“Autoimmunity, from an Ayuverdic perspective, is undigested anger. I was not friends with the woman I saw in the mirror each day. Internally I was a war zone… My immune system was attacking me as if I were a virus or bacteria. When did I decide to attack myself?” – “Solving the Autoimmune Puzzle” by Dr. Keesha Ewers

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One of the books I’m currently reading is “Solving the Autoimmune Puzzle” by Dr. Keesha Ewers. The holistic gynecologist recommended this book to me. After reviewing her website and listening to some of her podcasts, she has changed my whole perspective on autoimmune disease and gave me a deeper understanding of my life. So, I finally bought the book. When I read self-help books, I tend to take a LONG time reading them because I do not move on to the next chapter until I’ve seriously analyzed that section and apply the chapter’s content to my life.

Join my journey, and let’s read this together! Click the link below to get your copy of the book. So far, it’s so worth it!

Get Your Copy HERE!

There is so much wisdom found in this book. It’s hard not to copy and paste every single line that spoke to me. And that’s just it – I love a book that seems to know precisely how to put into words everything I have trouble expressing. So many “ah-ha!” moments where I can relate to what she is going through. Not to mention – she was a registered nurse first (like me!) before she became a nurse practitioner and integrative medicine expert. Click here to check out her website to learn more about her.

In this fantastic book, Dr. Keesha analyzes her life to discover the puzzle pieces that led to her autoimmune disease. One of those pieces was asking WHEN did she start attacking herself? She traced it back to her childhood. So naturally, I did the same…

When did I start attacking myself?

I still remember clearly the first day I experienced severe pain. It was a hot summer morning and my cousins were on their way to pick me up to spend the day at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. My mom and I were big fans of drinking an ice cold can of coke to quench our thirst on a hot day. So after breakfast, I drank my can of coke and suddenly, it hit me like a train crashed into my brain. It’s like the carbonated bubbles of the drink rushed straight up to my brain. The tiny bubbles were spreading out popping against every nerve cell like when you spill water over an electric wire. Was this a brain freeze? Maybe. Little did I know, I was having my first migraine attack at 9 years old. 

I could not keep my eyes open because the brightness of our indoor light felt like X-Men’s cyclops laser beam burning my insides into molten lava through my eyes. So I crawled into my tent in the living room and forced myself to sleep off the pain. I’m not sure how long I was asleep, but the sound of my cousin’s voice echoed in the distance calling out for me. “Let’s go to the beach, Jade!” She exclaimed. I struggled to crawl out of my tent and felt exhausted. The mini explosions in my head calmed down but left me with intense feelings of heaviness and pressure. I imagined how it looked after a war between my brain nerve cells fight with the bubbles and cyclops laser beam. The nerves are laid out on the brain’s floor surrounded by the sticky stuff bubbles leave after blowing too much over the table and debris everywhere from the laser beam’s destruction.

“Do you still want to go to the beach? You don’t look so good,” my mom asked. I got up sluggishly and whined how much I still wanted to go. So I did. And all I remember next was dragging myself around the boardwalk, trying to keep up with my cousin as she gleefully ran around. Never did I touch a can of coke again. Over the years and until now, I learned that any carbonated drinks are a migraine trigger.

My main concerns…

❓ Why did I not tell mom that day I was in so much pain?

I remember feeling so guilty, like I did something wrong. I was worried that if I told my parents, I would get in trouble. I can’t think of any particular instance before that day that would make me believe such a thing. However, I know now that in our Asian culture, it is discouraged to complain about pain, so I’m not surprised if something was said to me and ingrained in my mind.

As I got older and continued to have more migraines and other pains, I was repeatedly told, “It’s just in your head, you’re fine.” When did it become OK to dismiss pain?

❓How do I cultivate a relationship with my child to make sure she is never afraid to tell me when something is wrong?

PARENTS – if you have answers to the questions above, please comment below or send me a message. I genuinely want to know to solve my autoimmune puzzle by finding and analyzing all the pieces!

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Do YOU struggle with an autoimmune disease? Unresolved past trauma? Depression? Overweight? Breast cancer? Dr. Keesha has healed herself through all of these and more. She gives us a framework on how to do this in her book. Purchase the book, subscribe, and follow me to join my journey in healing. Stay tuned for what else I learn about myself while reading this book!