Great interview. He hit the nail on the head with hope. The single biggest thing that helped me was finding your channel and binge watching the videos. Seeing people had recovered and explaining the illness improved me like 50% in a couple of weeks. It must have calmed my warning system and feeling better proved what they were saying was true, in a virtuous cycle. Proud of you Raelan. Look at the difference you’re making.
I would have to agree on thos as well. Once I was seeing people with the exact symptoms recovering I really started to get better. My accupressure mat coupled with recovery stories have me 95% recovered.
@@Jane-pg8jv a lot of sitting out in the sun, walking as my body would see fit, 10,000 iu of vitamin d, 420mg of magnesium glycinate. That's really about it, I will add that I was on Prilosec for heartburn before, so that could have helped me not develop stomach issues. I have tried a lot of other supplements as well, I had really good luck with peak performance supplement from melaleuca. It was really good for knocking down inflammation.
Oh my word, Raelen! You came out of your darkness and decided to put light out into the world. And look where it's taking you! Your work on this channel could support medical research and make it into a medical journal one day, supporting not just sufferers around the world today but future generations! You go girl, you beautiful, kind soul!❤ And loved the Dr's insights. Im incorporating some of his analogies into my brain retraining!
What a beautiful, compassionate and brilliant man! His attitude is incredibly inspiring, especially toward the loss of his son and how he's learned and shared that we can always carry our loved ones with us. Bless his heart. So grateful for him and his work and for you and your work as well, Raelan. ❤
Incredible interview! Dr. Bostock has such a great understanding of ME/CFS and other mind/body illnesses and amazing empathy as well. I would love to see your recovery videos become more prominent and mainstream. This field, especially the aspect of recovery, desperately needs to have more of a spotlight put on it. Thank you for the great work you are doing Raelan!
What a relief to see such a knowledgeable and compassionate person in the medical field. Really appreciated the analogies Dr. Bostock used -- the hardware/software and check engine light ones in particular deepened my understanding of the symptom/signaling process. Thanks to you both for taking the time to do this interview!
Yes, me too. I couldn't sing for 2 years after having Covid. I made the mistake of singing with the sore throat - and it just never seemed to fully heal. Exhaustion came and went, and other Covid symptoms. Doing somatic tracking and seeing a pain psychotherapist helped me overcome the symptoms by realizing it was repressed fear I wasn't even aware I had. I now sing like a canary, er demented pirate - but singing is SO good for us! It activates the Vagus nerve and calms the nervous system. My intuition led me to watch a throat chakra video. The one I watched suggested that most people with throat problems had been silenced - or forced to speak words not their own. (That makes you choke more too, and have trouble swallowing.) That hit the nail on the head, and exploring the trauma where that happened made a huge difference. So a somatic trauma counselor can help hugely if the problem is complex. If it's simple, just reading a book like Alan Gorgon's The Way Out has helped people fully recover. Thanks for these inspiring videos! Doctors were so harmful in my case so many times in the MEFM journey, it's lovely to see a good doctor who is respectful and listens to his patients! Thanks, Raelan.
Raelan you will always be my base, you are where my recovery started and I will be with you beyond my recovery. I am mostly better. I could not make heads or tails of any info or resources until your channel gave me a foundation ❤ You are my saviour, thank you!
Oh, Chelsea, so happy to hear that you are doing mostly better! Wishing you all the best on your health journey, and I hope you find what you need to work through this. ❤️
Oh wow, that was so inspiring and touching to listen to! I, too, appreciate Dr Bostock's sensitive and inclusive point of view and I was deeply touched by the short insight into his own journey with the death of his son. And I can't imagine how validating and faith-giving it must feel to hear his idea to have an academical research on your interviews!!! That is sooo huge and I am so happy for you, because you have put in so much work and care into these interviews and into your channel 😍. As a sidenote: Because you have mentioned Curable a couple of times recently, I downloaded the app 7 weeks ago and went from being able to hike 20 minutes max without a break to full on 2,5h without crashing afterwards thanks to Curable (and the whole journey that made me open up to that approach...like listening to dozens of your interviews :D ). I have never felt more "recoverable" and it brings me the deepest joy ever. The point the both of you made about not being the same person after the journey resonates so much for me and I can finally see how I become grateful for the symptoms since I probably wouldn't have started to learn to process my emotions, regulate my nervous system, understand my fear and transform as a person if it wasn't for them.
so happy for you! i am almost recovered too using this approach and can relate to everything you said x my vfs has taught me so much about myself and is helping me make the changes i needed to x
I couldn’t keep watching after the first segment, because the conversation actually made me feel like if you only have a certain form of CFS, you might be able to recover, but that recovery isn’t possible for everyone. i couldn’t keep watching otherwise it’s gonna trigger my fight or flight to go haywire. i’m completely bedridden i hate this illness
aw sorry. I am completely bed ridden too so I feel your pain. I totally understand not wanting to get your hopes up too. I believe everyone is different and every case is different. I was in remission for months at one point during this illness
I completely understand! Later in the interview he does clarify that in theory everybody can heal and the importance of having that hope. That hope actually releases chemicals in our body that promote well-being. I myself have been ill for over 14 years and am going to try the Mind Body Reconnect approach. I’m hopeful it will help regulate my nervous system. Health and blessings for all of us.. 🙏🏽🌿
40:53 this fear and focus. Were massive for me. Removing them, letting time pass and me going "oh I don't have that symptom anymore" was extremely rewarding for me. As well as responding to symptoms neutrally. And the also understanding that of course if I add more activity there will be an adjustment period before my body trusts that thats safe
Of all the many many videos, literally thousands, on ME/CFS this is the only doctor who has made perfect sense. He's so respectful of using the right words and not undermining us. I've often been left feeling why can't I recover, I must be doing something wrong. What a truly beautiful soul Dr Bostock has ❤
I've recently been diagnosed with ME CFS after quite a long battle with fatigue and somatic symptoms. I've found the pattern to those fight or flight states very marked. Interestingly I started Martial Arts training 5 years ago, and while I really loved it and it was good for fitness and community, I now realize how much it was impacting this condition and realizing I can't continue to do it if I want to recover. My body thinks it's in danger and unknowingly I've been literally fighting people and confirming its fear. I used to wonder why when I would go to a competition, I would almost immediately get sick. A lot of my symptoms also got worse during the pandemic when there was so much fear and anxiety around. I'm currently trying to navigate the best way forward and how I can still live a fulfilling, active life without triggering symptoms. It seems that perfect balance is more essential than ever, but also more elusive.
