Delve into cultural, emotional, and physiological triggers for self-healing
By Nicola Dehlinger, ND
Exploring the unique connection between autoimmunity and women’s health, delving into cultural, emotional, and physiological triggers for self-healing.
This article examines the disproportionate impact of autoimmune diseases on women, exploring the interplay of biological, cultural, and emotional factors. It provides case studies and highlights the naturopathic approach to uncovering root causes and promoting self-healing.
Introduction
There are 100 known autoimmune diseases affecting as many as 50 million Americans. This makes it the third most prevalent disease category, with cancers and heart disease claiming the first and second positions for most widespread illness.¹
About a century ago, soon after autoimmune diseases were first recognized, research created a link between viral and bacterial infections and autoimmune disease. Circumstantial evidence linked many of these conditions with preceding infections.²³ Associations between a variety of microorganisms have been made with individual autoimmune diseases, meaning that the same disease can be induced by more than one infectious agent.⁴
Why Women Are More Affected by Autoimmune Diseases
Women account for an estimated—and astonishing—78 percent of people who are diagnosed with autoimmune disorders, which include Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, systemic lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and other illnesses in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks its own cells and tissues. Autoimmune disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in young and middle-aged (15–65-year-old) women.⁵ These illnesses are now the fifth-leading cause of death in women younger than 65.⁶
The Role of X Chromosomes and Xist Molecules
The mystery of why autoimmunity affects women disproportionately, approximately 4 in 5 autoimmune diagnoses are found in women, has been a subject of research for decades.
The most recent theory has to do with the fact that females have two X chromosomes, while males have an X and a Y.⁷ Xist molecules are only found encoded on X chromosomes only when there are two X chromosomes. These long Xist molecules help to inactivate the X chromosome to ensure those cells won’t produce too many proteins encoded on X chromosomes because that would cause deadly biological sequelae. These Xist molecules have been found to increase the formation of unusual clumps of RNA, DNA, and other proteins that can trigger autoimmune responses.
B Cell Dysfunction and Autoimmune Disease
Other theories have looked to B cell dysfunction as a trigger of the autoimmune process.⁸ Peripheral B lymphocytes play a huge role in immunity—activating T cells and epitope spreading to regulate the autoimmune process.⁹ B cells have been identified as having a critical role in the progression from autoimmunity to the manifestation of autoimmune disease.
Hormones and the Immune Response
Finally, reproductive hormones, such as estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone, have been implicated in most sex-biased immune response differences.¹⁰¹¹ Recently, estrogens and androgens have been found to directly influence whether a Th1- or Th2-type immune response develops by interacting with hormone receptors on immune cells.¹² To this day, there is no direct link, and the mechanisms of impact of the sex hormones and autoimmune diseases are still unclear.
Naturopathic Philosophy and Autoimmune Healing
So, where does that leave us? As a naturopathic doctor with more than two decades of practice, I am reminded to look to our Naturopathic Philosophy as a guide that goes beyond mechanistic science. What I love about our philosophy is that it encourages us to go beyond the distractions and venture deeper as we explore the roots of dis-ease in ourselves and our patients.
Tolle Totum: Treating the Whole Person
When I look for the root causes of why autoimmune disease is significantly higher in women, I start by looking at the cultural lessons, beliefs, and expectations women are exposed to. I also consider the stories of female patients and the struggles and internal conversations they have to face as they embark on their healing journey. Finally, I have reflected on my own experience as not only a woman but as someone who has healed from Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis and the process that allowed me to arrive with negative thyroid antibodies.
The concept of being a “good girl” comes up with frequency. Associated messages commonly imprinted include not being too loud or too big and not doing anything that might rock the boat. Many women are taught to defer to the needs of others and not to be seen as selfish.
This creates a pattern of repression of self (desires, inspirations, and pleasures) and a belief that we must do and be what we think others need us to be. We end up losing or suppressing our voice and becoming highly self-critical.
Tolle Causum: Treating the Cause
If negative self-talk and judgment are at the root of our patterns, this is a constant trigger to the nervous system. When the nervous system is activated, more cortisol is dedicated to the fight-or-flight pathway, leaving less regulation of the inflammatory response.
Through our harsh or negative relationship with ourselves, we can start to identify “self” as the enemy. How can that not impact how our immune cells perceive other cells in our body?
Years into my journey with Hashimoto’s, I had “tried everything.” Restrictive diets, homeopathic remedies, herbs, and supplements are too numerous to count. One day, I was hiking, and I noticed my inner voice. It was then I realized that it didn’t matter how “clean” I was eating or how hard I was trying to reverse this disease process. What mattered most was how I was treating myself and to what extent I could show up for myself with unconditional love and compassion.
