Episode 113 - Ignoring This One Thing Can Set You Back

Welcome back to the Alopecia Angel podcast. I'm your host, Johanna Dahlman, and today we're going to be talking about the one thing that can propel you to seeing success in less time, but then also something at the same time that's free to all of us and also something that we can tap into because we're all born with it innately.

So before I get into that, I wanted to go ahead and let you know about all the emails that I've been receiving and all the one on one calls that I've been having with clients in the Hair N' Heal program many in particular from a lady who's in her 60s, someone who is actually breastfeeding at this time and other adults ages, you know, 19 to 25 that have also seen hair growth. So I applaud all of you who've been sending me emails and who've been having these calls and the feedback with me in regards to your success. And so I want to congratulate you, commend you, and then for those of you who are in the program, you know, there's more results to come.

Results show themselves in so many ways. It's not just the hair growth, but it's the joint pain that goes away, it's the insomnia that goes away, it's the migraines, it's the eczema, the psoriasis, the hemorrhoids, the constipation, so much more. Everyone is on their own journey, and yet they're all seeing results, so I'm really, really excited for all these participants that are in the program.

Today's episode is about our intuition, this is something that's free to all of us, this is something that is innate in all of us. We're all born with it and it's really like a muscle. Many times our intuition whispers and our intuition gives us insights and even hints, certain next steps that we should be taking or next directions, and sometimes the ego comes in and interjects. I would say we also need to be cognizant about that, but I wanted to talk about the intuition today, because this is something that we can start practicing today, and this is something that we can establish and even create a stronger muscle towards that.

Many times, we override our intuition and we take another decision and then lo and behold, later down the road, we're like: Oof, we shouldn't have taken or made that decision, that was a total mistake, we should have done X, Y, Z. There's many times in my life. Outside of alopecia and even inside of the healing journey where I was like: I'm not necessarily regret doing that, but I shouldn't have taken that left turn or that right turn because that prolonged, you know, getting to point A or point B or point C. Does that make sense?

Sometimes when we ignore our intuition, we prolong the journey, we prolong where we need to get, where we need to be, and any shortcuts that are available. Many times that intuition is really loud, but most of the time, it's actually just a soft whisper, it's just a soft push, it's a soft inclination. It's almost like a pat on the back, kind of like nudging you. My son totally still wears diapers at this point. So it's like a little pat on the butt, you know, with a diaper and just kind of like a mom would do with a kid trying to push them along and encourage them to go inside the classroom or go into wherever it is that we need to get into many times it's the car, but that's a side note.

Many times it's the intuition that we ignore and it's happened to me many times and I'm sure it's happened to you because again, we're all human and sometimes our head takes over. Our mind thinks it knows best, our mind thinks and is persuaded to do something that potentially will take you longer to get through. And so these are 4 ways that I wanted to go over that you can shorten your way with intuition, and then also make it stronger. Because these are 4 ways that, again, we can shorten the journey, the healing journey. We can shorten, also, anything else that's going on inside our lives.

The thing is like: Yes, we have hair loss, but then there's also other things you all have jobs and extracurricular activities. Some of you have children, some of you have grandchildren, some of you have spouses and, you know, elderly parents and etc. There's like, there's so many things to be thinking of and taking care of. And so when we harness the power of the intuition, we're able to make decisions quickly and we are able to make them in a very decisive tone. And there's even a way, I'll teach you at the end, a way of understanding that power of intuition and asking your body if this is the right move or not.

I've had many energetic coaches help me along the way with harnessing my intuition, but then also you know, deciding which route you should take and which decision you should take. And for those of you who don't know, I've had to make a lot of decisions in life, whether it was to study abroad or whether it was to move to a different country or whether it was to move and change schools or what have you. For you, I'm sure it's been the same, our lives are surrounded by decisions and by options and opportunities and things that look like opportunities and sometimes they're not and things that may resemble something that we want, but then later on when you're in it, you don't.

