How Angela Rewired Negative Self-Talk, Menopause Symptoms & Invisibility

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If you’ve been in menopause (or heading that way) and you feel like your body has turned into a stranger… you’re not alone. The fatigue, mood swings, brain fog, hot flushes, low libido, and the sense that you’re mentally and physically “broken” can be relentless. And when you’ve tried everything — supplements, stricter diets, more exercise, more willpower — it can start to feel like you’re failing at something that should be simple.

In Podcast Episode 183, Chris and Filly from Chris and Filly Functional Medicine are joined by one of their Ending Body Burnout Method clients, Angela. Angela came to Chris and Filly after struggling big-time with menopausal symptoms and an injured body. Today, she’s sleeping through the night (goodbye hot flushes), her libido is back, and she feels genuinely good in her emotional and mental health.

This is one of those “evidence collecting” episodes — real-life proof that healing is possible, even when you’ve been stuck for years. Angela’s story is also a beautiful reminder that menopause symptoms are rarely “just hormones”. They’re often connected to stress physiology, nervous system safety, gut health, immune function, and the deeper beliefs you’ve been carrying for decades.

When Menopause Feels Like a Three-Year Storm

Angela shares that she’d been struggling for three years with menopausal symptoms and felt physically and mentally broken. That’s such an important phrase, because it captures the lived experience of so many people in this season.

Menopause symptoms can affect every part of life:

• sleep disruption and night sweats
• hot flushes and temperature swings
• low energy and fatigue that doesn’t lift
• mood changes and emotional sensitivity
• brain fog and memory issues
• low libido and changes in desire
• aches, pains, and injuries that take longer to heal

From a holistic health and integrative medicine perspective, menopause is a whole-body transition. Hormones are changing, yes — but so is your nervous system, your stress tolerance, your immune resilience, and your ability to recover.

This is why burnout functional medicine is so relevant. If you’ve been pushing through for years, menopause can be the season where your body finally says, “I need a different way.”

The “Try Harder” Trap: Supplements, Restriction and More Exercise

Angela also shares what so many people do when they feel desperate: she tried all the supplements, restricted her diet even more, and exercised more.

On the surface, this looks like commitment. But underneath, it’s often fear.

Fear that your body is failing.
Fear that you’re losing control.
Fear that you’ll never feel normal again.
Fear that you’re becoming “too much” or “too hard” to help.

In root cause medicine, we see this pattern all the time: people respond to symptoms by tightening the grip. More rules. More restriction. More output. Less rest. Less softness.

But if your nervous system is already in survival mode, “try harder” can become the thing that keeps you stuck.

Healthy living in menopause sometimes means doing less, not more. It means supporting your body’s capacity rather than demanding performance from it.

Losing Hope in the Medical System After an Allergic Reaction to HRT

Angela shares that she lost hope in the medical system after having an allergic reaction to HRT.

That’s a big emotional hit. HRT can be life-changing for some people, and for others it’s not the right fit, or it comes with complications. When you’ve pinned your hopes on something and it doesn’t work, it can feel like the door is closing.

This is where a personalised medicine approach matters. There isn’t one “right” way to support menopause. Some people choose HRT, some don’t, some do a mix of both. What matters is having options — and understanding that even if one path doesn’t work for you, it doesn’t mean you’re out of options.

In holistic wellness, we hold the whole picture: hormones, gut, immune system, stress physiology, nervous system regulation, and the deeper beliefs that shape how your body responds to life.

The Root Cause: Not Just Hormones, But Beliefs

A major turning point in Angela’s story is getting to the root cause of her body burnout: an unconscious belief of being incapable.

That’s huge.

Because beliefs aren’t just thoughts. They’re nervous system programmes. If your unconscious mind believes you’re incapable, your body will often live in a state of pressure — trying to prove, trying to keep up, trying not to fail.

That pressure can show up as:

• chronic tension and pain
• sleep disruption
• gut symptoms and inflammation
• anxiety and emotional reactivity
• fatigue and burnout
• hormone disruption over time

In mind body medicine, we’re always asking: what is the body protecting you from? What is the story underneath the symptom?

Angela’s story shows how healing from within often requires changing the way you relate to yourself — not just changing what you eat or what you take.

The Deeper Layer: “Invisibility” and the Retreat Breakthrough

Ten months into her journey, Angela discovered a deeper belief: being invisible. And this surfaced at The Body Knows Retreat.

