E066 | The Myth of “Doing It All”: Why Simplicity Heals Faster

Are you doing everything right—and still not feeling better?

You’ve tried the protocols, eliminated all the foods, run the tests… and yet, your symptoms persist. You’re exhausted—not just physically, but emotionally from chasing the next fix.

The truth? High-achieving women often fall into the trap of over-efforting—because they’ve been taught that more hustle = more healing. But your body wasn’t built for that. It’s trying to lead you toward a different rhythm. One rooted in clarity, not complexity. 

And that’s where Effortless Healing begins.

BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING TO THIS PODCAST EPISODE, YOU'LL DISCOVER:

• Why perfectionism, not your condition, might be sabotaging your healing
• The 5 hidden villains of the old wellness model—and how to recognize them
• A powerful reframe exercise that shifts you out of survival mode and into body-led healing

It’s time to stop managing your healing like a full-time job—and start trusting your body’s built-in wisdom. This episode is your permission slip to do less, but heal deeper.

OTHER LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Download the Decode Your Symptoms Workbook
• Join our free Facebook group: Embrace Your Healing Journey
• Book - The gifts of imperfection by Brene Brown
• E064 | Protocol fatigue is real—Here’s what no one tells you
• Blog –http://healingfromwithin.substack.com/
• Learn about the Body Wise Healing™ Framework
• ✉️ Write to me at anindita@aninditarungta.com. I'd love to hear from you!

Chapters

• 1:09 The Myth of Doing It All
• 3:46 The Trap of Perfectionism
• 4:36 The Dangers of Perfectionism
• 6:44 The Cost of Chasing Perfection
• 7:28 Symptoms and Uncertainty
• 8:15 The Five Villains of Outdated Wellness
• 8:46 Exploring Protocol Overload
• 9:50 Understanding Wellness Hustle
• 10:28 The Issue of Symptom Chasing
• 10:52 Healing Perfectionism
• 11:24 Diagnosis Addiction
• 13:09 Effortless Healing Approach
• 17:06 Simplicity in Healing

Transcript

Tracking. Tweaking. Troubleshooting, testing. The question is usually not. Are you doing enough? It's the question actually is. Are you doing what really matters if you're doing it all? And if you are, you know. I'm I'm talking about the high achieving women who have, you know, who are putting in their best foot forward, putting in a lot of effort and still not seeing the results. And I'm talking about why your body does not need it all. It just needs more clarity. And that's what this episode is about. 

Welcome to Embrace Your Healing Journey, a podcast for women with autoimmune and other chronic conditions to help them navigate their illness without fear of isolation and uncertainty, and find relief from their symptoms. Your body is your guide and ally in healing. If you are ready to embrace this journey with compassion and awareness, then this show is for you. Tune in weekly as I, a Functional medicine Certified Health Coach, deliver tips and insights that demystify the healing process, guiding you towards the relief you deserve so that you can feel healthy and happy once more. 

So if you've been taught that discipline data and doing more, you know, are the markers of success, then you know, then you are you are amongst the majority. That's typically what we are taught in schools. And that works. Of course it works in the professional life, in sports, etc. it works. Usually when it comes to healing, it can backfire. And there's a reason for that, especially when we are dealing with chronic health issues. When we are, body is already in a lot of pressure, it's already feeling depleted and it's already in in a chronic survival mode. It, you know, it backfires as a result of that. 

And in today's episode, I'm talking about why putting in too much of effort, without without any kind of strategy, without intention can keep your body in a survival mode. And the five villains of outdated wellness model that may be sabotaging your, uh, improvement, health improvement, health outcomes. And that's more coming up in the episode. So make sure that you stay till the end. 