It's funny - when I first began to recover, expressing my repressed anger by dancing kicking and punching helped hugely! But after a huge trauma, my system is in a different place, and like you, I think even play-fighting turns the Fight or Flight on instead of releasing the emotion the way it used to. Chi Gong is a calming dance-like martial art that has helped me hugely. Thanks for writing this, it explains part of why I've had trouble since the newer trauma and setback.
Beautiful, moving and very insightful conversation of two people who have grown through personal suffering, and found meaning through it. Such a relatable, sensitive treatment of this journey. Thank you.
Wow, Raelan I was blown away by this interview! This interview was so moving. I am amazed by how articulate and compassionate Dr. Bostock is. So uplifting! Thank you Raelan- your channel and the work you do is cutting edge and so appreciated ❤
@@RaelanAgle It's incredibly rare, so many of us were harmed even further or traumatized by physicians with terrible attitudes. The good ones are few and far between! Usually, if they don't understand it, they blame the patient.
Just watched this again. Oh how I wish I'd had someone like Dr Bostock to talk to when I first got sick. What a wonderful Dr. Thank you both for this. When I first got sick, I couldn't quite put my finger on it but I just kept thinking that I was misfiring somehow. My body wasn't reacting to my way of life in the way it usually did. I have never heard of functional illness before, but this resonates so much.
Dear Dr Will what a beautiful interview you have given here, thank you so much. We so need to hear all you have shared and so do your collegues. You have so been able to highlight the complexity of our body's functioning and the clarity of your understanding. I am so moved to experience your openness about your own journey. You are so coming from a place of wisdom and spirituality. It's so rare to hear some one medical trained to be able and to be willing to speak about health and life as you do. Wishing you well. And also thank you replan, wonderful achievement Dr Will felt like contacting you, honouring your work.
I loved this one, Raelan. It's fantastic to see a clinician talk about things with this kind of nuance. He's absolutely right about the hierarchy of illness. It seems like most doctors tend to think in purely black and white terms (like, functional condition -> pathophysiology not known -> made up condition by an anxious pleb of a patient who's here to make my day a bit more annoying). It's lovely to come across the odd doctor here and there who has a broader perspective on all this stuff and places equal weight on conditions that don't fit neatly into the textbooks, as well as the human experience of it all. And what a compliment to have him (rightly!) recommend your channel to his patients. Be proud! You're really doing things!
What a lovely doctor. I am so glad I found your channel recently. After suffering with CFS and so many symptoms related to it for over 30 years, i was almost losing hope of ever getting better. Your videos have given me new hope. My biggest symptom is Insomnia , unable to fall asleep for over 25 years which contributes to most of my other symptoms. If I could just sleep without medications it would be a miracle for me. I went to bed at 11 and been trying all different types of meditations but no sign of sleep. So just started listening to this podcast at 0300. For the last 3 nights i have had 2-3 hours sleep each night. Don't know how long I can keep up before i give in to taking the medications. Hope I really find something that can work for me..
The trouble is, the meds often make the insomnia WORSE. Benzos like clonazepam, valium, and xanax, for example, actually harm the REM sleep and damage seratonin receptors so you have less and less ability to fall asleep on your own. I found journaling and getting my feelings and worries about in the afternoon, long walks, various forms of meditation like yoga nidra, Chi Gong, and guided visualizations, plus facing the trauma BEHIND the sleep issues helped more without horrendous side or withdrawal effects. When your nervous system is dysregulated, you're in Fight/Flight or Freeze/Shutdown 24/7 - and NOT in the Rest and Digest state which is necessary to relax enough to sleep. Learning to change your state at will can make a HUGE difference. I like Deb Dana's book, "Anchoring: How to Befriend Your Nervous System" and various somatic tracking videos on UA-cam. Best of luck!
My mind is blown! This is one of the most inspiring, important and timely interviews I have ever seen. As a therapist (and also someone living with ME/CFS) I will be sharing this with so many groups and individuals. It resonates with so much of the work I have done over 20 years of working with patients - Will's take on grief is spot-on - and I cannot wait to share. It has filled me with faith and hope (for many things) and I have no doubt it will do the same for the many I will be sharing this with. Heart-felt thanks to you both. So grateful.
A very powerful interview! Fantastic that there are at least some medical professionals who understand. And it will be incredible if all your hard work becomes part of an academic work. Congratulations!
The problem with accepting a "functional " illness isn't about difficulty understanding it being a software problem, it's the problems with getting help for any other illness afterwards. Once you've had a "mental illness /hysteria/conversion disorder " slapped on your file, good luck finding a Dr that will be willing to rule out anything else. You're not suddenly immune to every other illness. Functional symptoms can and do occur with serious illness like MS.
Woulden't it be amazing. If all Medical Drs watched both this video and all Raglans recovery story video's.xx So sorry to hear you lost your son😢😢 What a compassionate DR you are. Thank you for this video. One good thing came out of covid. It bought more awareness to billions sufferring from cfs/ ME. As symptoms very similar to long covid. We need our stories heard. Xx
That such a wonderful interview. I will bother my GP to refer me to be seen by this compassionate doctor for long Covid. He mentions about “shoulder pain that cannot be explained”, and I even developed osteoarthritis in the shoulder and feel pain every time I eat, and no one can explain that either. For more doctors like him!
@edjack5on if you want some community and breathing & slow movement classes (whilst waiting on that referral) 360 mindbodysoul has great online classes for people with Long Covid (It's called Rest Repair Recover). The majority of teachers have had LC themselves.
