Q. What is functional medicine?
A. Functional medicine is a recently evolved form of medical practice that takes into account the whole person, and seeks to identify and treat causes, not just symptoms, of illness. As the Institute for Functional Medicine defines, “Functional Medicine determines how and why illness occurs and restores health by addressing the root causes of disease for each individual.” Learn more about it at autoimmunefamilies.com/functional-medicine
Q. What is AIF all about? Do you promote a specific diet, lifestyle, or exercise program?
A. The Autoimmune Families Community is first and foremost “regular people” who are seeking a healing-based approach to autoimmunity. We recognize that not everyone is going to pursue the same one solution set – not just because we’re individuals, but because disease presents individually, as well. We provide some guidelines, options, insights, and bases for inquiry so that you and your practitioners can have informed discussions about, and pursue, the path to healing that is best for you.
Q. Do I have to buy anything?
A. Members are not obligated to buy anything from or through The Autoimmune Families Community. We do have certain affiliations with resources that we believe are valuable to members who can benefit from such resources, but no member is obligated to make any such purchases in order to access the information and the community we provide.
Q. Why does it cost to become a member?
A. Membership helps cover costs to sustain the community, and contributes to the Autoimmune Families Foundation, which seeks to help families who need support in pursuing a healing-based approach to chronic illness.
Q. How do I become a member?
A. To become a member in the private Autoimmune Families Community, visit https://autoimmunefamilies.com/membership/.
Q. Once I’m a member, do I have to talk about my personal journey?
A. Members are under no obligation to talk about anything at all inside our community. You may just read the educational materials, request information, or join the conversation in our private social network. Within our private FaceBook community, you are free to discuss on-topic subjects so long as they are consistent with our terms of membership.
Q. What is your scope of practice?
A. The Autoimmune Families Community is not a physician, does not diagnose or treat any illness. We are a community of “regular folks,” parents, caregivers, coaches, and industry experts who have learned a lot about autoimmunity from experts in the field and our own experiences, and want to help others by sharing what we’ve learned. Always check with your licensed professional healthcare provider before making any changes to your health care protocol.
About our community
At Autoimmune Families, our mission is to form a community that supports families and caregivers faced with the challenges of autoimmune disorders to help improve our mutual quality of life. Our goal is to speed the path of inquiry through quality experts who focus on the whole person, have real-world experience with the causes that drive autoimmune responses, and are willing to work through the multi-factorial experimentation that it can take to achieve long term, positive outcomes in the face of serious, chronic disease. We hope that, by sharing our stories and others like them, we can spare each other needless pain.
We work within the knowledge that we are seeking progress, not a cure; within a framework of finding causes, not just treating symptoms; and with the belief that by embracing the body, mind, and spirit together, we can yield a higher quality of life than through a focus on physical needs alone.