Rebuilding from Within

Resilience, Recovery & The Science of Hope

Photo by Nauman A. on Unsplash

Includes guided Embodied Journaling Practice – Healing Through the Felt Sense

At seventeen, when my eye turned red, painful and suddenly sensitive to light, I had no language for what was happening in my body.

I was sent from GP to Ophthalmology and told the words no young person should ever hear:

“Your body is attacking itself.”

No explanation.

No emotional support.

No partnership.

A young girl walked into that appointment — and a more frightened version of me walked out.

Looking back, this wasn’t just the start of an autoimmune diagnosis.

It was the beginning of a long journey into self-understanding, nervous-system repair, and rebuilding my identity from the inside out.

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The Signs I Didn’t Know Were Signs

Before the “big moment,” my body had been whispering long before I had the language to hear it:

• gut issues

• skin rashes

• chronic infections

• anxiety

• inflammation simmering beneath the surface

By my mid-twenties, long-term steroid use had caused cataracts — another sign the fire had been burning inside me for years.

And then came the Graves’ flare: panic, volatility, rapid weight loss, emotional spiralling.

A complete loss of self.

I wasn’t seen as a human in crisis — only as a body to stabilise.

What I Wish the NHS Had Told Me