I had me/cfs for over 3 years now after getting mono. There are different stages . I was sick for about a year then was in remission for months! But then I relapsed and now I am completely bedridden. I believe you can go into remission because I did! I went from almost no energy to completely back to normal
As someone who has mostly recovered from my 3rd bout of cfs using Sarno’s TMS approach this was a fascinating interview and so validating as TMS can be hard to understand and explain! Dr Bostock comes across as such a sensitive and compassionate person and as I live in the UK I was genuinely surprised that someone from this background is talking about this approach!! Thank you so much Raelan for this interview and Dr Bostock for being so open minded in your approach, I am sorry for the loss of your son ❤ I really hope this can lead to better treatment and understanding of this condition x Raelan-I know you wouldn’t wish to have had this experience but just look at how many people you are helping and the difference you’re making! 🤩👏
This was AMAZING! Thank you Raelan & Dr. Will Bostock! Thank you for your openness, curiosity, the willing to share about your own personal story and for listening. So many of us have been gaslit by so many in the medical community, so it's very healing to listening to you🙏🙏
Great video Raelan and Dr Bostock. Inspiring and moving. Getting this message out is so important, so thanks to you both for all you do. Whilst there is a group of people who understand these mind body approaches, there are still many people who don't understand how these approaches could help them!
'Functional illnesses' oh this is gonna be good 😊 I thought but it actually turned out to be a quite okay talk (I made it half way through this time!), he's appropiately careful in his wording. Nice bike, too.
How good to hear a doc talking with a broader less confined perspective! Most docs are hopeless with this! They dont even understand nutrition! I Hope he's planting lots of seeds! As he says some people don't want to hear a different perspective. they just want a pill in my opinion! Great doc!
Such a thought provoking interview, thank you. I’m going to have to relisten to it after just sitting with it for a few days. It feels like there’s a profound paradigm shift that needs to happen in Western medicine, and it’s inspiring to see it peaking through in interviews like this.
Ist chronic neuro lyme and coinfektion like bartonella also a functional illness??? Often the blood tests a wrong negativ unfortunately. I need hope!!! I have severe chronic Lyme
Great interview and explanation. I would love to know how you are treating Long COVID in your clinic? I am improving by calming my nervous system, breathwork, vagal stimulation and meditation. I am starting DNRS this week. I am just wondering if there is anything else that you can share that helps recovery. I visualize being back on a bike or on a run or on the tennis court. Hoping positivity, belief and patience will reset this internal system. 🙏🤞
An incredible wise, sensitive and humble Dr. He is like Chiron, the wounded healer. He has been through his own hell and found meaning and purpose theough loss and love. Thanks for the inspiration. This really touched my heart and is so relatable. ❤
Thanks for mentioning FND. Raelan when you asked if I wanted to do an interview I was concerned because I was told that this disorder is for life. I’m healing and glad to hear the doctor talk about this functional disorder along with others like CF etc. that’s what I thought. super excited to listen to this interview.
Great interview. I would love to hear his thoughts on illnesses that seem like they might be combined physical & warning system dysfunction. Forb example I am gearing a lot of recovery stories from autoimmune conditions through MindBody work. With those conditions there are real problems that show up on tests - but they are also highly impacted by nervous system dysfunction.
Exactly, as someone commented, what shows up in tests, depends on what tests you runt and how you interpret them. My guess is that many of us carry this mix of "hard- and software" issues.
Great conversation, thank you both - especially loved/appreciated the last point about meaning and compassion, the mind-body connection really is pivotal
Great interview. A very compassionate doctor, possibly an empath. I was so sorry doctor to hear of the loss of your son. I know well how the stages of grief plays a role in chronic pain, both physical and emotional pain. I would like to have heard him speak more about Fibromyalgia which seems to be harder to get relief from. Maybe next time. Thank you Raelan and Dr. Bostock. Bless you both for your understanding and help. 🙏
I enjoyed this video. I appreciate Raelans channel. I took a year break from her channel bc I couldn’t understand her for a while and took it as the illness not being real. But I kept seeking out recovery stories and I took Alan Gordon’s pain reprocessing therapy class and I finally started to understand people weren’t saying it’s not a real illness. And now when I try to explain it people think I’m saying it’s a psychological problem which I’m not it’s very hard to explain when most people don’t want to hear for more than a few minutes
I do actually think it’s important to get some medical tests done to rule out anything more sinister, so that we have confidence in focussing on the nervous system for recovery. But it’s a personal decision. For me it was helpful to rule out other things and feel confident in my recovery.
Completely agree - but it should be part of a holistic understanding - that if the tests are 'fine', then one should be given tools/support to recover - not just left isolated with no hope.
@@jhonybraavo Mainly things to rule out scarring on heart or lungs so MRI, CT, echo, and then some heart rate monitoring for the POTS diagnosis, 7 day holter monitor and active stand test. And then some blood tests on hormones and vitamins. I do actually have the micro clots in blood confirmed by specialist test but I'm recovering anyway so I'm personally not concerned about those.
Read the Bible people. we all suffer in this life. Trials and tribulations.please trust in God. I am getting better after seven years.went ice skating and learning to drive. Never give up
I wonder if the Dr and Raelan have seen the new study that shows people with cfs and long covid have low serotonin because of gut biome disruption. And this disrupts the nervous system eg the vagus nerve. Fixed by giving5htp.. Also the acetylcholine neurotransmitter system gets disrupted by spike proteins occupyiing the acetylcholine receptors on cell membranes. Fixed by low dose nicotine 7mg patch.
Love the lap top analogy. But I don’t completely agree …. If you look in the right places you will see problems with the hard wiring (which could be as a result of the software fault). Our problem is we’re not testing for the right things. Routine tests are completely useless when you’re trying to work out which parts of the metabolism are faulty. This is well documented in ME and long covid now - examples; clotting, nerve damage, slow lymph drainage, impeded glymph drainage, spinal issues, low levels of antioxidants like glutathione, excess lactate in muscles… etc etc. There are bio markers, see Ron Davis’ work. I agree that none of these tells us everything we need to know, but…..
