How I Healed My Body When Everything Felt Broken

How I Healed My Body When Everything Felt Broken

At 22, I felt like my body was my enemy. My stomach rejected everything I ate, my hormones were so imbalanced I was told I was in early menopause and might not be able to have children, and insomnia ruled my nights. I was frustrated, angry, and defeated—food, my body, and even doctors felt like the enemy.

But I refused to accept this as my life. I left my corporate job, moved to a city I loved, and went back to school to become a Registered Holistic Nutritionist. That decision was my turning point.

Here is my step by step process how i went from frustrated & bloated to thriving & just living life again. 

My 3-Stage Healing Process

Stage 1: Cleanse


To rebuild, I first had to clean out years of toxins, waste, and hormonal imbalances. My approach was gentle but intentional:

I removed major allergens (I removed gluten, wheat, dairy, and soy) 

Why it worked:
This relieved the daily internal stress my body faced from struggling to digest foods it couldn’t process. When your body is under stress, it prioritizes survival systems like breathing and heart function, while secondary systems like digestion and hormone regulation take a backseat and cannot function properly.

Ate easy-to-digest foods: smoothies, cooked veggies, eggs & beans for protein, superfoods like turmeric and spirulina, and root veggies like sweet potatoes.

Why it worked:
This reduced stress on my body by providing easily digestible foods and extra functional nutrients to support the cleansing process. Instead of relying entirely on internal systems that were already working to reset, these nutrients gave my body the boost it needed to aid the reboot.

Listened to my body: walking instead of running, yoga instead of HIIT.

Why it worked :
This was a tough change for me. I’ve been a runner my whole life, and it was my go-to way to cope with stress. At one time, running might have been a “good” stressor for my body, but when my stress cup became full and overflowing, I realized it was only adding to the problem. I decided to try something different. When I shifted to walking, yoga, and Pilates, I noticed my racing mind began to slow. A calmer mind meant a calmer body—and achieving that balance became the ultimate goal.

Managed stress: I said “yes” to joy, learning, and growth and “no” to what drained me.

Why it worked :
After reading Molecules of Emotion by Candice Pert, I couldn’t unlearn or ignore what science had taught me. Did you know that your “feel-good” hormones, like serotonin and dopamine, occupy the same cell receptors as the common cold virus? In simpler terms: if your cell receptors are filled with happy, feel-good hormones, there’s no room for the common cold virus to latch on. Fascinating, isn’t it?

Practiced grace: healing is not linear, and setbacks happen.

1-Minute Reset for Tough Moments

Feel the Feeling. Stop numbing out—it will only resurface later. Instead, allow yourself to truly feel the emotions. For me, this often meant crying, deep breathing, and visualizing the fear moving up and out of my body. My internal dialogue sounded something like this:

“Yes, that sucked. Yes, that didn’t feel good. AND I’m still here. I can choose differently next time. Moving on.”

Get Moving

Put on your favorite music, sing, dance, or shake off the feelings—just get back to living. No sitting and dwelling. Keep moving forward because clarity comes from action, not overthinking. You are in control of what you choose to do next.

 

Why it worked :
Healing is as much a mental game as it is a physical one. Even while healing, the rest of my life—work, school, relationships—didn’t pause. Life didn’t stop so I could focus solely on getting better.

I used to get stuck in cycles of dwelling, letting one bad day snowball into a bad week or more. Over time, I realized it’s a mental practice. The more consistently I practiced this two-step reset, the quicker I could bounce back—even managing most curveballs in the same day.

Healing isn’t about waiting for life to pause—it’s about learning how to move through it.

Focused on 1 key adaptogenic herb : chaste berry(also called vitex)

Why it worked:
Adaptogenic herbs are what I like to call “bi-directional.” When consumed, these herbs assess your body’s hormone levels and help bring them back to balance. For one person, that might mean lowering cortisol levels, while for another, it could mean increasing them. The same goes for hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.

This is such an important concept because so many people overload their bodies with a whole cabinet of herbs, supplements, and vitamins. Instead of supporting the body, this excess can actually burden the liver, making it work harder to process the extra intake rather than focusing on cleansing the body’s backlog. Adaptogens offer a smarter, more efficient approach by working with your body’s specific needs rather than adding unnecessary strain.

 

After 18 months, my cycle returned (after being absent for 9 years!), and my body signaled it was ready to rebuild.


Stage 2: The (Re)Build

Now that my digestion and hormones were balanced, I could properly absorb and use nutrient-dense “building” foods.

  • I focused on complete proteins (foods with all essential amino acids).

  • I supported my body throughout my menstrual cycle—cravings for beef jerky in my luteal phase were a game-changer!

  • I prioritized gut health and stress management, knowing they were deeply interconnected.

Stage 3: Maintain

Maintenance is all about paying attention—eating what, when, and how makes me thrive. Here’s what my routine looks like:

6 AM: Green smoothie, then coffee or matcha.

10 AM (Breakfast): Eggs and waffles (yes, with fancy mustard—I know, don’t judge!).

2 PM (Lunch): A balanced bowl—sweet potato, beets, sprouts, and eggs or chicken.

Dinner: Chickpea pasta, rice, or quinoa with roasted veggies and local protein. My favourite? Sushi—I need to learn how to make it.

Evening Snack: Apple, dates, and almond butter—pure magic.

I eat seasonally—tons of fruit like watermelon in summer, warming root veggies and cooked foods in winter.


The Takeaways

Your body thrives in one of three stages: Cleansing, Building, or Maintaining.

Your body is not broken. Its natural state is health, and it can heal itself.

Food is not one-size-fits-all—pay attention to how you feel when you eat.

Stress rules everything: healing happens when you balance your mind, body, and energy.

This journey taught me that healing is possible. It’s not about perfection but paying attention, honoring your body, and fueling yourself with intention.

 

** Please note that I am not a doctor nor am I sharing advice from a doctor. This blog is intended to share my story and let others know what worked for me! 

 

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