[g_podcast id="13769525"]
In this episode, I talk to SpiritualHealth Coach SvenjaReccius. Svenja was diagnosed with Crohn's disease at the age of 15. She suffered from this illness for many years until she decided to stop handing over responsibility for her health to others and take it back into her own hands.
In the Darmglück podcast, Svenja tells the story of her diagnosis and illness, how she managed to bring her illness into remission and what she does today to help other people with autoimmune diseases.
JuliaWelcome! Iam very pleased to welcome dear SvenjaReccius as my guest today. Welcome, Svenja, and thank you for taking the time.
Svenja: Thank you, Julia, for the invitation.
JuliaWe want to talk about the immune system today. You have your own story with an autoimmune disease. Would you like to tell us what happened to you? How did you discover this, and how are you doing today?
Svenja: I was diagnosed with autoimmune Crohn's disease when I was 15. Despite medication, despiteimmunosuppressants - drugs that suppress the immune system - I lived with a permanent relapse for 11,12 years.These were permanent relapses in slightly better phases and permanent relapses in very, very bad phases. However, I dealt with myself relatively soon after this diagnosis.
Topics such as nutrition came up. Topics came up: How can I gain a deeper insight into what is happening in my body? Doctorsalways say:"Autoimmune disease, not curable, the body is attacking itself." When you hear things like that, you think to yourself:"Okay?" Then you swallow, because there's no light at the end of the tunnel when you hear statements like that.
Julia: Did you believe that at first? Did you really think: Now I've got something that will never go away?
Svenja: Yes. I also identified with it completely. When I spoke to people, I was always told:"Yes, this is an incurable disease, an autoimmune disease. You can't get rid of it." I really identified with it. I was 15 when I was diagnosed,which meansI was of course still atthe level of consciousness of a 15-year-old. The doctors, as experts, gave me their information and I - with zero knowledge of anything - accepted it.I thought I was really in good hands,believedit andaccepted it.
Julia: What do you mean when you say:"I have had relapses"? Does that hurt? Or how exactly did that go?
Svenja: Exactly.Mostof the time my symptoms were diarrhea - very, very, very much diarrhea. I could only tolerate very few foods. If I was able to tolerate them, it could be over again the next day. My body reacted immensely to what I ate and reacted very intensely to stress. Those were my two influencing factors.
At some point, this peak phase became more and more intense, so that I reached a point where I had massive joint pain. So I could no longer walk up and down the stairs, I alternated between fever and chills, my period stopped ... You really noticed that my body was rebellingbecause my whole system no longer knew what to do. That's what it felt like.
JuliaAnd the medication didn't really help in that sense.
Svenja: No, no. I am I kept changing my mind n. At some point, I sat in front of my doctor and he said that, officially speaking, in conventional medicine, I was out of therapy. Yes. And then I stood there and thought:"Great!"
I was actually already looking towards surgery. I no longer knew how I could help myself. But I have to say thatI havea great doctor at my side who knew what surgery entails.Especially the gut microbiome...The gut is the seat of the immune system. And he said to me:"Svenja, that's the very, very, very last option." And really only if he also says:"Okay, we're getting nowhere now." But he didn't see that in me. I'm really incredibly grateful for that today.
Julia: Surgery would have meant removing part of the bowel.
Svenja: Exactly. In my case, the main site is in the colon.That would have meant that quite alargepart of the colon would have had to be removed.
Julia: You were still very young. You're still young.
Svenja: I had to come to terms with myself early on, with my health. Today I absolutely see it as a gift, because I just see how many people treat it carelessly and don't appreciate it at all. Even the immune system, the gut ... What a performanceitdelivers! The fact that our digestive tract has so, so much to do with our energy, with our vitality, with what we absorb, is something that many people - who are perhaps twice my age - are not aware of. Perhaps they don't want to see it either, because that would mean having to change.
Julia: So what brought about the change? What was the decisive moment when things started to change? improve?
Svenja: I was in a temporary job at the time, work-wise.At that time, I slept maybe four hours a nightfor months. My main problem at night was going to the toilet 30 or 40 times. If you think about the subject of sleep: It's incredibly important for regeneration, forcell regeneration, for the immune system, for the whole body process. And I no longer had that.