Before that, I wanted to share a quick story. I had this realization about this myth of doing it all many years ago when I was actually doing my masters in business. Um, and I was in this was at the end of the first year, and we had to choose our own roommates for the final year, which was the second year. And at that time I had, you know, I had made a few friends and I, I knew this girl, and she was really, uh, warm and kind and nice and driven. And I got along really well with her. She would have been the most obvious choice for me to, uh, you know, share a room with for the second year. Yet. I went with my gut and I, I mean, I realized later as to why they did that, but that time, somehow I went with my gut and I chose somebody else. And, uh, her room was spotless. I mean, her room used to be spotless. Everything was pick and span. Everything was in its place. Not a hair was out of place. Not, you know, not one thing was out of place. Every book was in alignment and, uh, stacked perfectly. Her cupboard literally looked like it was out of a magazine, like, that's how amazing it was. And yet I somehow knew that this was not for me, this level of perfectionism or this this kind of perfectionism was not going to work for me. And I am no slob. Uh, actually. I mean, I like my room neat and clean, and I try and keep it that way, but I knew that I, I preferred ease, comfort and peace of mind more than anything else. Right. And I don't need to have the best looking stuff, the best looking clothes and the best, but I need I mean, I have other priorities, and I am very clear that I am not chasing perfection because I somehow knew intuitively that that's not something that was going to work. And high functioning women are often chased for their discipline. And I am disciplined. 

I'm very organized, very methodical. And I also have high standards. Uh, I have high standards for myself when I'm writing a blog post, when I'm recording this podcast episodes, I'm very aware of who I'm serving and why I'm doing the work that I do, why I show up every day. Uh, and, uh, so my standards are quite high when I take care of my family, when I, when I meet my friends. So all of that. So that's not it doesn't take away from the standards of excellence. 

But what happens is that this drive, if we are not aware that we are chasing perfectionism, can actually become a trap. And overfitting can sometimes become a coping mechanism. And that's not really good or helpful when you're trying to heal from a chronic illness. And when you're constantly doing, your body remains stuck in that mode. And, you know, high, uh, you know, high stress mode. And there's also a hidden danger in chasing perfectionism in the guise of doing it all. And I think Brené Brown has actually sum this up beautifully in her book, The Gifts of Imperfection. I'm going to share it in the show notes below. If you haven't read the book, I highly recommend the book. 

So she says 

Perfectionism is not self-improvement. Perfectionism is, at its core about trying to earn approval and acceptance. Most perfectionists were raised being praised for achievement and performance. Grades. Manners. Rule. Following people. Pleasing. Appearance. Sports. Somewhere along the way, we adopt this dangerous and debilitating, limiting belief. A belief system I am, what I accomplish and how well I accomplish it. Please perform. Perfect. Healthy striving is self-focused. How can I improve? Perfectionism is other focused. What will they think? 

I think those last two lines and the last two questions are brilliant. Like this is exactly what it what I'm talking about, that if you are striving in a healthy manner, especially when it comes to your health, it's about asking, how can I improve? What are the ways that I can make better choices? A habit, you know, healthier foods? Make better lifestyle choices. Perfectionism, on the other hand, is more focused on others, like it's outwardly focused. It's not so much about me. 

So it's something that you need to think about, something that you can be honest with yourself. Like, are you are you doing things are you following certain protocols? For the right reasons. And or are you trying to do it all and project this image? We have this image and we are told it's being being about a superwoman. I mean, I fell into that myth for a very long time, but why should we want to be super women, 

 We don't need to be super women. We can be. Absolutely. We are enough being who we are because some somewhere on the line, we get the message that it's not enough to be us. We need to be more than what we are, which is why we have this thing about doing it all, being perfect, being perfectly made up, perfect clothes, perfect family, perfect life. And it costs us in terms of health, and especially when your body is trying to already deal with so many things, this can certainly backfire.

 So you wake up feeling rested, like sleep did not actually refuel you. And it's like the whole night you spent chasing a marathon in your head, or your digestion is all over the place. You know, one day it's this symptom, tomorrow it's another symptom, and on another, you know, and you feel this low get low. Great pain that keeps shifting. And it goes from your back to your head to your shoulder. You don't really know what's going on. And underneath all of that, there is this constant thread of anxiety that you are aware of. You know, it's like this humming thing, noise in the background and you because you know that you're doing everything right, but you're still not feeling well and your body still doesn't feel safe. So that's actually the hardest part for most people. It's not just the symptom, it's the uncertainty of the symptoms and what they mean. Because you are doing it all. You're putting all your effort. 

And again, like most other women, you've probably been told that it's all in your hormones. If you're especially in your 40s and 50s, everything is attributed to hormones, which is really, really not the case. Or you might be learning a lab after lab, you know, thinking the problem is either a misdiagnosis or maybe the wrong supplement. And it may not be that at all. So whether the diagnosis is eczema, Hashimoto's, lupus, allergies or something else, the real problem is not just the symptoms, right? It's the system that you're healing inside us. And again, I keep reiterating this. It's not that you should not be looking for a diagnosis. It's not that you should not be going to the doctor and getting medical treatment. These are all necessary. But often this is not what your body needs. And this is certainly not enough. 

