also experience a twinge of guilt and mean self-talk ‘I am useless!’

Or with a limiting belief of ‘this won’t work for me’ your mind might remind you of past failures so you experience the remembered pain and frustration of experiencing failure ‘nothing ever works for me’.

BTW I have experienced all of these self-sabotage patterns and so do most people.

Psst… want a simple way to complete your first self-care challenge? Grab my FREE Self-Care Challenge Toolkit and start today

Feelings Self-Sabotage-Proof-Self-care — Human emotion mind map, positive and negative emotions, flowchart concept for presentations and reports

**Why would my mind work against me?**

Good question. Doesn’t my mind exist to do my bidding?

Er Not always. It’s complicated.

With every new change you make there is always a certain level of risk (will it/won’t it work) and your default protector-brain wants you to avoid risk at all costs.

Your past is sprinkled with painful failures and your mind tries to protect you from making more.

Your brain is wired to survive by avoiding change to reduce new risks/threats.

So the protector-brain uses every tactic in the book to test your resolve before you start something new – clever!

Unless you, the controller, override the programme.

Become the Controller.

Your protector-brain is a very good thing – it looks out for you 24/7 to stop you taking impulsive actions or doing something new without good reason.

The brain is designed with an override button that gives you free will and choice to make new changes that you decide are worth the risk.

Testing new healthy changes is usually worth the risk when it comes to starting your self-care challenge.

The main risk is no results after wasting a few minutes each day for 28 days.

But unless you override the default programme, the protector brain will trigger self-sabotage patterns even with healthy changes.

The first step to override an over-protective brain is to become aware the instant any self-sabotage pattern starts.

Having read this article, you are one step-closer to notice and question the protector’s thoughts and feelings.

‘Ah, is this my protector brain?’

How to Override your Self-Sabotage Patterns

Then you are going to remind yourself, and your mind, why you chose to do the challenge. You are going to soothe your protector brain into switching the alert off.

You can gently remind yourself.

“I am trying this challenge for the next 28-days to see if this is something that my body needs to help it repair and function.”

Can you see how reasonable and soothing this reply is?

Instead of ‘I am terrible/useless/hopeless, always trying to self-sabotage myself’

Or giving up…

Don’t Skip This Important Step

In my opening example, what I actually did was to complete some of the self-care practice immediately after recognising my excuse for what it was. A test from my brain!

I actually didn’t do all of the practice (because it was true I was melting in the heat) but enough to reinforce my choice that this is important to me.

The brain will keep trying to test me over the next few days. Do you really want to make this new change?

This is perfectly normal and a sign of a healthy protector-brain.

You might have to hunt down all the sneaky ways your brain tries to stop you making new healthy changes when you start a new self-care challenge.

Then make that healthy change as soon as possible to reinforce your decision that this new change (challenge) is important.

Of course self-care is only one area of your life that this happens!

Finally the Good News!

There is some good news…

After a while it does get easier to recognise self-sabotage tactics before they stop you.

Like myself, you will start to notice your default self-sabotage patterns.

You might be a doubter or excuse-maker like me, or maybe more of a worrier, or perfectionist or something else, just notice how your protector shows up. There is no right or wrong protector!

I found that my self-sabotage patterns especially around self-care (Where I have practiced being the controller the most) has reduced in intensity and is really quite half-hearted these days.

Keep this in Mind…

The aim is for new healthy changes to become automatic habits.

Which is why after the 28-day challenge, if you decide to add this practice to your regular SelfCare Menu, you continue the practice.

Having spent the last 28-days overriding any self-sabotage attempts, and following the practice consistently, you’ve set up this new practice to become another healthy habit.

That runs on automatic. While you focus on other things.

Next Steps

Each time you start a new self-care challenge you can self-sabotage-proof your goals simply by understanding your mind a little better.

I’ve listed ‘Self-Sabotage your Day – Step by Step‘ for you to download in the handy recipe section below. You can download it as a PDF.

Hopefully now you understand why your mind ‘tests’ your resolve to make healthy new changes through self-sabotage tactics you have a new perspective and way forward!

Sometimes to complete the challenge or reach your end-goal you simply have to win the day.

That quiet part of my mind I mentioned at the beginning? It is another part of your brain that is designed to remind you of your goal. Something to discuss next time.

Well-done! You have completed another step towards making selfcare simple

Awareness is powerful — but it becomes transformation when you track and apply it. The toolkit helps you put your insights into practice

Free Self-Care Start-Up Toolkit

Turn inspiration into lasting results — with a simple system that helps self-care finally work with your body, not against it.

If you’ve been reading along and thinking, “I’d love to try this myself one day…” — you don’t have to wait, or wonder where to start.

The Free Self-Care Start-Up Toolkit gives you the gentle structure to make your first challenge easy, personal, and effective.
It’s the same step-by-step approach I use when following the challenges alongside you — so you’ll feel supported every step of the way.

Inside, you’ll find:
🌿 A gentle Before Assessment to pinpoint what your body truly needs — so you can stop guessing and start seeing real results
🌿 Step-by-step guidance (plus short video walkthroughs) to choose the right self-care challenge for your needs — and actually complete it.
🌿 Printable planners, reflections, and trackers to help you stay consistent
🌿 Access to our private community (coming soon!) — for gentle accountability and encouragement

You’ll also receive:
💌 Weekly self-care reminders, new challenges, and encouragement in the Make Self-Care Simple newsletter
🪴 Access to our free private community — where women share progress, celebrate wins, and remind each other we’re not alone

👉 Send Me My Free Toolkit

🧠 MindCraft Pathway — mindset tools to stay consistent and inspired from within.

Make Self Care Simple shares general self-care education for inspiration only. I’m not providing medical advice — always check what’s right for you with a qualified health professional.

Want to remember the key points about self-sabotage? Click the ‘Recipe’ below to print or save a summary!

Self-Sabotage Proof Your day – Step by Step

Notes

Self-Sabotage Proof Your day – Step by Step

Step 1

Look-out for your personal self-sabotage signs and patterns. They can surface the moment you go to do something new for the first time, and days later.

They can start off very subtle, just enough to make you pause and hesitate. But increase in intensity when challenged or ignored.

Step 2

Soothe the protector part of your mind by reminding yourself why you are exploring a new self-care practice. * You will notice that I provide details and links to further information for each self-care challenge.

Step 3

Action your new self-care practice. This reinforces your choice and helps override any self-sabotage. Even if you only do part of it. For instance I used to ‘forget’ to fully chew my first mouthful, so I would chew a later mouthful or put a reminder up. Anything to ‘confirm’ I really do want to test if chewing my food makes a difference.

Step 4

Repeat. You want a strong protector part of your mind, the idea isn’t to shut it down completely. It is simply asking you to confirm you really want to do something new and that is a good thing. And it will test your answer by coming up with another sabotage tactic.

View Post

Self-Care Monthly Updates

November Self-Care: When Pause Became Progress

By Jo

If you’re new here, I share a Self-Care Update every month — not a polished highlight reel, but a real look at what’s happening in my body and my healing journey. Here’s November.

1. My Month in a Few Words

I thought this month was going to be “Maintenance,” but it turned out to be a Recovery month between rounds of treatment (antibiotics for SIBO).
It reminded me how unpredictable healing can be.

2. What I Noticed in My Body

The first round of treatment was more intense than expected, and my body spent most of the month trying to find its footing again. I had almost constant histamine reactions, and my system seemed to divert all its energy into calming itself down. (I share my personal SIBO/Histamine journey here)

That meant everything non-essential had to shut down.
If I tried to concentrate for too long, the brain fog arrived.
If I pushed even a little, it felt like I’d run a marathon — exhausted and aching from head to toe.

3. The Self-Care Practices I Returned To

The practice I always return to is supporting my body through what I eat, it’s one of the core practices on my Self-Care Menu (my living list of what actually helps my body).
While my diet often feels restricted, the truth is that what I do (and don’t) eat has the biggest impact on how quickly I feel better or worse.

It’s a constant “give and take” between what my body needs and what I enjoy — and that’s really what personalised self-care is: adjusting, experimenting, and finding the middle ground.

