The Rebellious Healer

#5 Terry’s Healing Story: From Survival Mode to Full-Body Trust

• Jenny Peterson • Season 5 • Episode 5

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0:00 | 31:40

Terry came to me with chronic fatigue, anxiety, insomnia, and gut issues—stuck in a cycle of trying to fix her body with no lasting results.

In this episode, she shares how her breakthrough came not from another protocol, but from uncovering the lifelong subconscious patterns that were keeping her stuck.

🎧 Inside this episode:

  • What her symptoms were really trying to show her
  • The hidden patterns that blocked her healing
  • How her life transformed once she stopped fearing her body

“Once I stopped trying to fix myself and started looking at the patterns I’d been carrying my whole life—that’s when everything changed.” – Terry 

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SPEAKER_00

Welcome back to the Rebellious Healer, the podcast for women who are done chasing symptoms, living in fear, and outsourcing their healing. I'm Jenny Peterson, and today you're about to hear a story that proves what's possible when you stop trying to fix yourself and finally step into your power. In this episode, I'm joined by one of my former students, Terry, whose healing journey is nothing short of extraordinary. When she first came to me, she was overwhelmed, exhausted, and unsure if healing was even possible for her. She had tried so many things and, like many of you, was stuck in a cycle of symptom management and fear. But everything changed when she stopped sourcing outside of herself and decided to do the real work, the inner work. In our conversation, Terry shares what finally helped her break free, how she built trust in her body, and what life looks like now that she no longer feels like a prisoner to her symptoms. If you've ever wondered, is true healing really possible for me, this episode is your answer. Let's dive in. Today I am talking with Terry, a recent graduate of MBR, and we are discussing what her life and symptoms were like before the MBR program and now after completing it. Welcome, Terry. Hi, Jenny. Thanks for having me. I'm really excited. Great. So let's start off and talk about what everybody wants to hear. What symptoms did you come into MBR with?

SPEAKER_01

Let's just start off saying I'm 59 years old and I had a long list of symptoms. Even though I always exercised every day and I ate well and tried to do all organic and things like that. But I'm going to go over just some of my top ones. One of the first ones I remember, I had glaucoma when I was only 32. And I remember people saying to me, My grandmother has that. My grandfather has that. And I'm like, okay, yes, but I don't know anybody who's 32 and has that. And I had to have surgeries done to relieve the pressure. But and that helped me for years. And then in the last couple of years, I've had to go on drops because of it. And then I was only 39 when I was having testing done for my eyes. And they said I had the beginning of macular degeneration. So again, where they're like, oh, don't worry. In 10 years, even 20 years, you'll be fine. I'm like, okay, that brings me to 59. It gave me a lot of concern and worried. And right around that same time, I was in my later 30s and I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and that didn't go away. I had a lot of IBS symptoms and things for years. And then I wound up seeing a Lyme doctor and was diagnosed with Lyme. And then recently in the last two years, I was diagnosed with rheumatory arthritis. So at that age, again, in my later 30s, is when my doctor search began. I was 50 when I had my first test done and had osteoporosis, which each year it was getting worse. And I tried injections and they didn't work. I don't know if they worked for my bones, but they didn't work for me. So I stopped them. I also had headaches, ear infections, I had thyroid issues, I had skin cancer. In one year alone, I had five incidences of skin cancer and needed two most surgeries. So it was like, why am I getting this so often? High cholesterol, and my cholesterol was 300. They wanted me on statins, especially because my mom had died at 34 of a heart attack. So they really tried to push me on a statin, but I didn't go on it. Heartburn, insomnia, fatigue, and allergies, and you got to the point where you were always afraid you didn't know if you'd have a rash from touching anything, eating anything. And so that's the main ones.

SPEAKER_00

And I'm gonna go back to what you said way in the beginning, because I think this is the point that we all need to hear is you said, I ate well, I exercised, I ate organic, and these things are still happening.

