The Key To Healing Is Safety

In my last blog post here, we dove deep into nervous system regulation and brain retraining as foundational steps in the healing process, especially in the context of complex chronic health issues. At its core, this kind of work is so important because it (re)teaches the body as a whole, and the nervous system specifically, how to feel safe. While it may sound simple, it’s a rather intricate topic since not only are there many ways that one can feel unsafe, but they are often also unconscious. Thankfully, there are also a multitude of pathways for returning to a felt sense of safety. While I have shared my high praise for, and personal benefit from, the Primal Trust program, this isn’t the only pathway. What’s important, as confirmed by many experts in the field who recommend protocols for nervous system regulation and brain retraining, is orienting toward safety on both the physical and emotional levels. 

The feeling of “unsafety” is quite elusive—it can be difficult to even identify and it’s common to be unaware of defaulting to this state of being. To help us trace and explain these patterns, Dr. Robert Naviaux came up with the theory of cell danger response (CDR), essentially an adaptive, protective reaction to environmental threat or injury. When unresolved and prolonged, this response contributes to illness. Utilizing the examples of triggers like mold, bacteria, viruses, etc., he explains that cells respond by shifting into a heightened protective state to defend themselves, which compromises normal metabolic functions like the absorption of nutrients, the transformation of energy, mitochondrial activity, and the elimination of toxins. Dr. Naviaux asserts that “although the CDR is a cellular response, it has the power to change human thought and behavior, child development, physical fitness and resilience, fertility, and the susceptibility of entire populations to disease.” 

Once the body feels unsafe, the brain is going to respond as well—more specifically the limbic system and amygdala. One of my favorites, Dr. Neil Nathan, has gone deep into the science to explain the clinical effects of this theory; CDR illuminates the need to address what is an essentially psychological feeling of unsafety in order for our bodies to be able to accept treatments and move into a healing state of repair. This helps explain why treatments that are effective for some people don’t work for others. Our brains' protective response is to get stuck in hyper vigilance, fear-based thinking loops, scanning for danger, and more. This is where “brain retraining” comes in. Annie Hopper, who created the Dynamic Neural Retraining System (DNRS), was one of the first to popularize the idea that even when we take away the trigger, the brain will keep responding to a perceived threat until it is “retrained” out of this response. 

Alexandra Mary, who healed herself from chronic fatigue syndrome and complex chronic illness, explains “central sensitivity syndrome,” wherein the nervous system becomes sensitized and hyper-responsive to stimuli. This is the result of the stress bucket filling up due to trauma (physical or emotional), genetics, infections, viruses, mold, emotional/physiological stress, adverse reactions to a pharmaceutical, etc. It creates a neuropsychological change in the brain that deeply affects the body. Dan Bulgio has a similar concept about getting stuck in what he calls “perceived danger,” outlined in his book Pain Free You. To give an idea of the many types of triggers people may experience as danger, especially once in a heightened state of sensitivity, he lists: negative emotions, our own thinking or thoughts, fear of medical appointments, investigations or treatments, a medical diagnosis, movement, body positions, self judgement and self criticism, social stress, work stress, financial stress, food or chemicals, mold, sounds, light, EMF, medication and medication side effects or withdrawal, abandonment and relationship stress, and more. 

While each practitioner or expert in the field might have a slightly different name for this, or way to approach it, the essence is the same: there are many factors that can lead to unconscious feelings of unsafety in the body and nervous system—from physiological and environmental triggers to psychoemotional ones. Oftentimes it’s an accumulation of these triggers with a final culprit that pushes the system into a state of hypersensitivity and hypervigilance (being on constant high alert). Our brains are an integral part of this response, altering the way we think and ultimately influencing symptoms through the mind-body connection. Because a variety of factors contribute to each body’s trajectory into this protective response, there is not just one tool or way that can reteach our body, nervous system, brain, and psyche safety. Finding safety requires a multifaceted, individualized approach. 

It can be hard to shift from the mindset that “my body has been working against me” to “my body has always been trying to protect me.” Especially when that protective mechanism has led to the symptoms that compromise our quality of life. But the truth is—your body is working exactly as it was designed through this protective mechanism that’s just trying to help you survive. However, it was designed in a pre-modern era; now we’re living in environments and cultures misaligned with our biological nature. Unfortunately, it is our bodies’ attempt to protect us that’s led to millions of people stuck in a state of chronic symptoms and pain. So how can we shift out of this response?

You need to find your own way, but the good news is there are now abundant resources to do so. My main advice: there is no right or wrong way to start—just start somewhere. Don’t wait for the perfect time or the perfect program. If this post leaves you curious but unconvinced this approach is what you need, I encourage you to continue exploring. If you’re not ready to sign up for a program or read a book, there are a lot of free resources listed at the end of this post, as well as Instagram accounts I recommend that reinforce this work and mindset. No program, person, or post is going to 100% resonate with you… take what does and leave the rest. You will most likely need multiple approaches and those will unfold over time. It’s okay to start somewhere and shift to another approach within the framework of finding safety. It’s also okay to layer support and approaches or tools—I do! 

This work is deep, root level work—it takes time. We are being called to shift patterns and protective mechanisms that have been ingrained in many of us for years or decades. A lot of these protective mechanisms came about in childhood, even if our symptoms didn’t start until adulthood. Keep this in mind and don’t expect immediate symptom resolution. For me, staying dedicated through this messy process has entailed creating a “see it to believe it” situation, which is part of the brain retraining. This is why watching Primal Trust testimonials and following the Instagram accounts below has been so supportive. My brain has needed a lot of “proof” that this messy, nonlinear healing process is actually “working” and that I am creating lasting changes in my brain, body, and system—despite still having symptoms. Finally, it’s true that taking ourselves out of the cell danger response often entails doing some work to clean up infections or mycotoxins from mold, tending to gut health, etc., but this is often only achievable once we’ve embarked upon teaching ourselves safety (more on this in my previous blog post here). 

Future posts will address topics such as perfectionism, resistance, and the messy, nonlinear nature of the healing process. For now, I will just say that some resistance to a different way of thinking about your health, healing, and symptoms is normal—and it might be something you have to push through to break new ground. That being said, there is a difference between a tool/practice not working for you and normal resistance; one huge benefit to doing this work is strengthened intuition, which will continuously help you discern the next right step for you. My process, tools and routines look very different than they did 6 months ago and I know they will continue to evolve as both my needs and capacity evolve.  

Resources to help you start:

Primal Trust Program - explore on Instagram, Youtube, or listen to Dr. Cathleen King on podcasts. This has been an integral part of my process and I highly recommend it because it’s a very comprehensive approach, all within one program. It also entails a lot of community support. If you’re ready to sign up and get started, please consider using my affiliate link here and now I have a discount code too for 10% off your first month, 5 month package, or annual subscription: ACUSPOT.

Pain Free You by Dan Bulgio - not just for pain, also for chronic symptoms! It’s a book (you can listen to the audiobook for free with your paid Spotify account) and YouTube channel where he posts wonderful daily videos that I have been enjoying listening to while I cook breakfast! He also has a mentorship program with a monthly fee that includes multiple weekly group calls with Dan. I haven’t tried this out myself but I like his work and messages overall. 

Tessa Malcarne - she has created a program and does one-on-one coaching. She also has a podcast called You Only Need You. I have not worked with her personally but I love her work and messaging. She was Dr. Cat’s mentor. If you are interested in one-on-one work and not doing a self-led program or reading a book, from what I know about her I would recommend her. 

Some of my favorite Instagram accounts:

Most of these people have their own programs, which I know nothing about and cannot vouch for! But I love their content and their posts have been supportive to me through this process. Pick tools and people that resonate with you—that is my top advice. Wishing you a sense of safety and aligned support, whether on my acupuncture table or elsewhere! 

Complex Chronic Illness: Where to Begin?

Chinese Medicine brings an inherently holistic and integrative approach to health and healing, and as someone dealing with chronic health issues for twenty years, this was part of the original appeal in becoming a practitioner. Having been on this journey for a long time and experimenting with a wide variety of therapies—ranging from those rooted in Western medicine to Eastern traditions to the alternative and emerging—I can say with confidence that complex chronic illness necessitates a multifaceted approach. Although this is an experience that has been shrouded in mystery, we are constantly learning more and illuminating a brighter pathway forward.  

