Hey there my Friend.
During the most stressful parts of my life, I always looked so much FATTER than I felt. With a puffy face and belly fat that wouldn’t go away. Add my nails feeling thin and brittle and my face breaking out like I was still in high school and I looked a mess. And felt like a mess too.
I didn’t know it at the time, but my cortisol levels were SKY HIGH and my body was showing the evidence of it. Cortisol, the fight-flight-freeze stress hormone is a major contributor to inflammation in our bodies. Prolonged stress affects our bodies and minds in so many ways that we don’t usually think about.
What if the inflammation (showing in my puffy face and brittle nails) isn’t the enemy? What if it’s our body’s built-in intelligence trying to get our attention? That shift in perspective changed everything for me. Today, I want to share what I’ve learned — and how hypnosis helped me listen more deeply to the messages my inflammation was trying to send.
What Inflammation Is Really Trying to Do
Inflammation is our bodies’ emergency response team. In acute situations, it’s a lifesaver:
- Rushes blood and immune cells to where they’re needed
- Clears damaged tissue
- Creates a protective barrier
- Starts the repair process
Here’s where the problems start. When that healing fire never shuts off, it becomes a slow burn — silently damaging the very tissues it was meant to protect. That’s what we call chronic inflammation and it’s been linked to autoimmune conditions, heart disease, gut issues, inability to lose weight, and more. But what if it’s not just a symptom… What if it’s a signal?
Three Messages Inflammation Might Be Sending
1. A Warning About My Environment
At first, I dismissed my symptoms and thought I was just being vain. But hypnosis helped me uncover something deeper: my body was reacting to stressors hidden in plain sight all around me. That includes certain foods, work environments, conversations, and dare I say it vibes in everyday life. Once I got quiet, began to tune in, and trust myself again, the connections became clearer. My inflammation was sounding the alarm long before my mind made the link. And long before my full-on physical collapse that landed me in the hospital.
2. A Call to Restore My Rhythm
Another pattern emerged: on the days I didn’t get enough sleep, skipped meals, or stayed at work too long to meet a deadline — my inflammation would spike. My body responded just as though I was running from a sabre-tooth tiger in pre-historic times. Hypnosis helped me tune into my body’s natural rhythm and balance my life needs with calm and clarity. Not emergency and calamity.
3. An Echo of Unspoken Emotion
When I allowed myself to feel the grief I’d buried, the frustration I had numbed, the anger I’d swallowed, my inflammation began to shift. This was the most surprising part of my healing. Through hypnotic states, I discovered how my unprocessed emotions were keeping my immune system on high alert. And keeping me sick in so many different ways. This process wasn’t about “thinking positively.” It was about giving long-buried emotions a place to be gently witnessed and released.
A Practice: Cooling the Fire with Sound & Intention
Here’s a gentle practice you can try when you’re feeling overwhelmed and/or your body is showing signs of inflammation:
🌿 Sit quietly and take a few deep, steady breaths.
🌿 Bring awareness to an area that feels hot, tight, or uncomfortable.
🌿 Hover your hands near this area. Imagine a soft, cool blue light enveloping it.
🌿 On each exhale, make a low, vibrating “Voo” sound — letting the vibration gently wash through the space.
🌿 Silently ask: “What are you trying to get me to pay attention to?” And then pay attention because your body will answer.
🌿 Keep breathing and humming for a few minutes. End with a small act of gratitude for your body’s wisdom.
As you move through your week, gently ask the following question. “What might my inflammation be trying to show me about balance in my life?” Instead of fighting your symptoms, get curious about what they’re trying to teach you.
If you’re navigating chronic inflammation and ready to explore what your body might be saying, I invite you to join me for a free 30-minute personalized hypnosis session.
👉 Click here to schedule your free session.
“Do you pay regular visits to yourself? Start now.” — Rumi
🎧 Curious to experience light hypnosis on your own at first? Check out my new YouTube channel, Tranquil Sol, for short guided meditations designed to help you relax, reset, and reconnect — one breath at a time.
Juli Nixon 