What If Your Doctor Isn’t the Answer? The Mindset Shift That Changed Everything

🎙️ Are You Tired of Just Managing Symptoms? There’s a Better Way!

👉 Ready to finally address the root cause of your health struggles and take control of your wellness?

📞 Book a FREE discovery call with Kate McDowell today and start your journey toward true health — naturally.


In this powerful episode of Limitless Health, hosts Kate McDowell and Amanda Golightly challenge the “just manage it” approach to health care. Kate shares a shocking story of a health professional who, after 40 years, had never seen a patient fully heal under their care — and how that mirrors the symptom-focused mindset in conventional health care.

They explore why true healing goes beyond simply “staying afloat” with medications and symptom management. Kate opens up about her personal journey of breaking free from this mindset, finding holistic solutions, and learning how to take control of her health naturally.

🎯 Key Takeaways:

•🚩 Why managing symptoms isn’t the same as healing

•💡 How to question conventional health narratives and explore alternatives

•🌿 The importance of mindset in your health transformation

•🔑 Why you should seek guidance from people achieving the results you want

•❤️ The power of personal belief and emotional healing in physical health


📞 Your Health Breakthrough Starts Here!

If you’re tired of feeling stuck and ready for a different approach, Kate offers a FREE discovery call where you can explore personalized health strategies that focus on root causes, not just symptoms.

👉 Book your FREE call now and start feeling better — naturally.


🔗 Connect with Us:

🌐 Visit alignednaturalhealth.com

📲 Follow us on Instagram: @LimitlessHealth

🎧 Subscribe for more empowering episodes on holistic wellness.

*** This podcast is for information purposes only. By providing the information contained herein, we are not diagnosing, treating, curing, mitigating, or preventing any disease or medical condition. Before beginning any type of natural regimen, it is advisable to seek the advice of a licensed healthcare professional.

Transcript

Kate McDowell [00:00:00]:
Imagine going to a lifeguard for swimming lessons, and the first thing he tells you is, in over 40 years, I've never seen anyone learn how to swim. Most people just sink. Don't worry. I'll be right here to hand you a floatie so you can keep your head barely above lot water for as long as possible. Ridiculous. Right? You'd question why someone like that was even teaching swimming in the first place.

Amanda Golightly [00:00:26]:
We believe in growth and continuous learning.

Kate McDowell [00:00:28]:
We believe in educating and sharing knowledge.

Amanda Golightly [00:00:31]:
We believe the body is miraculous and is able to heal with the proper nutrition and support.

Kate McDowell [00:00:37]:
And we believe the right mindset is key to your success. I'm Amanda Gilitely. And I'm Kate McDowell. And this is Limitless Health.

Amanda Golightly [00:00:45]:
Live well naturally. Hey, and welcome back to the Limitless Health podcast. And if you were wondering what the heck were we talking about just to get the ball rolling, Kate, do you want to just, feel on the other side of that story?

Kate McDowell [00:00:59]:
So this story about the lifeguard was just an example to share with you because this is exactly what a woman shared with me. I was on a discovery call a couple of days ago, and she was telling me how she was referred to an MS nurse. And this MS nurse told her, in my 40 years in practice, I've never seen anyone get better in my care. Didn't even know how to respond. But the truth is, staying afloat isn't the same as learning how to swim and just managing symptoms isn't the same as getting healthy either. There's so much more you can do to actually address the root causes that will make a difference in your health. But just focusing on symptoms is like standing there and holding a floatie and wanting to hand that someone if to someone if they're sinking. Right?

Amanda Golightly [00:01:45]:
It's a remarkable story to hear and just think, going into it as someone who has that, like, if, when you were still dealing with that years ago, when you first went in and you heard that, like, how would you respond to that?

Kate McDowell [00:02:00]:
That's a tough one because I mean, I never questioned my doctor, and no one ever said to me, like, I've never seen anyone get better. But then when I started to say, like, oh, I'm doing different things, like, I do remember telling my neurologist that nutrition had made a difference for me. And he was like, I don't know. I don't know anything about that. That's not going to do anything. You just need to keep taking the medication. And from a doctor perspective, it's not their fault. It's not saying that they're bad people.