In truth, I’ve been self conscious about being a practitioner who is not “fixed” and “healed,” but in the last year I have realized that it is precisely my challenging personal experience—paired with an open mind, commitment to finding answers, and self-experimentation—that’s yielded a wealth of valuable knowledge. Indeed, even in the functional and integrative medicine worlds, treatment of chronic health issues is in its infancy; perspectives are continuously changing and shifting, with no magical cure-all in sight. We need to work together and share our findings toward creating new frameworks for healing that can be customized to each individual’s unique needs.

For context, I have received diagnoses such as Long COVID, MCAS, histamine intolerance, POTS, Dysautonomia, SIBO, IBS, mold toxicity/illness, chronic Epstein Barr virus, and suspected Lyme and chronic fatigue (ME/CFS). Some amalgamation of these syndromes is extremely common amongst people with chronic health issues, with much room for variation, and it’s probably easy to see why treatment is far from straightforward. That being said, I finally believe that I am on the “right” healing path, and I’m excited that you are joining me in the messy middle of it all! I feel I have the trifecta of tools, practitioners, and mindset that I need to support my healing, and I am excited to share my discoveries with any of my patients and community members looking for a lighthouse. 

A big realization I’ve had last year as I continued to follow leaders in the field, is that there are not only important foundational treatment protocols, but a correct order in which to implement them. You can have all of the right treatments, but if you don’t receive that support in the right order, you might not get better, or you might temporarily get better, or you might even get worse! That’s why this blog post is about where to begin, as I and many other specialists agree, is nervous system regulation and brain retraining. Important note: it’s okay to “start” this work many years into your health journey—I know I did! But perhaps as we continue speaking up and sharing, more people will realize that this is a crucial foundational step. 

I was first introduced to the concept of brain retraining and limbic system impairment circa 2019 with Annie Hopper’s Dynamic Neural Retraining System, which basically said that you can treat someone for all their chronic health triggers—viruses, bacteria, mold, Lyme, etc. but that if you don’t retrain their brain out of the fear response, they won’t get better. Her work resonated with me, but the program was old, antiquated and rigid. In fact, I have tried multiple programs of this sort but none felt practical for the needs of someone with chronic illness, which can be too all-consuming an experience for rigid programs with excessive time commitments. 

The Primal Trust program has been one of the most life-changing modalities I have come across, but not in the way you might assume. It’s been slow, steady, and profound in creating a sense of safety and self-connection. For someone who’s been experiencing chronic health issues for an extended period of time, it’s understandable that a sense of safety erodes as one is constantly on high alert, and dissociation is common in order to try and continue functioning on a day to day basis. During a very low point exactly one year ago, I started to work with a clinic that highly recommended the Primal Trust program, encouraging me that even doing 20 minutes daily of this work could create shifts! 

Specialists like Dr. Neil Nathan are now saying that the combination of limbic and vagal system regulation is one that is necessary for healing.

In truth, everyone living in our modern world needs nervous system regulation tools but it is particularly relevant for those with chronic illnesses who are trying to get better. I believe, along with other specialists, that this is an integral piece, and I honestly think it is rare to get better and stay better without it. It’s not a magic pill and it’s not one tool or perspective, but the founder, Dr. Cathleen King, has woven together a program that incorporates nervous system regulation, cell danger response theory, vagal toning and polyvagal theory, limbic system/brain retraining, somatics, and more!

So why is this the first step? Because this is the work that is going to help you tolerate treatments, and to experience lasting results from those treatments, because we are shifting the underlying system so that its walls can be penetrated. This also builds our capacity to handle the bumpy ride of healing, powerfully changing beliefs about what’s possible! A dysregulated nervous system and limbic system fear responses will always continue to trigger your systems and symptoms, even if you do the parasite cleanse, detox from mold, kill off the candida, etc. We have to change the state of the nervous system, as well as our thoughts and beliefs, for treatments to work. And as we build that capacity, resiliency, and trust, we’re able to reconnect with our bodies and parts, finding clarity about what they need. Intuition comes back online, and we realize that our bodies were ALWAYS trying to protect us.

Importantly, the program is divided into different levels so that we can continue building capacity, and it is completely self-paced while having the structure many of us need to continue forward. While I felt a little silly for trying yet another program of this nature, I knew one thing that needed to shift for me this time around was community support. So I joined one of their peer-led study groups… and one year later, it was one of the best decisions that I have made along my health journey! I think that doing this work within a program specific to chronic illness is important for people like us—my isolation and loneliness around what I am going through has lightened. I have this wonderful, hope-inspiring, and supportive community. You can do this work solo, but for me the connection piece has been crucial. 

In the future, when I have a Telehealth program for people with complex chronic health issues, a necessary precondition for working with me will be also signing up for the Primal Trust program—I feel that strongly about it. I have been recommending this program to patients for a while and now and in addition to joining their practitioner training program, I am also an affiliate. If you’re interested in signing up, please use this link so it does support me just a tad and use the code ACUSPOT for a 10% discount on your first membership purchase at any level. I’ll also mention that payment is on a monthly basis so you can try it out with little commitment and financial investment! 

If you’d like to familiarize yourself more with this program and see if it resonates, their Instagram posts are great and there is a lot of content on YouTube as well, to give you an introduction to Dr. Cat, the program, and even powerful recovery interviews. Please feel free to ask me any questions you might have, but for now I will leave you with one tool you can start today that I created in the program:

Do a body scan and as you go from top to bottom call out each symptom or sensation that you feel. Acknowledge it, let it know that you see it. And just send it love. If you want to thank that area of the body or ask it if it has a message for you, tell it that you are listening. But in its simplistic form - acknowledge it and send it love. Example: Tension in my head, I feel you and I am sending you love. My breath is a little choppy or irregular, thank you lungs for working so hard for me, I am sending you love. Belly, you feel really tender today, do you have a message for me? I see you and am sending you love. Go through your whole body, and see how it feels to hold space for your symptoms, greet them with love (not fear or trying to change them) and let them know you are holding space for them if they have a message for you. 

You can do a more basic or more in depth version of this, and if being present with your symptoms is too hard right now, that’s okay. Just know that the program can help you with exactly this!

With love and healing,

Danielle

How Does EFT Help with Anxiety?

EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) is a type of therapy that combines elements of cognitive therapy and acupressure to help individuals manage and overcome emotional issues, including anxiety. It’s like acupuncture for your emotions without the needles.

There are many different styles of EFT. I started with tapping in 2020 using the Tapping Solution app and following influencers like Gala Darling and Gabby Bernstein. 

Tapping helped me to find calm during the uncertain times at the start of the pandemic. Even though I practiced yoga regularly - I completed a 200 hr YTT and taught a weekly class - and had been trained in vipassana meditation, I was still waking up with anxiety.

What changed everything for me — my nervous system really —  was tapping with a certified Clinical EFT practitioner 1:1. What makes Clinical EFT different from other modalities is that it follows a standardized procedure studied hundreds of times within clinical settings. Clinical EFT was first introduced to support war veterans dealing with PTSD. The studies showed lasting results in a reduction of PTSD symptoms after just 3 sessions. 

In my first experience with a Clinical EFT practitioner, within 30 minutes we had pinpointed a moment when I was a child about 4 years old when I didn’t know how to ask for my needs and I had an accident… That moment got stuck in me emotionally and I carried it with me for almost 30 years… 

Anytime I was in a situation where I needed to ask for something, I felt my heart rate go up and my shoulders contract… But once I remembered the moment from an already calm state, I was able to tap in and physically let it go.

Are you looking for emotional relief?

Here are some ways EFT can help:

  • Regulation of the nervous system: EFT can help regulate the nervous system, which is often dysregulated in individuals with anxiety. The technique involves tapping on specific acupressure points that are associated with relaxation and calming, helping to reduce the feelings of stress and anxiety.

  • Reducing negative emotions: EFT can help reduce the intensity of negative emotions that contribute to anxiety, such as fear, worry, and self-doubt. By tapping on specific acupressure points while focusing on the negative emotion, individuals can reduce the intensity of the emotion and begin to feel more calm and centered.

