The Most Common Reason Patients Don’t Get Well | E26

Functional Medicine for Real-World Impact

Most chronic disease protocols fail because the body won’t heal until it feels safe - and that sense of safety starts with the vagus nerve.

Tracy Harrison takes a closer look at what it really means for the body to be ready to heal. Why do some patients follow every recommendation yet still struggle to make lasting progress? What if the real barrier isn’t what they’re missing, but how their nervous system is responding to the world around them? In this episode, Tracy breaks down how the vagus nerve acts as the body’s communication bridge (regulating inflammation, digestion, fertility, mood, and more) and why chronic stress or unresolved emotions can quietly keep patients in survival mode. She also shares ways to restore vagal tone through simple, accessible habits like diaphragmatic breathing, gratitude, laughter, and restorative rest. These aren’t surface-level stress tips; they’re science-backed tools for helping the body feel safe enough to shift from defense to repair. For practitioners, it’s a call to move beyond managing symptoms and start cultivating an internal environment where healing can actually take root.

Episode Breakdown:

00:00 Why Chronic Disease Persists

01:26 Safety as the Foundation for Healing

05:47 The Vagus Nerve and Whole-Body Regulation

23:07 Breathing as a Pathway to Healing

28:04 Gut Health and the Parasympathetic Connection

34:03 Rest and Recovery as Medicine

46:03 Heart Rate Variability and Resilience

49:00 Healing Is State Dependent

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