The Healing Overview

 My mom was a socially involved go-getter and when I was a child, (I was the youngest of four) and I needed more individual attention, I would have sick days where I would be looked after: couch, blankie-wank, eggnog  Mr. Dress-Up. 

Of course when I was an adult (with a child of my own and a full time job to look after) and I felt neglected or overwhelmed, guess what? I had all of the exact same symptoms over and over, except for the adult-self, there were no perks. 

I was experiencing a pattern; successful for the child at the time it was wired in, but this certainly diminished the quality of life for me as an adult.


When you think of the human body as a complex computer, it makes sense to recognize that our bodies get hardwired over time. Neurological goat paths turn into Neuro-super- highways as we traffic those same patterns over and over. Our emotional experiences become our cellular experiences.

I question people around: is it seasonal, does it change with barometric pressure, or times of elevated pollen, or by going indoors/outdoors, are your symptom worse when you lie down, or bend down, thirsty/thirst less? Do your symptoms occur only on weekdays or weekends? Many small pieces when put together, make a more complete picture.

Laterality is an interesting phenomenon. For many people, all their physical concerns will tend to be on the same side of their body. Often they will not notice until I point this out. Grief and loss often revolve around significant dates. This has been coined ‘anniversary syndrome’. 

Like Frodo, people often have a difficult time yearly, around the date of a traumatic or significant date. Often women will feel unaccountably depressed around the date of a miscarriage or lost child. Again, we may not consciously be aware this is happening.

I also pay attention to people’s languageing. I will often hear “I can’t stand it” or “I'm working my ____ off” or “I'm losing my grip”. Our bodies are designed to be expressive, and I assume that the area of our body that is expressing discomfort is only our body attempt to get our attention. The body talks, but are we listening?

We can live in a house for a couple years and a Plumber or Carpenter will listen to us with rapt attention to hear clues about what the problem may be. Yet we can live in our own bodies for decades and our health care providers will act as if we are a stranger in our own house. 

As a complementary health care provider, listening is my most valuable tool. Sometimes people need to hear something come out of their own mouths.  

When working with a health care provider, make sure they are not by-passing the interview. This is a valuable process where locked-in patterns can be illuminated.