I’m sitting in yet another doctor’s office. I’ve lost count of how many referrals I’ve been given at this point. I can almost anticipate the look I’ll get: skepticism, disbelief, that moment when the doctor mentally checks out of my story. They’ve already decided it’s all in my head. They can’t hear the pulsing. There’s no proof, so clearly, I’m imagining it. Maybe I’m looking for attention. Maybe I’m a liar. Or maybe—just maybe—it’s real. And it’s horrible.

This appointment is different, though. This doctor is supposed to be the best in the state—a leading researcher, someone who should have the answers. If anyone can help me, it’s him, right? That’s what I’m telling myself as I watch him hit my shin with a tuning fork. Seriously? A tuning fork? What am I even doing here? He leaves the room, and I sit there listening to his nurses and aides talking outside, discussing me. I can sense the uncertainty in their voices—unsure whether to take my condition seriously or chalk it up to just another patient they can’t help.

When he finally comes back, he hands me a pamphlet. One condition is circled: Superior Canal Dehiscence Syndrome.

I glance at my husband. We both have the same thought: What does this mean?

The doctor goes into a lengthy explanation, telling me it’s extremely rare. The only real treatment? A Middle Fossa Craniotomy. That’s where a surgeon elevates part of the brain to reach the missing portion of my skull, patching it up with a bone graft or cement.

Um, what?

I’ve got a newborn and a toddler. I’m working full time. A brain surgery where they literally move my brain? Not an option. The doctor shrugs, gives us the pamphlet, and we’re sent home. No real plan. No closer to answers. Just more questions, more uncertainty, and that awful pulsing in my head that no one else can hear.

So, I did what I had always done: I pushed through. If no one could solve it, if no one could fix me, then I wasn’t going to waste time listening to it anymore. I told myself I didn’t have the luxury of slowing down. I couldn’t afford to stop and pay attention to my body’s signals. I had too much on my plate, and if the doctors couldn’t fix me, I wasn’t going to dwell on it.

But here’s the truth: my body wasn’t going to let me off that easily.

In 2015, I had just given birth to my second baby and was trying to juggle everything—being a mom to a newborn and toddler, managing a demanding career, and attempting to hold on to some semblance of my identity. It was during this whirlwind of responsibility that the pulsing began. At night, just as I was about to fall into the deep sleep my exhausted body craved, I’d feel it: a relentless pounding in my head, as if my heart was trying to break free from my skull. The doctors called it pulsatile tinnitus, but I had other, less clinical names for it. It was unpredictable, this thief of sleep, showing up a few nights a week and robbing me of whatever rest I could grasp.

At first, I thought I could manage it—eating a light snack or finding small tricks that seemed to alleviate the pulsing. But this was only the beginning. Over the years, as I pushed through my career, motherhood, and the growing demands of life, my body kept sending me signals, and I kept ignoring them. I was too busy to listen. Too focused on being everything to everyone else, never stopping to think that maybe, just maybe, my body was desperately trying to tell me something was wrong.

It wasn’t until years later—after a rollercoaster of health issues, surgeries, treatments, and countless sleepless nights—that I realized the real problem. I wasn’t listening to my body. And by the time I finally did, my body was screaming for help.

Recognizing the Signals of Burnout

Our bodies are remarkable. They are constantly communicating with us, sending subtle and not-so-subtle signals to let us know when something is off. But we often ignore these signals until they become too big to brush aside. Stress, trauma, overwork—they all manifest physically. For me, it was the pulsing in my head, the sleepless nights, the inflammation, and the exhaustion that never seemed to go away.

At the time, I chalked it up to life. The demands of being a working mom, the stress of trying to keep it all together—it made sense, right? But in reality, my body was begging me to slow down, to take care of myself. Instead of listening, I kept pushing, hoping that if I worked hard enough, everything would fall into place. It didn’t. If you’re feeling burnt out, overwhelmed, or physically drained, it might be your body’s way of telling you to stop, take a breath, and tune in. These symptoms—whether it’s fatigue, chronic pain, anxiety, or sleeplessness—are your body’s alarm bells. And the sooner you listen, the sooner you can start healing.

Understanding the Mind-Body Connection

One of the biggest breakthroughs for me was understanding how deeply connected the mind and body are. For years, I had been in survival mode, operating on caffeine and adrenaline, completely disconnected from what my body needed. I was so focused on pushing through that I didn’t realize how much chronic stress was impacting my health.

When you’re stuck in fight-or-flight mode, your body can’t heal. My constant state of stress had led to hormonal imbalances, blood sugar issues, and inflammation that I had been trying to treat with quick fixes—none of which worked. It wasn’t until I started addressing the root causes of my stress that I finally began to see real progress.

Healing from Within: The Tools That Helped Me Reconnect

Learning to listen to my body wasn’t easy. It took time, patience, and the right tools to truly reconnect and start the healing process. Here are some of the practices that made the biggest difference in my journey:

• Mindfulness and Meditation: At first, I was skeptical. I didn’t think I had the time or patience to sit still and meditate. But once I gave it a try, it became a game changer. Meditation helped quiet the constant chatter in my mind and allowed me to finally breathe. It gave me the space I needed to reconnect with my body and begin to heal from the inside out. ✨ Explore the impact of meditation in my life and uncover the ‘what, why, and how’ of my meditation journey in this blog post.
• Journaling: Writing down my symptoms and emotions became a lifeline for me. It helped me identify patterns and triggers I hadn’t noticed before and gave me a place to release the overwhelm that had built up inside me.
• Setting Boundaries: One of the hardest lessons I had to learn was the importance of setting boundaries. I had always been someone who said yes to everything, but my body paid the price. By creating boundaries at work and in my personal life, I was able to protect my peace and reduce the stress that was wreaking havoc on my health. See my blog post. ✨Learn how setting boundaries transformed my life and how it can help you too in my personal experience blog post.
• Prioritizing Rest: Sleep was elusive for so long, but I had to rethink how I approached rest. I created a bedtime routine, ditched the caffeine, and made rest a priority. My body needed recovery, and I finally gave myself permission to slow down and sleep.

Embracing Patience in Healing

Healing is a journey, not a destination. There were many times when I felt like I was making progress, only to have setbacks that left me feeling hopeless again. But what I’ve learned is that setbacks are part of the process. Healing takes time, and it requires self-compassion and patience.

I didn’t get to this point overnight. It took years of ignoring my body’s signals for my health to spiral out of control, and it took time to heal from that. But each small step forward, each moment of listening to my body, brought me closer to feeling whole again.

✨Explore why healing isn’t a straight path and how to navigate setbacks in this blog post on the healing journey.

Final Thoughts: Start Listening to Your Body Today

Your body is always communicating with you. Whether it’s through fatigue, pain, or emotional stress, it’s trying to tell you something. The key to healing is learning to listen—and respond—before things get worse.

💕It’s not about being perfect. It’s about making space for healing, creating routines that support your body, and giving yourself grace when things don’t go as planned. Healing from within takes time, but it’s possible. And it all starts with listening.