Stimulating the Vis and Removing Obstacles to Cure
When we clear away the limiting beliefs we carry in our cellular memory, we allow our physiology to be less burdened and, therefore, more efficient. The nervous system can regulate by creating more compassion and releasing emotional burdens, and healing begins. Once these obstacles of trauma and criticism are addressed, “the dynamic that animates the material body (organism) rules with unbounded sway and retains all parts of the organism in admirable, harmonious and vital operation…”¹³
Case Study
Susan, a 64-year-old Caucasian female, presented with sudden onset of variable, debilitating joint pain, causing a reduction in quality of life and activities of daily living. She immediately came to see her primary care provider, who offered a preliminary diagnosis of Sjogren’s and referred her to rheumatology. She also came to see me in the clinic, and the lab results indicated some other disease process. I told her I suspected Rheumatoid Arthritis and asked her to follow up with more bloodwork.
Waiting for more lab results, we began treatment with high-dose fish oil and concentrated turmeric, a specific homeopathic and B vitamin injection to help reduce overall inflammation and pain. Over the following weeks, she noticed a mild improvement in her symptoms, but she still felt moderately impacted on some days.
Susan had her initial consultation with the rheumatologist, who diagnosed Polymyalgia Rheumatica—a different type of autoimmune disease affecting the joints. He recommended she start Prednisone, which we discussed at length. After her initial resistance, she decided to begin pharmaceutical treatment and continue naturopathic support.
At her first rheumatology follow-up, her doctor changed her diagnosis based on new labs to Rheumatoid Arthritis. Based on that, he prescribed Methotrexate in addition to Prednisone and supported her continuing with her supplements. Curious to see if this new medication would bring relief, she reluctantly started the second pharmaceutical.
After a month on both medications, Susan wasn’t noticing much change in her symptom picture—her pain was very much up and down. As the weather was getting colder, she noticed increased overall pain.
At this point, observing her mediocre therapeutic response to both naturopathic and pharmaceutical interventions, I spoke to her about my theory that all autoimmune conditions were rooted in our relationship to ourselves and that until we addressed that fundamental issue, any treatment would most likely be limited. A light went on within Susan, and she shared that she’s always been hard on herself and has pushed herself beyond the limits of her body. She shared that she only felt valued when she was productive, and since her retirement 3 years ago, she had been feeling even worse about herself and was considering returning to work—not for financial reasons, but simply to feel worthy again.
During Susan’s session, her system led us to a “part” of her that is six years old—the time in her life when her mother developed severe mental illness and her father asked her to take on the care of her mother and brother. We uncovered how this situation created another part of her who became hyper-responsible and pushed away the little kid part who just wanted to have fun and play.
At the end of her mind-body session, Susan stretched her arms and was surprised to find a full range of motions on both shoulders. She could stand from seated with more ease and noted less pain throughout her body. She was thrilled.
At her follow-up 2 weeks after the session, she reported feeling mentally “great” and in a new frame of mind. While still feeling some pain and stiffness in her body, she continues to report a significant decrease in symptoms and increased quality of life.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this human body is nothing short of a miracle. When the body presents symptoms, rather than jumping to our minds to figure out how to stop the symptoms, let us first become curious. Let us assume that each and every symptom is a divine messenger intended to bring our awareness to underlying imbalances and patterns that need to be brought into the light, presence, and integrated so the nervous system no longer trips over them, creating inflammatory-based symptoms.
As naturopathic doctors, we are uniquely poised to move beyond the constraints of modern medicine and look at our patients as a unique, divinely orchestrated system that doesn’t make mistakes—and is certainly not broken.
Dr. Nicola Dehlinger, ND, is a board-certified naturopathic doctor and expert in treating anxiety, depressio,n and insomnia. More importantly, she is a human who has transformed her relationship with herself, accessing experiences that were beyond what she thought was possible. Dr. Dehlinger received her B.A. in International Health from Brown University in 1997, graduating with honors. She graduated from the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in Tempe, Arizona in 2004.
Dr. Nicola is the founder of Pura Vida Natural Healthcare in Durango, CO where she sees people locally and on-line. In addition to seeing patients, Dr. Nicola leads group and private retreats. She also teaches a variety of on-line classes. In her free time, you can find her in the mountains or the kitchen, enjoying time with her husband, son and their dogs.
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