I agree. I love the analogy too but its missing some connections. i mean- in «regular» hardwire diseases stress could also make symptoms and the illness substansially worse. Stress is a part of a huge system of signals as hormones and so on that could burn out or cause problems. Lets say inflammation can be a part of an over active immune system, the immune system can also be triggered by stressors like the gut health, foods, enviroment, and so on. But also psychological stress. Also the hormones to deal with energy like cortisone or thyriod could be affected by stress, poor sleep, poor diet. And in some of these diseases the pain and fatigue is shifting and the sensitivity can shift from the brains priority like he explained, but that still doesnt tell us anything about the origin or the reason for the pain. So basically with the rules layed out here any level og pain could be arising from any kind of small or big problem at any time with no relevance to the severity. I am pretty convinced this is also true and it does occur- however having experts telling you so as a patient doesnt really have a good outcome. Because we, in most cases do have to fight to get symptoms checked out or pain treated, we will always start in the other end of someone telling us that, and the doctor could also very well fall to easily in love with the strangeness of it and their «exceptional insight which noone would have thought». I’ve met pain doctors being in that mindset not interested to treat the pain with anything but «if you have a good time pain will be less» as this was something a doctor could prescribe… However i like how this doctor is wording himself in regards to not knowing what Me/ cfs is for everybody, and that gives me an impression this guy is down to earth and actually interested in helping.
Great interview and heartwarming to hear of an approach around research of your recovery stories BUT I think you have a confirmation bias Realan around brain retraining good, supplements bad. One of the key aspects of my recovery has been working with a nutrionalist using test based data to strengthen my body with diet and supplements and the eradication of SIBO using supplements
To me it sounds like what he is calling software is the autonomic functions, or the autonomic nervous system. If not, how du you understand the differences? Anyone?! I did like the analogy with hard- and software, that matches well how I look at the way my body works with CFS. But maybe the warningssystem (I think of stress- and immunesystems and pain, what else would you include?) are not the only "software" to take into consideration?? Good interview. As allways :)
Yes, I've always thought of the software issus as being the ANS misfiring, since that's our overall operating system so to speak. Any symptom that is inappropriate to circumstances (i.e. where there isn't a hardware problem) fits under the bracket of a warning system. It might be helpful to see things through a polyvagal lens too. For example, we might be in a very activated, sympathetic, fight/flight state, in which case we'll be feeling wired and adrenal and have those internal tremors going on (etc. etc.), and then we might tip over into a crash when our body runs out of adrenaline and goes into a shutdown/freeze state instead (i.e. like an animal playing dead when it can't outrun the threat), when we feel deeply fatigued, immobile, depressed, numb, etc. Those symptoms are warning signals of their own variety, telling us we cannot cope with what is happening around us (whether it's because of too much exertion or too much stress), so we need to play dead till the threat passes. Learning about the polyvagal ladder helped me to see that those of us with CFS are basically alternating between those two states all the time. The symptoms we're experiencing are dependent on the state we're in, and we can learn how to respond to those different states and ease our way out of them. That gives our bodies messages of safety, which means the warning alarms start to turn down and symptoms lessen with time.
Great interview. He hit the nail on the head with hope. The single biggest thing that helped me was finding your channel and binge watching the videos. Seeing people had recovered and explaining the illness improved me like 50% in a couple of weeks. It must have calmed my warning system and feeling better proved what they were saying was true, in a virtuous cycle. Proud of you Raelan. Look at the difference you’re making.
This means a world to me 🙏 Thank you!
Agreed. Hope is the single most important thing for me.
I would have to agree on thos as well. Once I was seeing people with the exact symptoms recovering I really started to get better. My accupressure mat coupled with recovery stories have me 95% recovered.
@@suprcros❤🎉🫶 super! Acupressure mat and what did you do else? Thank you 🙏
@@Jane-pg8jv a lot of sitting out in the sun, walking as my body would see fit, 10,000 iu of vitamin d, 420mg of magnesium glycinate. That's really about it, I will add that I was on Prilosec for heartburn before, so that could have helped me not develop stomach issues.
I have tried a lot of other supplements as well, I had really good luck with peak performance supplement from melaleuca. It was really good for knocking down inflammation.
Oh my word, Raelen! You came out of your darkness and decided to put light out into the world. And look where it's taking you! Your work on this channel could support medical research and make it into a medical journal one day, supporting not just sufferers around the world today but future generations! You go girl, you beautiful, kind soul!❤ And loved the Dr's insights. Im incorporating some of his analogies into my brain retraining!
🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 yumzsid!
What a beautiful, compassionate and brilliant man! His attitude is incredibly inspiring, especially toward the loss of his son and how he's learned and shared that we can always carry our loved ones with us. Bless his heart. So grateful for him and his work and for you and your work as well, Raelan. ❤
Incredible interview! Dr. Bostock has such a great understanding of ME/CFS and other mind/body illnesses and amazing empathy as well.
I would love to see your recovery videos become more prominent and mainstream. This field, especially the aspect of recovery, desperately needs to have more of a spotlight put on it.
Thank you for the great work you are doing Raelan!
Thanks, Jim! Honored that health pros share these videos with patients! ❤️ We, as a community, have come a long way.
What a relief to see such a knowledgeable and compassionate person in the medical field. Really appreciated the analogies Dr. Bostock used -- the hardware/software and check engine light ones in particular deepened my understanding of the symptom/signaling process. Thanks to you both for taking the time to do this interview!
So glad that you found the interview helpful, Sarah! ❤️ Much love!
This is just astounding! What an interview. So validating. I have completely recovered from long COVID using mind body approaches.
So glad to hear that! ❤️
Can you explain in detail i share the same journey
Sounds like good interview here 😇
Yes, me too. I couldn't sing for 2 years after having Covid. I made the mistake of singing with the sore throat - and it just never seemed to fully heal. Exhaustion came and went, and other Covid symptoms. Doing somatic tracking and seeing a pain psychotherapist helped me overcome the symptoms by realizing it was repressed fear I wasn't even aware I had. I now sing like a canary, er demented pirate - but singing is SO good for us! It activates the Vagus nerve and calms the nervous system.