As a result, everything really collapsed for me. I was then faced with the challenge of apermanent position. My boss said at the time:"But we'd like to keep you and would like to offer you a temporary position for another year and a half." That was the first time I felt this inner voice, this rebel inside me that was really screaming inside me and saying:"No! Not anymore!"
Then my next step was to become self-employed.That was a bit of a pretext.My intention behind it was: I'm healing myself now. I need this peace and quiet now. I now need this time that I can take to really start healing myself.With the decisionthat I then made and said:"Okay, that's out of the question for me", I was able to see how my health really improved day by day.
And then I thought to myself:"Okay. What just happened?" I then went deeper and started to take a very, very close look at myself. So I really accepted this healing path as a decision.
And I have to say, that's not always easy either. I came to terms with my own fears. I have confronted my comfort zone. With unconscious convictions, with beliefs, with patterns that I had adopted, but which I realized afterwards: This doesn't actually belong to me. It's something that I simplyacceptedas"external energy".It bubbles inside me, but is ultimately not part of my being. It really started with that. The deeper I got into it or the deeper I dealt with myself, the more I could see how this health curve went up.
Julia: Although you didn't do much else? Was it really more of an internal process or did you start eating differently or ...?
Svenja: It was actually like this: the more I dealt with myself, the easier it was for me to change my diet. I had many, many connections with emotional eating. I still do today. I still catch myself in different places where I notice this. When I'm stressed. When I have the feelingofbeing alone, ofbeing somehow isolated, offeeling distant.I've had that all my life because I created the feeling myself.
I thencompensatedwith poor nutrition. As much as I tried to get myself backinto it,this whole thingalwaysexploded and I was left with chocolate,sweetsand convenience foods. It was just a real cycle that repeated itself over and over again.
Julia: Even though you knew better intellectually?
Svenja: Absolutely! I reallygot to the bottom of it when I started to deal with it.It also includestopics like self-acceptance, then this topic of self-condemnation, self-love. And today, the best thing for me isknowing that I can buy fresh food. I can prepare fresh food. I eat very consciously.
There are still moments when - due to stress or something - Ilook forthis emotional anchor again. But I can see that. I consciously notice it. And then I either say:"Okay, Svenja, I'm going to let that go",or I can really redirect it and then try to give myself what I need through yoga or sport.
This is the beautiful loop that it then took.
Julia: And are you still taking medication now?
Svenja: I stopped taking my medication at the beginning of the year - under medical supervision. That's not so easy either.Youhavetomake sure - especially withimmunosuppressants - that you have good values for one to one and a half years,i.e. that your health is stable. So that you can then decide together with your doctor: I'll stop taking it nowand then monitor it closely to make sure nothing gets worse.
Julia: It probably takes courage to do that?
Svenja: Yes, a lot of courage. As I said, I lived with medication for eleven years. That was also a little support for me somewhere."I've got these." I think on a subconscious level, we like to relinquish a bit of responsibility and say:"This is still my support."
When I left that doctor's surgery, I realized what had really happened to me. It also took a few weeks before I was able to trust myself again and say to myself:"Hey, now you have the opportunity to take this step and no matter what happens, you'll find a solution." And to work your way back into it. Yes.
Julia: When you say that you've dealt with yourselfhowhow did you know how to do that? Did you do it on your own or did you have help? Or did you write things down? How did you even recognize what patternsyouwere going on?
Svenja: That was interesting. I wassent an online programat the time.There was advertising for it.Itwas also a bit psychological.I thought:"Oh, how perfect. Then you can deal with it. You can thenincorporatethatinto your self-employment." That was the thought.
When Igotdeeperinto this online program,into this further training, I thought:"What's happening to you right now?" Andthen wasthe beginningof everything.
We have the opportunity via the Internet. We have the opportunity through incredibly great authors, books, podcasts. It always sounds so simple, but sometimesis very simple, especially in this day and age. We don't need mega-long, three-year training courses for this.
I've done a lot, a lot on my own. I didn't get much help. I would probably do it differently today.People who have been through the same thing, who have had the same experience, canof course progress much, much faster. I noticed that, yes, it did drag on at times. That was good for me, butwith help you could have gained these insights more quickly.
Julia: We are now living in a time when the topic of the immune system is getting a lot of publicity. Now this virus around, and everywhere you read about strengthening the immune system. You also also read that the people who are really at riskare people who don't have such a good immune system. So perhaps you can understand this quite well from your own illness.
