Episode Details

What if your symptoms aren’t simply problems to eliminate, but signals that your body is trying to tell you something?

In this episode of Thought Atlas, I sit down with Dr. Jess Armine, a healthcare professional who has spent nearly five decades working in healthcare. His career began around 1975 as an EMT and paramedic in New York City before moving through nursing, emergency medicine, military service, chiropractic practice, and eventually functional medicine.

Dr. Armine explains how his own son’s experience with mental illness changed the direction of his work and led him to explore systems biology, genetics, and neuroendoimmunology—the relationship between the nervous system, hormonal system, and immune system.

At the heart of our conversation is a different way of thinking about chronic illness.

Dr. Armine argues that the human body should be understood as an interconnected system rather than a collection of isolated parts. He explains why he shifted from asking, “What disease does this patient have?” to asking, “What problem is the body trying to solve?”

We explore his perspective on inflammation, pain, fatigue, fever, anxiety, oxidative stress, mitochondrial function, genetics, and the body’s protective responses. He explains why he believes some of these responses can become problematic when they continue after the original threat has disappeared.

We also discuss why he believes symptoms should be treated as signals, rather than simply something to suppress, and why he encourages people to remain curious about what their bodies may be communicating.

Dr. Armine shares a case from his practice involving a woman who he says experienced frequent seizures and significant cognitive difficulties, and describes the changes he observed after applying what he calls foundational treatment. He uses the story to illustrate his belief that the body can recover when it receives what it needs.

The conversation also touches on sleep, movement, stress, emotional and psychological trauma, purpose, nutrition, and the importance of finding practitioners who work collaboratively with patients.

Most importantly, Dr. Armine leaves listeners with a message of hope: having a chronic illness does not necessarily mean that you are “broken,” and, in his words, “chronic does not mean permanent.”

CONNECT WITH DR. JESS ARMINE

Website: DrStressOnMine.com

Dr. Armine also says listeners can find his podcasts through his website and videos by searching for “Dr. Jess Armine” on YouTube. He says his website also offers a free 30-minute introductory session for people with chronic illness who want to discuss whether he or functional medicine may be able to help.

Learn more about Thought Atlas:https://joinpodmatch.com/thoughtatlas

A thought to leave with:

“Realize that you’re not broken.”

And, perhaps most importantly, remain curious about what your body may be trying to tell you.