My Fab Five Recovery Catalysts for the Gut-Trauma-Burnout Loop
Recently, my gut health took a downturn, reminding me of how intricately connected it is to my trauma, and ultimately to my burnout susceptibility.
I’ve been on a gut healing journey for many more years than my burnout recovery. I started having issues with my gut when I was a kid, but no attempts were made to understand the problem, just acceptance that it was there. That’s a fixed mindset situation right there!
But I have a growth mindset, so now as an adult, I can’t just accept that there’s something wrong with my health and not try to do everything in my power to figure out how to feel better.
It wasn’t until my early twenties that I figured out I have a problem with gluten. By then, so much damage had been done to my gut from gluten exposure that even with this new knowledge, there was much healing still to go.
I have learned since eliminating gluten from my life that although physical in their presentation, my gut issues stem from emotional wounds tied to complex trauma.
The tissue of the gut wall actually heals itself remarkably quickly. But if the stressors creating the gut wall damage are still present, then it will remain unhealed. Of course. Seems pretty obvious when put like that, doesn’t it?
But I don’t mean the stressor of gluten exposure. Emotional stress is also extremely damaging to the gut wall.
And recently, the root of my childhood trauma - my father - triggered me once again. The gut symptoms I'd been free from for months returned almost overnight.
That was when I started to notice the onset of burnout symptoms, and was once again reminded that when trauma triggers my gut issues to flare up, I am more susceptible to burnout because of the exhausting sympathetic nervous system response, combined with the sudden demand on my energy supply to heal and regain balance, both emotionally and physically.
It took me years of sickness, thousands of dollars spent on health-care and supplements, and diligently sticking to a plethora of torturously restrictive diet plans… some of which made me even more unwell… before I finally found the healing modalities I swear by today. It was through these modalities that I first learned the physical ailments in my gut won’t fully heal, as long as:
- My trauma remained trapped in my gut area
- My mindset around healing remained negative
To point 1, I healed much of my trauma and saw positive results. If new triggers and trauma arise though, symptoms return. But I did note that they have never once returned as severely as the previous time. So, they actually serve as a reference for my healing progress when they do arise. And this is powerful incentive to protect myself more fiercely than ever from toxic people and potentially triggering interactions/scenarios.
And to point 2: I used to believe that my gut would never heal and that my complex trauma would never go away.
That kind of defeatist mindset keeps you stuck in illness. That kind of mindset, in my case, was fuelled by all of those years of futile searching for solutions and being sent down rabbit holes by misinformation from various healthcare practitioners…
I am a researcher though. I spent 13 years in academia...it had to count for something other than a piece of paper and fancy title! As a biologist, I was trained to be sceptical about information or data presented to me. This helped me navigate all of the misinformation I came across. Albeit with a lot of trial and error along the way. But I used my research skills to embark on the healing journey that eventually got me well.
When healing complex trauma and digestive troubles, there is no “silver bullet” solution. Every individual is different: their symptoms and the reasons for those symptoms, amongst other things. But even for each individual, there are nuances to the healing journey that require different approaches. That’s why I would never advocate just one approach.
It’s important to find the combination of healing modalities that works best for your needs. The ordering in which you use them is important too. You can’t peel the inner layer off an onion before you’ve peeled off the outer layers. I never would have been so open and receptive to the notion of energy healing before I’d tried somatic healing. And I might never have tried somatic therapy if I’d never done analytical therapy, for example.
I’d love to save you all the years and dollars I spent stuck down rabbit holes by sharing with you the healing modalities that really worked, and still work, for me. Of course, everyone is different though, so these might not be the "Fab Five" of modalities for your needs. But at least for me, and hopefully for you, these are five of the things that catalysed the greatest transformations in my well-being.
My Fab Five Modalities for Healing the Gut + Trauma + Burnout Feedback Loop
I try to accompany my analytical therapy with some sort of somatic work, one or multiple energy healing modalities, and coaching.
(Yes…for years…I spent ALL of my disposable income, and savings, on healing…Best investment of my life though!)
They all have different perspectives, all of which are valuable and each of which appeal to or are able to access different inner children, or energy meridians, or wound roots, or symptoms, that are all affecting your quality of life in combination.
Analytical therapy
is useful for understanding your psyche. My favourite form of this is Jungian dream analysis. It’s also great for getting to know and dialogue with your inner critics. You can work with a Jungian analyst (who are usually registered counsellors, so they’re billable if you have benefits), or you can buy any of Jung's books on dreams and learn to decipher them for yourself, it'll probably just take longer to figure stuff out. You can also do inner critic work at home by yourself, or with a coach. I found the book Freedom from you Inner Critic: A Self-Therapy Approach by Earley & Weiss quite helpful, but I was working with a therapist at the time and advise this type of support for such deep work if you do have trauma. The great thing about dream analysis though is that your psyche will never try to communicate something to you that you're not ready to hear. In other words, it won't surprise you or trigger you in the same way, e.g., EMDR therapy might. It's a much safer option for sensitive people, in my opinion.
Somatic healing
is imperative for releasing trauma from the body. In my opinion, you simply cannot heal trauma in its entirety through analytical therapy alone, there must be a somatic element to release the trauma from the areas of the body that it’s stored in. Whether that’s humming or singing in the shower, dancing every weekend, painting, breathwork, seeing a somatic healer, or whatever appeals…the release of trauma from the body is a necessary step to heal. To get a better understanding of this concept if it's new to you, the best book I can think of is The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk.