Svenja: I think we're currently at a time when we actuallyhave thegreatestopportunity to take back personal responsibility and power. I just think - and I've been through this myself - with regard to the healthcare system or our own health or immune system: we're handing it over. And we don't take care of ourselves.
We hand over responsibility and power to doctors, including alternative practitioners. In every sector, we are handing over responsibility for our own health.What is currently catching up with us socially with the virus is actually a gift. An invitation to everyone to look deeper for themselves and to look after themselves again.
It's such a paradox, especially now,withthese hoarding purchases.I went shopping - just the way I always go shopping- andfunnily enough: I had no problems getting my groceries.Because I didn't buy pasta, which ultimatelydoesn't giveyour bodyanything to boost your immune systemanyway, notwhat we might need in the situation. I had no problems shopping for my food. That's when I realized again that a rethink is now taking placecan take place. And that we should and are allowed to take a really close look at ourselves, our health and our immune system right now.
All doors are being closed at the moment.Butwe are beingpushedthrough one of these doors, behind which we have the chance to finally do something and take action.
Julia: What do you think is a weakened immune system related to in your view? You can see that more and more people have immune problems. It could be that they simply catch colds easily, but it could also be that there are more and more people with autoimmune diseases, for example. What issues could be behind this? Do you have a theory or an idea?
Svenja: I don't think you can reduce it to justone topic,for example. Of course - and I think everyone is aware of this - nutrition plays a role. So,I thinkit's a topic thateveryone deals with at some point over time: what you can do to strengthen your immune system,what you can do for your gut. It's all one and the same.
Another topic that I've just dealt with is suppressed emotions. You canreally imaginethat: Feelings that we don't want to feel ourselves, that we don't want to acknowledge ourselves, that we simply swallow down, whichthen settle in our bodies in a variety of ways. It's like pent-up energy. And itthenstopsthe body from working,thisnormal mechanism that the body does as a natural reflex. And for many people, the gut is an issue. It doesn't even have to be an autoimmune disease or something similarora chronic inflammatory bowel disease. The gut is an issuefor many people.
In turn, the gut is like a graveyard for suppressed emotions. It's not even just about digesting food or foodstuffs. It's about really digesting your feelings, your life, things that have happened to you, challenges in life, dealing with them. And that's also what pushes the immune system down.
But it's also about stress. Itall flows into each other. It's almost like a network. All of this,combined with each other, also pulls down the immune systemenormouslydownwards. The immune system does not have the opportunity to work the way it would like to.
Julia: You knowss that fear is a kind ofofstress, also has an influence on our vegetative nervous system has and ultimately also weakens our immune system. I think we are currently being told a lot of things that can or even should cause fear. At the end of the day, the press also thrives on fear, for example. The more fear is stirred up, the more exciting it is to read and the more addicted the consumer of this media becomes."I need to know what happens next."
Our brain - our reptilian brain - is also designed to always be on the lookout for danger and to search for danger. This ultimately weakens our immune system even further, when we actually need it particularly urgently right now.
Svenja: There is this fear that is now being totally ridiculed in the spiritual scene:"Don't be afraid!" -"Go into your light!" And what do we do? We suppress it. And I don't think that's the right approach to begin with.
Fear is important because it really does ensure our survival in many ways. Inotherwords,it is not evil or bad. But I think there is a difference between a fear that starts to control you completely and a fear that you can use as a driving force. You candeal with it andeven use this energy and the potential behind it for yourself. Then you start tochannel this energy behindthefearinto channelswhere it mightdoyou good.
Yes, at the moment the fear is there of perhaps becoming ill or perhaps having health problems, but are you now letting this fear control you and actually sinking deeper and deeper? Oyou use this power and begin, dosomething for yourselfnow?Get out into the fresh air - as far as possible. Pay attention to your diet. Maybe lower your stress levels. Try meditation for once.It's also nice to simply see that anxiety is not a bad thing and not something we should push aside.
JuliaExactly, ao feel and sense calmly. I think Robert Betz once said: "Feelings just want to be felt." I find that so beautiful. Feelings are not actually something that can weaken us or hurt us. Dhe problem only arises when I have the thoughts:"I shouldn't have this feeling now. I want it to go away." It's only the thought I have about it that actually makes thefeeling the problem.