SPEAKER_01

You know, we would walk every morning. I remember the crossing guard saying to me as we walked by the school, you're like the healthiest person I know. And I looked at my husband and went, he only knew what I go through. I'm at doctor's every week and had to retire. I said, and meanwhile, people think you're so healthy because you make yourself get up and exercise every day.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, and it's not enough. Not to those things are important. Eating well and exercising are very important, not saying that they're not, but they are not preventatives for these chronic illnesses. And it's something that society has brainwashed us with is as long as you eat well and exercise, you can prevent all of this. You and I were both the sickest people, the sickest, healthiest people we knew. Exactly. I want you to paint a picture for us about what life was like before you joined the program with these symptoms.

SPEAKER_01

My latest symptom right before I had joined the program were ear problems. I had, I flew and I went to the emergency room when I was away, and they said you have an outer ear infection. And they said, Oh, you'll be fine to fly home. I flew home. I wound up. They said, Oh no, it's an inner ear infection because it was so bad. Then eventually, when the swelling went down after they had put peroxide in my ear, they go, Oh, you have a ruptured eardrum. That's why there's so much pain. But it went back and forth from seeing specialists and it wouldn't go away. I the outer would go away and I'd have an inner, then that would go away and the other would come back. But worse than even the ear infections, the pressure in my head and the headaches were so severe, and I didn't know how I was going to live with that. With my other symptoms, you had learned, and this was just an added. And uh, since starting the program, that's gone. I'm not afraid to fly anymore, which is wonderful. I was afraid to get back on a plane again. And since I started the program, I've flown 10 times and I have another trip plans that has really changed. And I always would go from one symptom to another. It was just like, oh my gosh, I didn't get over this. And somebody would say, Oh, how's that? And I'm like, Oh, that's good. And I'm thinking, oh, and now I have this. Fearful to commit to anything. My husband would always say, Why can't we plan? And I'm like, Because I don't know how I'll feel. I did a lot of beating myself up because I was sick and I couldn't do things. There was a lot of guilt that went with it. And I felt really guilty of what I was doing to my husband and my kids. And one of my biggest fears that I would wind up in a wheelchair. Like, what happens if I don't get to spend quality time with my grandchildren and be there, or if I become a burden on other people? And so that was really one of my major worries. I was always worrying. I was always ruminating about my health issues. And as much as I felt blessed every day and tried to be grateful for everything I had and had a job that I loved, I still just thought about these things and what ifs all the time. And when my niece finally told me about your podcast, again, I was very skeptical. Okay, that sounds great. I've tried this, I've tried that, I've been doing that. I have heavy metals, I've had this. Like, I need to treat them. I listened to your podcast and I felt like you were talking to me and was like, maybe my constant search is over. And I'm just so grateful that I took the leap and joined MBR. It changed my life.

SPEAKER_00

So you've tried a lot of treatments, I'm assuming. Any specific ones that you want to talk about that you've tried before joining MBR?

SPEAKER_01

I had a whole list of doctors for years about different things, whether it was my eye specialist, my cardiologist, my rheumatologist, my integrative doctor. I finally went to integrative after I had gone to a Lyme doctor. I was treated with IVs five days a week for six months. And those IVs were two and a half to four hours a day. Like when I was on Doxy, it was four hours a day. And I had to take a leave from work, from school. And when I was done, I wasn't able to go back. I just was trying to treat things, but I never got to the root cause of things. And again, we went over, I was on every diet and restriction imaginable. And I retired three years ago thinking, oh, when I don't have the stress, I'm going to feel better. I would draw. It was horrible. It really was. Because I would rather have been working and with the kids. I didn't feel good. I did not want to retire to not feel good. And that's when I had my daughter had been away. She's going to marry somebody in the military. So she moved away. And I was really sick and going through everything. And so I was so fortunate to find MBR because this was the first September that it was back to school. And I'm like, I'm retired and I'm the luckiest person.

SPEAKER_00

Absolutely. Retiring because you don't feel well and to feel even worse, and then have more time to think about how bad you feel wasn't really what retirement is supposed to be about. But I'm so glad to hear it's completely changed. All right. So when you were able to see, because in the program we help you identify those subconscious patterns, like your thoughts and those core beliefs that are underneath your symptoms. Did it all come together for you when you saw all this and was like, oh my goodness, this makes sense? How did it help you see that those patterns were driving everything in your life?

