How Trauma Rewrites Pain Part 3—When Trauma Turns on the Immune System
Release Date: 11/20/2025
How Trauma Rewrites Pain Part 3—When Trauma Turns on the Immune System
Dear body, I’m listening
“Trauma doesn't just live in your memories, your fascia, or your nervous system. It can also reshape your immune system, especially when no one helped you feel safe. That doesn't mean it's your fault, and that doesn't mean your body isn't on your side. It means that your body has been on your side this whole time, trying to protect you the only way it knew how.” —Donna Piper Some days your body throws signals you cannot ignore, but no one seems to hear them. The swelling, the exhaustion, the crashes that make no sense on paper start to feel like a secret only you and your body...
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Thermal Imaging for Health: Early Answers, Less Guesswork with Dr. Robert Kane
Dear body, I’m listening
"It's a balance between getting information and trusting experts. It's really important that as a patient, you have to be your own advocate." —Robert Kane When it comes to our body, uncertainty can be the hardest symptom to treat. Worry sets in when answers are fuzzy, and bouncing between specialists leaves us more confused than before. The real question is: how can we know what’s happening inside before a health crisis begins? After doubting conventional answers and searching for tools that deliver real clarity, Dr. Robert Kane turned a career in health into a...
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Chronic Pain & Trauma: Gently Breaking The Invisible Link with Science
Dear body, I’m listening
"The body's intelligent. We just have to show up. I equate it to a dance where the body leads and I follow." —Peter Stuart You can run from nagging pain, but it keeps showing up in new ways—wrecking sleep, fouling up moods, and shutting down energy. The worst part? Real answers are rare, and the world keeps telling you to just “push through” or “try harder.” Maybe it’s not about willpower at all—it’s about listening to the actual story your body’s been trying to tell for years. Peter Stuart spent decades fighting through his own injuries, dismissed symptoms,...
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Dear body, I’m listening
“Push your life to be the life that you want and not accept that it's just the way it is. Every choice that you make should be toward loving the life that you have.” —Heather Nelson Connection isn’t just a feel-good extra. It’s a lifeline when the world feels heavy and invisible battles make us want to shut down. Isolation, overwhelm, and invisible struggles don’t need to be our whole story; even small acts of reaching out can reshape everything. The truth is, connecting with the right people and sharing our messy middle is stronger than any secret solution. Heather...
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The Science of Rest— What the Lipkin Study Taught Us About ME/CFS
Dear body, I’m listening
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Beyond the Diagnosis: Reclaiming Life and Purpose With Lipedema with Hiba Hamati
Dear body, I’m listening
"Trust your instinct… Our bodies sound an alarm bell that something isn’t right, and we ignore it for years. Don’t ignore it. Don't accept the bare minimum answer. Just because your labs are normal does not mean that your body is functioning optimally." —Hiba Hamati Going to doctor after doctor, trying every tip, and still wondering why your pain and swelling never make sense. You know there’s something happening that nobody else seems to see, and not getting answers just wears you down. This chat right here puts a name to all that frustration. Hiba Hamati...
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If Only I Were Skinny…
Dear body, I’m listening
"Your body is not the enemy—the world's impossible standards are. And every time you name that truth out loud, you don't just free yourself, you also free someone else.” —Donna Piper Some lies are so loud they start to sound like truth—like the idea that confidence waits on the other side of weight loss. And the hardest part? The shame of not being skinny can at times feel heavier than our own weight, turning every step forward into a fight against an invisible anchor. Donna spent years believing her size erased her gifts. It wasn’t until she uncovered her...
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How Trauma Rewrites Pain, Part 2: When Fight or Flight Gets Stuck
Dear body, I’m listening
"If trauma rewrote the wiring one way, that means safety relationship and somatic practices can rewrite it the other way— it is the long game; there is no quick fix.” —Donna Piper Sometimes you do everything right, but your body keeps sending SOS signals no one else can see. Doubt creeps in—is this real, or is something deeper going on? You’re not alone; your body’s story matters, and what you feel makes perfect sense. For years, Donna felt invisible, questioned, and let down by quick fixes and dismissive answers. Her experience battling chronic pain, trauma, and...
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Dollars and Cents: The Real Financial Stress of Being Sick
Dear body, I’m listening
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How Trauma Rewrites Pain, Part 1: My Body Kept Score
Dear body, I’m listening
“Moving is medicine. There's something with moving that you don't need to know why or how, or how it relates to your emotions or trauma. And just like how trauma rewrites pain, it is also the opposite when you feel safe, embodied, and in a compassionate relationship with yourself, you can rewrite your story for safety.” —Donna Piper Sometimes pain isn’t just in your head—it’s woven deep into your body, shaping how you move, feel, and even how you see yourself. When life keeps telling you to “push through” but your body keeps shutting down, it’s easy to wonder if...
info_outline“Trauma doesn't just live in your memories, your fascia, or your nervous system. It can also reshape your immune system, especially when no one helped you feel safe. That doesn't mean it's your fault, and that doesn't mean your body isn't on your side. It means that your body has been on your side this whole time, trying to protect you the only way it knew how.” —Donna Piper
Some days your body throws signals you cannot ignore, but no one seems to hear them. The swelling, the exhaustion, the crashes that make no sense on paper start to feel like a secret only you and your body understand. There is nothing dramatic about it. It is simply your reality.
