Breaking Free from Big Pharma

Kate (00:00)

Welcome back to the Awakening Conversations podcast. My name is Kate. I’m here with my co -host Amanda. And today we have the pleasure of being joined by Katie Hill. Katie Hill is a dear friend of ours. She is also a systems strategist, passionate holistic health advocate, and the founder of Your Digital Healer, a digital agency that helps visionary healers expand their business online so that they can spread their message, utilise their unique gifts and build wealth on their own terms. It is through Katie’s own healing journey and struggles to find trusted care that helped awaken her to the larger context of how the systems in our world are shifting. This led Katie to understanding her role in being a bridge builder to a new health paradigm, one that is more empowered, community driven, natural, efficient, accessible and fun. Katie, we’re so excited to have you here on the podcast.

Katie Hill (00:59)

Yeah, thank you for having me.

Kate (01:00)

Yeah, you’re welcome. So today we really wanted to chat to you about this particular health journey that you have been on because as we know, it has been a unraveling and an unfolding and quite a series of awakening moments as you’ve had your own experiences with your journey to a state of health, and then finding ways to be able to treat those things that you have been experiencing to bring yourself into feeling vital and alive and healthy. So I think there’s a lot that we can unpack here today. As you’ve mentioned to us previously, there were many moments of awakening on this health journey for you. So where did that all begin?

Katie Hill (01:40)

Yeah, I would say that there definitely was some major events and a lot of different seeds in my younger years as well questioning reality. And the first big event really was around health scare that came up. And it was around the time that I had graduated college. So 2002, I was living in San Diego. Graduated college. I had this opportunity to go to Europe for a semester abroad because I didn’t finish all my credits and ended up staying there. I went to Ireland and Scotland and loved it. Spent all of my graduation money on going to pubs and drinking and doing what you do when you get out of college. And I came back after that fun stint, living with my parents during the summer and I basically hit the real world and like, crap, what am I supposed to do with my life right now? And around that time too, I actually had lost my virginity and I was kind of a late bloomer. Also growing up in a Catholic there was a lot of like good girl syndrome, I would say. I was definitely a people pleaser and there was judgment and shame around that. And so this event happened and I internalized a lot of it. I spent the summer there, ended up going back to San Diego, because that’s where all my friends were, but they hadn’t moved all the way back during that time. So I was completely alone and I ended up getting sick and I was unclear of what was going on but my mind immediately was like, gosh, I have an STD or something’s happening.

Katie Hill (03:25)

And so I turned to Dr. Google. That was when Google was like becoming the rage of, where to find health information, because I also felt shameful about going to Planned Parenthood or, to any doctor. And so I was just doing a whole bunch of searching online and I pretty much convinced myself that, I either had an STD or I was dying of something. And, the woman that I was living with, it was a friend’s mom. She came from a family of all doctors and was very much a hypochondriac and so was my friend too. So that exasperated the problem. And I had gone to many different doctors and I did feel something in my throat. So I thought maybe it was strep. And so at that time, I don’t know if the tests are better now, but anytime you test for strep, it’s very inconclusive. And so doctors were just shoving antibiotics, basically Cipro at me, which is one of the strongest antibiotics out there. So it was just like month after month, this thing in my throat wasn’t going away. And that turned into a rash on my skin. And so again, I thought like, what is going on? Went to a skin doctor and they had no clue, got a couple of skin biopsies and still inconclusive. And so it was just a number of months going through this. I was at a job that I really didn’t like. And I remember going to my job and just this new feeling of listlessness, like complete stress, one, because I couldn’t talk to anybody about it. But I couldn’t think like my mind was not connected to my body. Nothing was connected to my body. So my first awakening actually was in a doctor’s office. I went to my doctor and I was sitting in the lobby this guy comes in and he goes to the front desk and is like visibly shaken because he woke up and he couldn’t feel his arms. Basically, I think there was some neurological thing going on and that’s certainly a scary, frightening thing. But the front desk people were so distracted that they were kind of pushing him off to the side because there was a group of women there with Starbucks in their hands. And I was like, that’s interesting. I went in to talk to my doctor and I was asking what was going on because that was kind of a new scenario or thing that was happening. And she told me it was pharmaceutical reps. And she’s like, it’s this weird new thing where almost every day sales reps come in and they provide the whole staff with lunch and Starbucks and it’s great. And here are people who are providing care and you have sales people and you have this person who is visibly shaken from not feeling their arms and they’re distracted. And like that’s, there’s something wrong with this here. And then she proceeded to tell me the pharmaceutical reps would bring free meds. So she had to basically clear out a clinic space where she would see patients to store all of these things. So she said she had boxes and boxes of drugs in this one room and she was excited about it because they were free and she was offering that up to her patients. So she was like, what do you need? Do you need like weight loss drugs or birth control? You probably need birth control. I’m like, yeah, I actually do need birth control.

And she’s like, how about a whole year’s worth? And I’m like, okay, great. You know, I didn’t have money at the time. So I ended up taking that. That was, so that was my first like, wait a second. This is not true health. It’s turning into a business. And these doctors are really providing the care that they know of that’s really aligned with pharmaceuticals and symptoms, and not necessarily the root cause of what was going on, because I still did not have answers. It was just, here’s a pill, go on your way. She also gave me antibiotics. I was taking both at that time. 

