Raising the Floor: Tools That Helped Me Function Again

What this Is/Isn't

This is nearly ten years of me looking for the help I wasn’t getting.

This isn’t a prescription or an instruction manual—it’s field notes: hints and insights about how a body behaves under chronic illness and trauma. I’m not saying it’s right or useful for everyone.

These are my puzzle pieces—what I found while stumbling through the darkness of collapse, pain, and suffering. This is me switching on a light so you can see what’s there. Take what helps to raise your floor; leave the rest.

About links
No external links here by design. If something sparks curiosity, search it in your own way and at your own pace. I’m sharing trail markers, not marching orders.

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The forest taught me something simple: before you chase summits, you shore up the ground. That’s what this is—a list of things that raised my baseline just enough to stand, breathe, and start again.

Not healed. Not in remission. No miracle narrative. Just a steadier floor under shaky legs.

It’s been a long road. This is what I remember today. There’s plenty I don’t yet recall; as it surfaces, I’ll add it here. This is a living trail marker—I’ll keep adding and pruning as the work evolves.

Ground rules

Personal experience, NOT medical advice. If pain spikes or your body says no, stop. Work with a clinician who respects your pace. None of the people or ideas below are saints or cures—treat them like trail markers; keep only what helps you move.

Research that reframed the map

• CDC/Kaiser Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study — clear dose–response links between early adversity and later health risk. It helped me stop moralizing symptoms, see the pattern beneath the pain, and prioritize nervous-system work without shame.

Regulation, awareness, reconnection

When the nervous system is on fire, nothing else lands.

• Gabor Maté — trauma ↔ illness framing
• Daniel Amen — brain/behavior perspective (use discerningly)
• Andrew Huberman — practical nervous-system tools (sleep, light, breath)
• Sadhguru — inner stability, presence practices (take what lands)
• Wim Hof — breath + cold exposure (scale mindfully; skip if unstable)
• Master Shi Heng Yi — pragmatic Buddhist principles for modern life

Use as education, not doctrine. Try one practice at a time; keep what actually calms your system.

Metabolic reset & inflammation relief

Small levers that changed energy, swings, and pain:

• Aseem Malhotra, MD — cardiometabolic risk; UPF/insulin-resistance clarity
• Pradip Jamnadas, MD — fasting/insulin resistance, gentle on-ramps
• Philip Ovadia, MD — metabolic health made practical
• Jason Fung, MD — fasting & metabolic basics
• Valter Longo, PhD — fasting-mimicking diet and longevity framing; cautious, nutrition-first approach
• Mark Hyman, MD — systems/functional framing
• William Li, MD — food for cellular repair
• “Dr. Boz” (Annette Bosworth, MD) — keto/fasting tactics for stability
• Dhru Purohit — curated metabolic/lifestyle conversations you can apply

Test gently. Track sleep, mood, and flare length—not just weight or macros.

Elimination & food-as-function (short windows, clear signals)

Experiments that clarified triggers, plus some implementation support:

• Paul Saladino, MD — animal-forward elimination nuance
• Ken Berry, MD — low-carb/elimination support
• Shawn Baker, MD — carnivore as a temporary calm tool
• Thomas DeLauer — approachable fasting/keto implementation
• Lillie Kane — practical keto/carnivore education for real life
• Bobby Parrish — label literacy & low-additive grocery strategy
• Rina Ahluwalia — real-food, elimination-friendly meal ideas (use what fits)

Do not moralize food. Use it as data. If your body steadies, you’ll know.

Micronutrients, epigenetics, root-level intakes

Where small deficits created big noise:

• Rhonda Patrick, PhD — micronutrients & inflammation
• Lucia Aronica, PhD — epigenetics & expression
• Georgia Ede, MD — nutrition & mental health
• Terry Wahls, MD — mitochondria-focused inputs

If labs or symptoms hint at gaps, shore them up slowly and retest.

Movement that resets—without destroying

Capacity first, expression later. What got me moving again without backlash:

• Movement by David — gentle daily mobility
• Squat University — alignment & pain prevention
• Strength Side — strength + mobility for real bodies

Five quiet minutes beat heroic workouts you can’t recover from.

Strength, longevity & performance science (scaled to the body I have)

• Gabrielle Lyon, MD — “muscle as medicine”
• Peter Attia, MD — longevity levers & protocols

Translate their big-engine advice into your current bandwidth. Your dose is your dose.

Tools I use to separate signal from noise

When takes get loud, I check these before I change anything:

• Examine — clear summaries of nutrition/supplement research
• Cochrane Library — systematic reviews
• AAFP: Drug–Nutrient Depletions — meds that drain nutrients
• Primary literature — sanity checks on claims
• Opposing viewpoints — to avoid echo chambers
• John Campbell, PhD — plain-language walk-throughs of studies and public-health claims

None of this replaces your own body’s data—sleep, pain, flare duration, and how the trail actually feels.

Foundational documentaries (that move the needle)

Documentary note
Not anti-pharma—pro-agency and informed consent. Medications are often necessary; the point is to see trade-offs and see with a clear eyes-open approach to what you’re taking on. Ask better questions, keep your priorities in view, and work with a clinician who respects your pace.

Not endorsements—just films that helped me see the terrain differently. Watch for principles, not dogma; keep what serves.

• Cereal Killers (2013) — Challenges fear of fat and the old nutrition script we were all taught.
• Run on Fat: Cereal Killers 2 (2015) — Low-carb endurance as a case study; reframes “fuel” and inflammation.
• The Big Fat Fix (2016) — Simpler levers that matter: sleep, stress, movement, real food. Less hype, more habits.
• First Do No Pharm (2024) — Questions the medication-first reflex and industry incentives; nudges to ask better questions and prioritize basics and informed consent.

Why I sifted this hard

I know it’s a lot of work just to understand what’s going on. But if you want to apply what actually helps—if you want more agency over what’s happening in your body and a better quality of life—it’s worth it. I spent years mining each source for a single usable pearl, one small thing I could apply. Over time, those tiny wins raised the floor.

What this is (and isn’t)

This is not optimization or performance culture. It’s “stay upright” culture. It’s for the days when you’re still in the weeds but refusing to hand the whole day over. If one idea here helps you breathe easier or shorten a flare, that’s enough. The floor just rose a notch.

Safety note

This my individual, personal experience, NOT medical or therapy advice. If something spikes pain or panic, stop. Stabilization beats bravado. Work with a practitioner who respects your pace.

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