4. What Helped the Most

Listening to my body, then adjusting my practices and daily life, helped the most this month.

I had hoped to add more movement — I’d enjoyed it so much last month — but this wasn’t the time. Instead, I learned to ease off, and to trust that a little bit was better than pushing… and better than doing nothing.

Even on the hardest days, I at least started — even if two minutes later, I needed to stop.

5. What I Adjusted

I had planned to explore some new challenges, but I had to postpone this plan.
There was nothing left in the battery, and pushing myself would have backfired.

I promised these updates would be real — and sometimes real life simply doesn’t go to plan.

6. What I Learned About My Body

My body takes longer to recover than it used to.
To be fair, I had no idea how intense the treatment would be, and it’s easy to forget that medicines that “fix you” also demand a lot from your system.

I kept reminding myself of this whenever frustration crept in.

7. My Gentle Win

I didn’t fight my body.
I didn’t give up.
I didn’t get frustrated (too much).
And I kept resting.

That’s a win.

8. Life Context

You can’t avoid stress.
Life happens, and sometimes it’s scary and you feel powerless to find an answer.
This month had several of those moments.

On weeks like that, self-care becomes less about progress and more about survival — and that still counts.

9. Intention for Next Month

I’m about to start another (longer) round of treatment.
So my intention is simple: nurture my body the best I can.

10. Final Reflection

If you have a month like this, it’s easy to feel like no progress has been made.
My tracking sheet looks a bit grim.

But me and my body are a team.

Some months, I ask my body to step up and do more — and we enjoy the results.
Other months, my body says, “I can’t right now — I need your support.”

And every time I listen, we get a little closer.
That, to me, is a whole new level of progress.

Catch up on Last month or Next month.

If you’re reading this and thinking,
“I want to take better care of myself… but I don’t know where to start,”
you’re not alone.

My Free Self-Care Start-Up Toolkit is a gentle way to begin. Inside, you’ll find tools to help you:

tune into what your body needs right now
choose one simple self-care practice
notice small, meaningful shifts — without pressure

It’s a soft starting point, especially after months like this one.

👉 Download Your Free Toolkit

View Post

My Long Covid Histamine SIBO Journey

Week 4 – New Symptoms with my SIBO & Histamine Diet

By Jo

Week 4 of my Long Covid, Histamine & SIBO journey I discover that the combined low histamine and fodmap diet can cause new symptoms – and that one of them might be good news!

New Symptoms on low Histamine & Fodmaps Diet

My restrictive low fodmap (sibo) and histamine diet definitely helped improve the uncomfortable bloating, gas and stretched feeling in my upper stomach.

Although there is still a fullness and slight swelling in that area – I guess housing all those bacteria requires extra room?

And I know from experience that my histamine reactions would be far worse and more frequent if I didn’t avoid the high histamine foods.

So I am definitely confident the diet is supporting my histamine and sibo symptoms while I work on healing the root causes.

However I did start to notice two new symptoms which I think were caused by the diet.

Please note this is my personal journey, not medical advice

Just landed on this page?

You can start from the beginning HERE or Week 3 HERE

Starving Intestinal ‘bad’ Bacteria through Diet

The diet is designed to starve the bacteria of the foods they love to feast on – carbohydrates and yeasts. ** There is no scientific proof of bacteria starving but it feels real when you go through it!

Bacterial signalling is when the bacteria signals your brain that it needs and craves sugar – it can make you feel desperate and emotional – but is really just the bacteria controlling you..

Anyone who has struggled with candida overgrowth will recognise this situation.

Between weeks 3 and 4, I really started to notice cravings. Random images of my favourite past treats – chocolate – kept popping into my head with the emotion of ‘its not fair’ being triggered.

To be fair my diet had been low sugar for quite a while as any refined sugar – even natural stevia, maple syrup, honey, xylitol, and coconut sugars caused horrible skin rashes and boils over my face.

Luckily I am just vain enough to be horrified and quickly remove as much sugar as possible.

** Strangely enough Agave syrup did not cause a histamine reaction – but am sure it is high fodmap and feeds those pesky bacteria.

Instead of succumbing to chocolate (remember the boils!) The cravings sent by the bacteria strengthened my resolve.

I was glad the bacteria were starving, getting weaker.

Because bacteria robbing me of all my nutrients meant I was also getting weaker.

This can slow your Gut Motility (Sluggish Bowel)

The combined low fodmap (sibo) and histamine diet includes resistant starches such as potato, rice, quinoa and oats.

Resistant Starches are considered beneficial for people with Sibo and IBS as they bypass the small intestines and feed the good bacteria that you need in the large intestines. They are also said to improve the gut barrier and reduce gut permeability.

This is all great.

Just be aware that resistant starches can slow your gut motility – slow your bowel transit time or even cause constipation.

I had enjoyed eating sweet potatoes but the 75g portion size (cooked) had felt challenging to stick to and if you go above this amount sweet potato becomes high fodmap and feeds the bacteria.

Same with oats, I love them, but have noticed that my portion size can creep up.

My typical low fodmap (sibo) & histamine meal plan included one resistant starch and a protein with some of the limited vegetable choices at each meal

This combination of starch and protein caused my normal transit time to slow right down.

Now for some people a slower bowel transit time would be no problem at all!

But I needed a good transit time because of a crucial new remedy I was keen to begin using. This remedy was known to slow the bowel transit time and yet to work effectively needed to not hang around in the colon for too long.

**More on this new remedy in week 5!

This week was spent exploring how to ease constipation and sluggish bowel naturally – especially when you can’t tolerate or take the usual OTC medications and remedies. It proved so helpful that I turned it into a simple challenge you can try yourself – see HERE.

I almost missed this Obvious Tactic!

In between encouraging my bowel to work better and dealing with bacteria signalling I almost missed an obvious tactic.

DAO – Diamine oxidase – is an enzyme that breaks down histamine in the stomach. About 9 months ago I started taking one capsule each morning and it acted like a miracle in reducing the intensity and frequency of my reactions.

As I mentioned before, there is only one brand that suits my body, and honestly it is quite expensive.

As I was searching for more solutions and answers I suddenly realised that maybe I needed to take a 2nd DAO capsule before my evening meal?

Sometimes we almost miss the obvious!

Why More is not always Good

Reducing my intense histamine reactions was a big relief – because the constant reactions impacted my energy levels, cognitive ability, general weakness not to mention potential damage to my eye-sight and vagus nerve.

However the fact that I needed more DAO was not great news

One negative was that I would need to order double the amount of expensive tablets!

The other negative was that needing a 2nd DAO Enzyme indicated that my digestion was getting weaker.

This made sense as my diary shows that I was having histamine reactions 4 – 5 days a week and those reactions were to foods/scents etc that previously I had been able to tolerate.

On the days that I remembered to take this 2nd capsule my reactions were milder. I kept forgetting to take them before my evening meal and they don’t work after you’ve eaten.

My daughter got fed up with her forgetful mum and took action

So now if you meet me late afternoon and hear angry barking – it is just my mobile phone reminding me to take the blasted 2nd DAO!

Summary of week 4

Bacterial Signalling – shows up as cravings – and is a positive sign that your diet is starving the bacteria.
The restrictive low histamine & Sibo diet can mean that your meals include a larger % of resistant starches with protein which in some people can cause a sluggish bowel
Needing to take more DAO Enzyme is a sign that my digestion is getting weaker
In order to prepare for a new remedy I need to ensure my bowel has every support I can provide (and tolerate)

Interested in Natural Self-Care?

Hope you found my own (far from perfect) journey helpful on some level – even if it’s just reassuring to know you are not alone on the ups and downs of caring for your body and health!

Why not discover how I use Self-care to support my own journey and explore all the free support that’s included?

View Post

My Long Covid Histamine SIBO Journey

Exploring Root Causes of Histamine & SIBO – week 3

By Jo

This is week 3 of my personal long covid, histamine & SIBO healing journey, including how I respond to self-care setbacks and challenges. This week I explore root causes, how my body got out of balance in the first place.

I’m not going to lie – I felt pretty low after reacting to the Oregano capsules.