Svenja: Exactly. What's also interesting is that feelings areultimatelyflowingenergy. It's completely natural for them to come and go. Like the river,like the wave. But we humans havea habit ofholding on to feelings when they come.
It's the same with fear, for example. If you go even further and delve deeper into the matter, you can actually become addicted to certain feelings. Something like consuming media now. That's just such an issue. At some point, the body cries out to go into this feeling of fear because it knows it. It's become normal for them. It's a program that is played out every day.
Julia: What would you specifically recommendif someone said:"Okay, so I understand that, if I want to get well,it it makes sense to deal with myfeelingstodealn or with myself to dealn. Do you have any specific tips on how to get started? How do you get started?
Svenja:I think the very first step would be to become aware of this in everyday life.How much do we do unconsciously? If feelings are there,you should perhaps really stand up and admit: "Yes, I'm angry right now." Without judging,why I am angry right now. How does it feel right now? Where is it perhaps making itself felt in my body right now? One person is angry and really notices how their throat is closing. The other person is angry and two hours later realizes: Okay, I've been to the toilet three times and I've blown everything because the system couldn't handle it. First of all, they become aware: What's happening right now? On an emotional level, for example.
And then, of course, there are many different ways to look deeper. What I always find very effective aredeep trance meditations. My tip would be thatthe listener canperhapsget supportfrom somewhere.Because at that moment we start to switch off the mind, everything that's buzzing around in our heads, and enter the subconscious. We really have the opportunity to get in touch with organs, with feelingsthat we have swallowed , with traumas, with challenges, with things that we have not processed. This also helps us to accept things andperhapsfind the gift behind them. How can I use this to my advantage right now? And also to let go, to get back into the flow.
I think it's well known by now to let yourself be triggered. These are actually ways of finding out what's going on inside me, becauseI wouldn't react to something on theoutsideif it didn't trigger something inside me. Thatmeans startingto workwith triggers .
JuliaAnd"trigger" hotst simply: I get angry or sad, for example, or feel attacked and go on the defense.. Are these triggers?
Svenja: Exactly. Ultimately, your system reacts disproportionately to situations thathappen on theoutside.
Julia: I think we've already given you some good information on how to get started. Where do people find you? If someone says: "I'd like to go deeper." I'm sure you have certain support options. Why don't you tell us what you offer and where people can find you?
Svenja: On my websitewww.svenjareccius.de, for one thing.Forthose who want to know how I work and what topics I deal with, there's also theEinsSeinpodcast. I always provide inspiration, tips and tools on various topics that you can easily integrate into your everyday life.
If there are different topics, just write to me. Either by email, via the website or on Instagramsvenja.reccius just get in touch with me. First and foremost, I work with people with themselves, so that we reallygo to the deeper levelandfrom there, from this inner healing to theouter. That is the concept I follow.Please feel free to write to me at any time and say:"Hey, I'm standing here and there and I can't get any further. How could you help me, Svenja?"
JuliaSo, basically you work with people who have some kind of physical or health problem and are stuck. Is that right?
Svenja: Exactly. It also works on a health level, but also on an emotional level, because the is very interwoven.
JuliaOf course. I think that if the listeners take something away from this conversation, then it is above all this connection of emotions, of"Who am I really?" with our"äusother" Health.You can see that there really is a connection and that you canalsocan be approached in this way.
Äusseral things often don't help at all. That was a good example with you. You took medication, changed your diet, etc. and yet it didn't actually help you. It was only when you started to look at these inner issues - stress, thoughts, emotionsand so on -you felt better. Und that's also what I convey with my gut happiness concept, that's why it fitsalso so well here.
Finally, is there anything else you would like to say to the listeners?
Svenja: We've already touched on this earlier and perhaps it's also just about the current situation: really start to take personal responsibility again and take control of your life.Think about what you really want and don't give up this power and responsibility. This is a mega beautiful tool. You have been given it as a gift. Use it to shape your life.
JuliaAnd to see it as an opportunity and not as an adversity.
Thank you very much, dear Svenja, for the great interview. I'm sure you've inspired a lot of people here to look a little deeper.
Now I recommend that you subscribe to the podcast so that you don't miss an episode, and if you like what you hear, then I would really appreciate a review on iTunes or Apple Podcast. Because these reviews also help other people find the podcast so we can spread the knowledge about gut and health more.
