A New Perspective on Chronic Fatigue with Functional Medicine and Breema
Common Sense Medicine
People of all ages come to clinic and tell me they are fatigued, exhausted, and overwhelmed, and that they just don’t feel like “themselves.”
Sometimes, they can trace when it started—an illness, life stressor, exposure, or pregnancy. Others can’t quite recall one event, but recognize they don’t have the energy, enthusiasm, or clarity that they used to.
It’s no wonder we are tired. In addition to any medical conditions, there is a constant pressure to work faster, process large amounts of information, and remember multiple passcodes, with no time to develop any actual relationship with what we see. We are lost in an ocean of information delivered mainly via computer or smartphone—news, social media, health advice, our jobs, interpersonal interactions. The amount of information, combined with the effect of screen exposure, exacerbate any fatigue or overwhelm.
Reclaiming your energy is a multistep process. In clinic, we examine your physical, mental, and emotional health from all angles, to uncover what you need for more vitality, clarity, and well-being in your life. Every step in the exploration can be uplifting and inspiring, as you become more confident in your own ability to identify what you need to be healthy, and apply what you discover.
Here are some ways we approach acute or chronic fatigue:
Look for reversible causes. This may include labs such as vitamin deficiency testing, viral infections, thyroid and other hormones, digestive health (SIBO or celiac) or autoimmune conditions. We work together to choose the right tests that are high yield, economical, and covered by insurance when possible.
Diet, sleep, and lifestyle support. We use simple and practical diet support along with daylong juice cleanses to reset and revitalize the digestive system. We address constipation or other metabolic or elimination dysfunctions.
Medications, herbs, and supplements when indicated. We find the right protocol that works with your lifestyle, while using targeted and effective treatments—as few as possible, so you don’t collect a shelf full of bottles that you won’t use later!
Nervous system support. We recommend lifestyle support, which may include decreasing screen time and optimizing sleep, along with herbs and supplements when indicated. Every visit includes Breema bodywork to harmonize the nervous system, balance the body, mind, and feelings, and offer a new and energizing perspective on life. It also just feels really nourishing and comfortable to receive!
Breema Perspective
If someone wastes all their money on trifles, can they be called healthy?
Then how can we say we are healthy if we waste our energy, which is our true wealth, by spending it uselessly?
The fact that we are almost always tense indicates that we’re wasting our energy.
Letting go of unnecessary tension is a step towards health.
Jon Schreiber, Real Health Means Harmony with Existence
We could look at the energy that we have when we wake up in the morning as our wealth for that day. If we have this perspective, we naturally wish to spend it wisely. This is especially obvious in a period of fatigue, when it could take several days to recover from overexertion.
Chronic fatigue literature talks about “pacing” daily activities. This can be supportive, but many people still feel that they are unable to participate fully in life.
Tension is a major contributor to draining energy. The tension created from repetitive, uninvited thoughts or feelings exhausts you far more quickly than even an activity requiring physical or muscular effort. Your worries about your condition, criticism of yourself and others, and the effort spent wishing or pretending things were different—all of these create more tension, which perpetuates the cycle.
We each have the potential to have much more energy available to us, but we need to learn how to access and utilize it. When we are tense we cut ourselves off, but when we let go of tension, we can experience that we are never separate from the life energy that flows through everything. When you receive Breema bodywork, you let go of tension, and can feel revitalized even in the midst of any ongoing condition of the body, mind, or feelings.
You’ll learn Self-Breema exercises that are an effective and practical way to let go of tension and access life energy at home. In the nonjudgmental atmosphere of the Nine Principles of Harmony, you can recognize your conditioned patterns of stress and not be beholden to them. Energy that is usually drained by tension and disharmony between the mind, body, and feelings becomes available to support the body’s self-healing systems.
In clinic we help people discover what steps to take when they feel unwell, drained, or hopeless. Over the last 25 years I have observed that patients who regularly receive Breema bodywork, and practice Self-Breema exercises, regain vitality and positivity more quickly. I have also seen this reflected in my own health!
Alexandra Johnson, MD practices integrative, functional family medicine and Breema bodywork. She finds this approach invaluable for supporting mental, physical and emotional health. She has clinic locations and teaches workshops in Santa Cruz and Oakland and internationally.
Upcoming Events:
Chronic Fatigue Retreat: Sat, July 18, 10am–5pm, Hummingbird Valley
Santa Cruz. Tuition $200 (includes lunch)
Bringing Harmony to Life – Breema Bodywork: Tue, June 2, 7-8:30 pm, The Breema Center 6076 Claremont Ave., Oakland
Reversible causes first, then the fewest effective treatments. That ordering is what most fatigue workups invert, and it's why people end up with a shelf of bottles and no answer.