  • Addressing underlying beliefs: Individuals with anxiety often have negative beliefs about themselves, others, and the world around them that contribute to their anxiety. EFT can help identify and address these beliefs, replacing them with more positive and empowering ones.

  •  Encouraging self-compassion: EFT can help individuals practice self-compassion, which can be particularly helpful for those with anxiety. The technique can help individuals be more accepting of their feelings and emotions, reducing the shame and self-criticism that can contribute to anxiety.

Overall, EFT can be a useful tool in the treatment of anxiety by reducing the symptoms associated with the condition, improving emotional regulation, and addressing underlying beliefs.

Are you seeking help in overcoming anxiety with holistic energy medicine?

New clients receive 1 free additional session when signing up for a 3-session package.

Sign up here: https://tidycal.com/noemi1/3-sessions

Acupuncture Explained: Form and Function

Most people have heard about acupuncture, but many more are probably wondering how it actually works and whether or not it could support them with a specific ailment or health goal. Acupuncture is like the boost or nudge the body needs to stimulate its return to homeostasis, which is the optimal state of being both in Chinese medicine and physiology. According to this understanding, the body is brilliantly designed to continuously rebalance itself through a variety of regulatory mechanisms and metabolic processes. However, this smooth and harmonious functioning can become impaired for a wide variety of reasons. Thankfully, acupuncture can be applied to affect every major system of the body—including the musculoskeletal, cardiac, gastrointestinal, circulatory, cerebral, genitourinary, endocrine, and immune system. 

Located along meridians or channels, acupuncture points are stimulated to release blockages, remedy imbalances, and promote healing. The acupuncture channels follow our blood vessels, lymphatic system, nervous system, and connective tissue structures. Over the course of centuries, the Chinese mapped out hundreds of acupuncture points along these channels, each one being a highly concentrated formation of sensory fibers, lymphatic and fine blood vessels, and mast cells. 

When a fine needle is inserted into one of these points, it promotes blood flow and increases circulation into the area. This sparks a cascade of healing processes, as blood carries nutrients, oxygen, and a variety of cells, including hormone, immune, anti-inflammatory, and natural pain killers. The “micro-trauma” induced by the insertion of a needle causes increased circulation that stimulates the body’s other mechanisms of healing, encompassing the nervous, immune, and endocrine systems. Due to metabolic imbalances, these systems might have exhibited slow function, now “nudged” back to duty. 

Acupuncture comprehensively supports our other metabolic processes and organ systems by helping to regulate the nervous system, thus facilitating a healthy stress response. By stimulating the release of hormones that tell the sympathetic nervous system—also known as the “fight or flight” state, to calm down, it allows the parasympathetic—or “rest, digest and heal” system, to turn on. The dysregulation between our sympathetic and parasympathetic is very problematic in modern times, since we are bombarded with stressors and stimuli that make it challenging for the sympathetic, or stress alarm, to deactivate. Recent research indicates that a wide range of autoimmune diseases are correlated to impaired parasympathetic function, including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease.

Beyond holistically instigating a return to homeostasis, acupuncture can also have a direct effect on pain remediation. As previously mentioned, an abundance of cells and hormones are released when an acupuncture point is stimulated, which includes pain-relieving hormones, such as endorphins and norepinephrine. Some of these natural painkillers are 10-200 times stronger than morphine. Acupuncture also works on the musculoskeletal level by releasing tight muscles through trigger points and motor points. These special locations in the muscles have been shown to help the muscles release from their tight, constricted state. 

Though the body may need more retraining to alleviate chronic pain, acupuncture is not only relevant for acute pain situations. Chronic pain is a result of complex and multilayered factors, but put simply, the body stops blood blow and circulation to a particular area in order to “guard” it. As we’ve discussed, we need that blood flow to carry the nutrients, hormones, and cells needed for healing to the area of pain. When the needles are inserted, the processes mentioned above jumpstart so that the body’s innate capacity for healing and homeostasis is revitalized. After a couple of days, the body falls back into its old habits and guards the area again, however with repeated acupuncture treatments, the body will overcome old habits, heal the area, and learn to stop guarding it.

Hopefully this explanation has shed some light on the many different applications through which acupuncture can bring healing and relief! During such tumultuous times, it’s certainly a blessing to know that this modality has withstood the test of time and will surely continue to support humanity far into the future. 

Cupping Therapy: Ancient but Never Forgotten

The practice of placing cups on the skin and utilizing suction to promote healing is an ancient one that spans the globe. Although most commonly associated with Chinese Medicine, cupping therapy has also been practiced in ancient Egypt, ancient Greece and Rome, the Middle East, and India. However it was discovered or spread, both its adoption across many cultures and its continuous practice for thousands of years through the modern era speaks volumes about its efficacy. Most widely known for its pain-relieving capacity, this ancient therapy offers a variety of benefits to the recipient and is an especially powerful adjunct therapy to acupuncture. 

In TCM, the free-flowing circulation of vital substances like blood and qi (vital energy) is understood as crucial to overall health and healing. When the flow of qi becomes obstructed, it can result in the compromised distribution of energy to organs and tissues. The health of qi is also a determining factor in the health of the blood – the main carrier channel for distributing qi, hormones, nutrients, and immune cells throughout the body. This interdependent relationship is highlighted by the classic saying: “Where qi flows, blood follows.” Cupping stimulates the movement of qi and blood to the surface of the body – this improved circulation is one of its primary health benefits, promoting cellular repair and muscle relaxation. 

The improved flow of blood and qi promoted by cupping therapy also supports the body’s elimination pathways and harmonizing support for the body’s innate detoxification process. Firstly, by stimulating circulation, the body is able to flush toxins through the lymphatic system; indeed, the skin contains a network of lymphatic vessels that parallels the blood vessels. Secondly, by optimizing and balancing the state of qi and blood within the organs tasked with detoxification, these organs are better able to process toxins. In fact, experiencing a strong Herx reaction, or worsening of symptoms following a treatment that targets pathogens, is an indication that the organs are struggling to process all of the toxins concentrated in the bloodstream due to an overly harsh detox protocol. 

Acupuncture and cupping expertly address different aspects of disharmony in the body, and their pairing is a time-tested way to support holistic healing. Cupping focuses on bringing the vital substance to the surface of the body, helping to release muscle tension, taming inflammation, and promoting recovery. Acupuncture, meanwhile, helps guide and regulate this energy flow along the meridians. Together these therapies stimulate and balance both qi and blood flow, offering a comprehensive approach to addressing the underlying causes of various health concerns. 

Have you ever tried cupping? Let’s explore whether this could be a beneficial service for you!

Gu Syndrome: Ancient TCM Wisdom for Chronic Mystery Illness

When it comes to elusive chronic inflammatory syndromes, fresh and desperately needed applications of ancient Chinese medical texts have resurfaced, reminding us that we can often look to the past for wisdom in moving forward. Thanks to acupuncturist and master herbalist Heiner Fruehauf, who has explored texts long disregarded due to the standardization of Chinese Medicine, we have been reintroduced to the concepts of parasitism and Gu syndrome, which essentially means "possession syndrome." This affliction is caused by a type of extreme pathogenic hidden yin–an evil that causes harm and evades detection, even in Western medicine. In difficult clinical cases where existing treatment protocols weren’t yielding results, he implemented recommended herbal approaches for Gu syndrome and started to see improvements, offering a promising pathway for supporting those with chronic mystery illness. 

Based on the premise that hidden pathogens can cause a super infection that disrupts brain chemistry, causing both physical and mental symptoms, the ancient Gu syndrome has profound modern relevance. It can be generalized as a chronic inflammatory syndrome, which includes conditions like chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, Lyme disease, long COVID, parasites, viruses (EBV, HIV, herpes), candida, and (many) more. Fruehauf has gone to great lengths to elucidate the factors at play in chronic mystery illness from a Chinese Medicine perspective, and created an herbal line to share this wisdom. His company, Classical Pearls, is formulated with the highest quality herbs from China and offers much-needed, timely support. 