In this episode, I talk to SpiritualHealth Coach SvenjaReccius. Svenja was diagnosed with Crohn's disease at the age of 15. She suffered from this illness for many years until she decided to stop handing over responsibility for her health to others and take it back into her own hands.
In the Darmglück podcast, Svenja tells the story of her diagnosis and illness, how she managed to bring her illness into remission and what she does today to help other people with autoimmune diseases.
JuliaWelcome! Iam very pleased to welcome dear SvenjaReccius as my guest today. Welcome, Svenja, and thank you for taking the time.
Svenja: Thank you, Julia, for the invitation.
JuliaWe want to talk about the immune system today. You have your own story with an autoimmune disease. Would you like to tell us what happened to you? How did you discover this, and how are you doing today?
Svenja: I was diagnosed with autoimmune Crohn's disease when I was 15. Despite medication, despiteimmunosuppressants - drugs that suppress the immune system - I lived with a permanent relapse for 11,12 years.These were permanent relapses in slightly better phases and permanent relapses in very, very bad phases. However, I dealt with myself relatively soon after this diagnosis.
Topics such as nutrition came up. Topics came up: How can I gain a deeper insight into what is happening in my body? Doctorsalways say:"Autoimmune disease, not curable, the body is attacking itself." When you hear things like that, you think to yourself:"Okay?" Then you swallow, because there's no light at the end of the tunnel when you hear statements like that.
Julia: Did you believe that at first? Did you really think: Now I've got something that will never go away?
Svenja: Yes. I also identified with it completely. When I spoke to people, I was always told:"Yes, this is an incurable disease, an autoimmune disease. You can't get rid of it." I really identified with it. I was 15 when I was diagnosed,which meansI was of course still atthe level of consciousness of a 15-year-old. The doctors, as experts, gave me their information and I - with zero knowledge of anything - accepted it.I thought I was really in good hands,believedit andaccepted it.
Julia: What do you mean when you say:"I have had relapses"? Does that hurt? Or how exactly did that go?
Svenja: Exactly.Mostof the time my symptoms were diarrhea - very, very, very much diarrhea. I could only tolerate very few foods. If I was able to tolerate them, it could be over again the next day. My body reacted immensely to what I ate and reacted very intensely to stress. Those were my two influencing factors.
At some point, this peak phase became more and more intense, so that I reached a point where I had massive joint pain. So I could no longer walk up and down the stairs, I alternated between fever and chills, my period stopped ... You really noticed that my body was rebellingbecause my whole system no longer knew what to do. That's what it felt like.
JuliaAnd the medication didn't really help in that sense.
Svenja: No, no. I am I kept changing my mind n. At some point, I sat in front of my doctor and he said that, officially speaking, in conventional medicine, I was out of therapy. Yes. And then I stood there and thought:"Great!"
I was actually already looking towards surgery. I no longer knew how I could help myself. But I have to say thatI havea great doctor at my side who knew what surgery entails.Especially the gut microbiome...The gut is the seat of the immune system. And he said to me:"Svenja, that's the very, very, very last option." And really only if he also says:"Okay, we're getting nowhere now." But he didn't see that in me. I'm really incredibly grateful for that today.
Julia: Surgery would have meant removing part of the bowel.
Svenja: Exactly. In my case, the main site is in the colon.That would have meant that quite alargepart of the colon would have had to be removed.
Julia: You were still very young. You're still young.
Svenja: I had to come to terms with myself early on, with my health. Today I absolutely see it as a gift, because I just see how many people treat it carelessly and don't appreciate it at all. Even the immune system, the gut ... What a performanceitdelivers! The fact that our digestive tract has so, so much to do with our energy, with our vitality, with what we absorb, is something that many people - who are perhaps twice my age - are not aware of. Perhaps they don't want to see it either, because that would mean having to change.
Julia: So what brought about the change? What was the decisive moment when things started to change? improve?
Svenja: I was in a temporary job at the time, work-wise.At that time, I slept maybe four hours a nightfor months. My main problem at night was going to the toilet 30 or 40 times. If you think about the subject of sleep: It's incredibly important for regeneration, forcell regeneration, for the immune system, for the whole body process. And I no longer had that.
As a result, everything really collapsed for me. I was then faced with the challenge of apermanent position. My boss said at the time:"But we'd like to keep you and would like to offer you a temporary position for another year and a half." That was the first time I felt this inner voice, this rebel inside me that was really screaming inside me and saying:"No! Not anymore!"