I think the SIBO test coming back as positive gave me hope and confidence that I was close to figuring out some answers.

I had spent years dealing with increasingly worse symptoms but the drs could find nothing wrong with me.

Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) described me exactly but here in the UK the hospital told me they do not recognise the condition. And fobbed me off with a general Long Covid label and nothing they could do.

But SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth) was starting to be known in the UK and was increasingly being linked to Histamine Overload (or HIT Intolerance) and MCAS.

In theory, if I killed off the bacteria in my small intestines that was causing my immune system to go into overdrive, then healing was in sight?

I thought I finally had the start of a healing plan.

But if I couldn’t tolerate the medicine – Oregano essential oil capsules – then my plan couldn’t work.

The Dr Calls

My GP called me as I had sent him my SIBO results. He mentioned that I had 10x the amount of bacteria in my small intestines than I should. I have no idea how much extra bacteria other people have with SIBO?

We discussed why so many of my symptoms are only on my right side.

He felt it was nerve damage – Vagus Nerve.

Vagus nerve support was already on my radar – more to come about this.

Because symptoms on my right side were getting worse we discussed b12 being deficient. B12 supports the nervous system and the Vagus nerve.

The bacteria overgrowth in the small intestine block B12 from being absorbed along with many other crucial nutrients – which is a frustrating feedback loop.

Histamine overload is made worse when you are deficient in nutrients (for many important functions) and SIBO makes you deficient in nutrients.

B12 is tricky. I have been low in it before, but the supplement can and does cause reactions when I try to take it.

My GP offered antibiotics and antihistamines if I needed them. And I am grateful to know he will support me should I have no other choice.

A Strategy and Plan B

So I had stopped everything except the DAO, Boulardii and Vitamin C. I kept my diet and environment clean to reduce reactions.

I also started the B Complex (turns your wee yellow) as my body can tolerate that and at least some b vitamins are getting in.

Once I have had a big reaction – my body goes on hyper alert and reacts to tiny things.

It was a tiring week.(few years actually)

But I was curious. What else could I do if essential oil capsules made me react? Was there another natural remedy?

Was SIBO the real root cause? Why did I have SIBO?

Maybe SIBO was just another symptom of a deeper imbalance and root cause?

I was back on the trail of the root cause – which I needed before I could form a strategy and plan B.

I came across this interesting video about the many root causes of Histamine Intolerance (Overload) which I thought was worth sharing with you.

This video explains why this condition is so complex and if you suspect histamine might be causing your allergies and food intolerances and other random symptoms it is well worth watching to understand possible causes.

I suspected low stomach acid and leaky gut (gut permeability) and the covid viral infection as my main causes of SIBO and Histamine Overload. Contracting Covid after a few years of high level Stress probably impacted Vagus nerve function which directly impacted digestive function.

Discovering my root causes, the reason why my body had become so unbalanced that it was screaming for help through such intense (Histamine & SIBO) symptoms, felt like a huge step forward.

Digestion/Immunity and Vagus nerve/Adrenal stress were where I needed to focus my self-care alongside reducing the symptoms of bacteria in my small intestine and soothing those histamine reactions.

There is no doubt this is a complex condition, made worse because it is not recognised by most health professionals at the early stages – which is why I am sharing my journey.

Herbs to the Rescue?

Herbs of course are a huge passion of mine. Should I try oregano leaf tincture as a much weaker alternative to the essential oil capsules that my body might tolerate – not to mention adding Oregano to every meal?

Having been a herbalist for over 20 years this was something I could explore – if my body could tolerate the remedy. Herbal teas** had been fine so far and a big part of my personal self-care. But to kill bacteria would need a strong tincture.

I would also need to work on the root causes at the same time. Would my body tolerate so many (beloved) herbs and remedies?

I knew this gentle plan could take longer, like months and months on a restricted diet and lifestyle. With the risk that the bacteria blocking essential nutrition and continual histamine reactions could damage my nervous system even more.

** Many healing and wonderful herbal teas are either high histamine or high fodmap – meaning they can make your symptoms worse until you resolve the underlying cause.

Was I being realistic?

Or was this time to see my GP? And if I did would my body cope with various antihistamines? A childhood spent taking endless rounds of antibiotics that had weakened my health 30 years ago, made me wary.

What would I decide to do next?

View Post

Self-Care Monthly Updates

Messy, 60, and Still Showing Up: Self-Care October 2025

By Jo

October Reflections: What My Body Needed This Month

Welcome to my first Self-Care update!

This is my own Menu of Self-Care in action. I decided to share this toward the end of October — so it’s more of a snapshot than a perfectly tracked challenge. A good place to start, I think.

It was also my 60th birthday month, and I began a new medication and treatment, which made this a bit of a messy month for self-care focus. Chances are, you’ll have messy months too.

Even so, I’m proud of my progress. My scores aren’t the highest, but they’re real. I used my simple tracking system (and I’m sharing it below). For 28 days, my goal was to score 2 points per self-care action each day, making a total of 56.

2 = completed fully
1 = did something
0 = didn’t do it

Including a “1” for partial effort keeps me motivated — it reminds me that simply starting matters.

Try it yourself. You might be surprised how small consistency builds real momentum.

My Menu in October 2025

My core Menu of Self-Care includes practices I’ve followed for many months, with a few new challenges added in.

The main challenge to explore this month was the ‘Ease Constipation Challenge’ from the Practical Self-care Pathway. Although at first glance I thought I was already doing most of this already, once I started the challenge I realised:

I was not as consistent with these on a daily basis as I had assumed – being more consistent made a difference.

Increasing the intensity of each practice just a little bit also made a difference to my results.

These were reflections from my body – wonder what your body will tell you?

My October Self-Care Tracking Snapshot

This month, I started using my new Living Menu Tracker — a colour-coded system that turns daily habits into a visual story.
Each self-care practice is scored out of 56 (2 = completed, 1 = partial, 0 = skipped).
As I enter my scores, the chart changes in real time — and seeing those shifts in colour has been incredibly motivating.

Self-Care Updates - Tracking October 2025 Makeselfcaresimple

At a glance, I can see which practices are thriving (deeper greens) and which need a little more love.
My Monthly Average for October was 75%, which feels like solid progress for a month that included new medication, treatment, and my 60th birthday!

This new tracker has become an ‘in real-time’ accountability partner — visual proof that small actions make a difference to the end result.

Stay in touch to see how I get on with my tracking system over the coming months

Insights & Awareness

This month taught me that doing something even on ‘messy’ months can still move me forward and make a difference.

There was a time when I would have given up completely and waited until next month to start again. Experience (lots of messy days) has taught me I can always ‘start again’ and ‘get back up’ as soon as I choose.

While Flaxseed was a game-changer for easing constipation — I was surprised how effective combining regular water, movement and salad greens were.

More proof that often the body just needs basic self-care consistently and at the right amounts.

And what makes it fascinating is that each of us has to find, through experimenting through the challenges’ what works best for our own body

Looking Ahead

In November, I won’t add a new Practical challenge. Instead, I’ll focus on maintaining my existing routines while exploring some of the new Nourish and Align & Uplift practices.

If you’d like to explore alongside me, I’ll share more details in the regular newsletter and in the community. Join Here.

Until Next Month

Thank you for walking alongside me — self-care really is easier when we share the journey.

Until next month, stay curious and kind to yourself. 💛

— Jo

View Post

MindCraft

Listening to the Language of Your Body

By Jo

Your body is constantly speaking to you through sensations, signals, and symptoms — but most of us have forgotten how to listen. This guide shows you how to recognise those messages and use them to create a personalised, responsive self-care practice.

How to Understand Symptoms as Your Body’s Way of Communicating

Why This Matters

The first and greatest self-care skill you can learn is how to listen to the wisdom of your own body.
Your body knows what it needs and is constantly communicating with you — if you know how to listen.

What I call body wisdom is a primal survival system — one that wild creatures still use instinctively, yet many of us have forgotten in modern life.

When you reconnect with this natural awareness, you gain:

Personal guidance and insight.
Confidence in your self-care choices.
A sense of partnership instead of frustration.

🌿You and your body are a team — you need each other.