My intuition led me to watch a throat chakra video. The one I watched suggested that most people with throat problems had been silenced - or forced to speak words not their own. (That makes you choke more too, and have trouble swallowing.) That hit the nail on the head, and exploring the trauma where that happened made a huge difference.
So a somatic trauma counselor can help hugely if the problem is complex. If it's simple, just reading a book like Alan Gorgon's The Way Out has helped people fully recover.
Thanks for these inspiring videos! Doctors were so harmful in my case so many times in the MEFM journey, it's lovely to see a good doctor who is respectful and listens to his patients! Thanks, Raelan.
Raelan you will always be my base, you are where my recovery started and I will be with you beyond my recovery. I am mostly better. I could not make heads or tails of any info or resources until your channel gave me a foundation ❤ You are my saviour, thank you!
Oh, Chelsea, so happy to hear that you are doing mostly better!
Wishing you all the best on your health journey, and I hope you find what you need to work through this. ❤️
Oh wow, that was so inspiring and touching to listen to! I, too, appreciate Dr Bostock's sensitive and inclusive point of view and I was deeply touched by the short insight into his own journey with the death of his son. And I can't imagine how validating and faith-giving it must feel to hear his idea to have an academical research on your interviews!!! That is sooo huge and I am so happy for you, because you have put in so much work and care into these interviews and into your channel 😍. As a sidenote: Because you have mentioned Curable a couple of times recently, I downloaded the app 7 weeks ago and went from being able to hike 20 minutes max without a break to full on 2,5h without crashing afterwards thanks to Curable (and the whole journey that made me open up to that approach...like listening to dozens of your interviews :D ). I have never felt more "recoverable" and it brings me the deepest joy ever. The point the both of you made about not being the same person after the journey resonates so much for me and I can finally see how I become grateful for the symptoms since I probably wouldn't have started to learn to process my emotions, regulate my nervous system, understand my fear and transform as a person if it wasn't for them.
That's wonderful to hear! It's such an incredible feeling to know you're on the path to recovery. Cheering for you! ❤️ 🙏
so happy for you! i am almost recovered too using this approach and can relate to everything you said x my vfs has taught me so much about myself and is helping me make the changes i needed to x
Love the term 'recoverable'! Our bodies are amazing!
I couldn’t keep watching after the first segment, because the conversation actually made me feel like if you only have a certain form of CFS, you might be able to recover, but that recovery isn’t possible for everyone. i couldn’t keep watching otherwise it’s gonna trigger my fight or flight to go haywire. i’m completely bedridden i hate this illness
aw sorry. I am completely bed ridden too so I feel your pain. I totally understand not wanting to get your hopes up too. I believe everyone is different and every case is different. I was in remission for months at one point during this illness
Me2
I completely understand! Later in the interview he does clarify that in theory everybody can heal and the importance of having that hope. That hope actually releases chemicals in our body that promote well-being. I myself have been ill for over 14 years and am going to try the Mind Body Reconnect approach. I’m hopeful it will help regulate my nervous system. Health and blessings for all of us.. 🙏🏽🌿
40:53 this fear and focus. Were massive for me. Removing them, letting time pass and me going "oh I don't have that symptom anymore" was extremely rewarding for me. As well as responding to symptoms neutrally.
And the also understanding that of course if I add more activity there will be an adjustment period before my body trusts that thats safe
Of all the many many videos, literally thousands, on ME/CFS this is the only doctor who has made perfect sense. He's so respectful of using the right words and not undermining us. I've often been left feeling why can't I recover, I must be doing something wrong. What a truly beautiful soul Dr Bostock has ❤
I've recently been diagnosed with ME CFS after quite a long battle with fatigue and somatic symptoms. I've found the pattern to those fight or flight states very marked. Interestingly I started Martial Arts training 5 years ago, and while I really loved it and it was good for fitness and community, I now realize how much it was impacting this condition and realizing I can't continue to do it if I want to recover. My body thinks it's in danger and unknowingly I've been literally fighting people and confirming its fear. I used to wonder why when I would go to a competition, I would almost immediately get sick. A lot of my symptoms also got worse during the pandemic when there was so much fear and anxiety around. I'm currently trying to navigate the best way forward and how I can still live a fulfilling, active life without triggering symptoms. It seems that perfect balance is more essential than ever, but also more elusive.
It's funny - when I first began to recover, expressing my repressed anger by dancing kicking and punching helped hugely! But after a huge trauma, my system is in a different place, and like you, I think even play-fighting turns the Fight or Flight on instead of releasing the emotion the way it used to. Chi Gong is a calming dance-like martial art that has helped me hugely. Thanks for writing this, it explains part of why I've had trouble since the newer trauma and setback.
Beautiful, moving and very insightful conversation of two people who have grown through personal suffering, and found meaning through it. Such a relatable, sensitive treatment of this journey. Thank you.
Wow, Raelan I was blown away by this interview! This interview was so moving. I am amazed by how articulate and compassionate Dr. Bostock is. So uplifting! Thank you Raelan- your channel and the work you do is cutting edge and so appreciated ❤
Thanks so much Laurel! ❤️
Best interview so far. Lovely to see a medic who gets it with an open mind. 💜
Thank you, Linda! It's incredible, isn't it? ❤️
@@RaelanAgle It's incredibly rare, so many of us were harmed even further or traumatized by physicians with terrible attitudes. The good ones are few and far between! Usually, if they don't understand it, they blame the patient.
Just watched this again. Oh how I wish I'd had someone like Dr Bostock to talk to when I first got sick. What a wonderful Dr. Thank you both for this. When I first got sick, I couldn't quite put my finger on it but I just kept thinking that I was misfiring somehow. My body wasn't reacting to my way of life in the way it usually did. I have never heard of functional illness before, but this resonates so much.
That's such an important interview!!! Thank you! And it was exactly my path to recovery ❤
What a lovely compassionate, empathetic chap with such a deep understanding of these conditions.
