The first step to figuring out your health issues, to starting a business, to being in relationships, to everything in my humble opinion is to find your truth. You do this by being brutally honest with yourself & with others. What do I really want? What lights me up more than anything? What feels like a giant compromise that I can't live with? How do I REALLY FEEL?
Until you know the truth, I find that you'll never go anywhere for too long. It is hard to strive for something when you don't know what your truth is. Even if you don't know what to do about a situation or feel stuck, knowing your truth is still the first step to moving in a direction. It's hard to tell people how you really feel, it's hard to be brutally honest, especially if you are dependent on someone or some situation. If it makes people uncomfortable, then so be it. But it's far better to deal with truth & do some hard things initially, than to wait... and wait... and wait, until you find that a big part of your life isn't really what you want & you have to make drastic changes. Doing this can really affect your health and well being too. Sometimes you have to have many different experiences to find your truth, and some of those not very pleasant, but just keep going.
Sometimes your truths may make you feel like a 'bad person' or a complete loser. It doesn't mean that you ARE those things, it is just a starting point. It's why so many never find their truth, because they can't face their own demons or judgements about themselves. Here's a personal example: I never really wanted to be a parent. I had a child when I was very unconscious, loved the baby stage and then really had no idea of what to do once my child got older. Being pregnant was enough and I never thought past it. But once I realized that I did not like parenting, because I had no idea of how to actually do it, I was working from truth. From there, I have been able to be a better parent (still have a long way to go in my opinion), it made me curious & able to find ways to improve. I don't know if I'll ever be one of those textbook perfect mothers, always nurturing & doing the right thing for her child... in fact I know I won't. But just admitting this vulnerable, uncomfortable thing actually made the situation so much better. Prior to that I was just floundering around, fooling myself, even lying to myself. This hurt my child, and once I realized, the pain of what I had done was hard, it's still hard. But it is a solid reminder to always keep trying. This is just one example of 'brutal honesty with oneself'. It can help to admit our shameful secrets, because once you expose your shame, it depowers it.
I find that most people suffering chronic conditions are loaded with buried truths, that they are not seeing. Lots of times it's from relationships with their spouse or family (our closest relationships that we protect & always try to maintain a sense of 'comfort'). The more you think you have to lose, the more crucial it is to find your truth. Start there:) Partnerships, jobs, family are the biggest places to find your truth. Know how you really feel in these situations and consider the idea of not protecting others from your truth. I'm not referring to being openly mean about nonconsequential things btw. But living in authenticity, no matter the cost. When you don't do this, the chronic conditions show up with a vengeance. There is no plant that is going to make that festering energy magically repaired. So whenever people ask me what products they should take, I tend to respond with probing questions about what their truth is... I am annoying like that:)