Validation

I’m not one to get emotional at work. But I did yesterday. And for good reason – I received validation from a respected member of the scientific community about a topic that has long been labeled “woo woo.”

When I got sick after I had my first and only child 15 years ago, I was given a diagnosis of undifferentiated connective tissue disorder, meaning my symptoms and blood tests showed that my body was attacking itself. My primary symptoms were chronic pain and fatigue. Over a five year journey, doctors poked and prodded and scanned and (literally) shocked my body in an attempt to figure out what was wrong with me. They eventually ruled out the big autoimmune disorders – rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis. They ruled in Sjogren syndrome and tossed in a diagnosis of fibromyalgia. 

I was seeing multiple doctors, multiple times a year. And while I’ve shared a lot about this story, it’s been a minute since I revisited a truth I felt in my entire being over that five year period:

Was I making it all up?

Was my pain even real?

Listening to a researcher describe randomized clinical trials where people who, like me, experienced long-term, widespread pain – then participated in mind/body therapies – then significantly lessened their experiences of pain – well, suffice to say, my mind was blown. 

Because I think a small part of me still wondered: 

Did I make all that up? 

Was my pain even real?

So, I got emotional. I got emotional when the researcher validated my experience that yes, my pain was real. That the way the medical system treated my pain wasn’t helpful. That my pain was still real, even though my pain’s origin came from my nervous system. 

And that I did, in fact, using mind/body protocols that involved repatterning my thinking, releasing emotional pain, and changing my relationships and patterns, I healed my pain. 

I’m so excited to share the science behind why this works. Stay tuned.