Thank you for writing this and sharing your experience. I also have Hashimoto's and never quite felt like my health practitioners understood my symptoms fully. After thyroid panels revealed hypothyroidism, they handed me a script for Levothyroxine and called it a day. And as my levels inch up, they just increase my dosage. No mention of nervous system, stress levels, etc. I know my dis-ease is a symptom of so much more than just my thyroid. I appreciate your nod towards the somatic modalities. I have learned the importance of personal energy audits and how much I need to be mindful of what I am letting in.
Yes, that was exactly my experience Allison. Western medicine has such a limited perspective on this. Thank you for sharing your experience. It's nice to find your tribe 😊
Thank you for this post. I’m in the thick of this right now so I found it validating to read. I have mast cell activation disorder and have had the same trajectory as you, finding some relief but never quite getting to the bottom of it. In the last year my unavoidable life stress has been so high that I’m in a state of collapse now, unable to work at all, and have had the same realisation as you about the hole in the bucket. Now I’m impatient to plug it but of course you can’t rush something like this so it’s become a test of endurance and faith that things can eventually be better. I’m grasping at every straw I can find to stop me going under. I look forward to reading whatever else you want to say on this topic! In the meantime, it’s good to at least read that I’m not going insane and this really is as difficult as it feels. After more than half a century of being told I was making a fuss about nothing, I now have to learn how to listen to my body. It’s not easy and most people have no clue what I’m going through. Your post and these comments make me feel less alone and less crazy.
Yes, it's so important to find others who get it. It's an incredibly hard road, and a slow incremental learning curve, and we often encounter a share of gas-lighting along the way. Thanks so much for sharing some of your experiences here, I'm glad to hear it was useful.
Looking forward to it! It's something I'm interested in, and there's times I'm really good at it and other times where I have no clue what's going on in my own body, so keen to hear what you will have to share about it 😀
Yep that sounds familiar! There's times I'm really good at it and times I'm totally disconnected from my body too... like most things, it's a work in progress 😀
Thank you, Dr Vicki, and truthfully, this is my current focus area, this is what my current season is all about because I didn't know that my lifestyle has been draining my energy currency, and I must work on that to nourish my body again. I only learned after reading some posts and books (incl. When The Body Says No by Dr Gabor Maté and The Body Keeps The Score) that my autoimmune is caused by my nervous system. I could only think: really? Surviving all these challenges for over 30 years of my life absolutely wreaked havoc on my body? I hadn't known that it was possible. I had thought that those were already in the past. But reading about IFS (Internal Family System) felt like: not so fast, Sekar, the unresolved wounds are now lodged in your body. Ouch. Lo and behold...
I don't know what I don't know. What I assumed was *just* a period of demanding job seemingly affected my nervous system in a way you brilliantly described in a bookkeeping account of energy and adrenaline (as someone from a finance background, it's visual to me haha).
I also learned about inflammation and what surprised me from A Silent Fire book was even the low-grade, chronic assault on our immune system, can snowball into a full-blown autoimmune attack later in life. I'm glad if we can connect, I could learn many things from you.
Thanks for sharing a bit of your story Sekar. Yes it was a revelation for me too when I started to put together those pieces about trauma, the nervous system, and chronic illness. It was like a light bulb went on, and has made all the difference in understanding what my body needs to stay well. It's an ongoing work in progress but I have learned so much along the way. Great to connect with you, and wishing you well on your recovery journey.
Thankyou for this story of your healing journey Vicki. I'm on it myself and find, as well as daily meditation, herbs, exercise, massage and caring, informed doctors, deeper listening to myself is key to staying balanced. More finely tuned awareness tells me what I need when. Loved the leaky bucket analogy!
Thanks Jeanette, and yes that deep listening seems key. Something we're not always encouraged to do often by our culture that likes to hold the medics as the 'expert' on our bodies.