SPEAKER_01

First of all, Jenny, it didn't take me long to realize that I did have anxiety. Yeah. Yep. That long list that I originally sent you. Do you know anxiety was not on there? I know. This is what happens with a lot of people. This is not totally next. OCD wasn't on there. So when I look back now, I'm like, wait, what? Anxiety wasn't on there. And again, I had childhood trauma and I thought I dealt with all of that, but I never got to my core beliefs and I never changed them. And that was a game changer. So everything I learned from MBR to going back and my subconscious patterns was amazing. There's nothing that I learned that I was like, oh, but that doesn't make sense. Everything that I learned was like, oh my gosh, that's why that happened. That's why that happened. And again, I had a lot of fear going back. I had lost my mom when I was only two. And I had lost my sister when I was, I was very my sister that was closest, the sibling in age, I lost when I was only nine. So a lot of that fear about my health and about abandonment never went away. And we also weren't allowed to ever talk about my mom or sister in my house. Yeah. Talk about holding that all in from a child. And then I thought it didn't affect me because I went years and didn't have a problem. But I think it wasn't a problem until I had my own kids. I became a mom. That all of a sudden I was fearful of, oh, what happened? What if something happens to me? So that fear crept back in. And it really intensified it when I became a parent. And some of my other patterns that I had was that the self-devaluation on myself. I always beat myself up for overthinking things. Oh my gosh, this is my fault. I'm not worthy, or I'm a handful. And so once I went back and changed those perceptions and learned where some of my core beliefs had started from, it's just been amazing. I've I'm no longer that people pleaser and the yes person all the time. And I've learned that things don't have to be perfect. I had that pattern too. So yes, like all of these things, it was my mind controlling my symptoms. And I never looked at that. Like I said to you, my list was you didn't have enough spaces to give you my list. And I never put anxiety. Meanwhile, that was my biggest.

SPEAKER_00

It was driving everything. And that's one thing we have that happen a lot as well is they don't select anxiety when they when someone fills out the healing plan form. We automatically assume everybody has it and everybody works on it. Because if you don't work on that, what is driving anxiety to begin with, which is powerless and being fearful, that is underneath everything. And if we don't step into our power feeling safe, then you can't resolve any of your other patterns. So it is truly that pattern driving the bus. And you had it for so long, you were just so unaware because it was so automatic. And that's what happens is we operate this way and we think it's normal. And it's really not. It shouldn't be that we're in the state of fear of the time, but going back to your history, it makes complete sense.

SPEAKER_01

Yes, it really is. It's just been eye-opening, said life-changing.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. So after eight months, uh, you did the deep work, worked on those subconscious patterns. How have your symptoms shifted?

SPEAKER_01

With the anxiety that I didn't think I had is so much better. I have to truly say, like, my heart is filled with happiness. I wake up every morning and I'm happy to start my day. I'm not scanning my body saying, oh my gosh, what hurts today? Or if something is a little sore, you're not saying, oh my goodness, what could this be? You're like, okay, it's my body where my body's healing. And again, it wasn't easy. I'm not trying to say that it was easy. Everything I went through each day, trying to not focus on my symptoms, but I did learn that the more that I didn't focus on symptoms and just went on living, that I was becoming happier and happier and realizing answers. I am, I've always been a mathematical person and like to know why. I loved knowing the reasons of why things happened. And like I said, I now fly with no problem. I don't have the ear problems and the headaches and something that was stopping me from going out. And again, the fatigue is something that's better because my sleep is better. And also, I rest when my body is tired. I take a rest and I don't feel guilty about it. Yes.

SPEAKER_00

That's been a huge change in my mindset. Awesome. This is all so amazing. The big changes that you've made. What specifically would you say that you liked best about working with your coach? Because support in this work is super important. There's a lot of DIY programs out there. And I'm just gonna say DIY doesn't work in this kind of work. You need to have someone holding your hand and guiding you, not someone doing the work for you, but guiding you, calling out your poo when you may not see your poo. Or if you do see your poo, what the heck do you do with it? So talk to me about what you liked about working with your coach, Michelle, in the program.