Tracing the Root Cause of Pathology

As chronic illness skyrockets, while diagnosis and treatment options lag behind, the resurgence of Gu syndrome reminds us that traditional wisdom offers profound insights even for seemingly “new” issues. As Fruehauf explains, "Gu is not an anthropological phenomenon, a bizarre disease in the swamps of ancient China that does not exist anymore. Quite the contrary – due to the decreased immunity in modern people, because of the way we eat and the way we move our bodies, and the way many of us were given antibiotics as kids, the average modern city dweller is actually much more susceptible to parasitic organisms than Chinese villagers in the past." Unfortunately, a typical Gu patient reports that: "I feel horrible, but all the doctors say I'm fine," which will sound familiar to an overwhelming majority of those suffering from chronic mystery illness. 

The overarching theme of this story is the revealing of that which has heretofore been hidden, both when it comes to the texts Fruehauf researched and the pathogens at play. “To the patient, it felt as though someone had put a hex on them, without anybody—whether it’s the Western medicine community or, in ancient times, the regular Chinese medicine approach—being able to see what was really going on," Fruehauf shares. However, Gu is not a regular parasitic infection, but rather one that has become systemic, leading to the compromised condition of the body as a whole. Interestingly, autoimmune conditions are characterized by the body’s overreaction to an underlying threat of chronic hidden infection, and these conditions can often be the ultimate progression of many chronic mystery illnesses. 

Gu Treatment Principles

In TCM, humans are intimately governed by the laws of nature, with little separation from the internal to the external. Natural influences, such as the elements: heat, cold, dampness, dryness, and wind, invade the internal. In Gu syndrome, there was already a deficiency of yin and yang, allowing for the opportunistic wind to “invade,” which presents as symptoms that come and go, for example. The deficiency could be genetic, or due to something like frequent antibiotic use. The treatment approach championed by Fruehauf is unique in that it can support a deficient person while also driving out wind and addressing any excess, like dampness. Simply put, these formulas can address both deficiency and excess simultaneously, which is not standard in Chinese herbal medicine theory and approach.

The Gu syndrome herbal approach focuses on balance, comprehensively supporting the body while also working on a pathogenic level. Nourishment is prioritized in the construction of these formulas, since these patients have chronic inflammation that has led to depletion. Treatments that just focus on killing the pathogen, whether Western medicine pharmaceuticals or Western herbs, can't be tolerated for long periods of time and will leave the patient feeling drained and worn out. As (seemingly) always when it comes to chronic inflammatory syndromes, treatment is complex and can take from six months to five years. We're treating living organisms that are smart and have caused systemic imbalance, which is unfortunately not as simple as just doing a “detox.” 

In a world where too many of the people who suffer from chronic mystery illness don’t receive diagnoses in a timely manner, or at all, every discovery that promotes healing and helps someone feel seen is a victory. Fruehauf argues that Gu syndrome “may potentially provide an answer to the many invisible ‘demons’ that plague patients in a modern age, namely systemic funguses, parasites, viruses and other hidden pathogens.” His teachings have helped us gather incredibly valuable insights about the patterns of chronic mystery illness, and these formulations are a trusted part of my personal and professional practice. 

Ask about this line at your next appointment!

Additional Resources:

  1. Gu Syndrome: A Forgotten Approach to Chronic Parasitism, PDF by Heiner Fruehauf

  2. Interview with Heiner Fruehaf

  3. Better Health Guy Blogcast Interview with Heiner Fruehauf  

Mystery Illness: A Healing Story (Part II)

Together, we retraced our steps along the journey of unraveling what defines mystery illnesses – as complex and multifaceted as the process of putting oneself together anew. So, just as I laid out the steps that got us to where we are (in my last blog post here), now I’ll present all of the pieces that align to support us in feeling better, whatever level of which is possible for each of us. Again, these all take privilege, patience, and time. Often you have to do what you can, given your specific circumstances and situation, and you can’t do it all at once. I am very much still learning about new ways I can support my health and healing that I either didn’t have the capacity to incorporate before, or scoffed at when first mentioned. 

Let’s start with a bird’s eye view of mystery illness, before getting into my recommendations about how to start healing. The following excerpts are very helpful in tracing the threads to the root cause(s), as written by Sarah Ramey in her book The Lady’s Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness:

“We just have to keep in mind the bigger picture. When we look at the things that are working, from dietary changes to neural retraining to low-dose naltrexone to larazotide, these things always revolve around the same principles: 

Fixing dysbiosis and leaky gut.

Correcting nutrient deficiencies.

Retraining a hyperreactive brain, stuck in fight or flight.

Lightening the toxic load.

Treating infections.

Regulating stress, metabolism, and sex hormones.

Calming inflammation, histamine issues, and microglial inflammation.

Supporting the mitochondria, and supporting the methylation pathways.

And it is just not possible to address all of that for this hugely diverse patient population with one miracle drug or surgery.

A wide battery of things got us here in the first place, and so while we all support radically increased research and funding for the drugs that will help us get better, faster, I believe we need to protect ourselves from the temptation of believing that one intervention is going to press reset and put things back to normal, for all of us, forever.”

To expand on the above list, Ramey’s book gives us more depth here, in the words of functional medicine practitioner Chris Kresser:

“1. Gut dysfunction. Includes small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), infections (e.g., parasites, pathogenic bacteria, viruses, candida), low stomach acid, bile, and enzyme production, intestinal permeability, and food intolerances.

2. Nutrient imbalance. Includes deficiency of nutrients like Vitamin B12, iron, folate, magnesium, zine, EPA/DHA and fat-soluble vitamins (most common), and excess of nutrients like iron (less common).

3. HPA axis dysregulation. Includes regulating the communication between the hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenal glands, and balancing the production of hormones associated with those glands (e.g., DHEA, cortisol). 

4. Toxic burden. Includes exposure to chemicals (e.g., BPA, phthalates, etc.), heavy metals (e.g., mercury, arsenic), biotoxins (e.g., mold/mycotoxins, inflammation), or impaired detoxification capacity due to nutrient deficiencies, GI issues or other causes.

5. Chronic infections. Includes “stealth” infections by tick-borne organisms (e.g. Borrelia, Babes, Bartonella, Ehrlichia), intracellular bacteria (e.g., Mycoplasms, Chlamydophilia), viruses (e.g. HHV-6, HPV), and dental bacteria.  

6. Hormone imbalance. Includes hormones associated with metabolism (e.g., insulin, leptin), thyroid, and gonads (e.g., estrogen, progesterone, testosterone).

7. Immune dysregulation. Includes autoimmunity, underachieving immune function, and chronic systemic inflammation. 

8. Cellular dysfunction. Impaired methylation, energy production, and mitochondrial function, and oxidative damage. 

I’ve mentioned it’s complicated?” 

This is an overwhelming but wonderfully thorough overview that Sarah Ramey and Chris Kresser give us. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, I’m with you. I 100% agree with everything Ramey is saying, and sadly a lot of this can only be fully addressed by expensive testing and support from a functional medicine doctor. However, not all hope is lost; there are many ways to start addressing these issues on your own.

My intention is to impart some practical tips and resources so you can be inspired about where to begin. This is a place that doesn’t necessarily rely on high-priced practitioners and fancy testing, but where you can begin on your own. These mystery health conditions contain a weird mix of the ultra-complex and essential, as so much relief can be won from always coming back to the basics. However, part of the complexity is that there are a lot of basics that can, additionally, feel quite incompatible with the modern demands with which we are expected to keep up.

After years of working on healing from mystery illness personally, and especially after the low lows of the past couple of years, I feel confident in saying that there are physical, emotional, and even spiritual components to this healing journey. So, in no particular order, here is my list of top 10 insights regarding how I address my mysterious complex health issues on all three levels:

  1. The basics are essential, even though they’re not enough: sleep, hydration, diet, and – if possible – movement. 

  2. Find a care team that cares. Depending on your financial situation and privilege, this may or may not be possible. At the very least, try to find a primary care doctor that is compassionate and believes you even if they don’t have most of the tools to help you. My current healthcare team is comprised of a functional medicine doctor, acupuncturist, chiropractor, naturopath for homeopathic support, therapist doing somatic work, osteopath and craniosacral practitioner, psychologist for neurofeedback, and EFT tapping support. Some of these practitioners I see weekly, others are on an as-needed basis. Just as one magic pill isn’t going to fix everything, neither is one practitioner.