Dear Dr Will what a beautiful interview you have given here, thank you so much. We so need to hear all you have shared and so do your collegues. You have so been able to highlight the complexity of our body's functioning and the clarity of your understanding. I am so moved to experience your openness about your own journey. You are so coming from a place of wisdom and spirituality. It's so rare to hear some one medical trained to be able and to be willing to speak about health and life as you do. Wishing you well. And also thank you replan, wonderful achievement Dr Will felt like contacting you, honouring your work.
I loved this one, Raelan. It's fantastic to see a clinician talk about things with this kind of nuance. He's absolutely right about the hierarchy of illness. It seems like most doctors tend to think in purely black and white terms (like, functional condition -> pathophysiology not known -> made up condition by an anxious pleb of a patient who's here to make my day a bit more annoying). It's lovely to come across the odd doctor here and there who has a broader perspective on all this stuff and places equal weight on conditions that don't fit neatly into the textbooks, as well as the human experience of it all.
And what a compliment to have him (rightly!) recommend your channel to his patients. Be proud! You're really doing things!
Thanks so much, LS! ❤️ Much appreciated ❤️
Great interview!! I'm taking away "post-trauma growth" and everything said about "recovery", SO HELPFUL! Thank you both!!!
What a lovely doctor. I am so glad I found your channel recently. After suffering with CFS and so many symptoms related to it for over 30 years, i was almost losing hope of ever getting better. Your videos have given me new hope. My biggest symptom is Insomnia , unable to fall asleep for over 25 years which contributes to most of my other symptoms. If I could just sleep without medications it would be a miracle for me. I went to bed at 11 and been trying all different types of meditations but no sign of sleep. So just started listening to this podcast at 0300. For the last 3 nights i have had 2-3 hours sleep each night. Don't know how long I can keep up before i give in to taking the medications. Hope I really find something that can work for me..
The trouble is, the meds often make the insomnia WORSE. Benzos like clonazepam, valium, and xanax, for example, actually harm the REM sleep and damage seratonin receptors so you have less and less ability to fall asleep on your own. I found journaling and getting my feelings and worries about in the afternoon, long walks, various forms of meditation like yoga nidra, Chi Gong, and guided visualizations, plus facing the trauma BEHIND the sleep issues helped more without horrendous side or withdrawal effects.
When your nervous system is dysregulated, you're in Fight/Flight or Freeze/Shutdown 24/7 - and NOT in the Rest and Digest state which is necessary to relax enough to sleep. Learning to change your state at will can make a HUGE difference. I like Deb Dana's book, "Anchoring: How to Befriend Your Nervous System" and various somatic tracking videos on UA-cam. Best of luck!
My mind is blown! This is one of the most inspiring, important and timely interviews I have ever seen. As a therapist (and also someone living with ME/CFS) I will be sharing this with so many groups and individuals. It resonates with so much of the work I have done over 20 years of working with patients - Will's take on grief is spot-on - and I cannot wait to share. It has filled me with faith and hope (for many things) and I have no doubt it will do the same for the many I will be sharing this with. Heart-felt thanks to you both. So grateful.
Thank you Steve, much appreciated! ❤️
A very powerful interview! Fantastic that there are at least some medical professionals who understand. And it will be incredible if all your hard work becomes part of an academic work. Congratulations!
Thanks, Fiona! This is so exciting 🌟
The problem with accepting a "functional " illness isn't about difficulty understanding it being a software problem, it's the problems with getting help for any other illness afterwards. Once you've had a "mental illness /hysteria/conversion disorder " slapped on your file, good luck finding a Dr that will be willing to rule out anything else. You're not suddenly immune to every other illness. Functional symptoms can and do occur with serious illness like MS.
Excellent point!!
Dr Schubiner's 5 F's that keep you stuck: Fear, Focus, Fix (trying to Find soltuions), Fight, Frustration.
Antidote: Faith
Woulden't it be amazing. If all Medical Drs watched both this video and all Raglans recovery story video's.xx
So sorry to hear you lost your son😢😢 What a compassionate DR you are. Thank you for this video.
One good thing came out of covid. It bought more awareness to billions sufferring from cfs/ ME. As symptoms very similar to long covid.
We need our stories heard. Xx
Thanks!
Thanks so much for supporting the channel, Marianne! ❤️
That such a wonderful interview. I will bother my GP to refer me to be seen by this compassionate doctor for long Covid.
He mentions about “shoulder pain that cannot be explained”, and I even developed osteoarthritis in the shoulder and feel pain every time I eat, and no one can explain that either. For more doctors like him!
I second that, Ed! ❤️
@edjack5on if you want some community and breathing & slow movement classes (whilst waiting on that referral) 360 mindbodysoul has great online classes for people with Long Covid (It's called Rest Repair Recover). The majority of teachers have had LC themselves.
I had me/cfs for over 3 years now after getting mono. There are different stages . I was sick for about a year then was in remission for months! But then I relapsed and now I am completely bedridden. I believe you can go into remission because I did! I went from almost no energy to completely back to normal
i hope you get better again soon 💙
As someone who has mostly recovered from my 3rd bout of cfs using Sarno’s TMS approach this was a fascinating interview and so validating as TMS can be hard to understand and explain! Dr Bostock comes across as such a sensitive and compassionate person and as I live in the UK I was genuinely surprised that someone from this background is talking about this approach!! Thank you so much Raelan for this interview and Dr Bostock for being so open minded in your approach, I am sorry for the loss of your son ❤ I really hope this can lead to better treatment and understanding of this condition x Raelan-I know you wouldn’t wish to have had this experience but just look at how many people you are helping and the difference you’re making! 🤩👏
This was AMAZING! Thank you Raelan & Dr. Will Bostock! Thank you for your openness, curiosity, the willing to share about your own personal story and for listening. So many of us have been gaslit by so many in the medical community, so it's very healing to listening to you🙏🙏
Great video Raelan and Dr Bostock. Inspiring and moving. Getting this message out is so important, so thanks to you both for all you do.
Whilst there is a group of people who understand these mind body approaches, there are still many people who don't understand how these approaches could help them!
'Functional illnesses' oh this is gonna be good 😊 I thought but it actually turned out to be a quite okay talk (I made it half way through this time!), he's appropiately careful in his wording. Nice bike, too.
