Chronic Illness by: Jody Domerstad

Did you know that Chronic Illness and pain rewires your brain. Everyday day you think about it,
every time you experience it even when your having to explain it to someone or even just talk
about it. Each and every moment we are creating stronger and stronger neural-pathways that
set us up to experience pain more readily and possibly even more intense.

Chronic illness & pain get amplified due to anticipation of a flare-up and pain causing emotions
of worry and fear. These emotions stimulate an area in the brain that causes stress hormones to
be released even when not experiencing a flare-up. The release hormones cause inflammation
and tell the body and mind we are in danger, hence supporting the cycle of illness.

About fours years ago chronic illness took over my life. Symptoms from paralysis of my leg and
arms, night blindness, severe joint pain, abdominal distress, to emotional instability resulting in
feelings of paranoia to extreme anxiety and depression. I had no idea how to deal with it
especially because no one knew how to treat it.

Chronic illness and pain took over my life. Everything changed from the food I ate to being able to function. I learned everything I could about physical healing and went right to the brain. After brain surgery I remember how much my brain and my thoughts could affect me and my possibility to heal. I asked myself – How do my thoughts and thinking add to this and can I heal it?

Present Moment
Remind yourself now matter how hard it is – that it is happening now. It is not any other
experience your having and nor does it have to go there. As my chronic pain grew worse I
remember waiting for a flare up, anticipating all the symptoms and thinking how will I get
through this again. Never once did I realize how I was adding to the pain. When we pull up past memories and experiences of our chronic illness we relive that emotion, that sensation adding to the one that is occurring now. Can you stop yourself from reminiscing and be present. Become curious and talk to yourself into the prefrontal cortex. “This is happening now”,

I wonder what it would feel like to be present, ask yourself a series of question to pull you back in this moment for what if, just maybe this episode was much less uncomfortable and more easy to bear then the past.

Jody Domerstad

Jody Domerstad is honored to be a Certified Neurosculpting® Facilitator. She is excited to share this work because of how immensely the tools of Neurosculpting have augmented her healing process from the removal of a meningioma from her frontal lobe and the consequent head trauma. Additionally using Neurosculpting® techniques, Jody has begun to re-establish safety in her life, subdue lingering anxiety and fear attributed to PTSD, re-connect communication between spheres of the brain, and has been weaned off anti-seizure medication that was initially prescribed for the rest of her life post brain-surgery. Jody is a popular yoga teacher just outside of NYC offering 200, 300, and 500-hour teacher trainings, in an alignment driven hatha yoga. Other certifications include Inner Light Method and SourcePoint Therapy. Jody is available for private sessions and classes.   http://www.Jodydomerstad.com