In this episode of Pivot Point: Strategy for Change, I sit down with Michal LeBaron for a deeply insightful conversation about the mental loops that often accompany chronic illness. We explore how easily the mind can become trapped in cycles of symptom monitoring, body scanning, and identifying with pain—patterns that, while well-intentioned, can quietly reinforce suffering.
Michal shares her personal story of living in this loop and the pivotal moment she chose a new path: shifting her focus from symptom tracking to nervous system regulation. This decision transformed her relationship with her body and her health, leading her from fear and hypervigilance toward safety, calm, and genuine healing.
Together, we unpack how conscious awareness and nervous system literacy create openings for change—by helping us recognize stress patterns, body signals, and emotional triggers before they take over. Michal’s reflections reveal how slowing down, listening inward, and choosing presence can bring the kind of progress that data and analysis alone cannot.
We also dive into the real meaning of self-care and boundaries—beyond wellness clichés. Michal’s experience highlights how tending to one’s own needs, saying no, and reclaiming personal energy are not luxuries, but essential pieces of healing and resilience.
This episode is for anyone who feels stuck in cycles of stress, fear, or chronic symptoms. It’s an invitation to pause, reconnect, and reimagine what healing can look like when it’s driven by awareness, compassion, and the wisdom of the body.