Soo resonate with everything you share, Vicki. That embodied awareness piece of how the nervous system is responding is key. I also wonder if and how your relationship to spirituality has evolved throughout this process (however you personally define spirituality)? For me it's been such a vital piece of the healing process, and wondering if it is for others, too.
That's a really interesting question Eliza. My connection to spirituality has undoubtedly evolved, particularly through my yoga journey. Whether that's been part of my symptom-reduction I'm not sure, but it has certainly helped enormously with how I make sense of the challenges that arise in my life and given me access to a sense of support from something larger. I'm curious to hear how it has supported your healing... It's probably a lot to answer here, but perhaps a topic for a post some day? 😃
Vicki, I resonate with your story, your journey, and the wise lessons you have learned. I feel on empty at the moment, and I needed this gentle nudge to remind me it's okay to stop and take care of myself.
I'm glad to hear it was useful Sandra. Yes, so important that we get to stop and listen to those messages and recognise that the body is always trying to help us or communicate with us in some way. Take care ❤
Vicki, thank you so much for sharing your story. I nod at every word and sentence because I've been through a similar journey like yours (and still going). That I felt so let down by the mainstream/Western medical model. That I've integrated holistic treatment modalities to support my body in recovery and healing. That I've realised my condition is likely to be caused by decades of high-level stress related to unsupported disability, repressed emotions, and workaholism. Currently I am working with a functional medicine practitioner and focusing on restoring the balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Some of the things that I've found helpful in calming the nervous system: living a slow and simple lifestyle; minimising consumption of processed food and exposure to chemicals; spending time in solitude and in nature; walking; creative outlets; deep conversations; talking therapy; medical intuitive/energy healing; and somatic work. I look forward to reading more on your journey! Sending love ✨
Looking forward to you delving more on this subject. Although I’m not diagnosed with an auto immune disease, I can relate to a lot of what you talk about.
Thank you for sharing all of this! My health issues started when I was pregnant for the third time and developed gestational diabetes, though I have had migraines since I was a young woman, which, it turns out, were hormonal in nature. Taking birth control made them worse. Since my parents were, at the time, both pre-diabetic, and I had GD, there was a greater than average chance my diagnosis going forward, after the pregnancy, would not be good. So I took pills and took care of myself. I discovered after pregnancy and going back on birth control that my hormones were so out of whack now that migraines came every single month, so I could no longer use birth control pills. Anyway, I have been listening to my own body. I take care of myself and exercise and was able to cut out my diabetes meds. Transitioned into menopause beautifully, with no symptoms and still having great sex without any problems, so I think I'm on the right track. Kept weight consistent for the last 10 years and feel pretty darn amazing. XO
Oh and PS, even the migraines are very infrequent once more. I maybe get them once or twice a year, if that. Now, I have also noticed as I age that I have to be very careful about what I put into my body. I've noticed big effects with OTC meds and alcohol and even had a reaction to a prescription I recently got for a sinus infection, that I have not had an issue with before. So it definitely is something you have to be aware of at all times and pay attention to. XO
That sounds like quite a journey you've been on Danielle. Glad to hear you've found your way to better help and that the menopause transition was simple for you - that gives me hope 😀 Thanks for sharing a little of your journey here.
Reading this is so encouraging and validating. My primary challenge is migraine, but I have endometriosis, PCOS, and fibromyalgia in my history. Also PTSD and some neurodivergence, and I'm recovering from a brain injury. Emerging work focusing on the nervous system (currently reading The Myth of Normal) + support from doctors and my OT are giving me hope for the first time in decades. Your leaky bucket analogy is so helpful. It's the missing piece of the puzzle and so important to understanding why lifestyle and diet changes alone aren't enough for so many of us.
Thanks Rita, I'm glad to hear it's helpful. Yes, it was truly a lightbulb moment for me when I made the link as to why the herbs and diet and lifestyle changes alone weren't enough. I'm sure there are more layers to uncover, but this one has been a huge one! Wishing you well with your own health journey and thanks for sharing some of your experiences here.