  3. I’m not going to harp on about diet and what we put into our bodies. I would like to assume you know this is key and that what works for you is different than what might work for another. But, generally speaking, eat mostly whole foods and know that most of us need to be gluten, dairy and refined sugar free (most of the time). Some people need to go further, by cutting out corn, soy, eggs, or one of the many other potential triggers: FODMAPs, high histamine foods, lectins, nightshades, oxalates, etc. Practice trial and error while listening to your body to understand what works best for you to eat. You’ll ideally have some guidance on how to address deeper gut issues, but if you don’t, simply start with digestive enzymes and HCl each meal (click here to check out the two I recommend).

  4. Work on gentle detox. If your body isn’t detoxing well, then part of your hypersensitivity is going to come from internal “toxins” and your body will always feel unsafe, thus staying on high alert. Don’t do a 10-day cleanse. The goal is gentle and slow sustainable methods, which you can find in my post here. Detoxing too quickly will also undoubtedly cause flare-ups. 

  5. Become a detective by looking for hidden toxins and triggers in your day-to-day life. Know that you react poorly to dairy but still eat it? Now is the time to cut it out 95% of the time. One of the biggest but unfortunately largely unrecognized triggers is mold; if you notice that you feel worse or experience allergy-like symptoms primarily at home (or work), you may want to look into mold testing. If you find yourself being exposed and can’t move, look into mold remediation efforts and/or an air purifier featuring PCO technology.

  6. While your nervous system and sensitivity tends to render you the canary in the goldmine, it’s extremely beneficial to adopt regular and ongoing nervous system regulation efforts. When the nervous system is not able to go into parasympathetic mode, we cannot heal. This is one of the most important steps. For tips that you can do at home, click here. 

  7. You most likely have to go deeper to address the brain, nervous system, and trauma connection – whether that trauma is related mostly to your health history or encompasses bigger incidents. You need to find ways, both big and small, to make your nervous system feel safe and able to return to that relaxed state. Some suggestions are breath work like coherence breathing (you can track heart rate variability or HRV with HeartMath devices), neural retraining programs like the Gupta Program or Annie Hopper’s DNRS, neurofeedback, craniosacral therapy, somatic experiencing therapy, frequency specific micro current and EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) also known as “tapping.” 

  8. Many of us have to make some big changes in our lives when it comes to boundaries in order to start healing. You will probably have to begin recognizing some deeper emotional patterns like perfectionism, self-blame, people pleasing, etc. 

  9. I’m finding there is a very real balance to cultivate between feeling my feelings and having faith that things will get better. But you do have to believe you will get better. This does not necessarily mean 100% recovery, nor does it just mean think happy thoughts all the time. Connect to what inspires and nourishes faith within you; time spent in and observing nature, spiritual practices, and story medicine shared by those who been through it, too, can be great places to start.

  10. Tend to your joy and cultivate community. These are probably two of the hardest for me; it can be challenging to find joy when I’m really “in it” health wise or even to call on my support community, but I am practicing with curiosity and commitment. 

We are the canaries in the goldmine… we are the ones who are sensitive enough to really feel and take the brunt of what is happening in the environment around us. It’s a lot to hold. To a certain extent, this cycle of chronic mystery illness will continue to be a symptom of our culture and world – if and until massive, collective transformation occurs, on the environmental, medical, systemic economic, and social levels. Truly, the microcosm of our personal health is not a reflection of the environment around us, but an extension or personalization of the imbalances all around us. We are part of it, and sadly no matter how much we create a bubble of health around and within us, it’s not possible to ever be totally unaffected by it until things shift on a larger scale. However, we can come together in mutual care and enhance our resilience so that we can better weather the storms. May we celebrate every small victory, remember that we are inherently worthy, and believe in the good things coming. 

Mystery Illness: An Origin Story (Part I)

Dear fellow person with a mysterious illness,

I think about you a lot. I think about how I want to find the answers for you, just like I want to find the answers for myself. I think about what I want to share with you that I’ve learned so that you might feel less alone… to help ease your suffering. I want to tell you that our stories most definitely overlap in many ways, although they are also unique to us. As I weed through all that, I want to share with you about how we can begin to rise from here (Part II), but I want to begin by attempting to answer the question of:  how did we get here?

First of all, there is a term for us. Coined by Sarah Ramey in her book, The Lady’s Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness:

A WOMI is “a woman with a mysterious illness… She is exhausted, gluten free, and likely in possession of at least one autoimmune disease. She is allergic to ____ (everything), aching from tip to toe, digestively impaired, and on uneasy terms with her reproductive system. She is addled, embarrassed, ashamed, and inflamed.” 

Disclaimer #1: I realize that not all people with these conditions are women, and maybe if she had written her book a few years later she would have used “person” or “human” instead, but here we are. And yes, the people who come into my practice and whom I know personally with these types of medical issues are, overwhelmingly, women. Ramey’s book is a deep dive into everything WOMI, and I highly recommend it. This two-part blog post series is a complement to that… a fairly comprehensive albeit introductory look, knowing there’s more to explore in her book if you wish. 

Before I share some of my original thoughts, which I promise I have, here is another excerpt from Ramey’s book to further set the stage of the WOMI condition, because I find it to be so profound: 

“At any given moment, a WOMI may be experiencing one, seven, twelve, or fifty-three of the following:

Phew… if that list makes you feel seen, sad, overwhelmed, heavy, or any other emotion - pause, take a deep breath, and just let yourself feel that.

So, how did we get here? How did we end up with such a litany of symptoms, and furthermore, symptoms that have (most likely) been unrecognized by conventional doctors, leading to our systematic gaslighting?

The following has taken me years to figure out based on my own health history timeline, that of my patients, and through reading (we can call it research if we’re fancy). As previously mentioned, while each of our stories is uniquely our own, there is definitely a common thread woven through them all, in which a general pattern emerges, and this is what I am sharing in Part I of this exposé. 

One more disclaimer, before I go on: I am a straight cis white woman, which is the only perspective I can write from. Most of these steps will be vastly more complex with intersectional nuances for non-straight cis white people. 

  1. You are a highly sensitive person (HSP) - This could be the way you were born or your system became highly sensitized through trauma. Dr Elaine Aron coined this term in 1996 and it’s grown from there. The absolute basics of HSP, according to Dr Aron, are: it’s normally found in 15-20% of the population, it is often misunderstood, it’s a trait found across species (not just in humans), you’re more “sensitive” than most people but that isn’t innately good or bad (it depends on how your culture views it), and the HSP brain processes information and reflects on it differently (and more deeply) than those without HSP. And essentially - your nervous system is more easily overwhelmed and sensitive to stimuli. 

  2. There is an initial triggering event - Usually there is a starting point to your symptoms, even if this only becomes obvious in retrospect. But the actual point where things change is often one of the following:

    • Medication, surgery, or another Western medical intervention

    • A virus, parasite, or bacterial infection (including, but not limited to: Lyme disease, Epstein Barr virus aka Mono, or COVID)

    • Exposure to toxins (e.g. mold)

    • A really big trauma / stressful event / time period 

  3. In The Background - At the time one of the aforementioned happened or started, in the background there was also probably: high stress, standard American diet (aka a severely nutrient-deficient diet), poor sleep and other general “unhealthy” lifestyle factors (think: college). Because at this time you weren’t unwell, you weren’t necessarily prioritizing health and wellness (yet).

  4. It Begins - So your symptoms begin, maybe more vague at first, or just in one system of the body. More simple, less widespread. Yet Western medicine most likely runs a few blood tests, shrugs their shoulders, and deems you “normal.” Most likely you’re also starting to experience a lot of medical gaslighting at this stage. Or maybe you are “lucky enough” to get a diagnosis, but it’s an unhelpful one because they have no idea how to appropriately treat or help you heal. 

  5. The Disconnect From Self - By now you have unexplainable symptoms that are not being remediated by the very people you’re supposed to turn to for medical help, and you’re told you’re normal, despite feeling like shit… and so you disconnect from yourself and your symptoms. If you have previous trauma, then this might already be something that your nervous system and brain do as a form of self-protection. Your health issues at this point are either perpetuating an already established trauma response, or they’re initiating a protective trauma response in trying to shield you from the initial trigger. 

