Here’s something nobody talks about enough — gut health isn’t just about your stomach. It’s about everything. Your energy, your mood, your ability to actually show up for your life. I know this firsthand, and honestly? It took my body backing up like a broken garbage disposal before I finally paid attention.
I Was Running a Race Nobody Asked Me to Run
For years I pushed through. Work, home, pets, everything everyone put on my plate. I kept going even when I could feel my body protesting — and I did what most of us do, especially women. I pushed it down and kept moving forward.
Sound familiar?
We tell ourselves we’ll rest later. We tell ourselves it’s fine. And then one day it’s not fine, and your body makes sure you know it.
The Garbage Disposal Moment
Think about a garbage disposal. You keep dumping stuff in it, day after day, and never really let it clear out. You skip the vinegar and baking soda. You just keep loading it up.
And then one day — it backs up. It stinks. And when it doesn’t drain, it shoots everything right back out the other side of your sink and splatters all over your counter and your kitchen curtain.
Yes. That literally happened to me. And figuratively? It happened to my body too.
I ended up in the ER with back pain so bad I couldn’t breathe — from carrying loads I had no business still carrying. That was my wake-up call. That was my body saying: enough.
Rest Is Not a Luxury. It Is the Work.
This took me a long time to actually believe. Rest is not laziness. Rest is not giving up. Rest is how you empty the disposal before it backs up. It’s how you remove the exhaustion so you can actually show up — for yourself, for your family, for your clients, for everyone who needs you.
I had to learn that taking an afternoon to regroup wasn’t selfish. It was survival. And eventually, it became something I actually protect.
What Acid Reflux Taught Me About Listening
For me, the gut stuff showed up as acid reflux — and if you’ve ever dealt with that, you know it is no joke. That burning, that pressure, that awful feeling that makes you not want to eat anything ever again.
What I eventually figured out — and what the research backs up — is that stress and gut health are completely connected. When I’m running on empty, when I’m carrying too much, my gut is the first place it shows up. Every time.
So now when I feel that frustration starting to bubble up, I actually think about my acid reflux. I think: do I want to feel that way? And the answer is always no. So I stop. I grab my bone broth or a cup of ginger tea and I breathe.
→ Bone Broth (Grass-Fed) — what I reach for when my gut needs some love and I am out of homemade — Kettle & Fire
→ Organic Ginger Tea — my go-to for settling everything down —Budda Teas
And Water. Let's Talk About Water.
I’ve written about this before — we are chronically dehydrated and we don’t even know it. Half the time what we think is hunger, or fatigue, or brain fog is just thirst. Our gut needs water to move, to process, to actually function the way it’s supposed to.
Before you reach for the bone broth or the tea, drink a glass of water. Before you diagnose yourself with every digestive issue under the sun — drink more water. It sounds too simple to matter and it absolutely matters.
→ Read my full post on hydration here: Feeling Tired? – You’re Just Thirsty
Small Things. Real Shifts.
I’m not going to sell you a complicated protocol here. What worked for me was simple and unglamorous: more water, bone broth when things felt off, ginger tea when the acid flared up, and actually resting when I needed to rest.
And protecting that rest. Not waiting for the ER visit to give myself permission.
Your gut is trying to tell you something. It’s been telling you for a while. The question is whether you’re going to listen before it starts splattering all over the kitchen curtain.
Start with a glass of water. 💧
Disclaimer: The information in this post is for educational purposes only and is not intended to substitute professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or before beginning any new herbal regimen.