So like a couple of weeks later, those things set in and I get even more symptoms. So I started getting panic attacks. I remember going into a bank and standing there and I don’t know if you guys have ever had panic attacks, but like, it feels like your heart is beating out of your chest. Like I felt like I was having a heart attack. I didn’t know what was going on. So lots of episodes of panic attacks and my blood pressure started going really up. And that was a new thing for me too, because I was, I was pretty athletic. I was in my rowing club in college and so it was just weird for me to gain extra weight and have the blood pressure thing happen. And so she wanted me to be put on blood statins and Xanax at the time, because of the panic attacks. I was like, you know, there had been some previous trauma in the past, specifically around, there’s just a small side story. When I was like 11, 12 years old, I was in my house and my dad actually had an allergic reaction to penicillin. And I remember him laying on the floor and my mom telling me to call 911 and that was, kind of freaked me out. I’m like, what’s going on with my dad? And the ambulance came and all I could hear from the room was he doesn’t have a heartbeat. And I was like, he doesn’t have a heartbeat? What does that mean? And I later found out that their equipment was bad and it just wasn’t working. But to a child who was left on her own to take care of her sister while my parents were off doing their thing, I thought my dad had died. That kind of cemented in my mind of like, for one, I don’t trust any pharmaceuticals, but also the bedside manner of patient care and really understanding the whole context of things. So going back to like the pharmaceuticals, I went to, actually remember standing in line to get my blood statins and Xanax. And you know how there’s usually a barrier there where people are supposed to stand back for patient privacy. I was telling this woman, and again, these pharmacists were speaking very loudly and the people behind me could hear and they all kind of chimed in. They’re like, you definitely need Xanax. I’ve been taking it as well. And it was one of those moments like where I was like, I, this is not right. This is not care. I don’t want to be just popping pills and then having the pharmacist tell me all of the side effects. Like this doesn’t make sense people. So that was my first time I actually decided not to go on either of those because I had heard too that it was hard to get off of them. And I felt like I could do this on my own kind of thing. And so that was kind of my first awakening, I would say. Just starting to question what health was and what it was all about really.

Kate (10:35)

I just want to say that, I’m sorry, I’m going to jump in, being an Aussie, you know, witnessing the American healthcare system. I mean Australia, I haven’t lived there for so long that I don’t know how bad it is. But I just know that you guys like your country just, it’s just pumping out the pills, you know, and your story, unfortunately, and it just makes me emotional, that that’s what you experience. Like that’s the care you were given. Like you’re not even, it doesn’t even feel like you’re considered in that. Like you, this, this body that we have, like what’s really going on. It’s just like the free coffees and the free stuff. Like it just blows my mind. This, this disconnect from health, from the body, from true healing, from true, true care. I just really wanted to say that because it, it, you know, my, my few times in the U S seeing even on the TV the adds about the pills and the happy family running around and it’s, you’re going to have the happier life if you take this pill. And then that disclaimer at the bottom spoken in like fastest speed that you can just catch with all the, you know, dizziness, blindness, you know, death, debilitation. It’s like, it’s so like insane.

Amanda (12:01)

Yeah. How did you need the Xanax and the statins because of the consequences of the birth control pills and the, you know what I mean? It’s like, it’s a slippery slope that I think is, it’s just normalized and too common. And what you’re saying, Kate, is that the U S and New Zealand are the only countries on earth where they allow commercials for these. yeah, I, you know, I, it’s where I’m from as well. And yeah, I know all of what you’re saying, Kate, but to hear just like your firsthand experience of what you witness is, you know, it humanizes it and it, it’s not just a blanket statement. And also it’s like, what you described is like, it was like the making of a drug dealer right there. It’s like, yeah, I’m just, I’m getting rid of a care room and I’m making it a housing for all my, my product, you know, and I’m sure, I’m sure I imagine she thought she was like, you know, I’m making these, these medications more accessible for my patients. Like that was probably the good intention. Like that’s probably how it was explained to her by those reps that, you know, were coached on how to use psychology to work these doctors to like, you know, the heartstrings of like, this is what’s best for your patients. And that was what 20 years ago now, 20ish years ago. And just to see that was the beginning of the reps coming to bring the treats, like buying doctors offices with Starbucks. Like that’s what we sacrificed our patient, you know, the health of our country for. It’s like, man.