Thanks
Thank you for supporting the channel, Fico! 🙏 ❤️
Thanks!
Thank you so much for supporting the channel, Sailcail! ❤️
Brilliant!
Imagine the wider implications!!! Thank you Raelan for all you do to help us find the answers to an incredibly complex group of conditions.
I pray for more docs like him!
That was great! What a great man. So inclusive and empathic. I loved his analogies. He made it so easy to understand.
So appreciate this interview.
Dr. Will is such a lovely human being.
💯!
It’s so good to see a Dr who explains this so well and it makes me feel comforted just hearing him talk bc he understands what we r going through
This is wonderful.... it really gives me hope for the future for everyone going through this....
I'm so glad, Tess! ❤️
Thank you for this incredible interview Raelan. Dr. Wostock is clearly an incredible human being who will go on to help many.
Great to have a doctor interviewed. So much great info. I recommend listening on slower 0.75x speed to understand more easily. Thanks for sharing!
Thankyou both for such a great interview. What a lovely doctor who really listens and understands his patients ❤
How good to hear a doc talking with a broader less confined perspective! Most docs are hopeless with this! They dont even understand nutrition! I Hope he's planting lots of seeds! As he says some people don't want to hear a different perspective. they just want a pill in my opinion! Great doc!
Such a thought provoking interview, thank you. I’m going to have to relisten to it after just sitting with it for a few days.
It feels like there’s a profound paradigm shift that needs to happen in Western medicine, and it’s inspiring to see it peaking through in interviews like this.
Incredibly helpful. Thanks so much for your tireless help, Raelan.
who has ruled out sleep apnea? i just found out I have severe sleep apnea-thought my fibromyalgia and cfs was just getting worse.
This was a brilliant interview and has helped me a lot. Thank you Raelan and Dr Bostock
Ist chronic neuro lyme and coinfektion like bartonella also a functional illness??? Often the blood tests a wrong negativ unfortunately. I need hope!!! I have severe chronic Lyme
Like to know as well
Me too
Great interview and explanation. I would love to know how you are treating Long COVID in your clinic? I am improving by calming my nervous system, breathwork, vagal stimulation and meditation. I am starting DNRS this week. I am just wondering if there is anything else that you can share that helps recovery. I visualize being back on a bike or on a run or on the tennis court. Hoping positivity, belief and patience will reset this internal system. 🙏🤞
An incredible wise, sensitive and humble Dr. He is like Chiron, the wounded healer. He has been through his own hell and found meaning and purpose theough loss and love. Thanks for the inspiration. This really touched my heart and is so relatable. ❤
Thanks for mentioning FND. Raelan when you asked if I wanted to do an interview I was concerned because I was told that this disorder is for life. I’m healing and glad to hear the doctor talk about this functional disorder along with others like CF etc. that’s what I thought. super excited to listen to this interview.
Great interview. I would love to hear his thoughts on illnesses that seem like they might be combined physical & warning system dysfunction. Forb example I am gearing a lot of recovery stories from autoimmune conditions through MindBody work. With those conditions there are real problems that show up on tests - but they are also highly impacted by nervous system dysfunction.
Thanks, Christine, that would be an amazing topic for another interview!
Exactly, as someone commented, what shows up in tests, depends on what tests you runt and how you interpret them. My guess is that many of us carry this mix of "hard- and software" issues.
Yes, I'd love to learn more about this since I'm experiencing both. Dr Jeff Redriger, author of Cured (about spontaneous illnesses) is fantastic.
Great interview and yes, people who have recovered are the real deal!
Outstanding interview. THANK YOU SO MUCH ❤❤❤
Wow, Claire! So incredible, isn't it? 🌟 ❤️
One of the best videos I’ve watched in a long time. Thank you.
Wow, thank you, Megan! 🧡
What an amazing interview.
Thank you thank you Dr Bostock & Raelan, for everything u do to help us ❤.
What a beautiful, profound interview. Thank you so much to both of you.
Oh wow wow wow isn’t he just the most amazing guy. I learned so much, thanks Raelan! X
Best interview yet. Thanks so much!
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Wonderful and helpful interview. I especially liked the discussion on the Heroes Journey. This was very helpful. Thank you.
Great conversation, thank you both - especially loved/appreciated the last point about meaning and compassion, the mind-body connection really is pivotal
Great interview. A very compassionate doctor, possibly an empath. I was so sorry doctor to hear of the loss of your son. I know well how the stages of grief plays a role in chronic pain, both physical and emotional pain.
I would like to have heard him speak more about Fibromyalgia which seems to be harder to get relief from. Maybe next time.
Thank you Raelan and Dr. Bostock. Bless you both for your understanding and help. 🙏
"We don't know that people can't recover." That's great.
Hi raelan, I am from India, but here no much awareness of CFS, I am affected by CFS, would like to speak with you, please.
I would recommend you to google the gupta program, from ashok gupta, has been very helpful for me and you can do it from all over the World.
This gives me hope. Thank you both, for sharing. 😊
You got this, Janne! Much love to you ❤️
I enjoyed this video. I appreciate Raelans channel. I took a year break from her channel bc I couldn’t understand her for a while and took it as the illness not being real. But I kept seeking out recovery stories and I took Alan Gordon’s pain reprocessing therapy class and I finally started to understand people weren’t saying it’s not a real illness. And now when I try to explain it people think I’m saying it’s a psychological problem which I’m not it’s very hard to explain when most people don’t want to hear for more than a few minutes
I do actually think it’s important to get some medical tests done to rule out anything more sinister, so that we have confidence in focussing on the nervous system for recovery. But it’s a personal decision. For me it was helpful to rule out other things and feel confident in my recovery.
Completely agree - but it should be part of a holistic understanding - that if the tests are 'fine', then one should be given tools/support to recover - not just left isolated with no hope.
What tests did you get?
@@jhonybraavo Mainly things to rule out scarring on heart or lungs so MRI, CT, echo, and then some heart rate monitoring for the POTS diagnosis, 7 day holter monitor and active stand test. And then some blood tests on hormones and vitamins. I do actually have the micro clots in blood confirmed by specialist test but I'm recovering anyway so I'm personally not concerned about those.