Energy healing
is in the same vein as somatic healing. Energy gets trapped in various centres around the body and needs to be released, slowly and carefully. My favourite forms of energy healing are craniosacral, acupuncture, and working with energy healers who can assist in shifting and even drawing out unwanted energy. At home, I also perform energy cleanses regularly through visualisation meditations, smudging, crystal work, cold plunges, sound baths, and so on. I highly recommend starting with analytical and somatic work if the notion of energy healing doesn't resonate for you at this time. It's something I could only access in its entirity, or in my awareness, once I was more open to it after doing a lot of the other two.
Coaching
is different because instead of deep diving into the past, it focuses on the present and future. Coaching is a great compliment to other modalities, because while you’re releasing the old via all the trauma healing, you’re also inviting in the new by setting goals and focusing on your desires for your future, which builds momentum and uplifts your mindset. Having a supportive, empathetic, trauma-informed coach to guide you and hold you accountable is so important for this work. A sensitive coach will know exactly how much to push you outside your comfort zone to achieve growth, without overwhelming you. They will empower you to walk the path of your authentic healing journey, at the pace that’s right for you. You can get started on your own though, e.g. by journalling positive, present-tense statements about being well. Picturing yourself in the future, feeling well and fully healed, is a powerful visualisation practise that can shift your mindset and catalyse your healing.
Quantum Living
is a “protocol” or lifestyle-shift that really changed everything for me. That is, circadian synching: my days are structured around the rise and fall of the sun. It includes:
- Setting an intention as I watch the sunrise each morning
- Ensuring ample time outside in natural sunlight at optimal times
- Eating at the times where my body is most ready to receive food
- Omitting blue light in the hours leading up to bedtime
- Drinking structured mineral water
- Regular cold plunging/cold exposure
- Red Light Therapy
- Eating whole foods, intuitively
- Making sure I’m in bed for at least 8 hours a night
- Fasting intermittently for 12–14 hours each night
As a result:
- I have more energy throughout each day
- I no longer have chronic fatigue (which I had from long-COVID)
- My resilience to burnout has increased
- I no longer have systemic inflammation
- My overall mindset is more positive and optimistic than ever
- My hormone cycles are balanced and timely, so no more PMS!
- I can sleep through the night, for the first time ever
- My gut health is finally on a steady upward trajectory
- My emotions are no longer dysregulated
- I bounce back much quicker from emotional triggers
- I can do more of the things I love
- My confidence is higher than ever
- I’m physically fitter and stronger than ever
- My self-love is deeper than I'd ever known
I could really go on and on. I'm blown away myself by all the collateral side effects of Quantum Living that I never could have anticipated. I originally started it to overcome chronic fatigue from long-COVID and the associated burnout. It has been the first thing to actually relieve me from that! But there have been so many more bonuses along the way. You can get started with it yourself by downloading the Circadian app (it's free!) so that you know what time the sunrise is.
Emotional triggers are likely to happen, that’s unavoidable really. When they do, it’s important that we feel well-resourced and have a strong, supportive network to get us through hard times and to stay regulated.
When my trauma is triggered, so are my gut symptoms, then follows burnout if I don't use my toolbox of resources to take the right care of myself (I’ll talk about this connection in more depth the next time I write about this topic).
If you’re feeling stuck in the cycle of triggerings, physical health conditions, and consequent emotional burnout...
If you're feeling trapped in your current lifestyle by financial responsibilities...
If you're feeling unable to see a way out...
Know that you can get out of the cycle.
It just might be that you need more support than you’re currently getting, or a different kind of support. It’s really hard to get out of a rut on your own when you’re already depleted.
But I know you can reclaim your life, your energy, and your well-being.
I hope that sharing my favourite healing modalities for the gut-trauma-burnout loop is helpful for you. If you’d like to know more, please reach out, I’d love to connect. You can email me, message me on Instagram, or schedule a free 20-minute coaching consultation.
I am a trauma-informed coach, and I have been in your shoes. I know what it takes to recover from emotional burnout. That's what inspired me to create my unique BLISS Coaching Method:
Being over doing: Re-writing the narrative around self-worth being tied to what you achieve.
Loving yourself first: Re-programming the core beliefs that have you prioritising work or others’ needs over your own well-being.
Intentional living: Introducing more of what you love to do into your habitual routine so that all of your needs are fulfilled and all of your values are upheld.
Setting healthy boundaries: Learning to protect yourself, your health, and your happiness, unapologetically.
Synchronising with the sun: Introducing, implementing, and integrating Quantum Living into your lifestyle.
It's hard to hold yourself accountable to stick with all this personal growth work, especially when under-resourced. That's probably the most important role of a coach, the accountability. As well as the support, encouragement, and wealth of knowledge and experience. They get it.
So, I’m here for you if you feel called to reach out.
In the coming months, I’ll be sharing more on the bidirectional relationship between the gut and mental well-being, and exploring leaky gut syndrome and how an imbalanced microbiome can sneakily perpetuate your burnout cycle without you realising.
If any of that piques your interest, stay tuned!
Take care, and rest well, always.
Xox