  6. Deluding Yourself and Others - At this point maybe you just try to go on living your life as normal despite your symptoms, because what can you do when doctors say you’re fine? You might be getting by… just barely, but enough. Or you might start to try and search for alternative help with various levels of success. Most likely at this point, though, you’re still kind of getting by, disconnecting from yourself and your symptoms because you don’t know what they’re trying to tell you and no one has been able to help you figure that out. 

  7. The Brain Response - Meanwhile, your brain and nervous system are in a trauma loop, therefore further sensitizing your already sensitive nervous system. As time goes on, you undoubtedly continue to encounter more triggers - viruses, mold, high stress, etc. Because you are becoming increasingly sensitive, your reactions worsen with each trigger, and continue to accumulate. With this accumulation, your capacity to have a healthy response to stressors becomes smaller and smaller… on a deeply physiological level. So, despite the doctors saying you’re normal and despite some of your interventions (which you might be kind of desperately and blindly trying at this point), you get sicker. You start to have more of the symptoms from the chart.

  8. The Decline - Now your chronic mystery illness has progressed to include many symptoms across many systems of your body. At this point, you’re probably starting to grasp at any glimmer of hope for an answer or a solution to your ailments. The magic fixes the wellness industry feeds you might give you a little relief, or you might experience them as snake oil. Your case is now complex and multifaceted. You are definitely far out of the realm of what conventional medicine can do for you (they couldn’t even help you when your symptoms began), and it will now take a lot of privilege and resources to start getting the help you need. Everything from lifestyle changes, to the practitioners you need, to being able to rest is a privilege that so many people can’t afford. Unfortunately, if you don’t have some access to resources and the right support - you might be backed into a resigned corner of having to live with your chronic mystery symptoms. 

  9. The “Healthy Person” Who Doesn’t Feel Healthy - If you even know where to look for help, and have the agency and support to start getting the help you need – all of your new lifestyle habits “should” set you up for perfect health. Your friends comment, “You should be the healthiest person alive!” You’re eating organic, gluten free, and dairy free… drinking filtered water, doing yoga, prioritizing sleep… and probably quite a bit more. And yet, you do all this to just maintain… to get through the day, or for some, just to get a few decent hours in. 

  10. So how does this end? Where is the step when things get better? This is the step I’m at, so I don’t have all the answers. I do know that I’ve learned a lot about what can begin unraveling the complex tapestry of my chronic health issues, and while I do believe that they will get better than they are right now, I can’t tell you what exactly that looks like… for me or you. But I can tell you that just as your health situation is now complex and multifaceted, so too is the solution. 

The good news: we have scraped together a roadmap of sorts, and every improvement gives us more energy, courage, and hope to continue onward.

Gentle Detox as a Way of Life

The process of detoxification, through which the body removes or neutralizes toxins and other harmful substances that accumulate, has been a feature of traditional medicine systems for centuries. While it’s true that our bodies have an innate capacity for detoxification – primarily facilitated through the liver, kidneys, lymphatic system, lungs, skin, and gastrointestinal tract – it has long been understood that our intentional participation in the body’s processes of elimination greatly supports the cultivation of radiant health. In modern times especially, the prevalent nature of environmental pollutants, EMFs, processed foods, mold or mycotoxins, and heavy metals, can lead to the severe overburdening of our detoxification pathways; when paired with stressful and oftentimes overly sedentary lifestyles, the body’s capacity to detox can feel less and less innate. 

Instead of doing a potentially intense, short-term detox protocol once in a while, we really should be gently supporting our detox pathways all the time. This assertion is partially explained by the concept of a “toxin bucket,” aptly outlined by Dr. Jill Calahan. “If toxins are filling up the bucket at the same rate the body can rid itself of these toxins, the body continues to function fine. But if the toxins coming in exceed the bucket’s capacity to hold them, they spill out over the top like water and we begin to have significant symptoms, resulting in conditions like inflammation, autoimmunity, allergies, or other chronic illnesses,” she writes in her book Unexpected: Finding Resilience through Functional Medicine, Science, and Faith. Dr. Callahan points out that we’re all genetically programmed with buckets of different sizes, which affects our capacities to detoxify incidental exposures. Reducing some of the toxic load and supporting our detoxification pathways are two ways to create more room in the bucket, thus supporting the body’s optimal functioning.  

Another reason it’s beneficial to integrate practices that support the detox pathways regularly and gently is the concept of a Herxheimer or Herx reaction. Essentially, this refers to a temporary worsening of symptoms or the exacerbation of side effects following a treatment that targets pathogens, which then triggers an immune response that further intensifies one’s condition. It's perfectly normal to feel some die-off symptoms when you detox, but if the Herx reaction is too strong, it indicates the organs are struggling to process all of the toxins now concentrated in the bloodstream. The good news is this kind of reaction means you're on the right path as your body is fighting off the pathogens, but would benefit from approaching it in a more gentle, slow, and integrated way. 

Preferred ways to support the detox pathways: 

  • Stay well-hydrated with electrolytes. These essential minerals help our bodies to optimally absorb water for proper hydration. Hydration plays a crucial role in supporting the body’s natural detoxification pathways, including through the promotion of optimal kidney and liver function, the dilution of toxins for easier elimination, enhanced cellular function, and the prevention of constipation. Electrolytes can even help regulate both immune cell signaling and inflammation, which may help minimize the severity of a Herx reaction. My favorite option comes from LMNT; use this link to get a free sample pack with your order! 

  • Aim for a regular daily bowel movement, which helps prevent toxin reabsorption. If waste products are not eliminated promptly, they can be reabsorbed back into the bloodstream and burden the body's detox pathways. If constipation is an issue, reach out to discuss personalized support for that, but usually my go-to is magnesium glycinate, which I have in the office or can add to a supplement portal for you.

  • Epsom salt baths are a great way to relax, receive the essential mineral magnesium (an electrolyte), open the pores to promote toxin excretion, and receive sulfate – the other component of Epsom salt that supports sulfation, a metabolic pathway through which the body transforms and eliminates toxins. Remember that stress hinders detoxification, and Dr. Calahan even refers to psychological stress and emotions such as anger, jealousy, or fear as endotoxins. If you don't have a bathtub, you can do foot soaks instead! 

  • Castor oil packs on the liver support this crucial organ’s optimal functioning so it can best process and neutralize toxins, enhancing the body’s elimination capacity. You can place castor oil directly on the skin over your liver (and/or the abdomen, if digestion is off), then cover with a cloth and use a heating pad. Be careful because castor oil can stain! For greater ease, you can order a castor oil pack kit such as one from Queen of Thrones, which is highly recommended as then you don't have to use heat for the castor oil to work.

  • Dry Brushing is a simple way to stimulate the lymphatic system and promote the flow of lymph, which carries toxins, out of the body. It’s best done before you shower. Check your local stores for dry brush options! I needed one with really soft bristles for my sensitive skin, so I ordered the Kitsch Exfoliating Body Scrubber - Soft Vegan Bristle Dry Brush for Sensitive Skin on Amazon and have been happy with it. Watch this short tutorial video on how to dry brush, as proper technique is important to ensure you’re helping to usher toxins out through the drainage pathways. 

  • Acupuncture supports improved circulation, the enhanced function of the organs and bodily systems tasked with detoxification, as well as the reduction of chronic stress and pain that can hinder detox. People with full toxin buckets can experience very intense Herx reactions because their organs are too overburdened to process and eliminate the toxins; in such cases, supporting the detox pathways through a practice like acupuncture could almost be considered a precondition to doing any kind of detox protocol. Think of it as general maintenance you can receive to keep things flowing. 

  • Sweat in the sauna to facilitate the release of waste products and toxins. Heat also activates the lymphatic system and improves circulation, thus supporting the function of our organs for optimal detoxification capacity. 

  • Practice nervous system regulation because this intimately governs our stress response mechanisms, which as we have explored can throw off the body’s detox processes. I recently shared a compilation of my favorite nervous system regulation practices here. 

As the season turns, you can support your resilience by beginning to integrate one or more of these suggestions into your daily or weekly self-care regimen. Your body will thank you, and you will be thanking your body, too!

