Name: Love Yourself Well
Rating: 3.2 (17 reviews)
Author: Lo Bosworth

What’s in it for me? Optimize your gut-brain-vagina balance for overall wellbeing.

Some years ago, author Lo Bosworth was experiencing depression, constant bloating, excessive fatigue, recurring yeast and urinary tract infections, and panic attacks – sometimes all at the same time.

Despite people in her life – including doctors – telling her that her symptoms were due to the emotional effects of a break-up, she knew deep down that something was wrong with her on a physiological level. But for far too long, she couldn’t find answers. She felt like every time she visited a doctor’s office, they were thinking, “Jeez, you again?”

It wasn’t until she discovered the powerful connection between the gut, brain, and vagina – what she calls the GBV axis – that Lo finally started understanding the causes behind her symptoms. She learned how to nurture her GBV axis and rebalance her body’s network of microbiomes. Now she’s living her best life, full of energy and free from pain – and she wrote Love Yourself Well to help you get there, too.

While this Blink highlights the health needs of anyone born with female reproductive parts, anyone can benefit, because you’ll learn about your gut and your brain as well.

You’ll discover four steps to a more wholesome life: Defending your body with self-trust; identifying your unique GBV axis responses; rectifying bacterial imbalances holistically; and sticking to a no-nonsense wellness plan.

Ready to put the days of unnecessary pain behind you? Let’s learn to optimize your overall wellness!

Be prepared to trust your body and fight back dismissal.

Oftentimes, women’s health complaints are dismissed and minimized, which can be very discouraging. Despite a woman knowing something isn’t right with her body, doctors don’t always take their concerns seriously.

Unfortunately, many women are at risk of being ignored by medical professionals, especially men. It’s not surprising, considering that the medical industry is mostly male-dominated. It’s too easy for male doctors to write off women’s complaints about pain as “just hormonal” or “all in the head.”

But oftentimes, it’s not just hormonal, and it’s not all in your head.

Remember that you always have the power to advocate for yourself and your health. To root for your health experiences, consider the following four steps.

First, always trust your instincts and observe your bodily systems closely. Pay close attention to your symptoms, and read up on them before a medical visit. Bring with you any supporting research that points you in the direction of a diagnosis. This way, you can easily defend your experience and get closer to the right medical professional who will listen.

Secondly, it’s okay to disagree with your doctor and express contrasting concerns. They should not be offended, but if they are, remind them that you’re the one living in your body, so you know it better than anyone else. Ask for a referral to a specialist every time you’re denied an important test or knowledge.

Thirdly, always journal your symptoms. Writing them down provides the evidence you need to defend your experience properly. When you do this, your doctor has no choice but to take you seriously. Outline any questions you want to ask him later, starting with the most important ones on the list. Don’t be afraid to take notes.

The last but not least step: don’t hesitate to push back your doctor’s skepticism. They may call you hormonal, imaginative, or overthinking. The second you notice you’re unheard, speak up. Be firm that you want more information to get closer to answers. If they’re continually dismissive, seek out other doctors for help.

You deserve to have your symptoms taken seriously. So, be ready to advocate for yourself and trust your instincts. Don't settle for less than the best care you can find, even if it takes time.

Now that you’re reminded not to give up, let’s inspect your symptoms more closely in the next section.

Appreciate the connection between your unique GBV axis organs.

To recap, your gut, brain, and vagina are interlinked for a lifelong partnership, and one can only thrive with the other two in order. When one isn’t working optimally, Lo calls it “leaky.” Moreover, the organs are connected through three major pathways: the nervous, immune, and endocrine systems.

In a nutshell, the health of your three organs ultimately affects how you move and think, whether you easily get sick or not, and your body’s efficiency in expelling unwanted toxins and wastes.

Heal bacterial imbalances holistically to achieve body bliss.

The idea of body bliss, or a state of optimal wellness, can seem unrealistic. But the truth is, it is achievable. You just need to keep your gut, brain, and vagina individually healthy and in harmony – starting with what you put in your body.

Let’s talk about the gut first. After all, it’s central to your GBV axis health and overall wellbeing. You might think your gut is there to help you digest your food, but as you’ve already learned in the previous section, there is so much more to this organ. So any health restoration work you can do truly begins here. This is where prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics come in.

Stick to wellness routines that your body will love.

You know the drill by now: listen to your body, understand its connected systems, and commit to efforts that optimize your GBV axis health. However, to live in sync with your body every day, and not just for a season or two, you must put in real work to maintain your newfound wellbeing.

The path to ongoing wellbeing starts by creating a no-nonsense wellness plan enabling you to check in with your body every few months. The plan should take five weeks to complete. No calorie-counting or strict regimes here – just you continuously tuning in to your body, respecting your GBV axis, and advocating for your wellness. Think of it more as a gentle cleanse.

Kernaussagen in Love Yourself Well