Step 1 – Understanding Body Wisdom

Body wisdom is your ability to develop a deeper connection through active listening.
Your body constantly sends feedback through sensations, feelings, and especially symptoms.
Becoming aware of this feedback allows you to communicate and respond in real time.

Step 2 – Rethink What Symptoms Mean

Old view: symptoms are problems that need fixing.
New view: symptoms are messages — your body’s way of saying, “I need your help.”

When I was in my twenties and struggling with my health, I often felt betrayed by my body. I’d think, “Why can’t it just tell me what’s wrong?”
Now I know — it was telling me, through symptoms.

Your body’s goal is to keep you alive. When something is out of balance, its systems send you alerts designed to get your attention.

🌿Example – Dehydration in Action

If you don’t drink enough water, your body starts signalling for help.

Early warning signs:

Thirst
Dry mouth
Tiredness
Dark urine
Less frequent urination

Ignore these, and the signals grow louder: dizziness, headaches, fatigue.

Each symptom is a message:

“Please give me more fluids so I can function well.”

When you respond — and symptoms ease — your body says:

“Thank you, that’s exactly what I needed.”

🌿Next time you feel thirsty or tired, pause and ask:

“What might my body be trying to tell me?”

Step 3 – Listening as a Skill

Before I trained as a medical herbalist, I never listened to my body.
I saw fatigue and pain as failure, not feedback.
Now I see them as requests for help.

If we were all taught to interpret our symptoms as communication, our health journeys would look very different.

It’s never too late to start listening.

Step 4 – Notice How Loud Your Body Speaks

Your body uses volume to show urgency:

Whisper → mild symptom (dry mouth, stiffness, tiredness)
Talk → moderate symptom (fatigue, mild pain)
Shout → loud symptom (headache, sharp pain, exhaustion)

🌿Pain is a “red alert.” It’s your body shouting, “Something needs to change now.”

Step 5 – Start a Two-Way Conversation

You already respond to many signals automatically:

Hungry → eat
Cold → add a layer
Full → stop eating

Now, extend that same awareness to subtler symptoms.

🧘 Try This: Mini Awareness Practice

Notice a symptom.
Ask: What was happening just before it appeared?
Respond: Move, stretch, breathe, drink, or rest.
Observe: Does it ease, worsen, or stay the same?

Example: when I sit writing for too long, I ache. That’s my body saying, “Move me.”
I stretch every 25 minutes; the ache fades — message received.

Step 6 – Track Your Symptoms

Think of it like the childhood “hot or cold” game:

Helpful change → symptom eases (warmer)
Unhelpful change → symptom persists (colder)

Tracking helps you discover what truly supports you.
You can learn more inside the Free Self-Care Start-Up Toolkit.

Step 7 – Supporting Your Body Without Silencing It

Support your body without silencing it — Medical Patient Drug Care Concept

Painkillers and medications are often essential tools that make life manageable. They quiet symptoms so you can function, rest, and recover — an important part of healing.

What’s helpful is to stay gently curious about what’s happening underneath:

“What might my body still need, even while I’m managing this symptom?”

Think of relief as a window of support — a time when your body has less stress and more capacity to heal.

Whether symptoms are temporary or ongoing:

Relief allows rest.
Awareness maintains connection.
Together they support long-term wellbeing.

🌿Using medication wisely and compassionately is self-care. Listening simply helps you work with your body, not against it.

Step 8 – Notice Subtlety and Responsiveness

Every body speaks differently. Some are loud and responsive; others are quieter.
The small, easily dismissed sensations — the “just me” moments — are often amber lights asking for early attention.

They’re also the first to change when your self-care is working.

Start small:

When do symptoms appear or fade?
What patterns do you see?
Which actions help most?

🧘 Step 9 – Make It a Daily Dialogue

Check in with your body often:

What do I feel right now?
What is my body asking for?
How does it respond when I listen?

With practice, this becomes second nature — a quiet, steady partnership guiding your wellbeing.

💡 Key Takeaways

Listening to your body — self-care awareness practice”

Symptoms are communication, not enemies.
Listening is self-care. Awareness is the first step to healing.
Tracking teaches your body’s language.
Relief and awareness can coexist.
Your body wants to feel good too. It just needs your help.

🌿 Reflection Prompt

How might your relationship with your body change if you treated every symptom as a message rather than a problem?

Well-done! You have completed another step towards making selfcare simple

Start practising the art of listening — your body will thank you.

Awareness is powerful — but it becomes transformation when you track and apply it. The toolkit helps you put your insights into practice

Free Self-Care Start-Up Toolkit

Turn inspiration into lasting results — with a simple system that helps self-care finally work with your body, not against it.

If you’ve been reading along and thinking, “I’d love to try this myself one day…” — you don’t have to wait, or wonder where to start.

👉 Send Me My Free Toolkit

🪻 Align & Uplift Pathway — reconnect with calm, joy, and emotional balance

Make Self Care Simple shares general self-care education for inspiration only. I’m not providing medical advice — always check what’s right for you with a qualified health professional.

View Post

My Long Covid Histamine SIBO Journey

First Steps after Testing Positive for SIBO – Week 2

By Jo

In week 2 of my Long Covid Histamine SIBO Healing Journey I talk about my first steps after testing positive for SIBO

Have you been diagnosed with both Histamine overload/intolerance HIT (allergies, inflammation, skin issues, food intolerance, MCAS, fatigue) and SIBO (bacterial overgrowth, candida, IBS, bloating, digestive problems, fatigue) issues?

There is a long list of common symptoms which you might be ‘living with’ or ‘managing’ with long-term medications that can be linked to a condition called SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth)

Below I share what my first steps were after being tested positive for SIBO in week 2 of my own Long Covid, Histamine & SIBO healing journey.

Just found this post? Start from the beginning HERE

Please note this is my personal journey, not medical advice.

The SIBO Test Result Practitioner Feedback Video

I had paid to not only have the SIBO test but also have a personal practitioner video (7 minutes) explaining my results and suggested next steps.

In the UK SIBO is not easy to get tested for by your local Dr which is why I paid to go private.

The gist of my message was that it was not good to stay on a restricted diet for any length of time (completely agree) but that I would have to combine low histamine and Sibo diet guidelines and find what worked for me to start with. They provided handouts for both, listing which foods I could eat.

There were very few foods on both lists.

The reality is that I was having daily histamine reactions, my upper stomach was painfully swollen and I just wanted to get better – fast.

Which is why I chose to start with a very strict and limited diet of both low fodmap (sibo) and low histamine diet.

And to be fair this tactic has helped reduce my bloating. See HERE for details of my low fodmap and histamine meal plan..

My suggested SIBO Remedies

When it came to my SIBO remedies my practitioner was careful to highlight that when you have Histamine Overload or MCAS you have to go carefully and see what your body will react to.

This I have found is a repeating theme.

While both Histamine (MCAS) and SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth) are commonly found together to fix one often causes issues with the other.

I was already taking DAO (Diamine oxidase) an enzyme that breaks histamine down – something that really helps me although if I take more than one capsule my stomach feels weird. It is also expensive. If I know I might be going to eat something that might release histamine I take an extra DAO.

I also take the probiotic Saccharomyces-Boulardii every evening as this helps with Histamine, inflammation and digestive issues as well.

Along with Vitamin C, D and B complex supplements.

Why I take so many Supplements

Yea I spend a fortune on supplements but have taken breaks and researched and tested and these all seem to help my body. In fact I went a couple of months without supplements in case they were causing histamine reactions (common) but actually slowly started to feel worse without them.

The bacteria that shouldn’t be in my small intestine (SIBO) can stop nutrients from being absorbed by the small intestine so you quickly become malnourished.

And being low in vitamins and minerals make it harder for the body to deal with inflammation and histamine or killing off bacteria.

This makes you feel exhausted.

Are Oregano Capsules as good as Antibiotics?

The general opinion (from various research trials) found that essential oil of Oregano kills off ‘bad’ bacteria as well, if not better, than antibiotics when it comes to SIBO.

So this is what my practitioner suggested for me. Along with a prebiotic that encouraged good bacteria.