I love this, Vicki - well, except the proclamation of your original GP, which makes me so mad! I, too, have found that what I put into my body (and what I cut out), how I move my body, how I listen to and respond to my body, how I respond to the outside world, how much sleep I get...all of this has a monumental impact on my mental and physical wellness and sense of wellbeing. And while I hadn’t thought of my daily practices and lifestyle choices in terms of nervous system calibration, that’s exactly what they do. Thanks for articulating all this so beautifully and clearly, as always. ❤️
Thanks Dana. Yes it's shocking that some medical practitioners still have such a limited view of health and wellness. Fortunately I went on to find a much more thoughtful holistically-minded GP who can straddle the best of both Eastern and Western medicine, but I'm very aware not everyone is so fortunate...
My mom has Hashimoto’s and my father lived with (and died from complications of) rheumatoid arthritis. I have so much respect for the havoc that autoimmune disorders can cause ❤️
than you for your writing Dr Vicki. for me, decades of multiple sclerosis and many ptsd experiences (compounded with cptsd). i find the inculcated drivers of necessity, family and culture are challenges. what has assisted most is wholistic health modalities, especially breath work and acupuncture. and reading your writing! which helps me acknowledge it is what it is, keep on learning, utilizing awareness and love.
Thank you Katsden, I'm glad to hear it's useful. Yes, it can be incredibly hard to make the changes our body desires in the face of those drivers of necessity, family and culture. And trauma healing is such an important part of the picture. Breathwork and acupuncture have been extremely helpful for me too. Thanks for sharing a little bit of your journey here.
Thank you for writing this and sharing your experience. I also have Hashimoto's and never quite felt like my health practitioners understood my symptoms fully. After thyroid panels revealed hypothyroidism, they handed me a script for Levothyroxine and called it a day. And as my levels inch up, they just increase my dosage. No mention of nervous system, stress levels, etc. I know my dis-ease is a symptom of so much more than just my thyroid. I appreciate your nod towards the somatic modalities. I have learned the importance of personal energy audits and how much I need to be mindful of what I am letting in.
Yes, that was exactly my experience Allison. Western medicine has such a limited perspective on this. Thank you for sharing your experience. It's nice to find your tribe 😊
Thank you for this post. I’m in the thick of this right now so I found it validating to read. I have mast cell activation disorder and have had the same trajectory as you, finding some relief but never quite getting to the bottom of it. In the last year my unavoidable life stress has been so high that I’m in a state of collapse now, unable to work at all, and have had the same realisation as you about the hole in the bucket. Now I’m impatient to plug it but of course you can’t rush something like this so it’s become a test of endurance and faith that things can eventually be better. I’m grasping at every straw I can find to stop me going under. I look forward to reading whatever else you want to say on this topic! In the meantime, it’s good to at least read that I’m not going insane and this really is as difficult as it feels. After more than half a century of being told I was making a fuss about nothing, I now have to learn how to listen to my body. It’s not easy and most people have no clue what I’m going through. Your post and these comments make me feel less alone and less crazy.
Yes, it's so important to find others who get it. It's an incredibly hard road, and a slow incremental learning curve, and we often encounter a share of gas-lighting along the way. Thanks so much for sharing some of your experiences here, I'm glad to hear it was useful.
Would love to hear more about embodied awareness and how you practice it and incorporate it in your life!
Thanks Sophie, I will definitely write more on this topic as it's become something I'm very passionate about. Stay tuned 😊
Looking forward to it! It's something I'm interested in, and there's times I'm really good at it and other times where I have no clue what's going on in my own body, so keen to hear what you will have to share about it 😀
Yep that sounds familiar! There's times I'm really good at it and times I'm totally disconnected from my body too... like most things, it's a work in progress 😀
Glad to hear I'm not alone 😅
This! As a craniosacral therapist and someone with a chronic illness and going through menopause.