SPEAKER_01

Michelle was my lifeline that I really needed to get me through this. Again, I loved MBR, but it wasn't easy. There were struggles along the way as I learned to face things that I had done wrong. And Michelle just made that so much easier. She was the biggest cheerleader, but she was also ready to give me a kick in the butt when I needed it. Like and her warmth and her sense of humor were just greatly appreciated. Yeah. She would make any situation seem better when you're trying to change your perception on things. And again, admitting a lot of things were my perception. Oh, people think this, people think that. And she's, yeah, how do you know that? Just making me realize that a lot of it was my own perception. Not that there hadn't been things that triggered it in the beginning, but that my own perception over the years was constantly worried about what people thought instead of just embracing. So I can't thank her enough. She was just amazing. I was lucky enough to actually meet Michelle, so that was awesome. And I'm not so special is something that I learned from her. I'm not so special. I'm not the only one that has a whole list of symptoms. And also that I'm not going to die. Yes. Taught me to trust myself. I flew by myself. I've not only gotten on a plane 10 times, but I've flown by myself. I went in the cross space under the house that I had been afraid of and things like that. And I didn't die. Yeah. I rode a bike after 10 years. And again, not that I didn't know how, but I had been told not to. Yes. No. I listened to the doctors, and oh, you might fall. You could really hurt yourself. You better not. So I've restricted things that I've done. And she just told me to trust myself, and I did. And again, I'm so grateful to her too.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, we need to get cups or t-shirts with, but did you die? Yeah. With the MBR logo on there, because that is a phrase us coaches use a lot. And that I'm not so special, coming from Michelle, who thought she was special when she was a student. And I told her, Michelle, you're not that special. It became now a phrase that she uses with everybody because it just it points out the truth of, you know what? This isn't a special case. We're all die designed biologically the same. And there's the only thing getting in the way of me healing isn't that I'm not this is a special case. There's something, a pattern that is blocking it. And the I'm not so special is definitely a phrase that puts it front center for us. Yes.

SPEAKER_01

Yes. And that we're not going to die. Building trust activities that you're not going to trust yourself. You can do it. And yeah. It's again, that's been an amazing opportunity to try things that I wasn't willing to try.

SPEAKER_00

And the doctors were essentially making your world smaller. Don't do this, don't do that. Okay. I'm just going to sit in the house on a chair and watch TV all day. Yeah. And wither away. Or I could be walking in my house and fall down and break a hip, or I could be on a bike and break my hip. Exactly. I got hurt skiing in school teaching writing. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01

You didn't get hurt skiing or riding a bike or doing any of that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

So what do you think sets MBR apart from other programs?

SPEAKER_01

Oh, there are so many things. First of all, it taught me how to get my power back. It put it in my hands. It's not something that I have to continue. It's a way that you've taught me how to deal with life and how to deal with my issues and problems so that my body heals itself. And the boundaries, I always had a fear of rejection. And so learning how to set boundaries in this program has been amazing. Even my daughter is just, mom, I cannot believe the damn drink you have spot and the people you have called. She's just, and that's a pretty awesome feeling to well, your daughter. The generational patterns that it teaches us and some things I never realized where I got certain things from. And I was like, oh, that's my dad. Or we were just always taught, listen to your elders and do that. But that was eye-opening for me. The inner child work I loved. And going back to my inner child again, because that was so important to me because a lot of my things occurred when I was a child. And I you got like you said, they were still driving the bus. So it was really important to go back to that. And Jenny, the structure and accountability you have in this program is amazing. Um, a very detail-oriented person. And I loved it. Every day there was something we did get off on Christmas. Um besides that, it was never a day off. And even that, you had to do your gratitude journal or whatever. But it was just you'd be in the middle of something and be like, I'm not sure. And the next day you'd be like, this came right when I needed it. Whether it was something to watch, something to listen to, again, that structure was so important and the accountability. Your coach was checking in every day. Everything had to be done. And even when I worked on a project and knowing the coach went over it so that I'm not practicing it if it's not right. I'm not reading these things to myself. If they're incorrect, then I'm I'm not helping myself. I'm hindering my improvement. Totally. Yeah. And the most important thing was the guidance from the coaches and the fellow students on Zoom. I looked forward to my Zoom lessons and I've worked with the different coaches and just all of them from listening to the past calls and just learning again from the coaches because they've all been through it and the students, whether it's somebody who was further along in the program than you, and you're like, oh, that's what I want to do. And they were an inspiration. Or as you had gone through something and you're watching somebody just come in and you're like, it's gonna be okay. I wouldn't do that hurdle. The support there with everybody was just amazing. It really was.

