Your Daily Habits Are Causing Back Pain & what to do about it!

Transcript

Feeling stuck with chronic symptoms, "normal" test

results, and no clear plan?

Chloe Barrett is a functional medicine health coach who works in

fragmented healthcare

Rita Dimichel: You

Rita Dimichel: You have done everything and you still feel lost. You have seen the

experts, you have tried the protocols, you have spent the money, and yet you're still

carrying your health on your own. That is what fragmented healthcare feels like.

Overwhelming, not supportive. Today's guest is Chloe Barrett, a functional medicine

health coach who works with people stuck in that messy middle of healing, bringing

structure and an integrative team approach to whole person care there. Welcome

Chloe. So good to have you on the show.

Chloe Barrett: Thank you so much for having me, Rita.

Rita Dimichel: You're welcome.

Your own experience with chronic illness shapes how you help

people with health challenges

And this is very personal to you, I believe, because, you had your own experience with

chronic illness and that I feel now shapes how you help people through this overwhelm

of complex health challenges. So that was about 10 years for you, wasn't it?

Chloe Barrett: Yeah, yeah. It's been over a decade now of really implementing

everything I've learned, everything I've studied and trialed and errored. And really the

business is such a reflection of me. And it's interesting. The business has evolved and

grown as I've evolved and my journey's changed and my healing has changed and I've

come up across different challenges throughout my journey that then I've shaped the

way I've changed the business to help other people in a more effective way from what

I've learned as I've gone across. So it's really a direct mirror of me and my journey. So

it's very personal. Yeah, it's my baby.

Rita Dimichel: Yeah, I know how that feels.

Functional medicine focuses on treating the root cause rather than

treating surface symptoms

So tell me, if someone has seen all the practitioners and still feels unwell, what's

usually missing?

Chloe Barrett: So I think the really key thing, and I think your listeners will be really

familiar with this, is treating the root cause. Right. And I think it's very common now. It's

becoming more widely known the idea of functional medicine and treating the root

cause, you know, not treating that surface, surface level. So I think the thing that's

missing is when people are treating, the surface and not getting really down into the

roots, and then spreading out and looking at the interrelated factors. So some people

might look at one thing, but they might not look at all the integrated parts of that thing

that's affecting them and then treating the whole. Right. so it's kind of going down

through the levels and then spreading out through the roots. And this image of the

system, the interrelation relates and really, makes such a difference when you start to

treat all those, those pieces of the puzzle.

Rita Dimichel: Absolutely. It is, it is that what we said mentioned earlier about the Whole

person approach. And I think, especially when you have a chronic illness and you're

overwhelmed and you're tired, you don't want to be going racing from practitioner to

practitioner or by yourself because you don't have the experience or, and in many

times, not the knowledge. You don't know who you need until someone tells you. So,

what can this sort of. We have a very fragmented healthcare system, the way it

operates at the moment. One person deals with one thing and it doesn't override into

another. And the communication isn't necessarily there because everyone specializes.

So what, what do you feel that does to a person over time? Does it, change the way

they make decisions? do you find that people blame themselves that they haven't been

able to get on top of their health or on top of their illness and they've remained the

same for years?

Chloe Barrett: Yeah.

Guilt and shame around health challenges are often discussed, but

not discussed

Oh, I love this question and I love something you've tapped into that, again, is

something I've had to deal with in my journey. And it's, it's that guilt and that shame

piece. And I think it's not talked about in health. And I do think when you've struggled,

especially for so long as I have experienced different struggles, you do, you feel, you

feel a lot of guilt and a lot of shame around it of, you know, why can't I do this? Why

can't I fix myself? You know, when people pose quick fixes, it's like, well, why can't I do

it? And I think the thing around, health challenges that, yeah, it's not discussed, the

sense of guilt you feel for being unwell, for, you know, complaining that you're in pain or

you're tired or, you know, for letting people down because you can't, you know, go to an

event or meet, you know, see your friends as much, or there's so many different

components of it and it's so layered. and I think the psychological piece is really, you

know, and the emotional, the emotional piece is really important to address.