Katie Hill (13:45)

Yeah, it’s kind of ridiculous. And that’s actually to kind of transition into my holistic healthcare story is that it was such a stark difference once I found holistic health and root, root cause health basically. After several years of dealing with all of that, you know, it wasn’t as extreme. I kind of feel like my body started coping with some of the things. I also got a relationship during that time, my now husband, I met him. So I had that community support. So things kind of died off a little. But I ended up moving to Portland, Oregon, which is teeming with holistic health providers. And my friend had recommended that I go to a naturopath. And it was a total game changer for me. So going and visiting doctors that I had like 15 minute appointments, they didn’t know my name. They didn’t know anything about my background. They were just asking about my symptoms. And then going to a naturopath where it was like an hour long session. I think I ended up talking her ear off for almost two hours and extending it. And she was asking the questions that made sense to me. It was like, what are you eating? What is your lifestyle? How’s your stress? And I was like, my God, yeah, I have a lot of stress in my life. I’m not eating the best. I’m drinking a lot, you know? And so that opened my mind to, okay, there is more to health than this.  And I can kind of step in and be my own care provider. I think that’s one of the things that I learned too, is that in conventional medicine, we’re kind of giving away our, our agency and decision making and we’re trusting something outside of ourselves and getting into the holistic health realm. I was like, okay, I can take this on myself. I’m feeling more empowered. And so that led to like a cascading effect of me just wanting to learn everything about holistic health. So I started with like food as medicine, got really interested in nutrition. I almost actually went back to get my master’s in nutrition but then I, was introduced to acupuncture and that led to, trauma release exercises and trauma therapies and, then to energy and more to the spiritual realm of things. So when they’re talking about like mind, body, spirit, it’s finally connecting to me, like what that actually means. You know, there’s the whole, like that, even that has gone through a lot of green washing or health kind of, the whole health and wellness industry has, I’ve seen it over the years, have its up and downs too. And it’s kind of going through its own evolution process. I think really getting to the root problem is where we need to go. And I think there’s just so many different aspects of healing that people aren’t really aware of. So lots of like light bulb moments started happening for me.

Kate (16:45)

Do you want to share some of what those were?

Katie Hill (16:47)

Well, why don’t I, I’ll get into my second awakening and then I’ll kind of pull it all together and, I’ll, I’ll talk about, why I actually think I was getting sick.So I went to the naturopath. I found out that I had Hashimoto’s, that was another piece of the story. And Hashimoto’s is a thyroid condition. It’s generally around the throat and so that explains the strep feeling that I was feeling is kind of that sickness.And I felt like it was kind of sore, but it just felt like there was something going on here. And so I definitely worked on that piece. I feel a lot of the health things that I was doing seemed to subside a lot of it. But I also, you know, I don’t want to get into a huge tangent here, to put it out there, because I think a lot of people can relate is like once you get into this holistic health realm, another side to this as well. It feels more like conventional health where you’re kind of pushing the pill. So I started getting cabinets full of supplements and I started looking at those and I’m like, wait a second, coming to you to find natural ways to heal. And yes, this is helpful, but it’s also big business as well. So anyway, there that that’s a whole other story,

I would say my second awakening where I started really questioning what was going on with health was around, 2020. And I think we can all agree, what the subject is. I’m going to be careful about YouTube rules here. But 2020 happened and actually right before that I ended up, I was working at an agency and they ended up shutting down in that same week an old boss came out of the blue and offered me a job at a health, like a hospital system. And at that time I had been going through all of my holistic health things and I knew that I really wanted to use my skills in the digital world to help holistic health care providers. But I was too scared to like take that extra step but I knew I wanted to be in health. So I thought, okay, well, maybe this is a good opportunity for me to step into and can maybe be a mole in the background and kind of see what’s going on. That definitely, it was very eyeopening for me to actually work in traditional healthcare and see the system. So I am a system strategist, I am now. I feel like I didn’t talk about anything about systems before this happened, but that’s when I think some of my natural gifts started coming online, I talk a lot about unique gifts that people have and during your awakening process. That was one of them is like once the shutdown happened, I started hearing one, like I would start hearing lots of lyrics that were like music lyrics that were very in line with what was happening. There was one song. The line was like, when the apocalypse is over, I hope you like your job. And I’m like, my gosh, I’m thinking about my job right now and I hate it and I really want to like get out of it. But another message that I kept getting was the systems are shifting. They’re getting too big. The systems are breaking down. And that’s basically what was happening when 2020 hit was that we started to see the shakeup in the health system. And me being working in that was really eye -opening, because I was kind of, I was working on their website, so I had to communicate a lot of the logistics behind the requirements that were going on. And there, I was sitting in some meetings where I was dealing with a lot of the Zoom stuff. So I would hear some of the discussions between the doctors and a lot of people in the C -suite of this very large health system, talking about how to communicate to the whole company on how things were happening and what to say. And there was just a lot of different information going around at that time. I think we can all relate, like during those first couple of months of lockdown. We couldn’t get the information straight. So I was listening to these doctors and they were instead of going directly to the research, like if there was any research at that time, they were quoting like the New York Times. And so they were pulling in these authors that were talking about certain things and making it truth. And that’s how they were setting their requirements for the rest of the company. And since I had to communicate some of these things on the website, I got access to a lot of the dashboards and how many deaths there were and sicknesses and whatnot. And the numbers definitely were not aligning. And I was recognizing that they were counting a lot of the deaths that were not related to what was going on. So then I was like, wait, this is so strange that I’m witnessing all this happening. Once people started asking questions, they blocked access to all the numbers.

