My recovery from IBS

Addressing the root cause of IBS

My personal journey of lasting natural recovery from IBS

I suffered with digestive issues since I was a small child. My mum would agree. 

Over four decades, my symptoms did fluctuate, with stress. The lowest point of all was travelling alone in Thailand, and not being physically able to leave my guest house to catch my flight home because I couldn’t get off the floor due to spasms. I laid on the cold guest house bathroom floor for several hours until I felt able to make it to reception to check back in. It was scary and I was alone. 

It was an uncomfortable and embarrassing set of symptoms. 

 

Change is possible

I’d had IBS symptoms so long that they just felt like a part of me, I had no memory of anything else although I envied people who didn’t have to think about their bowel movements.  

I was sick of taking daily low level medications and underneath it all I wanted my body to naturally function. I knew that my digestive system is the powerhouse of my body and I knew that stress was impacting my symptoms. 

Once I learned about my body and health from a root cause perspective I became determined to change this – and as I understood more and more how my body was adapting to help me cope with stress, I began to believe recovery was possible. 

 

 

Self healing - without side effects or restrictive lifestyle changes

IBS is a complex collection of symptoms. It’s different for everyone and typically it’s a long term chronic condition that has set in over years. There is no switch we can flick to turn it off, but I have found a path out of it. 

I’ve walked my path in reverse and gently supported my gut to self heal – without side effects or any restrictive lifestyle changes. 

Don’t get me wrong, I avoided the gluten-bloating for quite some time, but I eventually noticed that my sensitivity flared with my symptoms and fundamentally: with stress. 

Understanding irritable bowel syndrome

Many people naturally hold stress in their gut and all medical professionals accept that stress affects IBS. Many IBS sufferers are told to ‘manage stress’. This can feel demoralising to hear. After all it is symptom management

Stress management did help me a little: every time I used to breathe into my belly, I could feel my digestive system relaxing, calming and softening. But that took focus and awareness – when I had time.  It could help with in-the-moment stress, but what about past residual stress in my belly? 

 

My root cause

My gut had reacted, years back, to stress and trauma and it had not learned to let go, because I hadn’t supported myself to do this. My digestive system was stuck constantly going in and out of fight or flight. There was old stress in my gut and my life today was constantly re-triggering it. My colon was holding onto something in my life that was deeply unresolved and uncomfortable and it was going to hold it until I listened, heard and made peace within myself. Instead, I had been ignoring myself and trying to keep the peace with everyone else. 

Sometimes self healing involves releasing old emotions or energies in the body.
Sometimes it involves shifting limiting thoughts to empowering ones.
Sometimes it involves making real life changes to better take care of ourselves in our relationships and environments.
Often it involves a mix of all of the above. 

For me, the change truly came when I set boundaries for myself, was true to me and made a firm decision to prioritise. Then my body could heal. For me, reaching this point of readiness and courage to make this change firstly involved releasing the fears, guilt, anger and shame that had previously stopped me. 

Repair and regeneration

Once I worked on my stuff and was able to make these real life changes. Change was uncomfortable at times, my gut was finally digesting my past experiences and letting them go.  But knowing about the body’s natural healing cycles, I understood that these symptoms were a process and part of my body letting go and healing.  I no longer wake with that churning, tight gut feeling in the night, I have not experienced those horrid night sweats and I have felt a sense of peace and spaciousness in my belly.

…And I feel empowered in all areas of my life, because releasing the emotions and making real life changes that take better care of me freed me to go forward in many other new ways. 

Ready for change?

Relieve pain and address the root cause. Book your free 20 minute discovery call.

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Frozen shoulder – client story

Frozen shoulder - client story

Address the deeper 'why' behind shoulder pain and immobility

My client had struggled with a frozen shoulder for three years. The movement of her arm behind or out to the side was reduced – and painful.  The pain and restriction would come and go, sometimes fading for weeks and then returning out of the blue. It was always worse at night and this made finding a comfy sleeping position tricky at times. She had tried physiotherapy, which relieved her symptoms, but nothing so far had permanently helped – until we looked deeper and addressed the ‘why’.

The world on our shoulders

Most of us know that feeling of carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders. Too much responsibility is often connected to shoulder issues.

During an experience, we may felt or thought the following…

  • I need to do more for my loved ones, or at work. 
  • I’m not doing enough. 
  • I’m not good enough or strong enough. 
  • I need to put others first. 

These can create a conflict in us that leads to a constant state of push-pull tension in our shoulders. We may want to do or give more, yet also know that this would be at our own expense. Our shoulder can get locked in the chronic tension of pushing and pulling at the same time.

Holding it all together

My client’s shoulder was in a state of chronic tension – and it was not interested in being physically coaxed into letting go. Instead, the answer came from within her. Her shoulder believed it had a good reason to hold on. It was likely to keep holding tight until she connected to it, learned why and addressed the underlying root cause.

For my client she had learned from a young age to put others first. In close relationships, she had willingly and unknowingly taken on more than her share of responsibility. Deep down she believed things would fall apart if she didn’t single-handedly hold it all together. Over time, the balance of responsibility would always shift more and more onto her shoulders. 

But three years ago when her pain flared up, she had been beginning to develop a sense of boundaries and was starting to dislike this imbalance of responsibility. The more she tried to rebalance how much responsibility she took, the more  guilt and fear came – as well as resistance in her shoulder.  Part of her believed she was “heartless” and that she “should” always be the one to make everything OK.  Taking responsibility was an ingrained survival habit she learned at a young age. As she began to loosen this pattern, three years ago, her shoulder entered a state of conflict – pushing and pulling in two different directions, creating chronic tension, pain and immobility.