Let's let's zoom out a bit and, you know, let's talk about what's really happening. And let me share with you the five villains of the outdated wellness models that may be sabotaging your health efforts. That's what I'm talking about in this. And I've coined these five terms to make it easier for you to understand what really, I play here. 

So number one is the protocol overload. It's when healing starts feeling like a part time job or maybe even a full time job for you. 

 Number two is wellness hustle. Where your worth is tried is tied to how hard you are trying. Like how how much effort are you putting in really? 

Number three symptom chasing that you are reacting to every symptom or flare without really understanding what is at the root. 

Number four is healing. Perfectionism. We are trying to win. You're performing at your best and you're trying to get full marks. 

And number five is diagnosis addiction. We are outsourcing self-trust to a lab or a lab result to a label. 

So the first one, which is number one, a villain that I talked about, which is a protocol overload, is following too many protocols trying to do it.  And it just leads to protocol fatigue. And we are not even, you know, we don't even know about this. And I've talked about this in episode 64 where I've said protocol fatigue is real. And I'm going to share that in the show notes below. You can listen to that episode as well. 

The second villain is the wellness. Hustle is quite sneaky and usually goes undetected, This is where our self-worth is so tied up to our performance and the effort that we don't really realize that we are doing this, and it's drilled into us right from school. That's why it's so sneaky. 

The third one is symptom chasing, which is again, extremely common and understandable, of course, because no one really tells you why you need to look at not only, of course, see what your symptoms are, but just, uh. Addressing symptoms or managing your symptoms is not going to actually make it go away forever or sustainably. And nobody ever told you that. You need to also look at why you have those symptoms and what's really going on. 

And the fourth healing perfectionism is again, quite subtle goes undetected. Usually it's where you try to relate to awareness, and it costs you because it costs you in terms of your relationship with your body, because you are actually disconnected from your body when you're trying, when you're trying so hard to be perfect all the time. 

And the final diagnosis, addiction is also one that is perpetuated by our conditioning because we outsource our entire healing, you know, protocol and treatment and responsibility to others. So we basically just hand over our responsibility to healing, to the experts, to the medical professionals, to the lab results, to supplements everything. So we don't want to and we are chasing then one diagnosis after another diagnosis and hoping that, you know, the next one or the one that we missed will actually help us, you know, get better. So what I want to ask you is this which of these old villains are you ready to release? Like, now that you're aware of these five villains? 

The number one was protocol overload. Number two, the wellness hustle. 

Number three, symptom chasing, 

number four, healing, perfectionism. 

And number five, diagnosis addiction. So I want you to be really honest with yourself and ask, which of these old villains are you ready to release? So because you've already probably tried many things, you've probably tried the elimination diets, maybe even multiple versions of it. Autoimmune paleo, the, uh, autoimmune paleo, the gluten free, the, uh, you know, low histamine. Maybe you've taken supplements, maybe even 20 to 30 a day. And every time a new symptom shows up or some shift happens, you add something. You're either at a lab, you go to a new expert, and the and it doesn't really work. And the problem is that it doesn't fit together. 

It's not a seamless integration. It's not a integration at all. Maybe. And each attempt to fix things actually is not working. And it maps to one of the old wellness villains that I just talked about. So that complicated protocol or routine that you're following, you know, without really connecting with what your body is telling you, it's the wellness hustle or the hyper focus on testing and symptom spikes. Is the symptom chasing, or the belief that only the right diagnosis will finally give you the answers and unlock healing? It's a diagnosis addiction. So while you're doing your best, of course there's no mistake about that. This approach is not working because it is what it is reactive, not intuitive. It is fragmented,  it is based on fear of symptoms, not by being connected to your body. 

So the issue is not that you have not done enough. The issue is that you have never been taught how to listen. And I have been talking about the same theme across multiple episodes, because what you need is not a bigger protocol or more tests or more diagnosis. What you need is a better relationship with your body. And this is the approach that I take inside each and every one of my coaching program. The the approach is called the effortless healing approach, because here is where you stop asking yourself, what do I need to cut out of my life, out of my diet or control, to what is my body trying to tell me right now? 