So a lot of that was just like, you know, this doesn’t feel right. There’s something going on on a larger scale. So sure enough, I got a letter that, you know, they were requiring a certain medical intervention. And I knew for sure that that was not for me. So going back to like the birth control and all of the other stories, like I purely was a skeptic around pharmaceuticals, but I had learned that birth control that I was using called Yasmin or Yaz, had like a $2 billion lawsuit against it. And I think the UK totally restricted it for blood clots and high blood pressure and like all of the things that I was experiencing. And so I always now question how long has a pharmaceutical been tested? And just hearing all of the stories around the turbo speed lightning of like how fast they were releasing the juice type of thing. I was like, no, I do not feel comfortable with this at all. And I don’t feel like it’s my company’s right to inflict these requirements on me. So I ended up just quitting my job and jumping off and finally doing my own thing. And that’s a whole other story in a bit of itself. But I felt like I got to see a lot of things in the healthcare system. And when we were talking about the system’s shifting, I will say and I want to preface this too, that I don’t think it’s the people in the system. Like that was one of the things that I used to complain about or blame is that doctors don’t know anything, you know, it’s the doctor’s fault. But I actually don’t think that’s now, you know, taking a look at it from a higher standpoint and actually being in that type of job is that it’s not the people like everybody I worked with was so caring. And they’re there for like everybody else, everybody wants people to have the best health possible, but it really is the system, it’s getting too big. And so in my scenario, it was a health system where it was basically big business. And so their business model was to buy up as many hospitals as possible. And from a technical standpoint, which is where my expertise is, once you buy a hospital, there’s all this data that happens and the health system right now is so siloed. So like the right hand is not talking to the left hand and you can see that in patient care a lot too. So a lot of the communication that’s happening in the back end is not necessarily being shown in the front end. And so I started seeing why our healthcare system was shifting and breaking and that’s what led me to, know, when we’re talking about spiritual awakenings, it was really like, this is my role in this, and that I can use my digital skills, I can see the larger picture in the system. And I can help, you know, this, I think this is my purpose is to help people recognize that there are definitely more ways to heal than we really are aware of. And I want more people to work with holistic practitioners who are actual real guides. And how can we connect more people to practitioners like holistic health practitioners? And so that’s what I do now in my agency.

Amanda (25:25)

Yeah, there’s a lot in there. I want to say that a big part of my journey as well as like recognizing, coming to learn, which I think you spoke to quite a bit is where are we giving away our power, our agency, and that is a system where it’s almost implied someone’s going there, handing over their health and it’s like this unspoken agreement that the doctor has the answers, the patient doesn’t know anything and the patient should just take what’s given to them, not question it. We saw that a lot in the last four years. you’re, you know, who are we to question anything? Who are we to take our health into our own hands? And I think that’s like exemplifies the growth in the health journey is recognizing it’s like, who are the people that are actually empowering me versus those that just want to, I’m just a number, just in and out, not looking at you as a whole system, not recognizing that I can give you this pill, it can give you this symptom and instead of, let me just give you another pill for that symptom, let’s start to look at, maybe it’s that medication.

And the questions that you asked, like starting to like peel back, what are all the factors that determine how healthy we are? And unfortunately in the United States, there’s a lot going against people in terms of living truly healthy lives. Stress is such a huge, huge factor that, I think meditating just kind of can take the edge off of the stress that people are under and that affects every single system of the body. So it’s like, many diagnoses are really like a magnesium deficiency, right? Like magnesium is like, there’s so many symptoms that can come from magnesium deficiency and rather than taking magnesium, let’s just take a pill instead. There’s a lot of examples of that.

But something that you’ve alluded to is that even holistic healers, they can also play into that system as well. Like, are they playing an empowering role or are they playing a more an authoritarian, disempowering role? And I think each of us need to, maybe sometimes we go to those practitioners to learn, like they’re also teachers, right? Teaching us to like take back our power, right? When we have those experiences, we learn that okay, that’s not the approach I want. Like that didn’t make me feel good. And then hopefully we can start to find the practitioners that are more empowering. And do you want to speak to what you’ve created or are creating as far as connecting people with practitioners that are recommended by other people?

Katie Hill (28:21)

Yeah, that was actually one of the things that I feel was another awakening. I was laying on the acupuncture and getting acupuncture from my favorite acupuncturist. And I was in that like zone mode and feeling really good just laying there. And I was thinking how can other people feel this. Like I have gone through so many different challenges, it wasn’t working and here I am and I feel like I’m blissed out and it’s so easy and so accessible. And how can I use my skills in the digital world to do that? And so I thought, well, maybe I can create a directory of sorts. And it’s certainly been several years. Like I am still going through my own healing and there’s a lot of traumas that I have faced when I decided to go off on my own. just like building your own business brings up all of the things. And so it’s taken me a while. I will say it’s not there yet, but I definitely have the vision in my head. And it’s changed names. So now I’m calling it, I am well resourced. Before it was my favorite healer, but even that felt a little weird with our discussion about like giving your power away to healers. I really do think that it really comes down to you and healing is an inside job. Yet we also do need to have resources to help guide us. And we actually heal in community, we heal in relationship is what I have learned. You can’t do it on your own, you can only get so far because in relationships, it’s basically a mirror for what’s going on for you and you can learn that way. And I think that’s where holistic health care providers and healers can come in is that there’s definitely this education piece I will say it’s not missing. It’s jumbled right now. There’s just this slew of information happening right now around health, especially around like social media. And yes, there’s a lot of information, but having the discernment around is it the right information for you? And so that’s where I was hoping that this directory or this platform that I’m creating is somewhat of like a recommendation platform where you’re building intrinsic trust based on other people’s experiences. Because that was one of my challenges  when I was in my holistic healthcare realm was actual healthcare providers because I had insurance at the time and you would go on their network directories and it was really challenging to find people. Most healers are not, they didn’t have websites at the time so they weren’t showing up on Google. So it really was who can I talk to that has had these experiences? And that was the best like word of mouth was the easiest way to do that. So that’s what I am building right now is kind of like a matchmaking service based on recommendations, positive recommendations from others and not just providers, but also resources because I have found like doing a lot of my own research. There’s a ton of communities out there and podcasts like yours, books.