Letting go of carrying everything

As my client was gently guided to listen, feel, see and connect with why her shoulder she discovered why her shoulder was so stuck. We used evidence based techniques to address these long held habitual patterns of thinking and feeling. She released the fear and guilt. 

Her thoughts about needing to carry everything then had the space to transform into something more empowering. She realised that it wasn’t loving to try to carry others, that she was disempowering them.  She saw that she could love and support loved ones without taking more than her share of responsibility. She stepped back and from that day forward and her shoulder felt safe to let go. 

Her pain, fear, guilt and limiting beliefs all healed – and her relationships continue to heal and rebalance as she develops a deeper connection with herself. 

The root cause of chronic shoulder pain

If you are experiencing recurring or stubborn shoulder pain or immobility, there is likely to be a deeper cause. There may be something in your life that is creating a constant state of tension. 

What in your life do you feel carry a lot of responsibility? What do you reach for yet also feel compelled to push away?

When we listen and ask why, our shoulder may have some lessons for us. It  

Ready for change?

Relieve pain and address the root cause. Book your free 20 minute discovery call.

Begin your upward spiral to health and well-being

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Hearing loss – client story

Hearing problems - client story

Address the deeper 'why' behind hearing loss, tinnitus and blocked ears

My client experienced acute tinnitus, hearing loss and nausea related to his right inner ear for about two weeks. It was getting to the point where he had to stop exercising because he felt dizzy. The loss of hearing and blocked sensation were also frustrating for him. He was waiting and hoping it would naturally pass, but when he came to me the symptoms were worsening.

As it was a recent issue, he was unsure about trying to get a GP appointment. He had been exploring how to manage the symptoms but had a sense there was something deeper going on in his body and wanted to explore this and get to the root cause.

I don't want to hear this!

Most of us know may relate to hearing something hurtful or harsh and wanting to block it out, we may have wished we could unhear it or that we had covered our ears. We may have thought the following:

  • I can’t bear hearing this! 
  • Be quiet! Why are you saying this?
  • I can’t believe what I am hearing?!
  • His/her voice/words have really stuck with me.
  • These words/sounds left my ears ringing!

When we hear something stressful or painful, our body – our ears – can adapt in an attempt to help us cope. Our ears can try to block out sound in various ways to try to protect us from a repeat experience in future. 

Words can hurt - my client's root cause

My client’s right ear was trying to block out something he had recently heard. To resolve this issue we needed to go towards the symptoms and listen to what they had to say. As my client tuned into his ear he connected to feelings of hurt and humiliation that were held there. Trusting his body and subconscious mind to guide him to the answers, he drifted back to an event just before the symptoms started. A loved one made a comment that left him feeling deeply hurt and disrespected. At the time he passed the comment off and put it to the side, but his body – or his ear – remembered and adapted to protect him.

Once we knew what was the root cause of his symptoms (his unique ‘why’) we could address this. We worked using evidence-based energy techniques to release the emotions connected with this memory and also stored in his body. Soon after, his ear became hot, which was a sure sign that the tissues in his ear had moved into repair and regeneration to heal and rebalance. They no longer needed to adapt to cope. The emotions connected to the memory had gone.

After this my client realised for himself that he needed to speak up to fully move forward and let go. He made a decision to share his feelings with his loved one. He gained insights about how it was never about him and his sense of being good enough returned.

It was very powerful how he connected the dots to hearing something painful within a recent conversation with a loved one. He was then able to release this root cause and naturally recover in a few days. The following day the ringing in his ear had healed. On day 2 the symptom was completely gone. 

  • Client feedback

    "Because of the ridiculous waiting times at the doctors I decided to look online and see if I could find another way to resolve my issue elsewhere. That's when I found Rooted Well Being. I booked a session regarding a blocked ear issue I'd had for a few weeks, it was making me dizzy and nauseated and felt like mild tinnitus (horrible ringing in my ear) and was getting slowly worse. After just one session addressing the root cause (which helped me see my ear was blocking out something difficult I had recently heard). Bev explained the healing process and what to expect over the coming days and sure enough it was completely gone in 2 days. I can't thank you enough Bev."

Symptoms in our ears can be stress related

Pain, discomfort or hearing loss/changes can be incredibly frustrating, especially ringing in our ears at night. Our frustration can be increased when our symptom has no obvious cause. However, often our body is adapting to try to help us cope with stressors. 

The symptoms below may be a sign that our ears are trying to block out something difficult we have heard:

  • Constant roaring, buzzing, ringing or whistling
  • Excessive ear wax
  • Hearing loss
  • Vertigo, dizziness with nausea or vomiting
  • Feeling out of balance

     

The root cause of chronic ear symptoms

Does your body carry stress and tension? Perhaps in your shoulders or gut? Every tissue in our body is continually listening and adapting to our thoughts and feelings (sometimes more subtly than others!).

If you are experiencing recurring or stubborn ear issues, there is likely to be a deeper cause. There may be something in your life that is leading to subtle changes in your ear. Think of it as a physical coping mechanism.

If we have heard something painful, traumatic or stressful, tinnitus or blockages can develop as a way to muffle and mask sound, to prevent further distress. It could have been an uncomfortable noise, insults, excessive demands, shouting or yelling…

When we explore, identify and address why and when our ear symptoms started, we can help our body to let go of this coping strategy and our hearing can fully recover.

Ready for change?

Relieve pain and address the root cause. Book your free 20 minute discovery call.

Begin your upward spiral to health and well-being

EFT Tapping for Chronic Pain

Practicing EFT regularly can offer a non-invasive, self-empowering tool for individuals seeking additional relief from chronic pain.

Read More