I mean, I can attest to this with multiple jobs that I've had in the past where you apply for the job, you think it's going to be all great, and then you get in and you're like: Oh no, this was a total mistake, and you know, this within like week one of taking the job. This has happened, I'm sure across the board to everybody in one way or another, so let's harness the intuition today.

One way of understanding that you are overriding your intuition is that your brain feels confused. This is a big one, because the advice from the parenting blogs, or your well intentioned neighbor, or your friends or family, it keeps repeating in your head, right? And so this is because your intellect is overriding your gut. It's like you want to talk to yourself and to something because your brain says it's logical, but something inside is not sitting right, and you need to honor this feeling. It's talking to you and you don't need to rush into making decisions from a confused place.

So taking away the confusion is the biggest part. I would say in my healing journey in particular with alopecia, I was the one who spearheaded, you know, seeing doctors and going to different specialists, I was the one who was researching and doing everything, it wasn't a parent, it wasn't a loved one, and none of my family or friends suggested or even said anything.

It was probably in good part that they didn't because I didn't necessarily, I'm the type where I don't necessarily would have maybe accepted their feedback maybe because they're not in my shoes, right? And so I'm always open to listening, but at the same time, the final decision comes from me. And so in this healing journey, my intuition led me to different spots. When I became more and more open and very, very decisive on the holistic and natural route. I was like: Okay, this is the route because that's the beginning, right? There is so much confusion in the beginning when you're first diagnosed and you're like: Where do I go? Where do I start? What do I do?

I found myself in the same place and many times other people find themselves in the same place too because no one's handing you a guide on for example when you give birth, no one's giving you a guide on what to do when you're diagnosed with alopecia, even though I have tons of resources on my website, but still by the time you actually find my website or get to a place where you can find some resources, there's already a lot of misinformation out there on the web from nonprofits that are out there to forums, webs, blogs, etc.

One whole Part of this confusion and of being diagnosed is: Where to go? Where to start, right? And so sometimes we need to let the dust settle and then also decide which way do you want to go? And it was a fork in the road for me, right? It was the medicine route or the natural holistic route. Once I decided on the natural and holistic route, then all these other doors started opening, all these other ideas, all these other intuitive nudges started appearing. The thing is when you're still stuck in the middle: Do I want medicine? Do I want natural holistic? Do I want this? Do I want that? Then you're still stuck in the middle and you will remain there, right? Because you haven't made a decision.

But once you make a decision, then everything starts opening up more and more and more. And the thing is it's just like anything, you can't walk through 2 doors at the same time. You got to walk through one door at a time. So make that decision, let the dust settle, and then see all these other doors open up. Because once you decide on that scenario. Is it medicine or not? Then you'll be more inclined to go in a certain way.

Number #2 way to to not override your intuition and to really keep yourself in check is to keep asking for opinions and researching us obsessively. So what happens when we ask for opinions and research obsessively? This just adds to the confusion. I'll say that and says: You are bleary eyed from Googling one or more perspectives long after your

bedtime, reading one or more blogs, one more article, another inquiry to your friend or conversation with another doctor or grocery store or trying to find the latest dermatologist appointment. When will it be enough? When will you find yourself trying to get an answer from the outside over and over again?

It usually means you should go within. And so the thing is, at the same time of us trying to research and trying to figure out what's the best protocol, what's the best approach for our alopecia or for our situation, health crisis, or even if it's not health related, let's say it's job related or relationship related. Everyone can give you advice in scenarios, but the only one who needs to make the decision is you, you are the one that needs to commit to yourself. You are the one that needs to almost not be researching obsessively, not asking for opinions, make a decision and take the action.

So for example, I had a friend who she broke up with her boyfriend of like 5 years and more than likely she's got a really strong friend group. I'm part of that friend group, but she's got a really strong innate friend group, and so more than likely she consulted with all of her friends about what to do. But at the same time, she was also seeing the therapist, and at the same time her head knew that the answer was black and white. The answer to her, whether she broke up or not with this guy was black or white.