Rita Dimichel: Yeah, absolutely. And I think that's why this whole person functional sort

of approach is, is gaining such appeal because it helps people through everything and

it's not leaving them with just here's this one tiny piece and that's it. Even if you have to

recommend, they recommend someone that's in flow with what they're

00:05:00

Rita Dimichel: doing. And that's the beauty about what you're doing is you may be

recommending to other people within, but you've created a team so someone doesn't

have to leave your protocol or your, your plan. I don't, I'm not sure what to call it that you

do or support. You have all these different practitioners within your team, and that's very

important, I think, especially around as, you know, you start something and you feel, oh,

this is actually working, I feel a change. But then as you're going along, you think, oh,

maybe I haven't really selected the right thing for myself because I'm, choosing for

myself. And you find yourself in that messy middle. That messy middle. And then on the

other side you start feeling stuck. And that's where people start getting disheartened.

So how do you specifically support your clients? Is it through

functional testing

So how do you specifically support your clients? Is it through functional testing? Are,

there specific programs or protocols that you, bring them through? Explain the process.

Chloe Barrett: The key program we have is called our signature program. And that is a

three month program designed to take people through this journey of, a very, very

comprehensive onboarding process where we go through every little detail and factor in

their life. They'll do some functional testing with our functional, nutritionist and

naturopath. So she'll analyze the onboarding and look at what's worth testing and

delving into more. Taking on M board already everything they've already had done so

that they're not repeating things. And that's the other thing we really care about is

communicating as a team so people aren't having to repeat themselves over and over.

Because that's something, you know, I know from my experience. My God, I got so sick

of repeating my story, I ended up writing it all down. And then when I went to a new

practitioner, I handed them this like four pages paper and said, hey, you can read that.

You know, I can't, I cannot go over the spiel again. so I think that's the nice thing is we

all have access to the information. And, and each, each team member is

communicating, so they get, they have their tests. Liam is our pt. He's medically trained

to deal with health conditions. and, he. Sorry, he is trained to deal with medical

conditions. Not medically trained. He's trained at that level that he can manage. you

know, if someone has high blood pressure or diabetes, he will adjust the program

based on the condition that they're dealing with. and he also helps implement any

changes to their nutrition that our naturopath or functional nutritionist suggests. And we

really break it down. So the protocol is comprehensive. We cover a lot of things

because we're looking at everything over this three month period. But we really break it

down into bite sized chunks, small steps. That doesn't feel overwhelming. And that's the

point of if someone was given this protocol to do on their own, it can feel very

overwhelming. But what we're here to do is support them through that. And the piece

that I do as well is really looking at the emotional, mental, behavioral side of it to

support them through the change so that we're dealing on, on all the different layers.

and then we also have holistic, practitioners, so therapists and Reiki masters and you

know, sound therapists. So we really have all these tools that we can lean on. You

know, if someone is really feeling dysregulated and we think that they could benefit

from, from some Reiki, or some deeper therapy, then we can pull on all these different

practitioners to tap into what that individual needs without overwhelming them even

more.

Rita Dimichel: As everyone is individual, is it through like a questionnaire or is it just by

speaking to them? How do you decide who should be involved in someone's care? Is it

everybody in your team or do you just select certain team members depending on the

client?

Chloe Barrett: Well, someone might come to us and say, look, I've already got a pt, I'm

already really on it with my exercise, I don't need that. Fine, no problem. You know, so

we, we really adapt based on what the person has already in place or has experienced

or their knowledge. You know, they might already have enough knowledge that really

what they want is some functional testing, a nutrition plan and some coaching from

myself. Or they feel like, you know what, I actually just want the protocol and then some

check ins with you so we can really adapt and flex to the person's need. Because what

we're here to do is to support them and create an environment for them to heal. You

know, we're not here to tell them what to do or dictate or make them go through a

program that they feel like, oh, do you know what? I don't want to do all of that. And

that's not where I want to spend my resources. So it's really. And that's the point, right?

And what I want people to. A really early message that I felt really compelled to share,

early on in my journey is the idea of being empowered to know that you can take

charge of your destiny and you can take charge of your healing journey. You know,

we're not here to say you can't do it, right? We're just here to say if you want the

support, we can do it with you and we can support

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Chloe Barrett: you, but you're the one in charge.