Then my next step was to become self-employed.That was a bit of a pretext.My intention behind it was: I'm healing myself now. I need this peace and quiet now. I now need this time that I can take to really start healing myself.With the decisionthat I then made and said:"Okay, that's out of the question for me", I was able to see how my health really improved day by day.
And then I thought to myself:"Okay. What just happened?" I then went deeper and started to take a very, very close look at myself. So I really accepted this healing path as a decision.
And I have to say, that's not always easy either. I came to terms with my own fears. I have confronted my comfort zone. With unconscious convictions, with beliefs, with patterns that I had adopted, but which I realized afterwards: This doesn't actually belong to me. It's something that I simplyacceptedas"external energy".It bubbles inside me, but is ultimately not part of my being. It really started with that. The deeper I got into it or the deeper I dealt with myself, the more I could see how this health curve went up.
Julia: Although you didn't do much else? Was it really more of an internal process or did you start eating differently or ...?
Svenja: It was actually like this: the more I dealt with myself, the easier it was for me to change my diet. I had many, many connections with emotional eating. I still do today. I still catch myself in different places where I notice this. When I'm stressed. When I have the feelingofbeing alone, ofbeing somehow isolated, offeeling distant.I've had that all my life because I created the feeling myself.
I thencompensatedwith poor nutrition. As much as I tried to get myself backinto it,this whole thingalwaysexploded and I was left with chocolate,sweetsand convenience foods. It was just a real cycle that repeated itself over and over again.
Julia: Even though you knew better intellectually?
Svenja: Absolutely! I reallygot to the bottom of it when I started to deal with it.It also includestopics like self-acceptance, then this topic of self-condemnation, self-love. And today, the best thing for me isknowing that I can buy fresh food. I can prepare fresh food. I eat very consciously.
There are still moments when - due to stress or something - Ilook forthis emotional anchor again. But I can see that. I consciously notice it. And then I either say:"Okay, Svenja, I'm going to let that go",or I can really redirect it and then try to give myself what I need through yoga or sport.
This is the beautiful loop that it then took.
Julia: And are you still taking medication now?
Svenja: I stopped taking my medication at the beginning of the year - under medical supervision. That's not so easy either.Youhavetomake sure - especially withimmunosuppressants - that you have good values for one to one and a half years,i.e. that your health is stable. So that you can then decide together with your doctor: I'll stop taking it nowand then monitor it closely to make sure nothing gets worse.
Julia: It probably takes courage to do that?
Svenja: Yes, a lot of courage. As I said, I lived with medication for eleven years. That was also a little support for me somewhere."I've got these." I think on a subconscious level, we like to relinquish a bit of responsibility and say:"This is still my support."
When I left that doctor's surgery, I realized what had really happened to me. It also took a few weeks before I was able to trust myself again and say to myself:"Hey, now you have the opportunity to take this step and no matter what happens, you'll find a solution." And to work your way back into it. Yes.
Julia: When you say that you've dealt with yourselfhowhow did you know how to do that? Did you do it on your own or did you have help? Or did you write things down? How did you even recognize what patternsyouwere going on?
Svenja: That was interesting. I wassent an online programat the time.There was advertising for it.Itwas also a bit psychological.I thought:"Oh, how perfect. Then you can deal with it. You can thenincorporatethatinto your self-employment." That was the thought.
When Igotdeeperinto this online program,into this further training, I thought:"What's happening to you right now?" Andthen wasthe beginningof everything.
We have the opportunity via the Internet. We have the opportunity through incredibly great authors, books, podcasts. It always sounds so simple, but sometimesis very simple, especially in this day and age. We don't need mega-long, three-year training courses for this.
I've done a lot, a lot on my own. I didn't get much help. I would probably do it differently today.People who have been through the same thing, who have had the same experience, canof course progress much, much faster. I noticed that, yes, it did drag on at times. That was good for me, butwith help you could have gained these insights more quickly.
Julia: We are now living in a time when the topic of the immune system is getting a lot of publicity. Now this virus around, and everywhere you read about strengthening the immune system. You also also read that the people who are really at riskare people who don't have such a good immune system. So perhaps you can understand this quite well from your own illness.
What are your thoughts on the topic of the immune system and strengthening the immune system?
