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Holistic Hashimoto’s Care: Functional Medicine Insights

Field Notes: An Exploration of Functional Medicine

Release Date: 08/06/2025

Post Betrayal Transformation with Dr. Debi Silber

Field Notes: An Exploration of Functional Medicine

In this episode of the Fieldnotes podcast, Dr. Rob Downey speaks with Dr. Debi Silber, founder of the Post Betrayal Transformation Institute, about the profound and often misunderstood impact of betrayal on physical, emotional, and psychological health. Dr. Silber shares her personal experience with family and marital betrayal that led her to conduct doctoral research on the topic, resulting in the identification of Post-Betrayal Syndrome and a five-stage healing process. She emphasizes that betrayal doesn’t resolve with time alone and presents shocking statistics on how it manifests in the...

Podcast Rewind: A New Era In Health and Healing with Dr. Elena Villanueva

Field Notes: An Exploration of Functional Medicine

In this powerful "Podcast Rewind" episode of Field Notes Podcast, Dr. Elena Villanueva joins Dr. Rob Downey to explore a transformative approach to healing that blends functional medicine, quantum science, and emotional wellness. Dr. V discusses how chronic conditions like diabetes, fatigue, and mental health struggles often stem from unresolved trauma, stress, and neurological imbalances—not just physical factors. Through case studies, personal experiences, and cutting-edge insights, she shares how deep healing becomes possible when we address the mind, body, and spirit together. The...

Holistic Hashimoto’s Care: Functional Medicine Insights

Field Notes: An Exploration of Functional Medicine

In this episode of the Fieldnotes Podcast, Dr. Rob Downey sits down with nurse and holistic health expert Esther Yunkin to explore Hashimoto’s and hypothyroidism. Esther shares her journey from working in the ER to embracing a functional medicine and holistic approach, emphasizing the importance of looking at the body, mind, and spirit as a whole. They discuss the root causes of thyroid dysfunction, common misdiagnoses, lab testing strategies, and practical lifestyle adjustments to manage stress and autoimmunity. Esther provides actionable advice for patients to take agency in their health...

The Biology of Trauma: Heal Your Nervous System Now

Field Notes: An Exploration of Functional Medicine

In this powerful episode of the Fieldnotes Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Aimie Apigian to explore the cutting-edge science behind trauma and how it's stored in the body—not as a memory of events, but as an internal biology of overwhelm. Dr. Aimie shares personal stories and clinical insights about how unresolved trauma shapes chronic illness, anxiety, and depression, while offering hope through somatic healing and nervous system repair. We discuss her upcoming book, The Biology of Trauma, why movement is essential, how early life stress imprints us, and what it truly takes to reset our...

The Shocking Environmental Triggers Behind Chronic Illness

Field Notes: An Exploration of Functional Medicine

In this episode of the Fieldnotes Podcast, Dr. Rob Downey interviews environmental health coach Jenny Johnson, who shares her personal and professional journey into the world of environmental toxicity, particularly mold exposure and Lyme disease. Jenny recounts how her family's move to an organic farm for a healthier lifestyle ironically led to severe illness due to hidden environmental biotoxins. Drawing from her recovery experience and advanced training under experts like Dr. Shoemaker and Dr. Bredesen, Jenny now empowers others with practical tools, testing strategies, and coaching to...

Unlocking Trauma: How Healing Really Works

Field Notes: An Exploration of Functional Medicine

In this episode of the Fieldnotes Podcast, Dr. Rob Downey speaks with Dana and Colleen, co-founders of The Digital Dojo, about trauma, healing, and personal transformation. They explore how trauma—both acute and subtle—can be stored in the body and inherited across generations. Through a unique fusion of traditional Chinese medicine, martial arts principles, and performance coaching, they share practical frameworks like NAP (“repeat after me” method) to help individuals safely engage with and heal from trauma. The conversation also covers distinctions between self-worth and...

The Psychiatrist Who Helps You Get Off Meds

Field Notes: An Exploration of Functional Medicine

In this episode of the Fieldnotes podcast, Dr. Downey interviews integrative psychiatrist Dr. Michael Broukhim, who shares his transformative journey from personal loss to pioneering holistic mental health care. Motivated by the death of his father and a mystical hospital experience, Dr. Broukhim embraced energy healing, osteopathic medicine, and integrative psychiatry. He now helps patients safely taper off psychiatric medications by addressing root causes through lifestyle changes, trauma work, and community connection. The conversation critiques modern psychiatry's overreliance on meds and...

Food, Connection & Climate: A Doctor’s Wake-Up Call

Field Notes: An Exploration of Functional Medicine

In this episode of the Fieldnotes podcast, Dr. Rob Downey speaks with Dr. Colin Zhu—a family and lifestyle medicine physician, chef, and health coach—about the powerful role food plays in shaping personal well-being, community connection, and planetary sustainability. Drawing from his upbringing under a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner and his diverse medical background, Dr. Zhu explains how disconnection from our food sources has widespread health and ecological consequences. He emphasizes that food is more than nourishment—it's a love language, a tool for healing, and a...

Doctors Dismissed My UTI Pain—This Changed Everything

Field Notes: An Exploration of Functional Medicine

In this episode of the Seaworthy Podcast, Dr. Rob Downey interviews women's health coach Saoirse Nash about her personal journey with chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs) and the broader systemic issues surrounding women's healthcare. Saoirse shares how recurring UTIs in her youth were normalized and dismissed, leading to years of inadequate treatment until she took control of her health through holistic and functional approaches. The discussion explores the intersection of anatomy, immune and gut health, poor diagnostic tools, and the role of chronic stress and environmental toxins in...

From IBS to Healing: Courtney Cowie’s Gut Health Journey

Field Notes: An Exploration of Functional Medicine

In this episode of the "Fieldnotes" podcast, Dr. Rob Downey interviews Courtney Cowie, a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner and certified coach, about her personal and professional journey through chronic gut health issues, including IBS, IBD, mold toxicity, and Lyme disease. Courtney shares her powerful origin story—from childhood stomach aches and years of ineffective conventional treatments to her transformative experience with Chinese medicine in Japan and her eventual embrace of functional medicine. Together, they explore the critical role of functional testing, the gut-brain...

More Episodes

Timestamps:
00:02 – Introduction to Esther Yunkin
06:51 – Importance of thyroid lab testing
10:03 – Ask why thyroid labs abnormal
21:36 – Stress and autoimmunity interplay
37:08 – Low vitamin D triggers discussed

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Key Takeaways:
Root causes key to thyroid health
Labs empower patient health decisions
Stress fuels autoimmunity, complicates thyroid
Simplicity aids sustainable lifestyle changes
Vitamin D often overlooked trigger

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