And so by the time she came to me, I'm very decisive and I tell my friends what, what, what they don't want to hear many times because, you know, I speak with honesty and truth and I see from the outside and it's kind of nice to get an outside perspective, but at the same time, I'm not in her shoes. I don't feel what she feels, I don't feel the love for this person like she does, right? There's just a lot of different factors in there, but and at the end of the day, it's her life.

So in this case, you know many times when you're in a relationship or going through alopecia we're taking a lot of opinions and a lot of outside factors in trying to do this, trying to do that, maybe trying to do it ourselves, maybe, you know, looking here and trying to find a dermatologist or maybe this or maybe that, and then all of a sudden, we're still at ground zero, nor here nor there, we're still not making a decision because we're stuck. And that brings you back to number one with all the confusion. Staying late and Googling and keeping yourself up and trying to make the right decision, you just got to take action.

When it comes to alopecia, it's very clear, there are a couple of different routes. You can take the medicine route, which as you know, I'm not all about, I don't recommend that because it's a black hole of a lot of vicious cycles and it will bring your health down even further and any hair growth that you do see, it will backfire because you haven't gotten to the root cause. This is why, at the end of the day, the medicine route for alopecia is a no win game.

When you go the holistic and natural route you also have options, you can try to do it yourself, which is very hard and strenuous, or you could be guided with somebody like me who will take you by the hand and show you exactly what's going on in order to overcome any obstacles or any hurdles. This is very key. You have routes, you have opportunities, but Googling more, or looking for more is not going to get you more. Does that make sense?

I had one client that she was sitting on this decision of joining or not joining the program.

And at the end of it, she's like: Okay, universe, I need a sign, I need a sign that this is the right move. And then all of a sudden she was driving and she saw her name on a storefront and then my name, actually, my actual name, Johanna, on the storefront, too. So it was 2 stores back together, let's say it was a dry cleaners and a bakery. It was two stores next to each other. It was her name and my name, that was the sign that she saw and she took and she's like: Okay, I'm making my decision.

I would say that when you propose that type of initiation to the universe, the universe responds. It totally does. And in the same way, you can also ask yourself and see energetically if your intuition is pushing you towards option A or option B, or whether you should make this decision or not. A way to do this, let me show you now that we're in the middle of talking about this, is to stand up, flat foot, on flat piece of carpet, floor, etc. and ask your body. You know, should I go to the grocery store today? And you'll feel your body move from side to side, and if it leans forward it's a yes, if it leans backward, it's a no.

Energetically you can do this, and for some of you, maybe you don't believe in energy, but I'm telling you our whole world is energy. Look at the constellations, look at rock formations, look at asteroids and look at the cosmic field. I mean, we're all quantum energy, that's what our whole world is about is quantum energy. Energy flows, not just through the air, but through our own vibes internally, but also in between each other, and everything has innate energy, everything does, and so nothing is necessarily dead unless you are truly dead. But then again, you wouldn't be listening to this podcast.

So ask yourself, stand up straight, ask yourself. And if you find yourself asking a question innately, you'll move forward if it's a yes, and then innately you'll move backward if it's a no. You can ask yourself anything, you know, should I marry Bob? You know, should I go to work today? Should I travel to Dubai for a conference? Should I do this? Should I do that? Any big life decision or any decision that you want like a second opinion on, ask your body instead of asking friends and family, ask, you know, who your body knows and look within.

Many times when we're researching obsessively, looking for a key ingredient, looking for that key sign, we can be asking ourselves. Through the practice of Feng Shui, through the practice of, of different modalities, you can see how energy absolutely opens up the field for you to take the right decisions and make the right moves.

Back when I was trying to heal myself with alopecia, which for those of you who don't know, it took 4 years plus I had to go in and look at my intuition. I had to block out all the noise. And I think that's the first step that I did was to block out anything and everything,

what people told me, what I read in blogs, and I kept all the negativity out. That was the first thing I did. The first thing to encourage that was also my intuition. I'm also a very positive person and I was determined to heal myself and I know you are too. I know you are.