Donna shares the long road of being dismissed, misdiagnosed, and told to push harder until her symptoms forced a different truth. Her background in dance movement therapy and her lived experience with lipedema, MCAS, POTS, hypermobility, EDS, and chronic fatigue shaped how she now teaches women to understand the deeper layers of their symptoms.
Press play for a grounded blend of story and science that helps you see your immune system in a completely new way and gives you language for things you have never been able to explain.
Topics discussed:
• How trauma and chronic stress reshape immune function
• Why medical dismissal can worsen inflammation and flares
• The link between ACEs, nervous system patterns, and autoimmune risk
• The biggest myths women hear when labs look “normal”
• Simple somatic practices to help your system stand down
• A reframing that removes blame and builds self-trust
Connect with Donna:
Website: https://www.donnapiper.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnapiper
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lipedema_donna
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedonnapiper
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thedonnapiper
Episode Highlights:
02:02 Medical Dismissal and “Normal” Labs Spiral
04:36 Self-Blame and Turning Invalidation Inward
08:05 Childhood Stress and Autoimmune Disease Research Breakthrough
14:06 Immune Red Alert Mode
17:16 Grounding Techniques to Rewire Safety
21:05 Teaser for Part 4
Resources:
🤔Got a question for me? Every month, I do a listener coaching episode—and I’d love to hear from you!
Send your questions, stories, or flare-up confessions to donna@donnapiper.com, and you just might hear your answer on the show.
X:
Your body has been protecting you for decades, not failing you. This episode dives into trauma-informed immunity, survival responses, and tiny practices to help you feel safer again.
#DearBodyImListeningPodcast #MindBodyConnection #TraumaRecovery #ChronicIllnessSupport #NervousSystem MedicalGaslighting #ChronicFatigue #AutoimmuneHealth
Quotes:
05:10 “Being invalidated for decades turned all of that invalidation inward, and I was like, ‘maybe there's just something wrong with me’.” —Donna Piper
08:01 “Research papers about childhood trauma and autoimmune disease: women with multiple adverse childhood experiences have a much higher risk of being hospitalized with autoimmune diseases later in life.” —Donna Piper
11:30 “Emotional, physical abuse, neglect, and early stress have been associated with higher autoimmune rates in women, including lupus and thyroid disease.” —Donna Piper
11:51 “Your history is not separate from your biology. Your immune system remembers what you survived, how you survived, how you lived” —Donna Pipe
14:28 “If you've lived through any childhood stress— but you told yourself it wasn't that bad, you learned to people please, over-function, ignore your needs to be safe, your nervous system got really good at scanning for danger, even when it wasn't there in any room.” —Donna Pipe
15:40 “Your body adapted to survive, and now it needs the support to feel safe again.” —Donna Pipe
16:14 “Normal labs with abnormal suffering do not equal your fine. It equals they don't have the right tool to measure your reality.” —Donna Pipe
16:36 “Does that mean you chose or manifested autoimmune disease because you weren't positive enough? NO! You're not a failed manifestation. You're a human being whose body was walked through stress, genetics, environment, and a medical system that often didn't protect you. They all interacted. You didn't cause it alone, and you do not have to fix it alone either.” —Donna Piper
20:29 “Trauma doesn't just live in your memories, your fascia, or your nervous system. It can also reshape your immune system, especially when no one helped you feel safe. That doesn't mean it's your fault, and that doesn't mean your body isn't on your side. It means that your body has been on your side this whole time, trying to protect you the only way it knew how.” —Donna Piper
21:43 “Your body isn't broken. She's been trying to keep you alive in a world that didn't understand her.” —Donna Piper
Your Host:
Donna Piper is a Relationship Coach, Trauma Expert, and Akashic Records Healer dedicated to empowering successful single women to transform their love lives and attract fulfilling partnerships without sacrificing their professional ambitions.
With a holistic approach blending therapeutic coaching, trauma-informed techniques, and Akashic Records wisdom, she guides clients to release limiting beliefs, heal emotional blocks, and cultivate unshakable self-trust. Her work focuses on aligning mind, body, and spirit to create lasting change—helping clients refine communication, deepen self-worth, and build the foundation for healthy, loving relationships.
Donna’s sessions are a safe haven for those ready to break cycles, embrace vulnerability, and design a love life that harmonizes with their thriving careers. For women committed to both personal and professional fulfillment, she offers tailored strategies to unlock their full potential and step into the relationship of their dreams.