Glad to hear it resonates Jen, thanks for your comment 😊
Thank you, Dr Vicki, and truthfully, this is my current focus area, this is what my current season is all about because I didn't know that my lifestyle has been draining my energy currency, and I must work on that to nourish my body again. I only learned after reading some posts and books (incl. When The Body Says No by Dr Gabor Maté and The Body Keeps The Score) that my autoimmune is caused by my nervous system. I could only think: really? Surviving all these challenges for over 30 years of my life absolutely wreaked havoc on my body? I hadn't known that it was possible. I had thought that those were already in the past. But reading about IFS (Internal Family System) felt like: not so fast, Sekar, the unresolved wounds are now lodged in your body. Ouch. Lo and behold...
I don't know what I don't know. What I assumed was *just* a period of demanding job seemingly affected my nervous system in a way you brilliantly described in a bookkeeping account of energy and adrenaline (as someone from a finance background, it's visual to me haha).
I also learned about inflammation and what surprised me from A Silent Fire book was even the low-grade, chronic assault on our immune system, can snowball into a full-blown autoimmune attack later in life. I'm glad if we can connect, I could learn many things from you.
Thanks for sharing a bit of your story Sekar. Yes it was a revelation for me too when I started to put together those pieces about trauma, the nervous system, and chronic illness. It was like a light bulb went on, and has made all the difference in understanding what my body needs to stay well. It's an ongoing work in progress but I have learned so much along the way. Great to connect with you, and wishing you well on your recovery journey.
Interesting. I’m a student of the German New Medicine, which rests on similar concepts. It’s helped me so much.
Yes, I've been hearing a lot about German New Medicine lately... need to look into it further. Glad to hear it's helping you Laura 😊
Thankyou for this story of your healing journey Vicki. I'm on it myself and find, as well as daily meditation, herbs, exercise, massage and caring, informed doctors, deeper listening to myself is key to staying balanced. More finely tuned awareness tells me what I need when. Loved the leaky bucket analogy!
Thanks Jeanette, and yes that deep listening seems key. Something we're not always encouraged to do often by our culture that likes to hold the medics as the 'expert' on our bodies.
Soo resonate with everything you share, Vicki. That embodied awareness piece of how the nervous system is responding is key. I also wonder if and how your relationship to spirituality has evolved throughout this process (however you personally define spirituality)? For me it's been such a vital piece of the healing process, and wondering if it is for others, too.
That's a really interesting question Eliza. My connection to spirituality has undoubtedly evolved, particularly through my yoga journey. Whether that's been part of my symptom-reduction I'm not sure, but it has certainly helped enormously with how I make sense of the challenges that arise in my life and given me access to a sense of support from something larger. I'm curious to hear how it has supported your healing... It's probably a lot to answer here, but perhaps a topic for a post some day? 😃
Vicki, I resonate with your story, your journey, and the wise lessons you have learned. I feel on empty at the moment, and I needed this gentle nudge to remind me it's okay to stop and take care of myself.
I'm glad to hear it was useful Sandra. Yes, so important that we get to stop and listen to those messages and recognise that the body is always trying to help us or communicate with us in some way. Take care ❤
Vicki, thank you so much for sharing your story. I nod at every word and sentence because I've been through a similar journey like yours (and still going). That I felt so let down by the mainstream/Western medical model. That I've integrated holistic treatment modalities to support my body in recovery and healing. That I've realised my condition is likely to be caused by decades of high-level stress related to unsupported disability, repressed emotions, and workaholism. Currently I am working with a functional medicine practitioner and focusing on restoring the balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Some of the things that I've found helpful in calming the nervous system: living a slow and simple lifestyle; minimising consumption of processed food and exposure to chemicals; spending time in solitude and in nature; walking; creative outlets; deep conversations; talking therapy; medical intuitive/energy healing; and somatic work. I look forward to reading more on your journey! Sending love ✨
That sounds like a very similar journey Bonnie. I'm glad to hear you've been finding what works for you. Thanks for sharing a bit of your story ❤️
Looking forward to you delving more on this subject. Although I’m not diagnosed with an auto immune disease, I can relate to a lot of what you talk about.