Rita Dimichel: So someone can tailor, even though that you do have programs,

someone can tailor what they want from you.

Chloe Barrett: Absolutely, yeah. Yeah, absolutely.

Rita Dimichel: so this really speak, this really speaks to, you know, even, even I've said

it myself, you know, we have to be our own self advocate and advocate for ourselves.

Chloe Barrett: And when you think about it, you.

Rita Dimichel: Got to know what to do, you got to know who to see, you've got to know

what to say. You've got to have so many things in place to be an efficient advocate for

yourself. And when chronically unwell or you don't have the knowledge, that's where a

resource like yours is just an outstanding service really for people who are confused

when someone, you know. And one of the things we find is that people are usually

when they're chronically ill and they've tried so many things and they've most probably

come to you as their very last resort. They want results fast. You know, it's desperate.

They want to be not where they are. So when, when someone is desperate to get better.

Mark says pacing treatment depends on your nervous system and

how you feel

I know you've talked about pacing. So what does pacing treatment say actually mean?

And what does, fast look like?

Chloe Barrett: That's again a brilliant question. And, and really it comes down to your

nervous system and how you feel in your body. So what we, we really all very, all

practitioners, all my team, we're all nervous system driven. So we want people to feel

safe, to feel calm, to feel present in their body. And if they feel like they're losing touch

with themselves, if they feel more overwhelmed, if they feel, things are a bit chaotic in

their life, then we're not doing it right. And and we all need to have a conversation about

that. We need to slow it down and and readjust. And that's the point is finding the pace

that works for the client, that is going to create this sense of calm. Because you can't

heal a body that's stuck in a nervous system that's in fight or flight. You know, it's, that's

activated in that, in that sympathetic nervous system because it's not in its healing

state. You know, everyone knows the rest, digest functions of the parasympathetic

nervous system. And those are this, that's the state we're trying to get people into. So if

they're feeling more overwhelmed and more frantic, then that's not the goal and we've

missed the mark. And we need to review and we need to Readjust. And that's why we

offer constant communication. So, not quite 24 7, but, you know, close to 24 7.

WhatsApp support so that we're ah, there, you know, so that if they really, you know,

have questions, if we need to adjust, then we can do it. And we can do it quickly so that

they really don't feel like they're on this journey. That's just too much for them because

then that's ah, that's not the point.

Rita Dimichel: You know what, Even in like traditional care and also functional medicine,

sometimes you don't have that access to a practitioner outside of your appointment.

And they can say, you know, come back in six weeks. But in that six weeks you've had

symptoms, you don't feel well, maybe you've abandoned what they've said. And you

know, sometimes people don't feel like they can say, you know what, I have a right to

ring this doctor and find out what's happening. They just wait for the next appointment. I

do find that the discouragement to keep going and giving up on your health happens.

And that's where the stuckness happens. As we, as we've said, so many do. The trial

and error, they've seen something on social media, they've tried it, it's been an error.

They've gone to a practitioner and realized that doesn't. They're not speaking to me or it

doesn't work for me. From your integrated approach, once it starts working, people see

change. What do you feel or what have you noticed that they stop chasing?

Chloe Barrett: One thing I would say is the quick fix. That's the immediate mind.

Because I know I was, oh my gosh, in my, in my. Before I was diagnosed. So I was 20

and it took me two years to get diagnosed with fibromyalgia and all these other things.

And I remember just desperately wanting a quick fix and I was like, please, I want to

find out what's wrong with me so we can fix it. You know, we spoke about this before,

when we caught up before. And it's the idea of, in an ideal world where, you know, you

didn't have to work, or we didn't have external pressures, we didn't have, you know, kids

and financial pressures or the normal things that are part of life that people go through,

then healing might be more, more in quite.

Rita Dimichel: Mark.

Chloe Barrett: Simple. and it's, it's just, you know, life, life is messy. Life, life can be hard.

