Yes, I used to feel everyone else's feelings, and I'm still an empathetic person, but I think this journey made me realize that it's not good to carry/feel/solve everyone's burden and the best thing I can do is just take good care of myself so I can show up for myself and those that I love. I realized this after I got way too involved with advocacy groups and then had setbacks. I also started to get into Abraham Hicks books at the time, which was more about aligning with what you want to feel (rather than fighting against what's wrong).

It definitely seems like a large portion of people who get ME/CFS are empaths from talking to so many people. I'm glad you realized, after all you have been through, that you deserve to put yourself first. Sending you good vibes!!

I watched the Golden Girls in 2020 and when the CFS episode came ... with Jeffrey Tambor as the gaslighting doctor no less... I was like THIS HITS TOOOOO close to home. They were always ahead of their time!

Brain rewiring comes in all different forms. In the context Suzi was referring to, it's likely she was recognizing a pattern, thought, or behavior that was based in fear, reminding herself that it was her nervous system, taking steps to calm her nervous system, and redirecting her attention on something positive. There are different programs that have different approaches. Some are more trauma based than others.

Wow, I'm honored to receive your nomination!!! Thank you so much this made my day :-). I'm so glad you found so many nuggets of wisdom in this - I did, too. Sending good vibes from California.

Hey Ava, thanks so much for your comment! Sending good vibes back to you!!! And I love that reminder quote from Dan!

Hi Steve, I really appreciate you taking the time to leave this really kind comment. I appreciate you! Oh wow, that must have been extremely scary to go through as a teenager. Thanks for sharing your experience with PTSD to let others know they are not alone. Sending support and healing vibes.

@@HealwithLiz you're more than welcome! This video is so full of compassion, wisdom and hope from an authentic place I'm going to share it on my therapist website for my clients.

Thanks so much Patrick!! I gained new wisdom from this myself, too. Sending good vibes.

same my mind just goes wild it will think thoughts that arent even related to my situation it was like a half hallucination but i knew it was hallucination and my cognitive impairment

Thank you so much! :)💗

Thank you!!💞

Yes I love the befriending series. So helpful!

I'm so glad you found it helpful! :)

Wasn’t it!! I really never get bored of listening to both Simona & Dr Cat, there is always some new little snippet to take from them. xx

@@simonamorrison7862hi Simona can i email You?

This interview was outstanding. There was so many pearl of wisdom, and I can’t speak highly enough of how Simona is stringing together multiple fields of understanding to help people heal from trauma and illness. I am honored to have the shout out and thank you for all both of you ladies do to help bring Hope to the world.

Hi Jer, I just wanted to say that I really cherish your comment, and appreciate you. I put a lot of time into editing the videos and stuff, and never really know how they'll be received (all I knew was that Simona is the real deal & that I got new major epiphanies myself from our chat). I'm so glad you got so much value from our conversation - your comment was very much appreciated. Sending you my support.

Thanks Liz! I'm so glad we got to chat about all of this. Grateful for your work! xo

Simona is lovely and she sheds light on things I never would have thought of.

Hey Karen, this was one of my biggest things that I was concerned about when I had CFS and your message today made me realized I haven't checked my tongue in ages. My worst crashes were linked to EBV acute reactivations. But I actually was told by an acupuncturist this was a gut health thing (not an EBV thing) - I also had gut issues. I became hyper fixated on it and other mouth related symptoms to gauge my gut and overall health. I would encourage you to explore different brain retraining programs or apply one you already got, to weaken and eventually eliminate this association and then it may just improve on it's own 🙂. Yes, you can completely rewire even the most strong negative associations, and then things can overall improve. That said, somatic and self-discovery modalities can also really help people return their bodies to wellbeing, along with good lifestyle practices, but initially for this linkage, the brain retraining specifically can help. It has for me.

⁠thanks so much for your input here. Would you mind telling me what you did specifically for your gut health? I am trying to dissociate symptoms with illness related connotations but if there’s something I can do to help improve my overall health I’d like to try. I have struggled with what is the best approach for gut health. The low inflammatory diet does not work for me. Most green veggies including salads, fodmaps, beans, nightshades, etc and most foods in general are inflammatory to me. I take enzymes to help but overall I can’t find a healthy balance. I’d appreciate your input or anyone else’s input on the thread. Thanks again for your responsiveness!!!