Svenja: I think we're currently at a time when we actuallyhave thegreatestopportunity to take back personal responsibility and power. I just think - and I've been through this myself - with regard to the healthcare system or our own health or immune system: we're handing it over. And we don't take care of ourselves.
We hand over responsibility and power to doctors, including alternative practitioners. In every sector, we are handing over responsibility for our own health.What is currently catching up with us socially with the virus is actually a gift. An invitation to everyone to look deeper for themselves and to look after themselves again.
It's such a paradox, especially now,withthese hoarding purchases.I went shopping - just the way I always go shopping- andfunnily enough: I had no problems getting my groceries.Because I didn't buy pasta, which ultimatelydoesn't giveyour bodyanything to boost your immune systemanyway, notwhat we might need in the situation. I had no problems shopping for my food. That's when I realized again that a rethink is now taking placecan take place. And that we should and are allowed to take a really close look at ourselves, our health and our immune system right now.
All doors are being closed at the moment.Butwe are beingpushedthrough one of these doors, behind which we have the chance to finally do something and take action.
Julia: What do you think is a weakened immune system related to in your view? You can see that more and more people have immune problems. It could be that they simply catch colds easily, but it could also be that there are more and more people with autoimmune diseases, for example. What issues could be behind this? Do you have a theory or an idea?
Svenja: I don't think you can reduce it to justone topic,for example. Of course - and I think everyone is aware of this - nutrition plays a role. So,I thinkit's a topic thateveryone deals with at some point over time: what you can do to strengthen your immune system,what you can do for your gut. It's all one and the same.
Another topic that I've just dealt with is suppressed emotions. You canreally imaginethat: Feelings that we don't want to feel ourselves, that we don't want to acknowledge ourselves, that we simply swallow down, whichthen settle in our bodies in a variety of ways. It's like pent-up energy. And itthenstopsthe body from working,thisnormal mechanism that the body does as a natural reflex. And for many people, the gut is an issue. It doesn't even have to be an autoimmune disease or something similarora chronic inflammatory bowel disease. The gut is an issuefor many people.
In turn, the gut is like a graveyard for suppressed emotions. It's not even just about digesting food or foodstuffs. It's about really digesting your feelings, your life, things that have happened to you, challenges in life, dealing with them. And that's also what pushes the immune system down.
But it's also about stress. Itall flows into each other. It's almost like a network. All of this,combined with each other, also pulls down the immune systemenormouslydownwards. The immune system does not have the opportunity to work the way it would like to.
Julia: You knowss that fear is a kind ofofstress, also has an influence on our vegetative nervous system has and ultimately also weakens our immune system. I think we are currently being told a lot of things that can or even should cause fear. At the end of the day, the press also thrives on fear, for example. The more fear is stirred up, the more exciting it is to read and the more addicted the consumer of this media becomes."I need to know what happens next."
Our brain - our reptilian brain - is also designed to always be on the lookout for danger and to search for danger. This ultimately weakens our immune system even further, when we actually need it particularly urgently right now.
Svenja: There is this fear that is now being totally ridiculed in the spiritual scene:"Don't be afraid!" -"Go into your light!" And what do we do? We suppress it. And I don't think that's the right approach to begin with.
Fear is important because it really does ensure our survival in many ways. Inotherwords,it is not evil or bad. But I think there is a difference between a fear that starts to control you completely and a fear that you can use as a driving force. You candeal with it andeven use this energy and the potential behind it for yourself. Then you start tochannel this energy behindthefearinto channelswhere it mightdoyou good.
Yes, at the moment the fear is there of perhaps becoming ill or perhaps having health problems, but are you now letting this fear control you and actually sinking deeper and deeper? Oyou use this power and begin, dosomething for yourselfnow?Get out into the fresh air - as far as possible. Pay attention to your diet. Maybe lower your stress levels. Try meditation for once.It's also nice to simply see that anxiety is not a bad thing and not something we should push aside.
JuliaExactly, ao feel and sense calmly. I think Robert Betz once said: "Feelings just want to be felt." I find that so beautiful. Feelings are not actually something that can weaken us or hurt us. Dhe problem only arises when I have the thoughts:"I shouldn't have this feeling now. I want it to go away." It's only the thought I have about it that actually makes thefeeling the problem.
