Fear of mold grips all those who have suffered so miserably at the hands of mold and CIRS at some point in their journey. The fear can be debilitating and keep us from enjoying life and venturing out into the “unsafe” world. How did our family get beyond fear of mold on our journey to healing and thrive? I won’t lie. It’s been a process with continual reboots.
1) Part of it just requires healing, and finding joy in the little things, the outdoors, the kids, friends, etc along the way. When our family started feeling good enough to rv camp again (around 5 months after CIRS diagnosis), the outdoors brought new exuberance into our lives. It brought wholeness. We have loved the outdoors during this healing process because it’s been a place of healing, hope, and safety for us. There was no bad mold and the fresh air brought us outside our circumstances and into a state of happiness. How joy and happiness reprogram the body to have hope and healing.
2) For us, giving up fear has required learning to trust God with our health and know he will take care of us. God brought us healing, so he will continue to protect and give us wisdom on our journey of life.
3) Part of giving up fear has been taking a step out in faith and realizing we may be able to go more places than previously thought. When we moved almost 1 year ago, we moved from a dry high desert environment to a maritime environment with moisture ridden and mainly old infrastructure. The maritime environment is ultimately the worst place for people with mold sensitivities. Everything is moldy, almost. Surprisingly, we have surprised ourselves. We continue to heal and can go more places than expected. We still avoid much of the old moisture ridden infrastructure, but we’ve been forced to venture out to find doctors, dentists, a hair stylist, church, stores, museums, etc and we’ve found good enough options. We can live life and enjoy it, and still stay healthy. It’s made me stronger being forced to go outside my comfort zone and realizing I stay stable.
4) Part of it has been utilizing tools to help keep us healthy in not the best environments, but also being wise to stay out of bad environments. When we visit unknown environments, I spray our clothes with Tea Tree hydrosol and we use Citridrops Nasal Spray by Microbalance prior to entering the building. If I need more assurance, we wear the Mini-Mate Ionic Air Purifier. The neat thing, as we’ve healed, we use these products less and less.
5)Part of it has been convincing our minds that we will be fine even if we walk into a moldy environment. I remember how much mold had a grip on my life. I would just go into a store and if I saw something suspicious, my body would tense up and my nervous system would respond with fight or flight mode and tell me to run. DNRS training works to retrain the mind to not freak out about mold and to stay calm and reclaim one’s life. I have not yet done this training, but in principle it’s similar to talking your brain into staying calm so your body will not ramp up it’s immune system chain reaction with suspected exposure to mold. Now, two years post CIRS diagnosis, I can often shop now, without even thinking of looking at the ceiling panels. If we visit an unknown place which turns out moldy, then spraying tree tree hydrosol on my clothes and Citridrops Nasal Spray in my nose can help stop any exposure before it starts. Staying calm and putting off the thoughts of fear about mold, will help your body recover and heal. It’s a process, one of giving up fear and trusting we will stay healthy.
Giving up fear and living life to its fullest post CIRS is a process. Give yourself time. Remember that healing takes time. We are still on the journey. As I’ve healed from Lyme disease, for example, my brain has became more clear and focused and it has become easier to trust and know I will survive and thrive, with tools for success.
I pray that your family can endure through this hardship and have hope and a future….
My Kids Healing Journey from CIRS and Lyme 