I was told to start slowly and build up and see how my body reacted.

Massive Reaction to Oregano?

I did start slow with 1 capsule.

All fine.

So the next day I added an evening capsule.

And then I had a massive histamine reaction that lasted days.

Not only did I have swelling around my eye, but I had dizziness and felt faint every time I stood up, my whole body ached from head to toe, my eczema went crazy, my skin erupted on my face, my stomach hurt and my bowel stopped.

In fact the constipation (a new symptom for me) was distressing.

I could not function for 2-3 days.

Being honest, I probably went too fast with the capsules. Maybe one a day for a week or more or even start on alternative days.

Lesson learned.

If you read this and have allergy-type Histamine issues as well as SIBO you might be fine with Oregano Capsules just learn from my experiences and go very s-l-o-w.

Die-off or Reaction? Is the Big Question

Friends asked if it was just Die-off symptoms – a common reaction when you start to kill bacteria, who release chemicals as protection which can give you unpleasant symptoms.

Maybe it was.

But I feel it was a reaction as I am not sure how many bacteria would be killed off with just 3 capsules over 48 hours.

Also essential oils are something I personally often react to – so putting them inside my body was probably not such a good idea?

I was gutted.

But every instinct told me not to take them again.

So back to the drawing board for week 3.

Final thoughts on week 2

I do think that Oregano capsules can be very effective for killing off bacteria in the small intestine (SIBO)

I definitely got impatient and went too quickly – big lesson for the future.

I think that as I seem to have reactions to anything that contains essential oils it makes sense that I would not tolerate ingesting essential oils – even with highly tested capsules.

Read week 3 next!

Discovering the root cause of Histamine & SIBO

View Post

My Long Covid Histamine SIBO Journey

What I eat on a combined low histamine and fodmap diet – week 1

By Jo

This is my personal journey to heal myself from both SIBO and Histamine Intolerance that were part of my Long Covid diagnosis. In this blog post I share what I did next after recieiving a positive test for SIBO. Including what I could eat on a low fodmap histamine diet.

I was so relieved to finally have a concrete diagnosis after taking the SIBO test. After years of being told my results were ‘fine’ and ‘normal’, even though I didn’t feel fine or normal a positive results for Hydrogen SIBO felt like progress.

Of course I couldn’t know what was ahead of me – but I remember feeling positive and hopeful.

Histamine intolerance – really overload – (reactions) causes me various unpleasant and unexpected symptoms and SIBO explained a new uncomfortable swelling in my upper stomach – both conditions are linked to each other and Long Covid – you can read more HERE

The private test I paid for included not only the test results, but a 7-minute personal video and healing plan.

My results took about 2 weeks to come back and I made the most of this time.

I spent a lot of this time researching and making lists of foods that are low in both histamine and fodmaps (SIBO)

There is a LOT of information about foods, diet and recipes for low Histamine OR FODMAP but very little about what to eat when you need foods that are low in both!

My low fodmap histamine foodlist list was not very long.

Blueberries are about the only fruit. The only sweetener I could find was pure stevia drops (which I reacted to) or tiny amounts of Maple Syrup.

Nutbutter is essential for many of my recipes and the allowed list includes Pecan (quite bitter) Macadamia nuts (lovely!) and Hemp and Pumpkin seeds.** Check amounts and individual sensitivity. This is enough to enjoy milks, dressings, smoothies and treats!

Potatoes, parsnips, swedes, courgettes, broccoli, carrots, lettuce, kale and cucumber are the main vegetables. Onions are problematic, you can test just the green part of spring onions and leeks, and garlic olive oil.

Rice, oats and quinoa make up the grains. I struggle with rice.

Plain cook from scratch meat, fish and maybe eggs are OK – but if they have anything added they are not allowed. Also you have to freeze and defrost just before you cook. No left-overs hanging around. I had to avoid eggs and my weekly shop included (plain) roast turkey, chicken and salmon. With occassional red meat.

Olive oil and Ghee are both acceptable to cook with. I did get myself some garlic olive oil but had to only add drops to avoid any reaction. I read that full fat Mayonnaise is OK in small amounts ? – I found a brand that I tolerated (thank goodness) watered down to start with.

Vinegar and lemon juice are high in histamine and fodmap and after a lot of research I got myself Verjus** – sour unripe grape juice which in small amounts might be tolerated and tastes like a mellow vinegar.** Update I started to react

Many spices are high histamine and some herbs are high fodmaps so you have to proceed with caution.

Ginger is your best friend for flavour and to soothe your symptoms, to this you can add Turmeric, Cardamom and Lemon Grass.

Chamomile and Hibsicus and many other herbal teas are not allowed. But a pinch of dried herbs as seasoning I think is ok.

Is low histamine and fodmap Foodie Hell?

When I was researching how limited my food choices were – it did feel like foodie hell.

But I decided to focus on what I could eat and how I could adapt traditional recipes.

This was definitely a time to work on my mind-set because any hope of healing was on the other side of weeks/months of this diet.

They call it delayed gratification, go without now so you can enjoy later on.

This was not my forever food plan.

Aim for 90% Clean Eating

I aimed for 90% Clean. I included 2 weak cups of green tea, also a dash of almond milk twice a day in my rooibos tea. Once a week I had a Thai green curry and took an extra DAO capsule as I had already found that my body did not react to this. To start with I had watered down full-fat mayonnaise.

The problem is that I was reacting a LOT to things like body products, scents, chemicals, pollen and supplements.

Which wiped me out and while the diet is hugely beneficial it does take effort which you might not have in the beginning

Which is why, despite not being a good cook at all, with questionable taste buds, I have decided to share my recipes.

My Low Histamine/Fodmap Weekly Meal Plan

So here is my simple weekly food plan that is BOTH low histamine and fodmap – suitable for those suffering Histamine overload allergies and intolerances, MCAS, SIBO, Bacterial overgrowth, Gut Issues, with Fatigue

**I’m not a cook – so no measurements or detailed instructions!!!

Oats with Blueberries

Low fodmap histamine blueberry macadamia nut oats

I make an overnight oats version that only soaks for a couple of hours or heat gently and serve

I soak the oats and blueberries in ginger tea
I add macadamia or Pecan nut butter
Swap oats for rice flakes or quinoa
Add Stevia or maple syrup to taste

**I can’t tolerate stevia, and find macadamia nut butter sweet enough – but will add a tiny drop of maple syrup with Pecans which I find bitter

Blueberry Smoothie

More or less the same as oat recipe but I replace the oats with allowed greens such as lettuce, cucumber, kale.

Simply blend with cold ginger or mint tea.

This is very useful if the bowel slows down.

Salad, Protein and Potato

Low fodmap histamine spanish egg frittata

This is low fodmap histamine Spanish frittata – eggs and potato with lots of herbs **If you can tolerate eggs

I have potato/protein most days with a large salad!

Potato can be oven chips, jacket spud, new potatoes
Protein can be allowed plain poultry, meat or fish, frozen then defrosted in portion sizes.
Eggs – if tolerated
Salad is lettuce, shredded cabbage, cucumber, grated carrot

Finding a low histamine/fodmap salad dressing is almost impossible! I found that I can tolerate watered down shop-bought mayonnaise. You can use extra virgin olive oil with salt and pepper (helps with constipation). All vinegars and citrus are high histamine – some people can tolerate apple cider vinegar or distilled white vinegar. And most fruits are high fodmaps.

** Fresh lemon juice will be one of the first foods I ‘test’ back into my diet

Vegetable & Protein

So the goal here is to eventually find a gravy or sauce that you can tolerate.

Protein is again from the allowed plain poultry meat or fish list – frozen and defrosted in portion sizes. Eggs if tolerated. My choices include chicken, salmon, turkey with occassional lamb or beef.

My vegetable choices, which I mix and match include:

Broccoli and Carrots
Parsnip mash
Swede and Carrot mash
Sauted Cabbage
*Kale – to be included
*Roasted Radishes – to try!

If tolerated you can add ghee or drizzle olive oil. I season the vegetable water and add herbs and then save some when I drain the veg to make the mash or as a ‘jus’. Or you can save your protein juices as a ‘gravy’. I have found that I can tolerate shop-bought stock and gravy – after first taking a break and then ‘testing’.

