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Kyle Richards Reveals Her Struggle to Treat Her Fibromyalgia on 'The Healer'

Erin Migdol
 • 
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“Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Kyle Richards is seeking out alternative methods for treating her fibromyalgia pain on Monday night’s episode of “The Healer.”

The TLC show features “energy healer” Charlie Goldsmith and chronicles his efforts to treat patients living with chronic conditions. In a preview clip of the episode, Richards explains that she first got sick while her mom was sick with breast cancer. When she later went to doctors, they told her she was depressed because her mom had passed.

“I was like, I’m just not buying that I’m just depressed. Why am I having all these crazy symptoms?” she said.

A friend told her she might have fibromyalgia, so she went to a doctor who specializes in the condition who confirmed her diagnosis.

“All of the sudden I felt like I had an answer and I felt better because it causes so much anxiety [not knowing],” Richards said.

Goldsmith said he is often asked to treat fibromyalgia and that he’s “been helpful” with it. He asked Richards to close her eyes while he focused his energy on her biggest pain spots, her neck and shoulders. Richards said she felt a warm, tingling sensation going through that area.

Goldsmith is originally from Australia and told People magazine when he focuses his energy on somebody’s issue, often the state of that issue will “rapidly change.” In the first episode, he worked with a man with Lyme disease and actress Jennifer Grey, who has been dealing with chronic neck pain.

“I’ve helped a lot of people with infections, a lot of people with viruses, with significant pain that pain killers haven’t even improved,” he said.

Producers from Bunim/Murray production company discovered him through a study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, which was conducted at NYU’s Lutheran Hospital and claimed he treated 50 reports of pain at a 76-percent success rate and 29 reports of non-pain problems at a 79-percent success rate.

“I don’t have a clean slate, like, I’ve just discovered healing, and everyone’s like, ‘We’ve never heard of that, let’s check it out,’ ” he told People. “It’s like, I’ve just discovered healing and everyone’s going, ‘Well, that’s been proven to be fraudulent.’ Then I’ve got to go, ‘OK, no it’s not a fraud — just give me a second of your time and I’ll show you it’s not.”

Alternative medicine can be a difficult topic for people with chronic illnesses. Friends and acquaintances may urge them to try natural treatments they’ve either unsuccessfully already tried or don’t address the root cause of their illness, which can be frustrating and give the impression that it’s their fault they’re still sick. While some people may find alternative treatments that help them, Western medicine is crucial for many chronic illnesses, so chronic warriors often caution against overemphasizing the power of energy healing and natural methods.

Since the series aired its first episode on November 6, it’s received mixed reviews from viewers. Some expressed skepticism that Goldsmith was truly healing anyone and warned about how difficult it can  be to quantify pain, as well as the danger in people potentially thinking they’re healed when they’re not. Others were impressed with Goldsmith’s treatment and wished he could work with them, too.

https://twitter.com/Holaaddi/status/927736906129035265

The show airs Mondays at 10/9c on TLC.

Image via Creative Commons/celebrityabc

Erin Migdol
 • 

Erin is the former senior editor and chronic illness editor of The Mighty. She joined The Mighty in 2015 and previously worked at Inside Weddings magazine, Mic, and The Huffington Post. She was also the features editor at The California Aggie, UC Davis' student newspaper. She is honored to be a part of the Mighty community!

erin-migdol
Originally published: November 14, 2017
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