Kate McDowell [00:02:27]:
It's just the point of wanting to share this with people is to hopefully change perspective for you that the doctor's there to to hold the floaty in case you need it, but not to actually help you learn how to swim, help you learn how to get healthy. And so if you are looking for that, there are other resources and there are other options for you, but you just need to realize a little bit about what medicine is designed for.

Amanda Golightly [00:02:57]:
Yeah.

Kate McDowell [00:02:57]:
And it's it's not aiming to get people healthy.

Amanda Golightly [00:03:01]:
This makes me think of the I've heard it's not necessarily Einstein, but it usually is quoted as him. Like you're doing the same thing over and over again. And that's the definition of insanity.

Kate McDowell [00:03:12]:
Mhmm. Expecting a different result.

Amanda Golightly [00:03:14]:
You're expecting a different result. And this doctor has been doing it for 40 years. Yeah. 40 years, and no one's left healthy. Like, the data that you have within that time frame is remarkable.

Kate McDowell [00:03:27]:
Yeah. I don't know. I thought the swimming metaphor was great because it's like I wanted to paint a picture that's really easy to look at it and be like, that's ridiculous. This isn't really different. It's just something we're conditioned to do. And I was no different. I was raised in a family and brought up to believe that if there's something wrong with your health, your doctor is the solution. So I went to my doctor when MS was, or when I was having the symptoms that were then diagnosed as MS, and I thought, well, this is the way I'm going to fix this.

Kate McDowell [00:04:01]:
And I remember hearing people kind of murmuring throughout the years, but I just, it went in one ear and out the other, people saying nutrition or there's other things that you can do. And I was like, no, no, no, I've got this. I'm going to my doctor. But I wanna help as many people as possible understand that, like, if it's not working, there's so much more you can do. And will there be effort involved? Yeah, there will. Mhmm. Are you going to have to, like, look for different solutions, look for people? And that's kind of the biggest recommendation I try to to say to people as well. Look for people who are already doing the things that you want to be doing that can model that for you.

Amanda Golightly [00:04:41]:
Mhmm.

Kate McDowell [00:04:41]:
Right? In any context, if you're looking to learn how to do something, you're not gonna look ask someone who doesn't know how to do that, what they're doing. Look for someone that you can model. Yeah.

Amanda Golightly [00:04:53]:
Right? Someone who's yeah. As you said, already doing that. And yeah, I'm still kind of blown away by the 40 years of practice and the outcomes are not positive or at least that's what I'm getting from what you've mentioned. And, and I I get the idea of just going along and doing the everyday things that you've always done because I've been there too. And you just, oh, this is just the way things are done. So this is what I'm going to do. And it's not until you perhaps hear a story like this or often it seems to be someone close to you who has an experience really close to you. And then you end up questioning things more so because your your beliefs are kind of in question.

Amanda Golightly [00:05:39]:
There's a doubt that's been placed and that kind of changes things and opens you up to the possibility of maybe this maybe my belief is wrong. Mhmm. And that process can be a little maybe overwhelming or scary. And it takes some time to kind of sometimes it can take some time to shift and find new beliefs.

Kate McDowell [00:06:04]:
And Yeah. And it can be uncomfortable too. Right? Yeah. Especially if if it's a family belief or there's a lot of belonging in that because you're surrounded by people who think the same way and who are doing the same things, and all of a sudden you're going against the grain. There can be judgment. I mean, COVID was a very good example of that in so many different ways to just to show us that like you follow the herd.

Amanda Golightly [00:06:35]:
The line basically.

Kate McDowell [00:06:39]:
There's pushback. And it's like, but at what point do you have to say, you know what, I need to do what's best for me and for my health. And it's a choice that it's not an easy one. I know that from experience, right? I lost a lot of friends along the way because the person that you're becoming, you have to let go of some of the things that were habits and routines in the past. And when I heard this story from this woman, like, I feel for people when they're going through these things because especially if you're still in the belief of, like, the doctor's gonna help me, and then you hear something like that, it can be so disheartening because it's like, maybe this just is what it is, and maybe I just have to suffer and continue to live with this. But anything that you're dealing with, this is not at all just MS. Any health challenges that you're dealing with, anything that you're dealing with in your life, and And we often look at things and think my circumstance is the reason why I have the outcome that I have, but it's like the thoughts, feelings and actions need to change to change the circumstance versus focusing on the outcome all the time and not making the changes that you need. But if you make the changes different, a different outcome is possible.

