— a phrase thrown around in functional medicine and holistic health circles.
While it can have good intentions, the phrase makes it seem like there's just one cause.
It confines healing to an isolated lens... Is the root cause a bacterial overgrowth? A gluten allergy? One isolated trauma?
The either-or mentality overlooks that healing has multiple layers — multiple root causes.
Many become confined to labels. Whether that be anxiety, acid reflux/LPR, celiac, IBS, SIBO, food sensitivities, Candida, Lyme, H. Pylori, OCD, empath, or something else.
But obsessing over the labels can bypass the deeper work, and keep you sick.
If your subconscious believes you are the label, the body will manifest the symptoms of that label.
While a term or label can be useful as an initial guide, in my personal journey and practice I've seen too many times how staying in the label can keep you stuck.
It also keeps you limited in your window of potential solutions!
The magic happens when you step outside the limits of what you already know. When you transcend 2-dimensional, A —> B thinking, while shedding the under-layers...
If that resonates with you, keep reading 🌱
The real root causes
posted by
Mallory
"Find your root cause"
Here are 5 main root causes:
Our guts inhabit trillions of microbes, which serve very important functions. If you're here you probably know that ;)
What's less talked about is that the gut does not exist in a vacuum:
- When there are intentions to get rid of something, it's not as simple as bring in guns blazing (antibiotic or antifungal), and then the culprit is "gone."
- Rather, what's going to inhabit that space?
Note: this list is not exhaustive, always use your own judgment and discernment
1. Antibiotics 🦠️
That's why many get a yeast infection, or new bacterial infections like C. Diff, H, Pylori or SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth) after antifungals or antibiotics.
It's also common to see food sensitivities, bloating, reflux, or emotional and mental challenges like anxiety after antibiotics — as the gut and brain are a two way-street.
This is where it's important to expand our mind beyond what we think of as potential solutions. Breaking out of two-dimensional —> A to B thinking.
Examples of limited, 2D thinking:
If the person has a bacterial overgrowth, the solution must be ingesting something to "kill" that overgrowth... If the personal has reflux, they need to reduce the "acid"... If the person has anxiety, they must "need" a sedative...
As you can see, this brings new problems without addressing the problem at hand.
There's more to the story about why these developed in the first place, which you'll find by continuing to read below...
the gut does not exist in a vacuum. when microbes are "killed," something else takes up that space.
They can make a problem that already existed (poor digestion) more severe.
They have been shown in research to possibly contribute to heart and kidney disease, stomach cancer, autoimmune disease, Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth, heart attack, delay in gastric emptying, pneumonia, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, kidney stones, liver disease, increased risk of stroke, and anemia.
(This site is not about fear-mongering, so this is not meant to instill fear. This is just to show you how when you artificially mess with the body, other organs find ways to communicate something is wrong).
Similarly, NSAIDs also contribute to poor digestion, by deteriorating the gut lining.
Every time we try to "cover" something up, the body finds ways to let us know...
2. PPIs/antacids; NSAIDS 💊
BUT — "Eating healthier" goes deeper than what it may look like on the surface:
3. What we eat and how we eat 🧩️
You're digesting and absorbing less of the actual nutrients and more heavy energy. Where does that get stuck? The body!
How we feel from eating isn't just about the food itself, but our entire state of being and what we're absorbing around us.
Similarly, if you eat something that may not be great for you, breaking that habit isn't as simple as telling yourself "not to do that" or rationalizing why the food is deserved.
What were the emotions and feelings that triggered the impulse in the first place?
This is where non-ordinary healing practices can be so important. Because just "knowing" about "clean" foods is limiting.
We need to unravel the emotions & patterns underneath (More on this in section #5)...
You're not only ingesting the food, but also the energy of how it was prepared, your emotional state, and the energy of those around you
It could be binge eating, emotional eating, rushing through meals, worry about "messing up" a protocol, eating foods that don't make you feel well (lured by the initial dopamine rush), or even food fear.
But where are you just looking for labels? Where can you embody this way of living, if these practices are authentically important to you?
We do need steps along the way, so there's no need to be perfect in this space, or in your life (perfection doesn't exist!)
But it is important to realize that "toxins" or chemicals can come in many forms.
Living less toxic is deeper than shopping at Whole Foods or buying clean beauty.
Some pharmaceuticals house chemicals that can affect how your body functions. This is where individual choice comes in. It's not "wrong" to use such things. Rather, it's up to you to be informed and make the best decision for you.
Many common prescriptions mess with the body's natural balance. The effects can last beyond when the item is discontinued.
It's difficult to get to homeostasis, or balance, or optimal health (or to put it plainly - feeling GOOD) when there are factors influencing imbalance...
4. Toxins, chemicals, heavy metals
It's a root cause for EVERY condition or instability we feel:
Whether that's an emotional trigger, a food you're sensitive to, period cramps that make you want to scream, burning in the stomach, feeling unfulfilled – the list goes on.
5. Trauma, suppressed emotions, nervous system dysregulation ⚡️
- If you're only addressing diet, something physical to get rid of (like a toxin), a neurotransmitter to fix, or a hormone to balance...
- If you're chained to a label that was handed to you (or that you put yourself in)...
- The truth is you'll be stuck on a hamster wheel 🐹
This is where energy work, somatic practices, and sacred plant medicines that shift consciousness can come in.
These practices help you enter "non-ordinary states of consciousness," which allow you to go in and shift your wiring — mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually.
You can change how your body functions (including digestion, DNA expression, hormones, detoxification, how you view yourself and the world) by shifting, releasing, and rewiring.
Speaking from personal experience and the transformations clients and students in The Curious Collective embody...
When you anchor into these practices, surrender, and let go — you see for yourself the self-healing available to you!
What is your body asking from you? 🌚🍄✨
trauma is the lowest point your body's experienced
healing & rewiring requires more than a therapy talk, diet, or pill.
Yet they were approaching their digestive/health challenges with so much fear and catastrophic thinking. That in itself is a telltale sign of a trauma response!
Rationalizing doesn’t change what your body's holding onto.
If your internal system felt threatened at any moment, that's what matters.
Our souls incarnate to learn lessons to evolve. Pain has purpose. No matter how "perfect" someone's life seems — they're going through their own wounds too.
However, that does not excuse anyone's actions in situations that caused trauma. That is never okay. The impact of any trauma should never be understated.
It's important to realize everything is a choice and healing is personal responsibility.
You can choose to see it wasn't okay, but you don't have to stay there. You can set yourself free. Pain is not yours to hold. The past or symptom label does not define you.
You can choose healing.
Fully embodying this involves shifting consciousness, releasing, and rewiring...
seer, free-thinker, truth seeker
Hello there!
I'm Mallory.
I'm a healer helping you uncover and clear the real roots behind "mystery" conditions, so you can get your body and life back. Ultimate freedom.
I weave somatic & energy healing, breathwork, consciousness, restorative nutrition, and medicinal remedies. When you integrate this work, the possibilities are limitless, and there are no longer roadblocks of feeling you've "tried it all."
Through my personal healing journey and guiding 1,000+ clients and students with complex conditions, I've seen how true healing is more than just “physical.”
We store blocks, emotions, patterns, and traumas in our bodies – over decades, lifetimes, and ancestrally. Symptoms are the body's way of signaling us to release!
This is true whether the primary ailment is acid reflux, sadness, IBS, bloating, SIBO, migraines, relationships, menstrual cramps, anxiety, business blocks, or beyond.
You're here to go beyond the surface to experience true holistic care. Layer by layer, we'll shed the energies of "sickness" and move towards wholeness. The magic is waiting for you🍄 🌱✨