SPEAKER_00

Thank you. All of those parts that you're mentioning are the points that we believe that set us apart too. You know, that structure and accountability. Your brain loves structure. You've been structured for 50 years of your life doing the same thing every single day. And it does that for efficiency. It wants to be efficient so it doesn't have to exert energy every single day. So we have to restructure that structure. And if you let just a little bit go for even a week to say, okay, we're gonna have a week off and then we're gonna start back up. Your brain goes back to the old patterns. So that structure is super important to rewire the brain. If we're talking about rewiring the brain, there has to be that repetition and the persistence. And it doesn't mean you're spending hours a day on your work. It means we're gonna give you a small structure that you need to follow and make sure you do that every single day and you still live normally. This isn't a full time job.

SPEAKER_01

Absolutely. You know what I'm saying? It wasn't. Sometimes there was resistance to picture. Yeah. When you were coming up against something that might be you didn't realize why, but that's where a coach was so helpful was resistance. You'd now the coach would be like, I'm trying. I can't yes, I need help.

SPEAKER_00

And they were there to support you. So and when that resistance happens, when you're doing things by yourself, there's no one to pull you out of that besides your own self-talk, which got you in that resistance to begin with. So that accountability, the coaching, the support, and that structure, it forces you to do it, even though it's a little uncomfortable. We're not pushing you to a threshold that is extremely uncomfortable. It's just a little bit every single day, a little bit every day versus a lot, which puts you in that freeze mode. So that little bit of action with that accountability is creating change. Change does not happen without action. All right. Thank you for mentioning those pieces. And when a student leaves our program, we don't want it to be where you just end and your life goes back to what it was eight months before because it was a time that you've invested and obviously created change. So we want this to be something that when you leave, that your future obviously is changed and you're going to respond to life differently in the future. And you're going to be this 2.0 version that we always talk about. So how do you think what you've learned in the program is going to affect how it's going to affect your future?

SPEAKER_01

My husband's excited because I'm ready for the next adventure. I'm not nice. Make plans. We're doing a lot of traveling and I strive to be present and healthy. I use a lot of discernment when it comes to doctors. Go to a doctor's appointment, but I'm not listening to everything exactly. If I truly don't believe, I just take the information and use it as a guide. That's a big difference because I would listen to anything and everything they told me. Yeah. Which a lot of it created a lot of fear. Again, the boundaries that I've set during the program and I know I'll continue. And again, that's just something that I can't tell you how many people that I called or called out that I had never done in my life. I'm the youngest. So I would the baby on the side girl. So I said, even my sisters, it was always where I was the baby. So I was so used to that. And like I said, my daughter, my niece, they're cute. They're just like, we're so proud of you that you stand up to everybody now. Uh-huh. I think that's something that will continue. Another thing that, oh my God, a huge thing for myself that I learned to forgive myself. I was always so tough on myself. And forgive others. And I just that's something now that as much as I've learned, I try to use those eyes to look at other people and say, oh my goodness, they must be going through this. Yeah. Where you always thought you were kind, but it's just a different perception that you have now and something that I'll continue to do. And my most important thing that I've come to realize is that the greatest gift I can give to my children is healing of myself and breaking rational patterns when it comes to inheriting diseases or having things done perfectly to feel worthy. And I don't want them to see that to see that have to be such a people pleaser and never set a boundary and never do those things or fear their health because they're going to get what mommy has. And just like I feared that I was going to have those diseases that my mom or my sister had. Again, that's just the greatest gift that I can give to my children. So that inspires me even more to heal.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. And the patterns that you were talking about, isn't it? So it's just 100% in alignment with your body is telling you truth. It has not, it has never lied to you. It's always been trying to tell you this message. And this is one thing that those with chronic illness were so mad at our body and mad at our symptoms. And here they are with this message. Every single one of your symptoms was here to tell you you are beating yourself up. This perfectionism isn't working for you. You need to stop people pleasing. It was all there. It was not lying.