Kate McDowell [00:07:54]:
Right?

Amanda Golightly [00:07:54]:
Well, especially if that doubt sneaks in and you notice that your beliefs maybe aren't what you thought they were and your beliefs begin to shift, everything else is gonna follow. How you imagine your life will change. The actions you take, your how you hold yourself, everything is gonna the experience of all those things. That's all gonna change. Yeah. And, yeah, just from one little encounter can have such a ripple effect on people.

Kate McDowell [00:08:21]:
Yeah. And from a frequency perspective as well, like a person that's in a state of illness or of not not good health to a person who is choosing health and choosing to to do whatever they need to do to get there and what there's a very different vibration and frequency there. And so you start to change those beliefs and your frequency changes, and then you can work towards that place of better health. Right? It's staying in the same place and just kind of I've been there. Like, I totally get it if you're someone who's in that, and it's a part of the journey sometimes. And in the place where it's like, I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. Well, what vibration is that carrying? You're repeating the same thing over and over again because you're just accepting it rather than going, is this really all that's possible? If there's, you can look around, I mean, that's one thing I'm grateful for TikTok. I didn't want anything to do with TikTok at first, and I'm grateful now because I see so many stories of people who are are succeeding in health and who are doing different things.

Kate McDowell [00:09:28]:
And there's just so much more available to us now. Like I started my health journey in 2011. There was no TikTok, there were no Facebook yet. Maybe MySpace. There was Facebook in 2008.

Amanda Golightly [00:09:40]:
I think it's about the time or maybe a little earlier.

Kate McDowell [00:09:42]:
I was back in the days where we just did, like, you see it in your memories and it's just like one line and it's like, you know, this beans.

Amanda Golightly [00:09:50]:
No idea what I'm talking about. Yeah. Yeah.

Kate McDowell [00:09:53]:
But there is more aware of awareness. There's more available to us now. In some ways it can be overwhelming and it can be confusing, right? Because there's so many things that conflict other things. But if you see people I mean, I really believe in in energy and vibration and frequency. I'm, like, very kinesthetic, and so I can feel a person's vibe. And, like, do I vibe with this? And if that's true, like, reach out to a person. If you see someone who's got the results that you want, you reach out to them and they're not open and receptive to having a conversation with you. Maybe that's not the right fit, but the people that are looking to help people and are looking to to share knowledge and and help you improve your life will be more than willing to open up and have a conversation.

Kate McDowell [00:10:42]:
Right? I've had so many discovery calls with people who are just like, can we just talk through this? And I'm like, yeah. Sure. If we end up working together, cool. If we don't, like, I'm here to have that conversation and hopefully give you a bit of a fresh perspective on what's possible for you.

Amanda Golightly [00:10:56]:
And that's that in itself is actually a big deal, just kind of holding that space and having that conversation because dealing with a lot of these health issues and especially if it's family involved too, there can be emotions tied in. Maybe there's guilt or shame judgment around the choices you make, how you deal with your health. And that's especially if you're doing it in a different context. Like you're not going the traditional Western medicine current route right now. And generally, it comes from a place of good intention when they when your family is concerned about what you're doing. Yeah. Ultimately, you have to go with your gut and what you feel is right for you. As hard as that could be at times, this is where it's great to have someone like Kate to reach out to and have that conversation because when you've been there and you've gone through that you're just an unbiased participant in just listening to what's going on for them and giving them some resources to work with.

Kate McDowell [00:12:02]:
Yeah. Which and the family thing, I had an interesting kind of thing to add to that as well. Yes, family, they're doing it out of concern and care for you, and they're modeling the beliefs that they have. And so what they've conditioned, what they've believed their whole life is like medicine is the answer. And then there's also fear along side it too. I've heard we had someone on the show months ago now, and she talked about how around a cancer diagnosis, she decided to go with the natural route. And the doctors called her family and instilled fear in them that if she doesn't go the medical route, she could die. And this could be a really serious effect to that.