So the thing is, it's like you need to block out all the negativity. All that is BS, all of that is just noise. It really is. And so listen to yourself, listen to what you want, don't settle. That's also, let's say my key, my key ingredient to all this as well is not settling. Yeah, it took me 4 years. Yeah, it was excruciating, but I never settled, and neither should you. You should not settle. a) This is your health. b) This is your hair and c) This is your life. I want my life with hair, full, big hair. That's what I want and I have it. And I know you can have it too.

So, look inside, see what you want. Do the test. You know, should I do this? Should I do that? And many times you'll see that maybe we're not being clear with our questions. You'll see with this, it's called like a sway approach, where you ask your body the question, you're swaying either back and forth, where your body's not doing anything sometimes, because maybe the universe is not understanding your question. I get this from my 2 year old. My 2 year old tells me something. I'm like, huh? I'm like, say it again and then I have to start asking him questions because I'm not understanding what he's saying.

And so the thing is, maybe the universe is also not understanding what you're saying. So if you're not getting a response, start asking more clear, simpler questions, dumb it down a little bit, just like you would for a 2 year old. Say, should I move to California? And even in my seat, I get like a full back, like: NO. No more moving for me, I promise, I'm happy where I'm at. It's this type of thing where, where, you know, we have to listen to our body. Another way where we overstep our intuition and kind of like nudge it aside is when we're trying to do something exactly the way, so and so mother, best friend, or etc. did it.

And when it comes to doing things the way other people did it, it's all gonna look different. And this is why I absolutely vouch and adore the Hair N' Heal program, because it's tailored and customized to each person. The mom who's breastfeeding right now is getting results because this was tailored to her. She wasn't turned away, just the opposite. I welcomed her, I was like: Yes, you can do the program, whether you're pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to conceive, or anything outside of that. And I'm telling you the same. You can do it, but she got results because of that. That 60 something year old got results because it was also tailored to her and to her needs and that's the key to this too, it has to be tailored to your needs.

So, we can't expect, for example, I see this a lot on so many Facebook groups, which you know, they, it almost causes like anxiety in me when I see this and I see other people following like sheep what other people are doing. So, for example, when so and so says: Oh, you know what? I got so great results doing XYZ. And then maybe someone out there says: Oh, maybe I should do that too, maybe I should, you know,

drink bleach and put arsenic on my scalp and, you know, use steroid injections and do this and do that. When potentially, more than likely, that's not going to work for you because you are not the same person as that.

There's just so many different factors, even if we're looking at just children. If we were going to compare, let's say, all the 2 year olds in the daycare that where, that my son goes to, none of them are the same. None of them are the same height, and none of them intellectually, or you know, with emotional skills or anything, are at the same level. So even if they all had alopecia, do you think the root cause would be the same for all of them? Absolutely not, it would look so different.

And so this is where we can't compare with ourselves in our journey with others, we just can't. It's going to look so different. But I'm telling you, healing is possible and hair is within your reach. It is, you just got to get started. And I think that's probably the one thing where we all are the same, where I can actually say this and it applies to everybody across the board. The sooner you start, the sooner you see results. That right there is good for everybody, and that's with anything that's with, let's say, wanting to work out, wanting to train, wanting to, you know, learn new skills. The sooner you start, the better you'll get, period. That's just the way it is.

And the last aspect of you overriding your intuition is when you are deferring quickly to someone else to avoid the decision. So for example, I see this a lot and I was actually having this conversation this morning with a physical fitness instructor and I was telling her: You know how many people go to the doctors and they're like: Oh, hey, doctor, I have such and such ailment and then the doctor's like: Okay, great, here are some prescriptions, here are some pills, you know, just order it at the pharmacy and you're good to go.

That's not the approach I take. Whatever the doctor says, he or she, it's not the end all be all. I've learned that the hard way and I'm sure you have too at this point. What they tell me is something I take into consideration, I ask a gazillion questions, and then at the end of it, I look at other options, and then I make a decision. Sometimes professionals, in any capacity, whether you're an attorney, doctor, tax person, teacher, principal, etc. Some people are feeling like their word is the last word, and unfortunately, many times their word is actually harmful.