And when you start doing that, when you start listening, you will find that the changes that you need to make start feeling more effortless because you are finally going with the flow. You are finally going with what your body actually needs. That's the reason it feels effortless, not because it really is. It is a lot of effort. I mean, there is a lot of effort which goes into it, but it seems like that. And I'm going to, uh, share with you a powerful reframe that I use with my clients and inside my program that reflect this philosophy. Well, this approach and philosophies, it's called the reframe your problem. 

I want you to take a few minutes, grab a pen and paper if you don't have one handy, uh, stop this episode here, pause it if you need to, and then do this exercise. I did it recently for one of my, uh, sessions Inside My Body Wise Reset program. It's a three month program which is about laying the foundations for good for health. Um, and we do it together in a safe container. And I did a session on self-care, and this is where I made them do this. Reframe your problem. It was an eye opener for them. It's it was an eye opener when I first did it. Okay. Here goes. The first thing is that write down whatever comes to your mind when I when I say this, when I say this phrase and there's no judgment here. 

So the first one is I have to so I have to maybe it says that I, you know, I have to get off gluten. I have to give up daily. I have to give up gluten because I know it's not you know, it's not really I have to give up coffee. Anything that comes to your mind. Right? Doesn't matter. I have to. And complete the sentence. The next step is reframe it as I get to. I get to give up gluten. I get to give up coffee. I get to give up daily because that that's good for my body right now. See how the how it shifts in your mind, right? It just becomes easier to actually follow it, isn't it? The next one is I should. You know, we are constantly shooting ourselves. I should be doing this. I should be working out. I should be exercising. I don't have the energy. I know, but I should be doing that. I do it, but I've become better at stopping myself from shooting. So this is because I've been using these reframes. So see where the shame or pressure comes in and replace it with if I really wanted to, I could because this opens the door to choice, not pressure. It gives you back the power, right? You feel empowered. And this is you know, this is a very tiny reframe, but it's radical and it's actually where you shift your energy from survival mode to thriving, right to healing. 

And that's exactly what I do inside my programs, inside the body wise healing framework that I follow. It's a three pillar framework which is based on the philosophy or the approach of the effortless healing approach. You know, it's about real, lasting change. It's about real transformation. It's about sustained relief, right? It's not about something that is temporary, because the way you talk to yourself actually shapes how your body responds to healing. Your thoughts matter. Your the way you talk matter. Your mindset matter. So language is really important and how you have to keeps you under obligation and pressure. Whereas changing it to I get to shift you into empowerment and choice. It's not about just mindset work, it's also nervous system reset in disguise or regulation in disguise.  So reframing your this inner dialogue helps you to stop managing your healing like a to do list. Because it doesn't really work. It creates and this creates space for what actually works. So I hope that this is, you know, sort of opened your eyes to a very different way of reframing your problems. It's whether, you know, this is where the relief begins. It doesn't it doesn't have to do with another test or another stricter diet.  It sometimes you just need a reframe. And this lens is called effortless healing. I hope that you know it's going to help. It's a rebellion against the, you know, doing more and being more. And it's a way back into precision. It's a way back into a to self trust simplicity. And that works because simplicity is actually not about, you know, slowing down. It actually speeds healing up.

 So here's what we covered today. This is the body wise wrap up part of it. And um, if you've if you really, uh, you know, if it's really resonated with you, what I've shared till now, till today, in this episode, then, you know, just share it with somebody, you know, that, who's been struggling, who's been trying different things or chasing symptoms or maybe stuck in, uh, you know, the, uh, this, uh, just chasing diagnosis and just share it with them. So this is what we covered today. 

Number one, doing it all may be actually, what's keeping you stuck?

 Number two, we uncover the five hidden villains of the old wellness model, which is protocol overload when less hustle, symptom chasing, healing, perfectionism, and diagnosis addiction. 

Number three, you've already tried the hard way, protocols, performance, etc. but you have not yet allowed your body to lead the way. 

Number four Effortless Healing, which starts with tuning in. 

And number five, your quick way in, which is reframe your problem. Moving from I have to do I get to. So I hope that this helped you. And if you uh, if you want to take a step further, then decode your symptoms workbook would be your next best step. You will learn how to track the right symptoms or the right things, and not just the noise.  I'll be sharing the link below. Or you can head to aninditarungta.com/decode . And I'll see you soon the next episode.