Kate McDowell [00:12:45]:
So just remember that your family, they do have your best interests at heart. If you're trying to do something different, it's all fear based. And they do care about you, and it's just helping them understand. I mean, I had pushed back from family in the past when I decided to take myself off the MS meds. I'm like a completely oddball when it comes to nutrition. I was eating paleo when I first, got to the point where I was like, I don't want the medication anymore, and then I've been eating carnivore for we'll do an episode on carnivore coming up soon because we're almost at our 1 year anniversary. This time on next Wednesday, I believe. This time around for our carnivore experience, we did it for a year and a half in the past.

Kate McDowell [00:13:30]:
I've done keto. I've done all kinds of different food interventions with stuff, And people aren't they aren't going to get it, but just because they don't get it doesn't mean that whatever you're doing is wrong.

Amanda Golightly [00:13:42]:
Mhmm.

Kate McDowell [00:13:43]:
It's just like kind of hold space for them and be like, no, this is what I'm going to do.

Amanda Golightly [00:13:47]:
And as they see the improvements happen in your health,

Kate McDowell [00:13:47]:
they start to like, okay, tell me more about what the improvements happen in your health, they start to like, okay, tell me more about what you're doing. And, yeah.

Amanda Golightly [00:13:55]:
And that's actually great too, for, to show other people what's possible. Yeah. This, especially you said, they don't know about is just it can be a part of the process. But again, you're a perfect example of showing what's possible by doing something different and outside of the the box, if you will. And yeah, just know there is hope. There's it's there's possible for you to do the same thing. You just have to be ready to do it, be ready to do it, put some work in and be open to some of the resources available.

Kate McDowell [00:14:35]:
Yeah, absolutely. And is it work? Yes, it is work. I will tell you that. I'm not gonna tell if there's no magic pill. Like doing things the natural way, it is work, but it's so worth it in the long run when you start to feel better. And I mean, that was for me, I got to the point where I was like, I'm not taking the medication anymore. So I have to find something else. And that conviction for me was like, yes, the diet was hard at the beginning.

Kate McDowell [00:14:59]:
It was early on. And so I cut out a lot of stuff and had to learn how to cook and still had a full time job and all kinds of things. Like I wasn't sitting on my butt all day long. I still was living my life. And so, yes, it was hard, but my when I was like, oh, I don't wanna do this today. I wanted to just pick up something easy. The back of my mind was like, well, you can quit and go back to the meds or you can keep doing this. And I was like, nope.

Kate McDowell [00:15:26]:
I am not doing that. So that kept me going, which was, was really helpful, but it's, it's totally possible. So,

Amanda Golightly [00:15:34]:
yeah, I think that's probably a good place to kind of wrap it up and let people know that as Kate says, tired of being tired and you want something different, I'm sorry. Why not now? It's 2025. Do you want another year to go by living in the same place that you are right now? It's time to do something different. And if you're ready to do so, have a discovery call with Kate. It's free. What have you got to lose? It's free. Just we'll put that link in the show notes. Book that call, have the conversation.

Amanda Golightly [00:16:08]:
There's no pressure there. Just, you know, feel each other out, see if it's a good fit and go from there. Anything else you wanna add?

Kate McDowell [00:16:16]:
I was just gonna say, if you're looking to learn how to swim, make sure the lifeguard that you're working with, a, What lifeguard is a lifeguard for 40 years? Amanda brought this up before the episode, and I was like, that's a really good point. I was a lifeguard in, like, my teens in Canada. Anyways, just a little humor to end us with. But, yeah, look for someone who's actually helping people get better. So the nurse that says it's been 40 years I've been in practice, I've never seen someone get better. It's time to look for someone else

Amanda Golightly [00:16:51]:
Mhmm.

Kate McDowell [00:16:52]:
Because there are people that are getting better. There are people that are helping people get better. And the possibility is it's there for you. So, yeah, grab the link in the show notes, or you can go to aligned naturalhealth.com as well. Book a free discovery call. Let's talk about how we can help you move towards feeling better, getting back the quality of life that you deserve naturally.

Amanda Golightly [00:17:18]:
Wonderful. Thanks everyone for listening today. We really appreciate it. Hope you have a wonderful, oh, and happy new year. Everybody have a wonderful week and we'll catch you on the next episode.