It’s awful to be disbelieved, unseen, minimized, and dismissed, particularly by the people we turn to for support and help. It’s also really bad for the nervous system.

This is part of why I cut way back on seeing healthcare practitioners. It kept hurting. So, twice in the last 3 or 4 years I went on 3-month healthcare sabbaticals. Each time, I took a break from all but the most supportive and necessary appointments. So, basically, whatever it took to get the nerve blocks I needed, plus chiropractor and craniosacral practitioner.

Sometimes I also saw a physical therapist, but, due to cumulative load of negative interactions and becoming weary of having to teach every single freaking practitioner. Especially because I still encountered misattunement and poor care. So, I don’t see a physical therapist anymore.

Those periods of reduced medical stressors gave my system a break from the most negatively impactful experiences. It was a real boost!

These days I’m working to reduce medical exposure as much as possible. Even though I really appreciate and get along with my pain specialists, each visit includes medicalized experiences that are not good for me. Most importantly, if they have a new assistant I have to teach them about IPNB, can accurately expect they will do something harmful within the first two visits.

I’m not refusing care, but figuring out what is truly supportive of my core biological needs at this time and what isn’t. A standard process or common treatment is not necessarily harmless for me. Too often it is harmful, and harm reduction has to be a priority. It’s simply too hard to recover when the harm keeps happening on repeat.