Navigating Health When It Feels Like a Chore

Sometimes life feels like it’s slipping through your fingers — swirling around you, impossible to frame clearly or steady your balance.

The ever-persistent call of work is one thing. Then there’s family, each moving in their own direction. What to make for dinner. The pile of miscellaneous papers that keeps growing despite promises to get to it.

It’s a lot. And I’d venture to say there’s more on your plate than I could even imagine.

So, when the health gurus of Instagram tell you to “prioritize your health,” it can feel like the drop of water that makes your cup overflow. How could you possibly add even more to your plate?

To help ponder this, I recently came across a beautiful message that I want to share with you. If you’re a visual person, imagine along with me.

Picture an expansive, rolling landscape stretching out in every direction. The wind sends ripples through tall grass; gentle streams wind their way through crevasses; birch trees dip their leaves in cool water. Maybe there are mountains in the distance. Shadowy valleys. Wide-open deserts. Notice — there’s room for all of it: the toads, the butterflies, the storms, the fresh air that follows. It just is. Expansive and permissive.

Now imagine your own internal landscape — your thoughts, emotions, to-do lists. Both rocky terrain and gentle meadows may appear.

For a moment, suspend any judgment. Just notice the vastness that is all of you.

What if you gave yourself permission for every part of yourself to be exactly as it is? Do you notice a shift in your body with that thought? Maybe the possibility of both your anger and your joy having a home inside of you lets your shoulders relax a little. Grief and laughter together — unlikely friends — release some tension.

When I indulge in this mental wandering, I always let out a deep breath. The amount of energy we spend each day trying to manage, edit, or repress parts of ourselves is exhausting. Because really, despite our best efforts, a mountain can’t be turned into an ocean — only the gentle trickle of time can change its shape.

And that is okay. The key is showing up for whatever you find in the present.

Imagine the part of yourself that feels the most shame being given a big hug and told, “You are allowed here.” You are allowed to feel all of it, and there is no urgency to change. Do you feel a sigh of relief?

For those wanting to work on their health, the constant “shoulds” of the wellness world often just add to an already overflowing plate. Maybe you feel that bristle when another post tells you to cut out sugar or balance your hormones. Maybe you feel tired just hearing the words.

We can feel a sense of control when tackling new health goals — and sometimes that’s helpful. But lasting health doesn’t come from forcing yourself to follow a plan you resent or trying to fix a body you’ve fallen out of love with. That only lasts so long.

Compassionate space is another option.

As a naturopathic doctor, I’ve found that true healing often begins not with a supplement or diet change, but with safety — the sense that your body can finally exhale. When we feel safe, it becomes far easier to make choices that nourish rather than punish.

Imagine the sense of expansiveness that arises when you show up for what is present without judgment — the burnout, the frustration, the deep fatigue that comes from always striving. In that presence, and eventually acceptance, a quiet knowing begins to emerge.

More often than not, that’s where genuine change begins. When you take a moment to be with yourself, you may feel a whisper from within:
“I think I’d feel better if I supported my digestion.”
“I might enjoy more walks.”

And then you can be reassured that the call came from within — not from the noise of the outside world.

With practice, you can let the landscape of your life be what it is, and each step forward becomes an act of creativity. Everything that has shaped you remains part of the terrain; you’re simply exploring what new ground might feel like.

This, I believe, is the foundation for lasting health — deeply personal, expansive rather than restrictive, and grounded in compassion.

It’s also the approach I bring to my work with patients and clients. Because I know personally that this is the only approach that has ever truly helped me.

So my invitation to you — especially if the world feels too loud and fast — is to take a moment to be with yourself. Let the tides of turmoil be just as welcome as the calm after a storm. If you feel called to take a new step, move with compassion. And if compassion feels distant, it’s okay to ask for help.

Working on your health — digestion, hormones, inflammation, or anything else — has the most impact when it feels like a gentle, supportive embrace rather than a marching order.

Sit in both the rain and the sunshine. Listen to your inner voice. The commotion of the outside world is unending, but each step you take adds to the beauty of your landscape — and you are always allowed to dream a new horizon.

Free Guide: Decode Your Symptoms with a Holistic Framework

If this way of seeing health resonates with you, I’d love to offer you a free resource: Decode Your Symptoms: A Holistic Framework for Understanding Your Body.

This guide helps you reframe common symptoms — things like bloating, fatigue, skin flares, or anxiety — through both a functional medicine lens and a multidimensional one. You’ll learn how to approach your symptoms with more clarity and compassion.