Low fodmap/histamine Pesto/dressing

I didn’t want to leave you without sharing this idea! Parmesan and lemon juice are not low histamine or fodmap, nor is yeast flakes.

A low fodmap/histamine Pesto made with:

Fresh Basil, Mint, Parsley or Coriander (Cilantro) leaves
Macadamia or Pecan nut(butter), or Hemp seed or Pumpkin Seed
Extra Virgin Olive Oil or garlic infused oil
Seasoning (Opt chopped green onion leaves or chives)

Blend everything except the oil, which you add slowly. This can be adjusted to use over salad or meat and veg. When I’ve experimented a bit more I will share better details!

Simple Selfcare Tip!

Cook in bulk and freeze in portion size. There will be days when you feel too poorly to cook. Or days that go wrong when you have no time. Trust me it’s worth bulk cooking on ‘good’ days.

I plan to add more recipes but hope this provides ideas to get you started.

Next find out what my first steps were after testing positive for SIBO in week 2 HERE

If nothing else I hope this gives you an idea of what to expect if you suspect Histamine SIBO is the cause of any of your symptoms. Check the start of my journey here.

Developing a self-care practice around my personal healing journey was not only a powerful tool but incredibly empowering. Why not let me help you create your own menu of self-care practices?

View Post

MindCraft

7 Questions to ask before starting a new self-care practice.

By Jo

There are literally hundreds of self-care practices you could start tomorrow, but how do you decide which ones are worth spending your time doing?

When you decide to invest precious time, energy and money on your well-being, especially when you are coping with ongoing health conditions, it is worth spending a couple of minutes answering a few questions before you decide if this new self-care is worth exploring.

In the last decade the internet has been buzzing with thousands of healthy choices, ideas and opinions that promise to transform your health.

This has become a vast resource that is often freely available to everyone who is seeking answers and options.

On the other hand too much choice can become overwhelming, especially when supporting your health has become an essential factor in your life.

My aim with this blog is to make selfcare simple and help you find the self care practice that gets you results.

**To get started I have put together 7 questions to ask before starting a new self care practice.**

I have used both my experiences as a natural health practitioner and personal health journey to help explain how to use each question.

Short on time?

If you just want to skip straight to the questions click to the summary at the end.

Benefit of a Clear Strategy

My own self-care practice has changed over the years, depending on what was happening in my life and health journey, and the results I achieved was down to always having a clear strategy behind each self care practice I included.

In other words, I always know exactly what result I expect to experience from any self-care choices I made.

In my Natural health clinic, I helped hundreds of clients over many years to create individualised self-care practices.

In this article I want to help you get started, by sharing questions to ask before starting a new self-care practice.

What is the definition of Self-Care?

Who defines self-care as:

“Self-care is the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote and maintain their own health, prevent disease, and to cope with illness – with or without the support of a health or care worker.”

My aim with any self-care practice is to provide one of the following:

Improve my current health levels
Maintain good health levels
Prevent future health issues
Better cope and manage existing illness.

A self care practice goes a little deeper than a healthy lifestyle, it is specifically fine tuned to the needs of your individual body and health needs.

Lets dive into the 7 questions to ask before starting a new self-care practice.

1. What benefit can I expect to experience or see?

This is the important question. Will following this self-care practice benefit and improve your individual health levels?

It might sound obvious but in the clinic I had clients spending time and money on popular health practices and products that they did not need. And because their body did not need it, they never experienced the same results as other people.

Which can leave you feeling frustrated and wondering ‘what is wrong with me?’ or ‘what am I doing wrong?’ or that it doesn’t work and was a waste of time.

Seeing someone else getting results is a very powerful motivation especially when you are struggling.

‘It worked for me, so I’m sure it will help you too’.

Is a well-meaning phrase, but often a bit of a red herring when it comes to self-care.

The reason why there are so many solutions and none of them work 100% for every person is because you are not an exact copy of everyone else – you and your body are unique and individual and so are your health needs.

Knowing what support your body most needs right now is an important guide to which self-care practices to consider.

If you don’t know – that should be your first self care practice – to understand your health condition better.

Start with simple basics and know that as you learn more about your health conditions your self care practice will become more individual and tailored to you..

For instance, a mindfulness practice to help soothe anxiety would not be the most important part of my own self-care, as I am quite relaxed and calm naturally. It’s possible I would not notice any positive changes to my health levels.

But for someone who suffers with anxiety the benefits become much more valuable and they are likely to notice and experience incredible improvements.

Check what benefits to expect with each self-care practice you consider. Then decide if you, your body and health situation need them.

2. How soon before I can expect to feel/notice the benefits?

Some self-care practices feel good as soon as you do them, but the benefits only last a short while. Others take longer to build up and change the body, so it may take longer to experience the results.

Admittedly this question has many variables, mainly because each person is unique. You may not be able to answer this question exactly until after a bit of trial and error.

The reason why I like to have a rough idea of how soon to expect results is so I can monitor which practices are working well and which ones I need to swap out.

My goal is always to get the best health benefits, in the shortest, easiest and most enjoyable ways possible.

Life is far too short to be spending 15 minutes every single day on a self-care practice that makes very little difference to my well-being. Or spending £10 a week on a product that does nothing to reduce a symptom.

In one year that would mean 5475 minutes or 91 hours or £520 of wasted time and money!

As a rule of thumb if I don’t notice a difference after 1 month, I consider stopping that practice.

I can say this confidently because I know which Self-Care Blueprint I have.

Discover your body's response style — discover your selfcare blueprint

To answer this question you also need to be realistic.

No selfcare practice will give results unless you are consistent.

Do not expect a complete recovery in 1 week or month, the aim is to notice small improvements and changes.

It is super helpful and motivating to know exactly what benefits I receive from each self-care practice I follow.

For instance, after completing just one 10–15-minute Qi Gong practice, I know that I will feel immediate improvements to my stiff and painful neck, a general ease of movement and serenity in my mood.

Consistent practice not only improves my body, mobility and mood, but I also experience the electromagnetic fields and vibrational frequencies of Qi Gong.

And I also know (from experience!) that after 3 days of missing that daily practice my neck will slowly seize up. More than a week of missed practice results in increased aches and pains all over my body. Ouch!

On the other hand, the green supplement powder I use has a more subtle benefit. Over the years I have stopped it and found that at about 6 weeks I noticed a definite dip in my energy levels that I can only regain through my green powder.

Many self-care practices build up slowly over regular use.

I hope my personal examples show how helpful it is to understand the timing factors for each self-care practice you follow.

3. How much time will this take to do each day/week?

Currently I work full-time, blog on the side and follow a daily self-care practice morning and evening. I also have a daughter, dog, home & garden, and family member commitments…I am busy!

Time is extremely valuable to me.

If there are two practices that offer the same benefits, but one can be done in 5 minutes while the other one requires 50 minutes, I take the 5 minutes every time.

No matter how great the longer practice is, it won’t help me if I never have time to do the practice!

Knowing how much time a practice requires, is one easy way I decide which practices to include and which to leave.

Another question I often ask is ‘can I get enough benefits in less time?’

Of course sometimes that 50-minute practice really is the best option, and acknowledging this first will help you make the time.How important is time for you?

how-much-planning-involved-make-selfcare-simple

4. How much preparation or planning is involved?

Following certain diets and recipes that support my health often require hours of prep and planning.

I class healthy eating as self-care. For me it is a priority, so I factor in the extra time it takes to prepare my meals in my selfcare planner.

Because I have (currently undiagnosed) MCAS symptoms and can experience extreme reactions to foods, I often don’t have a choice, so I research and explore all the prep and planning hacks and adapt them to suit my needs.

Honestly this has taken me hours and hours.

As a general rule my goal is always to get the best health benefits, in the shortest, easiest and most enjoyable ways possible.

But for my personal health issue, weekly hours spent on meal prep is essential, even if I don’t always enjoy it.

You might come across a self-care practice with lots of benefits that requires a fair amount of prep or planning.

Do the benefits justify any additional preparation and planning of a self-care practice?