And I think that's the, inconvenient truth. That we have to come to terms with, that there

is no quick fix, that, you know, we have to put the work in

00:15:00

Chloe Barrett: and we have to stay consistent with it, you know, and that, that we can

get there. But you have to be patient. I think that's one of the biggest things I've learned

on my journey, is to be patient. Because again, if you slip out of patience and you slip

into that push mode, you're back in your fight or flight. You're back in your, you know,

that masculine, driven energy that's going to take away from your body's ability to heal

itself, you know, and what we're trying to do is create an environment where people can

heal, you know, and if you're chasing quick fixes, I, just personally I don't believe that

that is the way. I know there are amazing things that can really help people in so many

different ways and make huge progress. But I do think there are some underlying

foundational principles around lifestyle and behavior change that need to be addressed

and adapted, you know, to make those big leaps forward.

Rita Dimichel: Yes. And I know for myself, who was always looking for how to fix my

digestive issues, I would be doing the quick fix. I would be chasing supplements. And

it's not like I don't take supplements now I do, but I was thinking this supplement is the

answer. So I just kept chasing the next supplement and the next supplement, hoping

that that will do it without realizing back then that like you just mentioned, which I

wouldn't mind tapping into the lifestyle, the type of diet you eat, the amount of exercise

you get, all of it. It's not. I do wonder whether we're so conditioned around, you know,

lose weight, take this diet pill. Oh, you're chronically ill. Take this, you know, and this will

be your answer as opposed to looking at it holistically. Why would someone who's

chronically ill. Why do you think someone is chronically ill would resist coming to use at,

ah, this sort of concierge, supportive, service that you have?

Chloe Barrett: Often it's when people just aren't ready and they say they're still in that

processing phase. If it's, if it's, you know, it might be quite early on in their journey and

they're still adjusting and getting their head around the idea of having a diagnosis, you

know, or having this condition that they need to, they feel like they need to adjust to.

And I think sometimes people, I, I went through this phase, so I think it's a very normal

phase is, you know, I would call it the acceptance, acceptance phase. And you have to

accept anything before you can move beyond it. So that resistance often comes when

people are in that, early stage and they're not ready to do the work because they

haven't even accepted they have this in the first place.

Rita Dimichel: Everyone races to the solution. And when you see a lot online, it's all the

solution. And people, when they're looking like you say, most, people don't even know

they have it. They might have pain, but they don't know they have fibromyalgia. They

might have a tummy up, but they don't know they've got ibs. You know, if you don't even

know that you have something or that you want to accept that you have something, that

takes you down a completely different route.

How much do you think lifestyle plays in, in this sort of healing

How much do you think lifestyle plays in, in this sort of healing with what you do? Oh,

90, don't chase the next protocol that you think is going to do it. Don't chase the next

supplement. It's the lifestyle. So when we're looking at lifestyle, we're looking at

nutritious food, even something simply as walking, drinking, getting good sleep. Are,

these the sort of foundations that you try to put in place within what you do to help

people?

Chloe Barrett: Exactly that. Exactly that. So what we're doing and the reason why we

spread over three months and I mean it might even take longer for some people. The

reason why we do things the way we do them is to create sustainable change. So I

bang on about sustainable change all the time because, you know, we're not here to it.

It's not, you know, a quick fix or a, quick change that isn't integrated into your life in a

way that works is not going to last. So I have my key principles and I do believe they are

integral to building sustainable change. that is balance, individuality, intuition and

relationship to self. And I think if, if, when, if we are, and we are as a team leaning into

these principles when we're helping someone and supporting them to make change,

then we can do it in a way that's going to last and it's going to become integral to who

they are and the way they listen to their body, you know, and they're in touch with who

they are and how they want to live. And then those things are the things that create

those, those really integrated lifestyles that just become natural. And then it's not

something they're consciously having to think, oh, I need to do this, oh, I need to do

that. Oh, it's another thing. We do it in a way that we integrate it into their life and then

it's just a habit. It's, it's a subconscious thing they do every day and it's something they

enjoy and they want to do because they see how good it makes them feel.

Rita Dimichel: Yes. And that's something that goes back to what we were saying about

pacing, that you will put these things in place,

00:20:00

Rita Dimichel: but you will pace them like tiny steps if someone's feeling overwhelmed.