Just any type of resource that will take you to that next level, like recommended by your friends, family, peers, and other providers as well. So that’s the idea.

Amanda (31:46)

I like how you’re expanding to resources beyond just practitioners because that’s basically indicating that it’s not just practitioners that are going to be responsible for our healing journey, right? It’s things that we’re also implementing and there’s so much information out there that yes, it can be overwhelming, but also it’s like when we find the right information. Sometimes I’ve found a lot through just synchronistic experiences and it can be so transformational, like if it comes at the right time. So having that there, allowing people to review things, I think that’s much more well -rounded. I I like the practitioner part as well because yes, I agree that word of mouth is the best way to know and hearing other people’s firsthand experiences. But yeah, I like that it’s encompassing it all because that is part of the journey as well.

Katie Hill (32:43)

Yeah, I will say too that now working with health care providers like holistic healers, I am seeing a lot of that side of the work too, and how hard it is for them to market themselves and sell their services because they feel like just there’s been a lot of shame around making money and whatnot. And so that’s what I am helping them do to really empowering healers to get out there, build their businesses, especially building them online. I feel like the pandemic shepherded people along. And I will say, one -on -one in person is always going to be the best, but the internet has helped spread the message far and wide. And a lot of healers have shifted a lot of their thinking to more education and there’s more group healing, which I find is next level. Because like we were saying in relationship, you’re going to like see what’s happening and I find that when I am in I just get to hear a lot of different stories and we share information that way. So I do think that the, while some people may not like it, I definitely see there’s opportunities there. So I’m helping healers get their message out through communities and courses, kind of shifting away from the one -to -one model to one -to -many so we can reach more people.

So what I was saying with the healer part is that they are actually overwhelmed. I am seeing a lot of healers right now who are trading time for money because of the one -on- ones. None of them are trained in business. They may get maybe a week or two of business training and they’re put out into the real world and they’re like, crap, you know, I’m really, really good at what I do. And I have trained for years for this. But I don’t really know how to build a practice  in-person or online. And a lot of people, I saw some metric where it was like one third of all graduating students from the naturopathic realm in the U S. end up not moving forward with their career. They end up dropping out and just like the thought of all of the training that they’ve gone through and all the money and hard effort to put out there. Yeah, exactly. know Amanda has gone through that as well. Yeah, I’m really hoping to help support them to do their thing so they can use their unique gifts and they’re not overwhelmed by the tech stuff.

Amanda (35:15)

Yeah, I found it was hard to walk the walk when I was so stressed out. It’s like, let me pretend that I have all my shit together, like my health together and be an example of what health is when I, and so yeah, it’s, burnout is a real thing.

Katie Hill (35:27)

Yes, yeah.

Kate (35:34)

Yeah, I’ll say too. I mean, not that I had burn out, but I trained to be a health coach. And when I started to do that as a business and promote myself, I can remember the anxiety with which putting an Instagram post up induced in me that I had to be this perfect role model of health. If I was going to stand here and be a health coach, it was like, actually here I am at a wine festival and I really want to post something, but no, I’ve got to post about the healthy food that I found here. And I was like, I had to really come to terms with that, that no, okay, that’s actually, I’m finding a balance here. I’m not unhealthy because I choose, you know, to have some fun, but yeah.

Amanda (36:14)

Yeah, I had to go through a lot of reprogramming from my education of like food shame and like, trying to be this like perfect example. it’s actually, yeah, I felt like I felt like a bit, I said, I feel like a fraud, trying to like, I know it all. And I know all about health, but really, as I think, I think what we’re moving into really is doctors and other healthcare practitioners are really, the playing field has to be more equal, right? Where they are on the same level as their patients, they are more guides. They are not the end all be all. Patients should not be handing over their power to someone else that, you know, they can be part of their team. They can, you know, with someone who’s aligned and you have a good sense about we’re moving away from the era of putting people on pedestals. And that’s what I think the old model of medicine is, is like putting people up there, like they have it figured out. They know the answers when, you know, they look at like the conventional medical system and like the health of many people in that system, they’re so stressed and overworked and overburdened. What they’re eating is like you know. So what I’m saying is that it’s it’s the whole like victim oppressor dynamic and really the victims, patients taking back their power and then also the healthcare practitioners no longer like wanting, like demanding that the patients give them their power to have this dynamic exist. Yeah, I could go on for a long time about this, but let’s move on.