I've heard it time and time again from clients where they say: Oh, my doctor said diet and lifestyle, would it make a difference. My doctor told me: You can't do anything for me that I have scarring alopecia and there's nothing to be done. Those words or those types of words. And sentences to young people, to adults, to anybody are very harmful because that just imposes their limiting beliefs on you. And I talk about this in my free training about limiting beliefs because you can choose to take that route of the prescriptions and, you know, their word to be the last word, or you can say: No, I'm going to find another way.

In many cases in my life, including in alopecia, I've had to find another way, but it's made me a better person for it. And there was a little bit of a struggle for sure. But I'm grateful for that struggle, and I'm here today because I've accomplished it, I've accomplished the goal, I've gotten my hair back. And I'm alopecia free for more than 8+ years, even after COVID, even after postpartum, or having a baby at 40, mind you, even after moving to several countries in less than like 3 years, 2 years. I moved to like 2, 3 different countries with the whole family, it's been very stressful. But at the same time, my hair is still here and I'm still thriving and I know you can too.

And so this is what this is all about. It's about healing, it's about overcoming your obstacle, understanding how your body functions, cause the way you function is going to look different than anyone else. Even if you have a twin sister, it's going to look different, it really is. And so from there, then you know exactly how to control and how to keep your body in a balanced state so that you never have to deal with this ever again, even amid circumstances that life will bring or throw at you.

And so there's always a choice, there's a choice in healing, there's a choice in listening to your intuition, there's a choice and not listening to your intuition. There's a choice and hearing what everyone else has to say before you can make a decision for you and your health, listening to, you know, people with negativity and negative solutions or taking a higher road. And so deferring quickly to someone else to avoid making the decision. Is not something that, for example, is innate in me. And what does this look like? It says:

We all give our power away from time to time. And we all know that pit in the stomach feeling when we do it. It feels so icky, that feeling is there as an innate warning system that keeps us out of danger. Today we don't need to run from tigers that often, but our bodily emergency alert system is still fully functional. This is referring to the fight or flight innate system that we have in our bodies. Slow down and give yourself space to check with your own point of view.

Try these statements to give yourself room to process your next steps. Let's sleep on it, so sleep on your decision. You can say: You have a good point, I want to think about it more so I can make my best decision. Thank you. I'd like to consider these options and get back to you. Simply hitting the pause button creates the opportunity for you to get clear and step into your truth. Create the environment for your intuition to show up. The answer is always there, in your body and your heart. Your power is always inside you, waiting to be heard.

When you start listening within, you're crafting a life based on your values and what you deeply care about. Trust your intuition, it's a valuable gift. And I'll say again, the intuition is free, the intuition is innate, the intuition is there for you. We just need to tap into it. You really need to tap into it so that you can do what's right by your truth, by what you feel, by your values and how you want to live your life. Because this is your life, ultimately and the choices that we make, at the end of the day, are a reflection of what we want, and what we don't want. And it's all in your hands. It really is. It's all in your hands.

And this is the beauty of it, because then you get to create the life that you want. I wouldn't be here today had I not created the life that I wanted. I wanted to thrive, I wanted my health. And yes, that was a total, you know, curveball. Alopecia was a total curveball out of nowhere, smack in the face when I thought I was already thriving, when I thought I was already at, like, a real high peak and the universe told me: Nope, that ain't it, not yet. And you know, it was very humbling. But at the end of the day, listening to my intuition got me further. At the end of the day, listening to my intuition blocked out the noise. It helped me. make the right decisions so I can see success sooner.

So instead of eight years or 18 years, it was only four. And many, many people are dealing with outpatient for months, decades and years as well, of course, but we can lessen that. We can lessen that when we listen to our intuition, when we make decisions. And we go for it and we move into that, because again, at the end of the day, when you take action, this is, this is where you start to see the growth. This is when you start to see the results. The sooner you take action, the sooner, the better.

Thank you so much. Have a wonderful rest of your week and I look forward to talking to you next time. Take care.