Because I've spoken to many people with any form of chronic illness, whether it's from

pain to obesity, and the one thing that stops them is the feeling that this is another thing

on my to do list. Just one more thing to do. Is this the kind of whole person guided

support? Is it mainly for the chronically ill or is it for people at any stage and even if

they're looking for prevention? So do you do anything around that?

Chloe Barrett: Absolutely, yeah. I would say that, you know, I, I would separate our

market into two. You know, you've got the wellness forward focus, you know, the

wellness focused forward thinking. individuals that just really want to take care of

themselves, they're quite well informed already. You know, they know their stuff and

they just, they're busy. They know what they need to do. They just want that extra bit of

support and guidance to implement it to their life and just want to take care of

themselves because they're aware of the importance of lifestyle and and they want to

prevent. And I think, you know, prevention is, is, is, you know, the most important thing

going forward because if you don't have it in the first place, then, you know, so hindsight

is a wonderful thing. And then, and then the other, the other category of our market are

those people who have a diagnosis, who have tried multiple things and they just really

need that deeper support that just can hold them and, and help them feel like they're

not alone anymore. Because I think that sense of loneliness is another big one. When

you're an individual struggling with this, as you might know, you know, you can feel

really isolated and really, you know, challenged as to where to go next and what to do.

And someone help me, and someone help me hold this because is just too much. You

know, it's really such a challenging thing to go through when you're dealing with the

chronic illness itself and then you're trying to heal. You know, I always say it's like a part

time, full time job. You know, in itself.

Rita Dimichel: When we talk about advocating for ourselves is being believed.

Chloe Barrett: Oh, my gosh.

Rita Dimichel: Because in invisible illness is exactly that. In chronic illness, sometimes

you can see it, but when it's things like chronic pain or other type of, illnesses like that,

it's invisible. They're the ones that people go, oh, yeah, you just, you know, one

attention, you know, oh, yeah, I've heard.

Chloe Barrett: That one, before.

Rita Dimichel: Yeah. Or you're just putting this on, or it's just in your head or, you know.

And one of what I find also, and even for myself, and I'm sure you've experienced this

as well, Chloe, is finding the appropriate words that match how the practitioner is going

to hear it or how the doctor is going to hear it and accept it. You may say, it feels like this

to me and this, this and that, but they don't hear it like that. They need it in specific type

of language. Then that becomes another minefield for them. You can see and you can

understand why so many do give up and turn to those quick fixes. Yeah.

When healing does start to work with your clients, what does that feel

like

so when healing does start to work and like, when you see it with your clients, what

does that, what do you actually see and what does that feel like for them day to day?

Chloe Barrett: I want to say inner peace. And I don't know if that sounds a bit fluffy,

because I try and stay away from fluffy stuff, but I think like a sense of peace, of they're

not chasing anymore. I think we touched on this earlier a little bit, that sense of, I'm

starting to notice a difference in my, my body. I'm starting to feel a difference and have a

sense of connection again to themselves and a sense of I can, I can tap into my body.

And I think true healing comes with, with wisdom and intuition of what your body needs

and, and being able to kind of slow down and come back to yourself. And that's

something I talk about a lot of, is this sense of relationship to self. And, for me, healing,

whether it's a physical condition or a mental condition or, anything, you know, it requires

a very strong sense of relationship to self in order to stop doing the things that are

contributing to that illness, you know, in, in lifestyle or mindset or things like that that,

you know, you might not even be aware of until you've sat down and connected with

yourself long enough.

Rita Dimichel: And have you seen with your clients that even something like they

couldn't touch their toes before and now they can gives them such joy and

encouragement to keep moving forward, Something as simple as that?

Chloe Barrett: Yeah, I think that's the best bit Actually is, Actually another thing that

brings

00:25:00

Chloe Barrett: to my mind is when clients start seeing results that they get, they get

hooked on it, but in a really positive way that they just, they are so thrilled because I

think everyone goes through that point of thinking, like, is this possible? And then they

see it is possible and then they want more of it. but in a more healthy way of like, okay,

yeah, what's next? You know, how. And they, they start to take on more ownership and

more responsibility and feel more capable. And it's that sense of like, yeah, I can do this

and yeah, I can take charge. And that's what we want. As we don't want people relying

on us. You know, we want to empower people with the information and the tools they

need to go off and live, the rest of their lives in a healthy way and thrive. And that

doesn't come from being dependent on us. And that's what I think makes the, what we

do really important is we're not tying people into a long term program. We're really

trying to make people, like I said before, empower people and give them the tools and

information they need and the guidance to implement, you know, the, the information

and the tools and, you know, create that sustainable change.