Svenja: Exactly. What's also interesting is that feelings areultimatelyflowingenergy. It's completely natural for them to come and go. Like the river,like the wave. But we humans havea habit ofholding on to feelings when they come.
It's the same with fear, for example. If you go even further and delve deeper into the matter, you can actually become addicted to certain feelings. Something like consuming media now. That's just such an issue. At some point, the body cries out to go into this feeling of fear because it knows it. It's become normal for them. It's a program that is played out every day.
Julia: What would you specifically recommendif someone said:"Okay, so I understand that, if I want to get well,it it makes sense to deal with myfeelingstodealn or with myself to dealn. Do you have any specific tips on how to get started? How do you get started?
Who am I really?
Svenja:I think the very first step would be to become aware of this in everyday life.How much do we do unconsciously? If feelings are there,you should perhaps really stand up and admit: "Yes, I'm angry right now." Without judging,why I am angry right now. How does it feel right now? Where is it perhaps making itself felt in my body right now? One person is angry and really notices how their throat is closing. The other person is angry and two hours later realizes: Okay, I've been to the toilet three times and I've blown everything because the system couldn't handle it. First of all, they become aware: What's happening right now? On an emotional level, for example.
And then, of course, there are many different ways to look deeper. What I always find very effective aredeep trance meditations. My tip would be thatthe listener canperhapsget supportfrom somewhere.Because at that moment we start to switch off the mind, everything that's buzzing around in our heads, and enter the subconscious. We really have the opportunity to get in touch with organs, with feelingsthat we have swallowed , with traumas, with challenges, with things that we have not processed. This also helps us to accept things andperhapsfind the gift behind them. How can I use this to my advantage right now? And also to let go, to get back into the flow.
I think it's well known by now to let yourself be triggered. These are actually ways of finding out what's going on inside me, becauseI wouldn't react to something on theoutsideif it didn't trigger something inside me. Thatmeans startingto workwith triggers .
JuliaAnd"trigger" hotst simply: I get angry or sad, for example, or feel attacked and go on the defense.. Are these triggers?
Svenja: Exactly. Ultimately, your system reacts disproportionately to situations thathappen on theoutside.
Julia: I think we've already given you some good information on how to get started. Where do people find you? If someone says: "I'd like to go deeper." I'm sure you have certain support options. Why don't you tell us what you offer and where people can find you?
Svenja: On my websitewww.svenjareccius.de, for one thing.Forthose who want to know how I work and what topics I deal with, there's also theEinsSeinpodcast. I always provide inspiration, tips and tools on various topics that you can easily integrate into your everyday life.
If there are different topics, just write to me. Either by email, via the website or on Instagramsvenja.reccius just get in touch with me. First and foremost, I work with people with themselves, so that we reallygo to the deeper levelandfrom there, from this inner healing to theouter. That is the concept I follow.Please feel free to write to me at any time and say:"Hey, I'm standing here and there and I can't get any further. How could you help me, Svenja?"
JuliaSo, basically you work with people who have some kind of physical or health problem and are stuck. Is that right?
Svenja: Exactly. It also works on a health level, but also on an emotional level, because the is very interwoven.
JuliaOf course. I think that if the listeners take something away from this conversation, then it is above all this connection of emotions, of"Who am I really?" with our"äusother" Health.You can see that there really is a connection and that you canalsocan be approached in this way.
Äusseral things often don't help at all. That was a good example with you. You took medication, changed your diet, etc. and yet it didn't actually help you. It was only when you started to look at these inner issues - stress, thoughts, emotionsand so on -you felt better. Und that's also what I convey with my gut happiness concept, that's why it fitsalso so well here.
Finally, is there anything else you would like to say to the listeners?
Svenja: We've already touched on this earlier and perhaps it's also just about the current situation: really start to take personal responsibility again and take control of your life.Think about what you really want and don't give up this power and responsibility. This is a mega beautiful tool. You have been given it as a gift. Use it to shape your life.
JuliaAnd to see it as an opportunity and not as an adversity.
Thank you very much, dear Svenja, for the great interview. I'm sure you've inspired a lot of people here to look a little deeper.
Now I recommend that you subscribe to the podcast so that you don't miss an episode, and if you like what you hear, then I would really appreciate a review on iTunes or Apple Podcast. Because these reviews also help other people find the podcast so we can spread the knowledge about gut and health more.