This is one of those patterns that can sit quietly for decades. You might not consciously think, “I’m invisible.” But you live it.

You minimise your needs.
You don’t take up space.
You don’t ask for help.
You don’t want to be a burden.
You keep the peace.
You stay small.

And the body carries the cost.

In burnout functional medicine, invisibility can be a hidden driver of chronic stress. Because when you’re constantly suppressing yourself, your nervous system stays braced. Your body stays in a protective state. And over time, that can contribute to symptoms that feel “mysterious” or hard to shift.

A retreat can be a powerful place for this kind of insight, because you’re out of your normal environment. You’re in space. You’re supported. You’re not performing. You’re finally able to hear what’s been true underneath.

If you’re feeling called to a deeper in-person experience, you can come along to the next retreat — Heart Meets Land Retreat (limited spaces available)

The Work of Rewiring: Loving Conversations and a New Way of Being

Angela shares what it took to rewire these root beliefs: a whole lot of loving conversations with herself, and enacting a different way of being.

That’s the part many people skip. They want the protocol. The plan. The steps.

But rewiring is relational. It’s about building safety with yourself. It’s about changing the internal environment your body lives in.

In holistic health terms, this is nervous system work. In integrative medicine terms, this is the missing link that helps physical interventions land. When your body feels safer, digestion improves. Sleep improves. Inflammation can settle. Hormones can stabilise. Libido can return.

It’s not magic. It’s biology meeting self-trust.

The Lab Markers: Adrenal Fatigue, Low Hormones, Parasites, Dysbiosis and Low SigA

Angela also shares lab markers that showed up: adrenal fatigue, low sex hormones, parasites, dysbiosis, and low SigA — and how they’re all connected.

This is where functional nutrition and root cause medicine can be so helpful. These markers can reflect a system that’s been under stress for a long time. Low SigA, for example, can be a sign of depleted gut immune resilience. Dysbiosis can affect inflammation, mood, and nutrient absorption. Chronic stress can impact adrenal function and hormone production.

The key is not to see these results as proof you’re broken. They’re information. They’re a map. And when you address them alongside nervous system safety and deeper beliefs, the body often responds in a much more sustainable way.

The Snake and Mouse Practice: Rewiring Fear Around Surgery

Another fascinating part of Angela’s story is the snake and mouse rewiring practice that helped her overcome fear of getting hip replacement surgery.

Fear isn’t just mental. It lives in the body. When the nervous system perceives danger, it can create avoidance, shutdown, or spiralling anxiety. Rewiring practices help the body learn a new association: “I can be safe even when this feels big.”

That’s mind body medicine in action — and it’s part of why Angela’s healing wasn’t just symptom relief. It was a new internal relationship with herself.

“Invisible”: The Poem That Captured the Shift

Angela also shares a reading of her poem, “Invisible”, written at the retreat.

Creative expression can be deeply healing. It gives language to what the body has been holding. It metabolises old pain. It turns survival into meaning. And for many people, that’s the moment they stop feeling alone in their experience.

Want Support Like Angela Had?

If you’re seeking a deep, holistic ROOT-root-cause healing approach, doors are open now to the 6-month Ending Body Burnout Method program — join now for early-bird bonuses and to secure your spot (limited spaces available).

To learn more about how to rewire your brain to heal body burnout, you can also join our free event here

And if you’d like a gentle, no-pressure conversation about your next step, you’re warmly invited to book a Discovery Call or connect the dots with us.

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Chris & Filipa Bellette are the Founders of multi award-winning health practice Chris & Filly Functional Medicine, which is best known for ending body burnout (for good!) in “busy” people with energy, mood and gut issues. They have worked with over 3,000+ burned-out clients in the past combined 30+ years, with their own passion for ending body burnout coming from their own personal experience of body, mind, family & business breakdown, after a prolonged period of physical and mental stress.

Filipa is an accredited Clinical Nutritionist, Functional Medicine Practitioner, Coach & Trauma Therapist. She is also a Ph.D. Scholar, author & regularly featured the media, such as Forbes, Body+Soul and The Daily Telegraph. Chris is a Burnout Recovery Coach & an accredited Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) Master Practitioner, with a Bachelor of Human Movement Science. He has existed in high-performance realms of the sporting (think national athlete) & business industries and knows what it takes to get out of hustle-and-grind culture to thriving. 

They were recently awarded as the Tasmanian State Winner & National Finalist for the Telstra Best of Business Awards, and Winner of the Australian Women’s Small Business Champion Awards.