SPEAKER_01

I know. And now I just appreciate my body and everything that it does for me. And again, it's just amazing if you're talking to me now and talk to me a year ago. It really does feel like a different person. Yet you're still your same personality. It's just like you've gotten your spunk back.

SPEAKER_00

Your 2.0 version. That's the term we we want you to keep what's working for you, but what isn't working for you, let's leave it, let it go. And you step into this 2.0. And that 2.0 is someone that you're not just going to be in the eight months that you're in the program, but for life, because personal growth is really forever. But you have these tools and this new set of eyes of what you just said. You look at things differently. There's a different level of emotional intelligence that you develop by doing this work that you are able to see beyond the meaning that you are giving it all the time. The culture that we live in, especially for women, a majority of our clients are women, not saying we don't have men come in, but the women that come in are overwhelmed and they are burned out because they're doing and not setting boundaries, their people pleasers, all of these patterns that you're experiencing as well.

SPEAKER_01

And I began to become overwhelmed with things that weren't really overwhelming. Yes. You know what I'm saying? It was like, oh, I could have a huge party and entertain, and now I'm having 20 people and I feel overwhelmed. Like, why? And I don't feel that overwhelm anymore. Now when I'm planning something or doing something or going away, it's now that your mind has calmed down, it just makes every task easier.

SPEAKER_00

And you're when it's overwhelmed, we're looking at it being, okay, this is about me putting too high of expectations of on myself. All these that perfection pattern is hand in hand with the overwhelm. I have to do it perfectly. I have to do this and this by this certain time. Yeah. Yes. All right. I know that there's a lot of people listening today, either they are experiencing chronic symptoms themselves or they know somebody that is. What would you say to them, knowing what you know about the program?

SPEAKER_01

I would say please take the time for yourself. It's worth the investment. I know, believe me, I thought twice about it at the beginning. My daughter's getting married. Oh, should I be investing this? And in the long run, it saves you money. Now I'm not searching from this doctor to that doctor. And a lot of things that I tried were not covered by insurance. So I had spent thousands and thousands of dollars. And uh, but even the appointments in them haven't gone in 10 months, and I was going weekly for a while. So it's and just learning to love yourself and your inner child, it's like it's going to change your life. So it's worth making that investment. And something that is so important that I learned is if you want to help others, if you want to help your children, you can't help others if you don't help yourself. Put yourself as that priority. Yeah. And you're not going to regret it. I'm telling you, it's wonderful. And I am ever grateful for you, Jenny, and for Michelle and for all of the coaches. I really am. It's just been a such a I don't even know how to describe it. It's just been so life-changing for me and experience. And like I said, I'm now excited. It's this year I'll turn 60. And if yeah, I used to be here every year. It was like I'm getting sicker and sicker. What will I be like as I get older? And I'm going to be happy, healthy, powerful, and safe. Oh, I love it.

SPEAKER_00

I love that so much, Terry. Thank you. And congratulations as well for doing the work. You have the these results, not because we waved a magic wand. You did the work. Even in the times of discomfort, you did it all. And you did it for yourself and came out on the other side completely changed. So congratulations and also thank you for sharing your story, your healing success with not only me, but of course those that are listening as well. You are an inspiration to others and they need to know that healing is possible. Everybody needs to know that healing is possible, and you are proof of that. And you can get back your life and health by doing this work. Congratulations. Thank you. And at any age, we've even got somebody right now in our program that's, I think, 80. So age is not a limit with this work, guys, which is truly amazing. When I see somebody that is 80 years old wanting to do this work, oh my goodness, how amazing is that? Yes. So if you have been inspired by Terry's story, then this is your moment to stop circling the same loop. You've got two options. Keep scrolling Google and piecing together short-term fixes that lead to nowhere, or decide that you're done with that cycle and you're ready for real lasting change. Living a life where you feel like you constantly have to fix yourself is exhausting. But here's the truth: your body already knows how to heal. Let us show you how to unlock that healing. If you're looking for true lasting transformation like what Terry experienced, apply for the Evolve Eight-Month Program. Once you apply, you'll hear back from us within 24 hours, and you'll get access to all the details to see if it's the right next step for you. Thanks so much for tuning in to the Rebellious Healer. Until next time, remember, real healing begins the moment you stop outsourcing your power and start trusting your body.