Read the Bible people. we all suffer in this life. Trials and tribulations.please trust in God. I am getting better after seven years.went ice skating and learning to drive. Never give up
Can someone ask him if there is any help on NHS, I'm a medical refugee I UK
Fantastic collaboration!
Many thanks!
I wonder if the Dr and Raelan have seen the new study that shows people with cfs and long covid have low serotonin because of gut biome disruption. And this disrupts the nervous system eg the vagus nerve. Fixed by giving5htp.. Also the acetylcholine neurotransmitter system gets disrupted by spike proteins occupyiing the acetylcholine receptors on cell membranes. Fixed by low dose nicotine 7mg patch.
Interesting yes ...I've started 5Htp recently to try and raise seritonin levels with my long covid
This was such a great interview. Thank you both, I got so much from it 💖
Just beautiful and very touching interview ❤
Dr. Bostock I’m sorry for the loss of your son. I wish I could take your pain away.
Brilliant 👍.... Anything that offers us some insight and hope is hugely helpful .. thanks
Glad it was helpful, Ella! ❤️
Wow thank you for this great interview❤
Raelan your 30 day course do you need to purchase skill share for $10 a month to watch?
You can watch it for free during the trial period on Skillshare! 🌟📚
Love the lap top analogy. But I don’t completely agree …. If you look in the right places you will see problems with the hard wiring (which could be as a result of the software fault). Our problem is we’re not testing for the right things. Routine tests are completely useless when you’re trying to work out which parts of the metabolism are faulty. This is well documented in ME and long covid now - examples; clotting, nerve damage, slow lymph drainage, impeded glymph drainage, spinal issues, low levels of antioxidants like glutathione, excess lactate in muscles… etc etc. There are bio markers, see Ron Davis’ work. I agree that none of these tells us everything we need to know, but…..
I agree. I love the analogy too but its missing some connections. i mean- in «regular» hardwire diseases stress could also make symptoms and the illness substansially worse. Stress is a part of a huge system of signals as hormones and so on that could burn out or cause problems. Lets say inflammation can be a part of an over active immune system, the immune system can also be triggered by stressors like the gut health, foods, enviroment, and so on. But also psychological stress. Also the hormones to deal with energy like cortisone or thyriod could be affected by stress, poor sleep, poor diet. And in some of these diseases the pain and fatigue is shifting and the sensitivity can shift from the brains priority like he explained, but that still doesnt tell us anything about the origin or the reason for the pain. So basically with the rules layed out here any level og pain could be arising from any kind of small or big problem at any time with no relevance to the severity.
I am pretty convinced this is also true and it does occur- however having experts telling you so as a patient doesnt really have a good outcome. Because we, in most cases do have to fight to get symptoms checked out or pain treated, we will always start in the other end of someone telling us that, and the doctor could also very well fall to easily in love with the strangeness of it and their «exceptional insight which noone would have thought».
I’ve met pain doctors being in that mindset not interested to treat the pain with anything but «if you have a good time pain will be less» as this was something a doctor could prescribe…
However i like how this doctor is wording himself in regards to not knowing what Me/ cfs is for everybody, and that gives me an impression this guy is down to earth and actually interested in helping.
Dr Bostock is explaining very well the condition of the chronic ill people.
Absolutely, Rachele! It's so reassuring to hear, isn't it?
Wow Raelan well done❤👍
What a lovely guy ❤
Thanks ❤❤ so cool both of you
Thank you for this.
Lightning process!!!!!
Super helpful thank you!!!!
Great interview and heartwarming to hear of an approach around research of your recovery stories BUT I think you have a confirmation bias Realan around brain retraining good, supplements bad. One of the key aspects of my recovery has been working with a nutrionalist using test based data to strengthen my body with diet and supplements and the eradication of SIBO using supplements
There are many paths to recovery, for sure!
You help me so much. It is so hard to lose your health to the vaccine.
Do you still treat illnesses like mold and lyme with supplements in addition to treating the brain with retraining ?
"mold" and "Lyme". Lol. That is funny. Two cons total BS to suck money out of desperate people
Yes.
❤
I just discovered your videos!! I’m somewhat hopeful that maybe just MAYBE I’ll find something in here that can help me…pretty desperate
Hang on, Betsey! ❤️ Wishing you all the best and I hope you find what you need to work through this!
To me it sounds like what he is calling software is the autonomic functions, or the autonomic nervous system. If not, how du you understand the differences? Anyone?!
I did like the analogy with hard- and software, that matches well how I look at the way my body works with CFS. But maybe the warningssystem (I think of stress- and immunesystems and pain, what else would you include?) are not the only "software" to take into consideration??
Good interview. As allways :)
Yes, I've always thought of the software issus as being the ANS misfiring, since that's our overall operating system so to speak.
Any symptom that is inappropriate to circumstances (i.e. where there isn't a hardware problem) fits under the bracket of a warning system. It might be helpful to see things through a polyvagal lens too. For example, we might be in a very activated, sympathetic, fight/flight state, in which case we'll be feeling wired and adrenal and have those internal tremors going on (etc. etc.), and then we might tip over into a crash when our body runs out of adrenaline and goes into a shutdown/freeze state instead (i.e. like an animal playing dead when it can't outrun the threat), when we feel deeply fatigued, immobile, depressed, numb, etc. Those symptoms are warning signals of their own variety, telling us we cannot cope with what is happening around us (whether it's because of too much exertion or too much stress), so we need to play dead till the threat passes.
Learning about the polyvagal ladder helped me to see that those of us with CFS are basically alternating between those two states all the time. The symptoms we're experiencing are dependent on the state we're in, and we can learn how to respond to those different states and ease our way out of them. That gives our bodies messages of safety, which means the warning alarms start to turn down and symptoms lessen with time.
Sharing this with my doctor for education proposes. Thank you! Also, who’s with me for Raelan to get some kind of honorary MA or PhD? 🎊 🎉
Havent been on this page for a while have you moved house lol
Need help
"excited about"...not "excited for"...