Another example would be a gym membership. There is no doubt that there are many benefits to a regular gym work-out, but many people struggle with fitting in the extra time requirements involved in travelling to and from the gym in their busy lives.

If the thought of all that additional time spent on prep and planning gives you that sinking feeling that could be a sign that for now you need self care that is simple and easy.

5. What additional costs are involved?

Most self-care practices require some kind of cost. Especially when you first start and are getting set up.

I am quite frugal by nature and circumstance so it’s important to me that I am getting good value for any costs.

I have found that many of the very best self-care results cost next to nothing!

Sometimes an additional cost is worth it.

A higher cost should save you:

Time,
Provide better user quality,
Results you can’t receive from other options.

The good news is that if you are prepared to allocate more time and effort a great deal of self care is affordable. Check out my self care challenges for ideas!

6. How much effort is required?

For those of us suffering with low energy and fatigue asking how much effort is required can feel like a daily mantra!

This is when it helps to get honest about your energy levels, brain fog and motivation.

Every self care practice will involve some level of effort, simply because any change to your routine requires effort in the beginning.

If the effort required leaves you feeling drained, that is a potential red flag.

If you find yourself ‘avoiding’ or ‘forgetting’ it can be helpful to do some further self-enquiry as to what is really happening.

Often the first week of a practice feels easy because we are motivated, but by the next week it can start to feel like hard work!

Having to turn out and drive to an evening yoga class may feel like too much effort for one person while another will make time to experience the amazing instructor and group energy.

Once you accept that any new self care practice is going to take a certain amount of effort, you just need to ask…

Is the effort worth the value you would receive?

7. Do I enjoy the practice?

I’ve saved this question until last even though I know it is possibly the first one you might ask!

When you find a self-care practice that you enjoy, and which provides the lasting benefits your body needs you have found healing heaven.

Sometimes when something starts to feel easier it becomes more enjoyable. Take yoga or meditation. Typically, these are not easy or enjoyable at the beginning. But after regular practice you become a raving fan!

There is also a place for self-care that provides enjoyment as the main benefit – good to know right? I always try to include these in my day!

Then there are ways you can make a self-care practice more enjoyable.

Perhaps you can turn down the intensity, shorter the duration.

The benefits may take longer but if you enjoy the practice more you will keep going.

Final Summary

So that completes my 7 Questions to ask before starting a new self-care practice. You can use these to help you choose your next self care challenge.

It is my hope that these questions will help reduce any confusion and overwhelm when faced with so many different options.

In summary:

7 Questions to ask before starting a new self care practice.

What is the benefit I can expect to experience or see?
How soon before I can expect to feel/notice the benefits?
How much time will this take to do each day/week?
How much preparation or planning is involved?
What additional costs are involved?
How much effort is required?
Do I enjoy the practice?

Hope you can join me as I have a LOT more support to offer around self-care!

View Post

My Long Covid Histamine SIBO Journey

My Journey Back to Health

By Jo

In the early Spring of 2019 I ‘caught’ Covid-19 and by 2022 my symptoms put me in the ‘Long Covid – unexplained’ box at my local health centre . Since then I have been on a long journey back to health.

My experience of ‘Long Covid’ became the catalyst for creating the Make Selfcare Simple blog because simple self-care gave me the strength to get through each day.

This is my ‘Long covid’ story, it’s messy, I make mistakes, wrong choices, but also have breakthroughs, gain insights and slowly find answers for myself.

My story includes Long-covid, Chronic fatigue, SIBO/IBS, MCAS/Histamine/Allergy, Asthma, Skin issues and lots of ‘perfect test’ results that don’t help at all.

Honestly I am not sure how helpful sharing my story is, maybe reading my story will let you know you are not alone on your journey?

This is longer than I expected!

Why did I get Long-Covid?

I qualified (Master Herbalist & Natural Healer) way back in my early 30’s and went on to improve my well-being (I’d been poorly all of my 20’s) consistently for over 25 years until my mid-fifties.

So how come I was left with Long-Covid?

The answer is simple – Stress. I went though a difficult divorce and then my teenage daughter became very poorly (umpteen hospital appointments)for the next 5 years, I lost my dad suddenly, a new business venture had the plug-pulled and we moved home 7 times in 5 years.

I remember feeling this crushing responsibility.

Long-term Stress switches off your repair and maintenance systems.

My Long-covid Symptoms

I was quite poorly with long-covid, typical flu, breathing issues, and gastric flu symptoms all at once. But it passed and was over within a week.

But from that week my health has never been ‘right’.

Including 15 months of recurrent episodes of debilitating gastric flu and chest infections.

Gradually I started to have increasing random symptoms:

IBS – various and changing
Itchy ears – ezema inside my ear
Increasing Sinus infections
Asthma that started and finished very quickly
Weird skin rashes, from painful acne to rashes on my skin and inside my mouth and throat
Increasing joint pain, weakness and swelling
Hair loss one side of my head
Sinus swelling behind my right eye (extremely painful)
Feeling dizzy light headed in the head but my legs felt like lead
Low Blood Pressure
Fuzzy head and poor memory
Extreme Fatigue

Unfortunately this was during Covid. I still had to work and look after my daughter (single mum) and my local heath centre were unable to help.

The tests came back ‘good’ or as my GP told me, my tests were actually perfect for my ‘age’.

But I didn’t feel perfect.

Eventually my GP diagnosed me as having Long Covid because my health before and after Covid was so different.

Diagnosing Myself

The remedies I had used successfully for 25 years couldn’t help me this time

For a while I used my usual herbal remedies, essential oils, homeopathic pills, supplements and dietary changes. Remedies that had worked perfectly for the last 25 years based on supporting my inherited constitution.

And I seemed to get worse.

My local surgery offered me steroid inhaler for my asthma, steroids for my sinus, anti-histamines, Pronton Pump Inhibitors (PPI) and even HRT to ‘see’ if they ‘helped’.

I used a nasal steroid for my swollen sinus face once – but the next day the swollen face was gone and replaced with my right eye looking like something from a horror film. The ‘sinus reaction’ had escaped to the sinus area behind my eye.

I already had a long history of ‘reacting badly’ to normal medications and wasn’t convinced ‘testing’ by medication was the right path for me.

By this time I was worried and frustrated.

Without a concrete ‘diagnosis’ I was stuck in the dark.

I knew from my practitioner training that I needed to find a ‘root cause’ – but Long-Covid is cloaked in mystery.

The one ‘strange’ but consistent symptom pattern was waking up in the early morning with a ‘reaction’ usually sinus/skin rash/itchy ears which then developed into feeling faint, dizzy light-headed, followed by IBS symptoms and then joint pain/swelling and extreme fatigue.

This was a consistent pattern (70% of the time) – whatever I did during the day, my reaction seemed to happen between 3 – 5am the next morning. Weird right?

(Apart from quick onset asthma to chemical fumes/scents which were frightening)

I got tested for autoimmune which came back as negative.

Eventually I came across Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) which finally seemed to describe me!

Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS)

According to the WebMD MCAS is “Mast cell activation syndrome, also called MCAS or mast cell activation disorder, is a condition that causes mast cells to release high amounts of chemicals into your body. This chemical release causes you to have many symptoms.

I spent almost a year researching MCAS. There is a lot of information online. But here in the UK after waiting months for an appointment an Allergy consultant told me ‘ we don’t recognise it here in the UK’. And shoved me out the door in under 10 minutes.

Yes I still feel bitter about that.

The harsh truth is that it is difficult to test for MCAS or histamine intolerance – unless and maybe even if you go private.

By this time I had no social life (apart from work) and had to leave at least two jobs because I reacted to something in the work place. By this time I was having sudden scary reactions to chemicals, perfumes and scents including essential oils – so I went into recluse mode.

Through trial and error (and many reactions) I confirmed foods high in histamine or histamine liberators were an issue for me.

Even healthy foods, herbs, essential oils and supplements can be high histamine.

A low histamine diet really helped. So did taking Diamine Oxidase enzymes and Saccharomyces Boulardii.

Some people follow a histamine bucket approach where they can strategically include a few higher histamine foods if they keep their overall lifestyle low histamine.