Thanks Mika. Yes I think so many people are hovering around the edges of these types of health issues. A product of our modern world it seems!
Thank you for sharing all of this! My health issues started when I was pregnant for the third time and developed gestational diabetes, though I have had migraines since I was a young woman, which, it turns out, were hormonal in nature. Taking birth control made them worse. Since my parents were, at the time, both pre-diabetic, and I had GD, there was a greater than average chance my diagnosis going forward, after the pregnancy, would not be good. So I took pills and took care of myself. I discovered after pregnancy and going back on birth control that my hormones were so out of whack now that migraines came every single month, so I could no longer use birth control pills. Anyway, I have been listening to my own body. I take care of myself and exercise and was able to cut out my diabetes meds. Transitioned into menopause beautifully, with no symptoms and still having great sex without any problems, so I think I'm on the right track. Kept weight consistent for the last 10 years and feel pretty darn amazing. XO
Oh and PS, even the migraines are very infrequent once more. I maybe get them once or twice a year, if that. Now, I have also noticed as I age that I have to be very careful about what I put into my body. I've noticed big effects with OTC meds and alcohol and even had a reaction to a prescription I recently got for a sinus infection, that I have not had an issue with before. So it definitely is something you have to be aware of at all times and pay attention to. XO
That sounds like quite a journey you've been on Danielle. Glad to hear you've found your way to better help and that the menopause transition was simple for you - that gives me hope 😀 Thanks for sharing a little of your journey here.
Reading this is so encouraging and validating. My primary challenge is migraine, but I have endometriosis, PCOS, and fibromyalgia in my history. Also PTSD and some neurodivergence, and I'm recovering from a brain injury. Emerging work focusing on the nervous system (currently reading The Myth of Normal) + support from doctors and my OT are giving me hope for the first time in decades. Your leaky bucket analogy is so helpful. It's the missing piece of the puzzle and so important to understanding why lifestyle and diet changes alone aren't enough for so many of us.
Thanks Rita, I'm glad to hear it's helpful. Yes, it was truly a lightbulb moment for me when I made the link as to why the herbs and diet and lifestyle changes alone weren't enough. I'm sure there are more layers to uncover, but this one has been a huge one! Wishing you well with your own health journey and thanks for sharing some of your experiences here.
I love this, Vicki - well, except the proclamation of your original GP, which makes me so mad! I, too, have found that what I put into my body (and what I cut out), how I move my body, how I listen to and respond to my body, how I respond to the outside world, how much sleep I get...all of this has a monumental impact on my mental and physical wellness and sense of wellbeing. And while I hadn’t thought of my daily practices and lifestyle choices in terms of nervous system calibration, that’s exactly what they do. Thanks for articulating all this so beautifully and clearly, as always. ❤️
Thanks Dana. Yes it's shocking that some medical practitioners still have such a limited view of health and wellness. Fortunately I went on to find a much more thoughtful holistically-minded GP who can straddle the best of both Eastern and Western medicine, but I'm very aware not everyone is so fortunate...
My mom has Hashimoto’s and my father lived with (and died from complications of) rheumatoid arthritis. I have so much respect for the havoc that autoimmune disorders can cause ❤️
Thanks for sharing that Amber. We need so much more awareness (and research) around this area. So many people are suffering without adequate support.
than you for your writing Dr Vicki. for me, decades of multiple sclerosis and many ptsd experiences (compounded with cptsd). i find the inculcated drivers of necessity, family and culture are challenges. what has assisted most is wholistic health modalities, especially breath work and acupuncture. and reading your writing! which helps me acknowledge it is what it is, keep on learning, utilizing awareness and love.
Thank you Katsden, I'm glad to hear it's useful. Yes, it can be incredibly hard to make the changes our body desires in the face of those drivers of necessity, family and culture. And trauma healing is such an important part of the picture. Breathwork and acupuncture have been extremely helpful for me too. Thanks for sharing a little bit of your journey here.