Nervous System Regulation for Greater Adaptability

One of the core tenets of good health in Traditional Chinese Medicine can be called adaptive capacity, which refers to one’s ability to maintain or return to balance in the face of change—truly recognized as the only constant. When we are able to respond to changes, including seasonal and environmental, or stimuli such as toxins or incidents of stress, and then come back into balance, we are both more resilient and less susceptible to destabilization. While Chinese Medicine recognizes that our bodies have inherent regulatory mechanisms, its practical applications like acupuncture and herbalism, are built in as support for both strengthening these mechanisms and restoring balance in the face of dysregulation… because let’s face it: most of us living through these wild, modern times do need help in coming back to homeostasis. 

The nervous system can be thought of as one of our body’s regulatory mechanisms and relies upon flexibility, or adaptive capacity, to maintain harmony. Comprised of the sympathetic (“fight or flight”) and the parasympathetic (“rest and digest”) states, the autonomic nervous system handles about 90 percent of the body’s involuntary functions, like breathing, digesting, heart beating, and multiple processes of elimination. We’re understanding more and more just how crucial it is to our overall health to be able to move between these two states, as well as the disproportionate amount of time many of us spend in the sympathetic, constantly activated by stressors related to climate anxiety, perpetual overstimulation, widespread political unrest, relentless productivity, and so much more.

The good news is that there are many practices for nervous system regulation that are simple, accessible, empowering, and effective. I share this compilation of my favorite practices with some of my patients and hope that one or more of these can help you drop into your body, connect with your innate resources, and practice your way into an enhanced sense of adaptability.  

Breath Work: There are many different types but personally, I like resonant or coherence breathing, which really does wonders for calming the nervous system. This is probably my favorite form of nervous system regulation, and it’s the one I most frequently recommend to patients. Coherence breathing entails inhales and exhales of equal duration and enhances heart rate variability, which is a measure of the balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. Heart rate variability, or the ability to move flexibly between these two states in response to stimuli or circumstances, is a marker of good health (including in the form of adaptive capacity), and for many of us it takes practice. In a relaxed parasympathetic state, heart rate is slower and there’s a greater interval between beats – linked with calm and positive emotions, an ability to handle stress and perform physically, and even cardiovascular health.

Resources: 

  • Apps – “Breathing Zone” on iPhone or “Kardia – Deep Breathing Relaxation” on Android. Both of these apps let you set your breathing rate; experiment to find the pace that is most relaxing to your body. If you're using Insight Timer, I recommend "5 Minute Cardiac Coherence – Stress, Anxiety & Sleep" guided meditation by Ellen Mouton.

  • On YouTube, you can find a short video here, and it’s really nice at times to play with visual accompaniment rather than audio directives. A patient who tried it recently shared that this very quickly brought her into a state of relaxation; she felt her overactive mind benefited from having two sensory inputs and points of focus.

Tapping (EFT): This is a very simple technique that you can practice almost anytime or anywhere, it entails tapping on specific acupuncture points. It’s a very unique approach in that acknowledging emotions, grievances, or “negative” states of mind while tapping is encouraged as a way to intentionally release them from the body. They even suggest you can complain while tapping! Some of us may appreciate how different this is from the widespread “fake it ‘til you make it” mentality that dominates so much of the wellness world and can make people feel like they’re gaslighting themselves. EFT really encourages us to become acquainted with what we’re feeling, promotes a sense of safety through that acknowledgement, and engages the body to promote release.

Resources:

  • You can follow The Tapping Solution on YouTube or Instagram for an introduction to tapping and videos on EFT for anxiety, fear, overwhelm, unlocking creativity, etc. 

  • Local practitioner Noemi Sparks hosts both private sessions and very affordable 30-minute tapping circles on Zoom weekly. If joining others could be motivating, you can schedule here. Your first group session is free!

Body Scan: This type of meditation is a wonderful way to practice being in communication with the body, creating an intimate allyship whereby we begin to hear the subtle messages always being shared with us. According to psychologist and stress management expert Elizabeth Scott, “Sometimes you can be so caught up in your stress that you don't realize that the physical discomfort you're experiencing—such as headaches, back and shoulder pain, and tense muscles—is connected to your emotional state.” With regular practice, doing body scan meditations helps to “break the cycle of physical and psychological tension that can feed on itself,” she adds. It’s pretty amazing to intentionally hold space for our bodies in this way, and the sensations that can occur during a body scan meditation remind us of the power to shift and adapt that can come from the simple act of witnessing.

Resources: 

  • There are so many options for this that you can find on Insight Timer as it's a popular meditation modality, but one of my favorites of a moderate length is "Deep Healing" by David Ji and it's 23 minutes long. 

Vagus Nerve Stimulation: The vagus nerve is a crucial part of the parasympathetic nervous system and supports a healthy stress response by restoring us to a calm state when a threat is no longer present. It is essentially an innate down-regulating mechanism, but it can sort of freeze when the nervous system is dysregulated. We can help strengthen its optimal functioning and our ability to move flexibly from the sympathetic to the parasympathetic states through stimulation, signaling to our bodies that there is no threat present. Vagus nerve stimulation is yet another way we can cultivate the feeling of safety in our bodies and enhance our adaptive capacity by supporting our nervous system’s ability to self-regulate.

Resources:

  • Insight Timer "Voo" breathwork Technique for grounding by Amy Hartman (4 minutes). You can search "vagus nerve" in Insight Timer for more options that might resonate!

  • Breathe out while making the the sound hmmmmm.

  • Gargling with warm water. 

Affirmations/Reprogramming Negative Thoughts: I would do this in addition to one of the other practices as this is less about nervous system regulation and more about rewiring negative thought patterns (which can influence the nervous system and one’s capacity for healthy stress response). Neuroplasticity, or the ability of the brain to adapt in response to new information or experiences, helps explain the effectiveness of affirmations and reminds us of our own power in creating change. Getting out of mental loops that aren’t self-serving and rewiring our neural pathways takes time; give it 4-6 weeks of regular practice for these thoughts to "stick." 

Resources: 

  • To find your affirmations, you can use the Insight Timer guided practice "Reprogram Negative Beliefs & Thinking: A Journaling Practice" by Carrie Suwal. You'll need a journal or paper and pen to do this exercise. Once you have your affirmations, you don't need to do the full guided practice each time; you can just practice saying them out loud to yourself for 5 minutes a day or a few times a day. 

If you feel called, please do share if any of these practices help you feel more supported, regulated, and adaptive!

Electrolytes: The Essential Minerals

One of the defining events of the pandemic has been the deliverance of a very important question to the forefront of our collective consciousness: what is essential? As we have ruminated on this question over and over again, new or refined core truths have emerged for many of us, encouraging a shift in focus to what is truly important – which looks different for each of us. Still, it’s fascinating to observe the many cultural trends of this unique era to help us trace some of these perspective shifts: lots of people moved from cities to more rural areas, we became more grateful for the people who facilitate our basic services, we reevaluated (and sometimes majorly redefined) our careers and work-life balance, appreciation for nature skyrocketed, and we made breakthrough revelations when it comes to our health and healing. 

During this transformative time, minerals have burst onto the wellness scene, hailed as the current crux of good health, while electrolytes seem to be trending across much wider swaths of the general population. This is fitting because electrolytes are simply essential minerals that are crucial to the body’s optimal functioning, including for hydration, blood pressure regulation, pH balance, muscle activity, and even overall nervous system function. In fact, they’re also essential to the abilities of our hearts to beat, our lungs to breathe, and our brains to learn through the nerve impulses they control. Electrolytes even regulate immune cell signaling and help support robust immunity, including by activating various parts of the immune system into action. 

The essential minerals, or electrolytes, are sodium chloride, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and phosphate. Most of us are deficient in these “electricity carriers,” which manifests as irregular heartbeat, muscle contraction, mental and physical fatigue, frequent urination, brain fog, dysregulated sweating, and feeling dizzy upon standing up, according to Dr. Ben Lynch. That last symptom, feeling dizzy or faint upon standing, is a characteristic of POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome), and indicates a significantly reduced volume of blood going to the heart after sitting or reclining. From personal experience in dealing with this syndrome, electrolytes are incredibly supportive in its remediation. 