Other people take various anti-histamines but there is conflicting information about the long-term impact of switching off the bodies alert signal from the immune system. *With conditions like MCAS you may need to take both H1 & H2 blocking antihistamines and at much bigger dose.

Call me stubborn, but I still wanted to find the root cause and heal myself.

Insights from Living with MCAS / Long Covid

I firmly believe that the most healing diet is when you can eat a full varied diet. The low-histamine diet on top of my existing dairy and gluten-free requirements was incredibly limited.

Turns out that I could eat chips and plain crisps with no reaction – and boy did I make the most of this!

I spent hours researching ‘alternative’ recipes which was my inspiration for creating the ‘Nourish‘ Challenges. My beautiful kind daughter was very tolerant of my experiments and meal time choices

And if I ‘cheated’ or accidently ate a food that was high in histamine or an histamine liberator I was ‘punished’ with painful and weird symptoms.

I would wake early morning in agony with one red swollen eye and an unhealthy ‘pressure pain’ behind my eye. I would boil a kettle and grab a bowl and towel and steam my face. My eye would stream thick clear gunk and there was revolting post nasal drip. After this I could open my eye and see, but the whites of my eye were blood red. Nice. I would repeat steaming and use a heated eye-pack and my eye and the pain would slowly return to normal within 2-3 hours.

Then would follow various strange symptoms, sometimes I had a tight chest and lost my voice, I often felt dizzy and light headed and ‘wobbly’, and worse for me was that my head felt fuzzy and muddled. There would be pain in my neck, hips, and knees and sometimes my hands and feet would become swollen and painful. And for ‘days’ I would feel wiped out. Just in time for the next reaction.

I share this because so many people said they also suffer with ‘hay-fever’. This was not the same as hay-fever although hayfever may be linked to histamine overload.

I had a lot of problems with supplements and ‘natural’ remedies that also caused reactions. DAO (Diamine Oxidase) which is a miracle support for me, but when my supplier ran out (!) I reacted to each alternative I tried.

Let’s talk about my hair!

I quickly found that hair products including shampoo caused really big reactions. The more often I was reactive the more I noticed hair loss and just on one side of my head!

Honestly I spent a fortune on trying different ‘natural’ shampoos. If I didn’t react to the shampoo then it didn’t suit my hair. Call me vain but hair like straw is not a good look. Yes even the no-poo curly hair shampoo caused reactions. So did organic ones made with essential oils.

In fact it is very expensive having a reactive body! In the end I found an inexpensive unscented shampoo bar. It was the same story with all my body and cleaning products. Many essential oils trigger a reaction.

Reacting to Nature!

I also reacted to nature! As a former natural therapist & herbalist the irony is not lost on me. Grass and tree pollen were problematic and so was any time spent in my garden or walking my dog (RIP my beloved Sox).

Symptoms-body-wisdom-make-selfcare-simple — Replacing lawns with beefriendly plants

My home and street is surrounded by grass – that needs regular cutting. I did remove almost all of my lawns and just prayed that the replacement plants were kind to me. I also gave up my dream of walking holidays and permculture forest gardening.

Most ordinary people would by now have taken all the anti-histamines!

I will try to explain.

Call it intuition, pig-headedness or dilusional thinking but I 100% believe that if I can find the root cause then I can find a healthy way to support my body to recover and repair.

And that was the problem with a MCAS or Histamine reactions or Long Covid Diagnosis – none of them gave me a root cause I could work with.

Whole Body Healing

Diet and supplements are never the whole picture when it comes to healing.

I include (where possible) many self-care practices in my daily routine.

Pssst my regular newsletter is where I share more details about my current self-care practice.HERE

Close family and friends are my life-line and are incredibly important to my whole body healing. I am still at the time of writing this, pretty much living like a recluse.

The enforced isolation that you can experience on the healing journey is one reason I would like to create an online self-care community.

I recently lost my beloved dog Sox, and know first hand how healing our pets can be and how real the grief of losing them is.

My beloved companion Sox – big part of my healing journey

Something else that I believe is that the body mind and soul are all connected.

Specifically I think that past experiences especially trauma links the mind to physical illness. So I was aware that my set of symptoms directly linked to fear – the world literally felt unsafe for me.

I am not a worrier by nature. But in iridology I have the golden eye which is linked to kidneys and fear. I deal with my fear (of histamine reactions) by controlling my situation and avoidance.

Which in one way is prefectly normal and practical.

So another part of my healing journey is to look at fear. I scheduled therapy sessions which were really helpful and have noticed that recognising my fear pattern is helpful in reducing my symptoms.

This is where Journal work has also been helpful.

Dealing with trauma or past experiences that impact your current health, is a work-in-progress for me.

However I am also cautious about getting stuck in your past – while its helpful to identify previous causes and patterns – please know that the focus should be on creating a better future.

I also try to avoid blame in all its forms. Tricky because it is so satisfying to give the blame to someone else.

Instead I try to ask:

How am I now going to respond to this situation?

What new and better choices and decisions will actually improve my future and bring me inner-peace?

Light at the end of the tunnel?

Whew well done if you’ve made it this far!

I had a bit of a ‘red herring‘ in that both my daughter and father had genetic Haemochromatosis (Iron overload) which interestingly can display many similar symptoms to what I experienced.

It took months to wait for tests and results – and I was hopeful that I’d found my root cause.

But no surprise my liver came back as ‘fine’ and blood tests confirmed I am just a carrier.

I am sure many of you have been in this strange situation where you almost want a test result to show something!

If my story does nothing else, it highlights the frustration of test results!

New Symptom – Upper Stomach Swelling

Anyway earlier this year 2025 I noticed a swelling in my upper stomach.

I thought it might be a flare-up of diastasis recti (caused by having C-section complications 20 odd years ago) and started following the exercises. NB I do think I have DR

However my stomach swelling quickly got larger and more painful despite me eating less food. It was a strange ‘stretched feeling’.

More tests and examinations followed all showing as fine!

Grrrrr

My GP was really pushing for Omeprazole – which conflicts with DAO – so I had a dilemma.

But for once my attention was on my IBS not my histamine reactions.

Honestly my IBS symptoms were much easier to deal with except now I had a painful swelling I couldn’t ignore.

Handy reminder to myself that ALL symptoms no matter how small are important

Long story short I started to consider SIBO Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth.

SIBO can cause painful upper stomach swelling reduces DAO from being made in the body – ding dong! And there is a direct link between SIBO and Histamine intolerance (MCAS). AND Omeprazole can increase the risk of SIBO.

I couldn’t get tested for SIBO on the NHS so I went private.

My test result was positive for Hydrogen SIBO!!

Which brings me to the end of this mammoth post.

And the start of a brand new post.

This was my personal story about stubbornly holding out to find a root cause, probably a bit extreme to most people.

If you only take medicines to reduce/hide symptoms – without addressing the root cause – the body will keep giving you new symptoms

I quickly discovered that being tested positive for SIBO was just the first step and that there is very little free support/guidance for when you have both Histamine/MCAS and SIBO together.

So that is what I will share next – my journey to address my root cause!

Self-Care

What I haven’t talked about is my regular daily self-care practice – which has been a crucial part of my whole journey.

I do not think I would have survived this last few years without a self-care practice supporting my poor body each step of the way.

Join my newsletter to read my current experiences and adventures with self-care as I follow along with you!

View Post

Welcome!

Hi, I'm Jo

I help women over 45 whose bodies are changing and who feel frustrated when healthy practices that seem to work for others don't seem to work for them.

My work focuses on helping you recognise the feedback your body is already showing you — so you can rebuild trust in your body and move forward with greater confidence.

If you've tried many things to feel better but nothing seems to create lasting change — you're not alone.

Read More
Grab your FREE Challenge Toolkit HERE
New? Start HERE!
Categories
Categories
MENU OF SELF-CARE

Create your own Menu of Self-Care — a personal toolkit of practices you’ve tested and know truly work for you.

Read More
Monthly SelfCare Updates

Real-life reflections from my own Menu of Self-Care — what’s working, what’s not, and how I’m learning along the way.

Read the latest Update