Kate (37:53)

Yeah, I’ll say too,even working as a radiographer, I can remember the doctors working in the hospital, you know, do a lot of A &E, and they work in how many hour shifts, they’re so stressed, then they have like, a minute to eat something. And I lived with one of the doctors when I first started working as a radiographer and she’d be eating Mars bars for lunch, you know, and then, and then the nurses are out in the smoking area at lunch. And there’s just like this congregation of nurses puffing away at cigarettes. So it’s like, it’s this, you know, what’s going on here, we’ve got these sick people inside and that’s how they’re coping with the stress of those systems.

What I also want to say too, is that you know Katie, you spoke to before as you took this natural route that, you know, it was in the traditional model where you were given these pharmaceuticals and then you’ve, you’ve switched over to going the more naturopathic route. And then again, there was this offering of supplements. I really think it’s important for people to begin to understand, and I’ll say one of the things that I loved about my studies as a radiographer was the two years of anatomy and physiology. I think if every human took a course in anatomy and physiology, it would change our understanding of this body and its intelligence and its power to heal itself, to figure it out. And I think that’s something that it’s always carried with me that this body innately knows how to heal. It is constantly working to create homeostasis, a state of balance. And it’s doing everything with everything it has within it. It’s a perfect system. It does not really need outside intervention technically, unless we abuse the hell out of it. Right. Or, you know, we’re taking too many medications that mess with the way that it functions. And I remember something and I may butcher this, but Amanda, maybe from your medical background, you correct me if I’m wrong, but you know, we’re prescribed something like a antihistamine to help us with our allergies, right? And yes, that does help, let’s say, clear up our nasal passages and stop us from sneezing, scratching, whatever. But it’s not that the drug goes to one system. It goes to every single part of the body. And so the reason we become lightheaded is because the reaction of that drug in the brain, something about how the blood barrier goes and there’s too much blood flowing through the brain or something like that, was a doctor who said it. I just can’t remember. I’m not good at quoting people.

But that’s why we have that feeling, right? So while it might help a symptom, it has an adverse reaction on other systems in the body. And I mean, we just need to think about our liver. It’s, that’s processing and cleaning out all of the stuff that goes through our body. So when we’re taking several medications, we’re overloading that system or that part of our body with this work to clean out this stuff, all the binders in pills and whatnot. And, you know, the extra load of chemicals that our physical body doesn’t actually need. And so, you know, coming back to the 2020 period, the thing that made me so mad was that there was never a single conversation about how healthy are we? How about we focus on accessible, healthy food and truly promoting what does it mean toto be healthy, to have a healthy body.

I think exactly, it’s just the body knows what to do and we need to trust it more. And it’s like understanding that we can be healthy by taking some of that power by what are we eating? What are we drinking? You know, how is our stress? Cause it’s such a massive one. And, know, we have the ability, like that’s going to make a major difference in any symptom that we’re feeling. And something that you mentioned, as part of the route that you took naturally was the root cause protocol and also healing your trauma. Can you maybe speak to a little bit about what is this root cause protocol? And then how do things like trauma playing into these physical symptoms your experiencing in the body? What is, what’s happening there?

Katie Hill (42:09)

I feel like we are, the two things that I have realized about health is one, we are basically like plants, and we need to create the environment for our plant to grow. And when we’re talking about spiritual stuff, that it’s really your spiritual alignment. When I go back to look at all of the things that had happened because I still really, I mean, I got some type of answer that I had Hashimoto’s, but I feel like it was much more than that. And so, taking a look at all of the details, I was basically in a moment in my life where I was faced with reality and I was like, here I’m graduating college, I don’t know what to do, I’m not really sure of my full path. I don’t know what my purpose is. And I moved from sunny San Diego to dark Scotland. And so there’s that environment piece where the sun is very, very important to our health and light. I think that’s one thing that I am realizing now too, is just even the basics of clean water, sunlight, your body, like you’re saying, it’s so intelligent, yet it also just needs the basics. And so I was pulled from sun to shade back to sun again. So my body was kind of freaking out there. I also lost track of my community support. I didn’t feel like because of that trauma and not feeling like I could speak to my friends and family about the stuff that was going on. I didn’t have anybody to talk to. And so when another insight that I have found with health is that your body is always, always speaking to you. And like I was saying with my throat stuff, it was saying, hold up, Katie, you’re not in alignment. You are not following your path. You’re not speaking. You are not expressing your feelings. And I think that’s so, so important.

And so for me, it was definitely around the throat. And some of the things that has been helping me right now is actually like things you wouldn’t think of. I’ve always been the like, health is like all about eating right and exercise, but it’s so much more than that. So for me, it’s expressing myself like this podcast is actually, it’s going to be very, very healing for me because it’s like the first time I’m actually publicly sharing my story. So thank you. But I’ve been painting more, I’ve been journaling more. I know a lot of people who have Hashimoto’s who like to sing and hum and do lot of like nervous system reset stuff. But it’s the same like I know a lot of people with stomach, gut issues or liver issues and each organ has an association with an emotion. So I do feel like a lot of emotional trauma that happens. I know I’m not really answering your question about the root cause, but I think that that this is root cause is, yeah, it’s basically, there’s so many different avenues to find the root of the issue. 