Hydration is also absolutely essential to cellular energy production and the capacity of our cells to carry out their many functions, including nerve impulses. Water expert Isabel Friend has shared that drinking water (irrigation) can be vastly different from the amount of water that our bodies actually absorb (hydration). When we drink water stripped of minerals, it can actually be extremely dehydrating over time, which is why electrolytes are so essential for all of us, but especially those of us who have an insatiable thirst that can’t seem to be quenched. Importantly, proper hydration is also essential for strong immune function, with each of the essential minerals taking on different immuno-supportive roles, including lymphocyte production, white blood cell activation, enhanced cytokine communication, and nervous system regulation. 

Since most of our water sources are completely stripped of minerals and our soil is so depleted and contaminated, it’s virtually impossible in modern times to mineralize sufficiently through the water we drink and the foods we eat. Furthermore, since our bodies do not produce minerals, this is one of the most important areas to supplement. The cleanest and most well-rounded therapeutic dose of electrolytes I have found is LMNT http://elementallabs.refr.cc/danielleboucher (free sample pack on your first order of any size!) They’re free of sugar and additives - just the essentials. It’s what I use, and I couldn’t more highly recommend them, especially if you experience any of the symptoms listed above. They offer a variety of interesting blends (all featuring the same electrolyte formula), which are so delicious and simple to integrate into your daily regimen. Cheers!

Acupuncture as the Antidote for Chronic Mystery Illness

by Sheerlie Ryngler, writer & owner of Belly of The Sun

Like too many people in my social circles, especially women, I have a long history of “mysterious” health issues for which conventional medicine has not only provided zero treatment, but also completely disregarded. It’s almost become a joke to lament the conclusion so many of us have received from our doctors: your test results are totally normal. If that’s true, then why do we feel so horrible and struggle just to function in our daily lives?

It's worth briefly mentioning that I do believe this issue deserves a much wider context—namely, that we as modern humans are largely severed from the lifestyles that would support our innate biology, and that as microcosms of a pillaged Earth, our internal experiences mirror that of the world we are formed by. Some of us are more sensitive, and therefore experience these imbalances more acutely. However, I also believe that any healing we as individuals experience in turn brings some healing to the Earth, so tending to our personal vessels and healing journeys is never in vain. Of course, we would all feel much better breathing clean air, drinking pure water, and eating unadulterated, nutrient-dense foods, but it’s no coincidence that the healing we seek often leads us to reestablish connections with all that is truly life-giving, including our own selves.  

Throughout my long and winding healing journey, which really started with various doctors shrugging before dismissing me, I have experimented with countless diets, modalities, lifestyle changes, and personal practices. Some of these explorations yielded no perceivable results, while some helped for a specific phase or issue, but there’s one I have always been able to count on throughout the years, no matter the situation: acupuncture. Traditional Chinese Medicine has reminded me time and again that we have an inherent capacity to heal. In my experience, healing is not a destination, but TCM has helped empower me to understand it as an ongoing process of coming back into balance by having a finger on our pulse. In this way, acupuncture can be both preventative medicine and help remediate acute situations, always bringing me relief—if not from my affliction in totality, then at least enough to keep going. When you’re dealing with long-term chronic health issues, that is huge; we need that kind of replenishment and hope-in-action when we are doing the hard work of searching and experimenting... and remembering.

As someone who has rarely received the direction or validation that a diagnosis provides, the TCM concept that any manifestation of dis-ease stems from an imbalance requiring treatment on a truly individual basis has been a tremendous source of comfort. No acupuncturist has ever even implied that what I’m experiencing is invalid, seemed baffled by the mysteriousness of my predicament, or told me that my “test results are normal.” Quite the contrary; every acupuncturist I have ever seen has validated my process with deep concern and support, treating me with a level of care that cannot be underestimated on a journey through the unknown, existing in a society that would have left me behind long ago. 

During my latest health crash, I was lucky enough to receive guidance from bio-resonance scans and discovered that some of the issues at hand are mold toxicity, a Lyme disease co-infection, and candida overgrowth… but that my liver, kidney, and lymphatic systems are so overburdened that a detoxification course is not possible—until my body is strengthened enough to be able to process it. I was advised to seek out acupuncture to relieve this stagnation and could not have landed more softly than I did in Danielle Boucher’s care. Her empathy, compassionate care, and incredible stores of wisdom have been deeply healing on this challenging journey that has left me feeling uprooted in many ways. Danielle has gone above and beyond what I ever could have expected, offering so much helpful guidance and a safe, extremely non-judgmental space to experience myself in this iteration, all the while encouraging brave decisions in the support of my evolution through this initiation. 

The dead end of conventional medicine that many of us have experienced actually holds a window to a whole new way of being. There is much empowerment in exploring new pathways, remembering traditional lifeways, creating our own meaningful connections, and realizing that perhaps society’s expectations of us are neither possible nor personally desirable. If you are weary from the journey, never underestimate the power of an acupuncture nap; few experiences have ever helped me feel so rested, replenished, and ready for whatever lies ahead. 

Spring Transitions & The Wood Element: An Acupuncture Offering

 In Winter we went deep within, planting the seeds of creation and new possibilities.

“When the seed germinates in the dark depths of Water (Winter), the Wood Element is already planning its ultimate form, function and direction toward the sky.” - Lorie Eve Dechar, Kigo

In Spring, the seed has the gall to defy gravity, as it rises up sprouting from the darkness underground. Like the first blades of grass in Spring, the Wood element embodies vision, hope and future possibilities. The Wood element is the driving force behind the seed cracking open and the yearning to grow.

Spring is the season of growth and becoming - we create and cultivate plans, figure out the best time to set them in motion and gather the courage to move forward. It is a time to balance ambition with knowing when to rest, and to stop fighting our perception that life/the universe is in our way of our growth. 

“It represents the time of year when, after winter’s long, dark days of yin gathering, storing, compression and gestating, the yang life force activates, expands and re-emerges from the underworld… Wood is the energy of birth, sprouting, healthy aggression, creativity and the fierce desire to take one’s place in the dance of life. It is an expression of qi that is warming, directed and determined.” - Lorie Eve Dechar, Kigo

The organs associated with the Wood Element are the Liver and Gallbladder. The Liver asks “Where am I going?” and the Gallbladder adds “How am I going to get there?” 

The spirit of Wood in Chinese Medicine is the hun, or ethereal soul. The hun is our vision and imagination. It is our ability to dream of new possibilities as well as to plan, hope and move forward in that new direction. From Lorie, the Wood/Hun’s spirit question is: “To what degrees am I growing & developing toward my ultimate purpose or destiny?”

The Spring/Wood Transitions Preset Treatment is twelve acupuncture points for addressing the emotional and spiritual transitions of this time. This is the way these six points (used bilaterally for twelve points) can support us:

Gallbladder 13 - Root of the Spirit - This point supports us in being decisive about when to forward or rest, what are our next steps & gives us the courage to move forward despite any challenges we face.

Gallbladder 24 - Sun & Moon - Embraces duality & the balance of yin/yang. The yin & yang of our soul is the balance between our inner dreams (yin) & our plans to take action (yang).

Liver 13 - Chapter Gate - This point is for when we’re ready to look inward & open ourselves to new possibilities, it helps us transition into the next phase.

Liver 8 - Crooked Spring - This point brings the virtues of water to wood - it engenders flexibility & the ability to flow with the growth process (which as we know is often messy & doesn’t go as we planned).

Liver 3 - Supreme Rising - This point helps us transition from winter into spring with an easeful flow and a healthy relationship to aggression. It is adaptogenic in giving us what we need so we can hold space for the duality of nourishment & ambition. As the earth on wood point it helps us stay grounded and roots us as we grow. 

Gallbladder 41 - Tears Falling on Foot - This point is of the utmost wood so it embraces its qualities of clarity, ambition & directed growth. It helps us regulate our breath, calms emotions & opens the diaphragm, where emotions are often trapped.

Available for booking through May 15th, 2023.

Long COVID: My Story

As a practitioner, writing about my personal health always feels a little precarious. I’ve decided to share my story here because I am trying to move on from retelling and replaying it, in addition to seeking catharsis in the writing process. Just as importantly, if my story can help anyone out there who is struggling, it feels worth it.