@@karenschindler2871 Not medical advice, but if this is your current situation: Paleo with cooking or steaming (can do using a double boiler) veggies can make things easier to digest. AIP can provide relief- but I'd encourage you not to label foods as inflammatory when you think about them, rather framing it what you can have. Because they're not, it's just that your body doesn't currently have an amazing reaction. I wouldn't try to worry about finding the exact perfect foods neither would I be hard on yourself for not having the most varied colorful plant diet. For me, the diet sensitivities were the very last thing I rewired/healed. I would also consider looking into stories of people who stopped trying to be perfect and fix things. I was the biggest militant weirdo with my diet, and I was for 3 years during CFS and a full year after I got my health back, but I just ate a chipotle kids meal with fresh crispy lettuce and a square of chocolate. And my digestion now is picture perfect. LOL.

One thing that really helped me was having a few calls with a coach, Lindsay Mitchell of Vital-Side, she's expensive and I'm not sure if she does 1-2-1's anymore, but she was like "yeah, I have another brain retraining client who only ate 3 foods and now eats anything" and just simply knowing that (besides the little tips she taught me for rewiring the food stuff), was really powerful. Don't be too hard on yourself if you're very limited, but also realize that there is no exact perfect diet that will heal you (ie don't be like "if only I figured out the exact foods, or supplements, or treatments then I will heal" and put all that pressure to do that - I did that for a long time - and went down lots of naturopath rabbit holes). It's really about taking your body to calmer waters and then through a multi-lateral strategy rebuilding your health. It's not the diet perfection that gets people out. And if you have something that gives you a symptom, that's an opportunity to both acknowledge and respond in a new way, not fear and blame. It can improve and you will improve!

Thank you! Yep. Initially I went down that rabbit hole of fear with food and developed ARFID. I’m not too worried about it now. Just want to make sure I’m healthy. Thank you for all of the information! PS the chipotle sandwich sounds delish!

Agreed. Maybe watch in sections?

Yes. Katie from Boston on my channel kept her job in finance. Carly continued her job writing training plans for endurance athletes. Christine the story before this one is a luxury real estate agent. Lauren G. after recovery made her side-hustle of home organization into her full time job. Not sure when she left her sales job. Now 3 years after healing, she is also coaching in addition to her home organization work. I have a partial list of 'regular people who aren't coaches' on my channel homepage. However, people may change! Most people (though not all) who were very severe or had it for a long time on my channel or others I've seen are doing something different than before, usually helping others heal. People who come on recovery channel I suspect are more likely to be those who are helping others rather than those who returned to corporate work or other work.

Appreciate the information. Very encouraging

Do you have heds 27 years for me some symptoms changed over decdes

Did any tests ever come up abnormal for you?

​@@tanyawieczorek6603no just cholesterol elevated have yours

Thank you so much Regina! No worries, fair question. Dan touched on this in a few different areas, but to answer your question - there are multiple ways to support the regulation of your ANS. For example, a diet that supports your blood sugar stabilization, that can be nervous system work - brain retraining or somatic practices, breathwork, circadian rhythm/sleep hygiene, pacing, and more. Dan's program covers a lot of these (this video didn't go too much into his program). For those with trauma, he talks about addressing that, as that can contribute to maladaptive stress responses. Some programs address healing trauma, though his does not, but it provides comprehensive advice and tools for the other areas. And as he says, consult trusted medical professionals as needed, ie to investigate things that could be causing stress on the body. I like what Dan kind of says, that there are many ways to heal (and we don't have to do every thing out there or go down every rabbit hole), because as the body starts to heal from a multilateral approach, it's starts to begin to be able to handle things better. Thanks again for watching!

@@HealwithLiz Thanks so much for your answer. That widened the options a lot. He did also say about for example if you just ate a meal and you use a vague nerve stimulator machine to zap you into parasympathetic mode, but that's not it, your body should be naturally going into parasympathetic after a meal. So I really wonder what ANS regulation means. How to get back to what should be a natural bodily function.

@@HealwithLiz If his program doesn't include trauma work, what is brain retraining? A specific type of positive thinking?

@@regina6838 After you eat, it can be as simple as belly / diaphragmatic breathing which can stimulate the Vagus nerve naturally. And no screens while eating or right after eating. For your second question: Brain retraining comes in all different forms. Many of the programs have their own template / script (though not all), like Dan's ANS Rewire program, LP, DNRS, etc. Brain retraining (for the types of conditions mentioned in our interview) typically consists of 1. The education piece (that this is the brain, limbic system, nervous system, or triggered part) 2. Awareness of the pattern 3. Reframing and/or Calming 4. Redirecting attention, or creating a new thought. Some are more involved than others. It's not about saying stop to symptoms nor pushing through, it's about changing the way your body and brain Respond to the symptoms, if that makes sense. Programs that are trauma-based/informed have their own approach, but these are the basic principles without sharing anyone's exact program.

@@HealwithLiz Thanks so much for your detailed replies 💐