Amanda (44:59)

No, you are. You are.

Katie Hill (45:11)

And that’s often emotional, trauma programming, cultural programming of like, this is how it should be when you’re actually living outside of alignment of your true authentic self. And so that is what a, what I have found over the years of like going through all the natural steps is that I have arrived at the state of like, when I get sick, I actually, I did just actually get sick with the big C a couple of weeks ago. And I find that it’s more of, like a boundary line where my body is speaking up and saying, hold up, something’s not in alignment right now. And it definitely was a big message for me around that time. I was overextending myself. I didn’t have the boundaries that I had previously set up. I was kind of going outside of them and sure enough, I got sick and that was just me kind of, my body telling me something’s not in alignment. And I actually praise those moments now and having that whole shift of thinking that it’s helping me rather than my body attacking myself. That’s also a whole thing with Hashimoto’s is the autoimmune conditions, a lot of doctors will say that your body is attacking yourself. Like where is the love in that? And root cause is really like the love in yourself. Do you love yourself and are you in alignment with like what you’re here to do? So roundabout answer to that.

Kate (46:36)

When the, as the health coach training, it was, you know, the, what I did love about the one that I did, it was, they categorize things as primary quote unquote foods and secondary and primary foods were community, meaningful work, relationships. and I think it was self -love and  secondary foods were food. And then through the process of then even being a health coach, you know, so many people come to you because they want to lose weight and, know, or they don’t like their body. And so they think I need to exercise more and I need you to help me work, like work out what to eat. And it’s like, we can do that, but your, your choices around what you’re eating are going to be influenced by how you’re feeling about those other areas of your life. Like health truly is more than the food and the exercise. And it is so much about the whole being like coming back to that holistic approach to our health. It is about how connected we feel. It’s so amazing to hear you describe that as an example, like being out of that environment. Like we are, it’s an energy connection, right? It’s like when we feel isolated, it makes me think of cells, like cells come in community, right? They function better together.

So many factors outside of just the food and the exercise that influence, I think, the choices we make around those things, you know, like if you struggle with food and exercise, look at the rest of the areas of your life and like, where can you deepen them, improve them, enhance them?

And I think that’s when we can even bring in that sort of idea of vibration and energy. When those things feel vital and we maybe raise the vibration in those areas, like we make different choices, right? We’re not looking for sugar to give us that, that feeling of joy or happiness or a hit of something like it’s there’s, there’s less cravings when you address your life and the stress levels.

Amanda (48:33)

Yeah, you make a lot of good points. The fact that most people know what foods are good for us and what foods are not good for us and what’s underlying our choices is our trauma, our beliefs, those things that are much deeper. So, yeah, how is the doctor in the extreme sense of the spectrum that’s just 15 minutes and pills, like that’s not gonna address those underlying beliefs, traumas. And so, yes, it is seeking out those practitioners that offer modalities that address those things. It’s starting to do your own inquiry and exploration and really like acknowledging and accepting that this is a journey for those of us that, know, wherever you find yourself coming to begin to address your health in a different way.

People have lived a long time with that programming. And so it’s an unraveling that we can make progress, more progress than we think we can. But also it’s like trusting and knowing that it’s gonna take time and not just wanting quick fixes, I think. I think we have to let go of that need to want something to be resolved and just want immediate relief.

Also it’s like beginning to form, develop a relationship with our symptoms. Like you touched on this a lot, Katie, it’s like our symptoms, what our body is telling us is, it’s information that, those are signs of something, something more, your, your throat, your voice, your expression

and the physical element manifesting in your throat, right? Like that’s not by coincidence,

When I was 16 years old, I had a kidney removed and I later learned that kidney, that side, my left side is the feminine. Kidneys are our essence from our parents. And I had really a really poor relationship with my mom at that time. And that manifested in a physical ailment for me. Like I see that now. I didn’t know that at the time but the, these physical manifestations are something more than just biochemical reactions within our body, much more than just our genetics, right? Like the, conventional world will convince us that we are fated to our genes, right? But we, know, listen to start listening to like Bruce Lipton and know that our genes are,

yes, they can go down a certain path, but it’s the environment that which they’re in, even our beliefs, how we speak to ourselves, our home lives, what we’re putting in our body, all those things will turn on whether we have these ailments manifest. And so yeah, there’s so much that we can begin to unpack but yeah, it is, it is a journey and you really illustrated that well, that, it’s things start to unfold. If we get curious, the answers will come to us and you know, if we ask for guidance from people who, I think we can start asking our friends or seeking and get recommendations for people that can help us in this journey towards better physical, but mental, emotional, spiritual well -being.

Katie Hill (52:07)

I will say that that’s one thing that I’m learning too is that health and healing can actually be fun and kind of relating it to your curiosity. It is really this unraveling of like, who am I really outside of the wall that I have built around myself? And I also want to stress the point around how healing definitely is a journey. And I like the saying that it’s simple, but it’s not easy. Like the steps are really simple where I was saying we basically are like plants where we need the basics of clean water, sun, good food, you know, not so many toxins, not so much stress, like the mental or the physical stuff. But also how much are you in alignment with who you are, what your natural gifts and what your path is?

