01: I Healed from TSW for 8 Years: What Finally Healed Me Wasn't Physical
Content Warning: This episode discusses mental health struggles, including past suicidal thoughts. I'm a registered nurse sharing my personal story for educational purposes only — this is not medical advice. If you're struggling, call or text 988 (U.S./Canada) or visit https://findahelpline.com/
After 8 years of severe topical steroid withdrawal (TSW), I had tried everything: celery juice for years, acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, IV therapy, elimination diets... But my body was still suffering.
Then I discovered something that changed everything: my physical healing wouldn't continue until I addressed the non-physical.
This is the story of how I went from bloodied bedsheets, suicidal thoughts, and a body covered in raw wounds to becoming a shamanic practitioner and emotional integration coach who helps others transform their own pain into power.
In this episode, I share:
- What living with severe TSW actually looked like for 8 years
- The mental health crisis that comes with chronic physical illness
- Why addressing only the physical body wasn't enough
- How I discovered emotional healing and learned to trust my intuition
- The profound truth: physical healing follows non-physical healing
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[00:00-00:21]
And you may never know from looking at me, but I used to be really, really sick. Hi, I'm Cassie, a registered nurse. In this episode, I'll be sharing personal experiences with mental health, including past suicidal thoughts. This is my story only and is not medical, psychiatric, or therapeutic advice. If you're struggling, please seek help immediately.
[00:21-00:57]
In the US and Canada, call or text or visit findahelpline.com for global resources. Hey, it's Cassie, the naturalistic nurse, and welcome to my new video podcast, Healing the Warrior. In this series, we're going to dive deep into what it means to really heal from emotional overwhelm, mental burnout, physical stress, social conditioning, generational patterns, and everything in between.
[00:57-01:21]
I'll share personal stories of my own healing journey from when I was really sick in my twenties for almost a decade and how I eventually learned to move through that time with grace and into a life now full of health, a vital mind and body, and fulfilling relationships with myself and the people around me. I'll also share some of the biggest lessons I've learned from working with indigenous healers around the world.
[01:21-01:38]
You'll learn techniques for self-healing that have withstood the test of time across continents, and many of which are simple enough for you to implement in your daily life, no matter where you live or where you are in your healing journey. I'm so grateful to be on this journey with you. Thanks for letting me in.
[01:38-02:09]
Here we go. My name is Cassie Jaravata. I'm a shamanic practitioner, an emotional integration coach, and a registered nurse. And you may never know from looking at me, but I used to be really, really sick. When I was in my twenties, I experienced a severe health crisis called topical steroid withdrawal, or TSW, which you'll hear me refer back to many times throughout this podcast, just coming from my own experience. This stemmed from, at that time, a lifetime of severe eczema and steroid use.
[02:09-02:36]
And how TSW manifests physically is through cycles of raw, oozing wounds and profuse peeling and shedding of your skin. It was incredibly painful, and honestly, to this day, I would still describe the sensation as something like physical torture. It was like as if someone was scraping your skin off with a razor blade.
[02:36-03:06]
And for me, this was happening on my entire body, from the top of my scalp down to my ankles. My daily life at that time looked like waking up with bloodied bedsheets from the night before, constantly sweeping up huge piles of dead skin from around my house, not being able to go to school or work, and even the most basic things like wearing clothing were incredibly painful. This went on 24 hours a day, every day, for years and years and years.
[03:06-03:32]
So you can imagine the mental and emotional toll this took on me. I was overwhelmed with depression, anxiety, later PTSD, and at its worst I struggled with suicidal ideation at times. As much pain as my physical body was in, I knew I needed major mental and emotional healing as well. With so much overwhelm in my body, my heart, and my mind, I knew what I really needed in order to heal was a change.
[03:32-03:53]
And this is what set me onto the path of finding alternative, truly holistic health. For my body and my skin, over the course of 8 years, I tried every alternative and non-Western treatment you could think of. I drank celery juice every day for years. I tried a variety of different diets based on what I needed at that time.
[03:53-04:16]
I did acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, IV ozone therapy, the list goes on. And all of those things did help me in some ways at those times, but I could still feel my heart and my soul gasping for air. So I turned to my emotions. I found tools and teachers that helped me learn how to really listen to my body for the first time in my life.
[04:16-04:38]
I learned about my intuition and how to trust myself and the path before me even when I couldn't see where I was going. I learned how to sit with the darkest parts of my journey in a skillful and necessary way in order to finally bring the light in. And doing all this showed me how the physical healing of my body followed the non-physical.
[04:38-05:00]
This is what I help people learn how to do themselves. How to be a skillful healer of your own body, heart, and mind. Especially when you can't see the path before you. So welcome to Healing the Warrior. Let's do it together. Thanks so much for watching. I put out new episodes every Tuesday, so let me know in the comments what you'd like to hear about.
[05:00-05:13]
I'll see you next time.
New episodes every Tuesday.
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