Rita Dimichel: Yes. Because it's hard to make change or even understand if you are not

aware of what you have or the testing. Like you must do, you know, comprehensive

testing that lets them know you've got abcd and then you, for that you need to do, you

know, ABCD of something else and this type of supplement. Until you actually know

that you become informed, it's very hard to know where to start. And that's what I was

going to ask. Like, if someone does feel overwhelmed right now, what is one step that

they could possibly do this week to then start encouraging them to move forward and

hopefully then take that bigger step and come to you.

Chloe Barrett: I'm gonna come back to what I said about relationship to self and slowing

down because I think one of the easiest things someone can do on their health journey

is just slow down, slow down, meditate, take a walk, do some journaling, sit with

themselves, just maybe have a coffee, A, mindful coffee. Just something small and

simple that brings them back to themselves. Because you are your best guidance

system. A coach will support you, but a coach is not there to tell you what to do. We're

not there to tell you what to do. We're there to help you figure out what to do next as a

team and empower you to do it. So you're the one doing the work. And in order to do

that, you need to. You need to be connected to yourself and slowing down. Because

again, I think, you know, when people are in that overwhelmed state and they feel

stuck, you can't think clearly. It's like our previous conversation, actually, before we

jumped on here about, I mentioned about your logical brain and your executive

functioning. And, if you are in that state of overwhelm and stress and you're in your

sympathetic drive, you know, that. That fight or flight state of, oh, my gosh, what do I

do? I don't know what to do. Then you can't make decisions. You can't. You can't

execute logically. So that's why slowing down, activating your parasympathetic nervous

system, you know, your rest digest helps you tap into your executive function and your

ability to think clearly and to make clear decisions. And, how do you do that? You slow

down, you come back to yourself. You know, you take one of the many tools I'm sure

people have heard before, a mindful walk, you know, journaling, reading those different

things that I mentioned and just. And just really taking a beat and just slowing down,

coming back to yourself and then. And then seeing, okay, what's the. What's the right

next step? And taking it one step at a time, not thinking 10 steps ahead.

You are a physical business in Thailand, and you've got your team

there

That's the other big one.

Rita Dimichel: You are a physical business in Thailand, and you've got your team there.

Can you help people outside of Thailand?

Chloe Barrett: Yes, absolutely. Yeah, we actually built, CW at first tune. Just function

online. And then we, realized we love working in person with people too. So we, we

created a physical presence here as well, so we can do both.

Rita Dimichel: So even though you've got a PT and there's maybe movement or

adjustments or that can all be delivered to somebody online.

Chloe Barrett: Yeah, so we can do, So the PT would work slightly differently. Obviously,

it's not in person. it would be done virtually through video support. and, we have an app

where we have all the exercises uploaded. And, and Liam's amazing with checking in

with people every day and supporting them through their workouts if they, you know, we

always make sure people's posture and, form is correct through video. So we're very

meticulous about everything that way. obviously, I mean, energy healing can be done

online as well. Obviously, physical adjustments, we would support the person in finding

someone locally if we felt like that was necessary.

00:30:00

Chloe Barrett: but that would. That would be the only thing that we would have to

outsource, obviously. we can't physically. Just people online. Absolutely.

Rita Dimichel: Anyone listening to this who does have a chronic illness, or it doesn't

have to even be chronic. Has an illness or maybe is into prevention. Yeah, into

prevention. And you could benefit from a care team, concierge type of support, where

everyone's there and your hand is held, and you have to can stop stressing about

where to go to. Honestly, go to the show notes. All of Chloe's details will be there. So I

do urge you, this is something that I wish I had many years ago. Chloe, Wish she had is

a fantastic service. Chloe. Thank you so much for coming on and talking about it.

Chloe Barrett: Thank, you so much for having me, Rita. It's really been wonderful.

Rita Dimichel: Thank you.

00:30:54