And just going back to the fact that because, you know, and this was a big thing for me is that I was really drawn towards trauma healing yet I had never had a big trauma in my life. And I was so confused because I was like, you know, nothing really bad has happened. I, I’ve grown up in a loving and I started learning more about complex trauma and how little things kind of come up. And I definitely also resonate with the fact that your physical ailments are stress and trauma that’s basically an emotion that are trapped inside your body and they come out as physical ailments. And so the more that you can unravel those and that’s the like not so easy part, is that there is, it’s kind of like I see it as a jumbled up knot of jewelry or necklaces. You know, there’s a big ball. And it’s just like fine -tune, picking away at it. And sometimes it’ll crumble up again over here. And I also resonate with the whole spiral idea too, is that you feel like sometimes you’re going in circles. I, just to add one more story and then maybe we can close it out. This happened to me just a couple of weeks ago. I went to the dentist and since I have had high blood pressure in the past, they always do the blood pressure tests on me and it was high again. And I haven’t been to a doctor in a while.And I was like, I better, you I should probably figure out what’s going on. And so I went to a naturopath, someone who we all know, Dr. Kelly Prill, and she is involved in like the holistic path. So she’s a neurologist, a naturopath and a shaman. So she’s kind of hitting all three of those mental, physical and spiritual. I realized she was kind of pointing to my heart in that my, I have a trauma response of like functional freeze. So there’s been like little things in my path, specifically around childhood best friend abandoning me and like pitting me against all my friends. So I was in this abandonment wound for a long time and I’ve had self -worth issues. So that’s also why it’s been challenging for me to build a business and like get out there. And so I’m in this space where I’m trying to get something out there. I know, like I have this vision. I was just talking about my platform. I have this vision, but like getting to the steps of actually putting that out there is really challenging for me because of my trauma. And so my heart is, it’s working on overdrive to keep me safe. So I’m in this like nervous system freeze scenario kind of like where animals kind of shut down when they’re being attacked, they either run, they’ve got that flight or fight. But I’m more in a freeze scenario where I’m like, I don’t know what to do. And so I will self sabotage myself and I get stuck. 

So what’s also happening with my heart is I have a very slow heart rate, which is really uncommon. So what’s happening is that my heart is actually really tired from pumping so much because I feel like I’m in this constant state of like trauma and trigger. So. That was just another like spiral moment of like, here I am again with a health thing, but with a new perspective, with a little bit more unraveling around my trauma and understanding what’s happening in my body and what the messages are. And then also having a practitioner who speaks that language and can point to some of the things that are blindsided for me, because I again, obviously went towards what am I eating wrong? Or maybe I should be exercising a little more. She’s like, no, this is your inner child having a protector moment. And I just need to speak to that a little more. So I’m thankful for again, for healers out there who understand that, who do look at the root cause first and not like go directly to a quick fix. Because again, it’s like, it’s simple yet it’s not super easy. It’s just you have to go through and trust that things are unraveling for you. And these are real all all messages to yourself of like loving yourself and going down your awakening journey.

Kate (57:11)

Well, Katie, your story truly does share with us, you know, how this is a, there’s layers to the healing journey and there’s so many different facets to what it truly means to heal. And you’ve really brought forth for us this idea of the holistic nature to true health, to true healing, and also that we can be much more empowered and play a more front and center role in our own journeys. So thank you so much for everything that you shared today and also for the work that you’re doing with ‘I am well resourced’ and demonstrating to such an honest way that, you know, there’s healing everywhere. It’s physical. It’s also that emotional stuff to step into our truth and our power and, you know, bring forth this thing that we truly need. And you know, Amanda and I talk about this a lot of like, you know, the outside view of the things that we do and how that’s this sort of force working against us of us truly being that authentic self and making this claim that, you know, this natural way of healing is, you know, there’s, so much fear tied up in this authentic expression and that manifests in its own ways. And, you know, you’re demonstrating once again for our audience that we just keep at it. We just keep showing up. We do that next spiral of healing. We face the stuff. We have that new perspective. We can handle it a little bit better. And we continue on that journey of being more and more authentic selves, building these businesses or just building ourselves to be the best version of ourselves. And you know, that’s what this awakening is all about. So thank you so much for everything that you shared. We really appreciate your contribution to the conversation.

Amanda (58:49)

And we’ll have your links for your offerings so people can go to your website and learn more about you and what you can offer people. Do you want to speak to that at all before we sign off?

Katie Hill (59:01)

Yeah, you can go to your digital healer. So if you are a healer or you’re thinking about becoming one, I offer support in building your business online. I work with the system, so like the back end systems, but I also demonstrated, I have a clear view of how best to work with patients as well. So I look at the customer journey and then the platform that I have, I am well resourced is in its basic format right now, but I would love if you a favorite practitioner. That’s what I have up there right now. If you have had like a transformational experience and you would love to share all the people that you have worked with, definitely go on there. I would appreciate it. And thank you guys so much for providing this platform for me to share my story. I do feel like it’s like healing for myself. So thank you.

Kate (59:48)

You’re welcome. Thank you so much for everything that you shared and we thank everyone for listening and we’ll join you in the next episode.