Last Friday I came down with quite an intense cough; tons of congestion, runny nose, sore throat, and general malaise.
When I was 8 years old I started to come down with repeated respiratory infections. I would get these epic sore throats and coughs. I would cough all through the night, unable to sleep. My coughing fits sounded like a dying dog and frequently ended in me almost throwing up. My abs would be so sore the thought of coughing made me cry, but I would still uncontrollably hack away. I would get so embarrassed in school because of these fits that any time I needed to just clear my throat I would have crippling anxiety. Asthma was suggested by a doctor. I had an inhaler that felt like it saved my life a time or two.
Point is; I have a history with coughing and respiratory illness.
Around 20 years old, well into my self-abuse via food restriction, substances, and alcohol, I got Scarlett Fever (yes, like what the pioneers used to die from). I guess you can get this if you let Strep Throat go untreated (and also binge drink and don’t feed yourself while you have it).
After that, I did a bunch of “research” on my own and decided to get my adenoids and tonsils removed. I reasoned this would solve my seemingly unending issues with respiratory ailments. After the preliminary appointments with an ear, nose and throat doctor I found out I had insanely huge adenoids and tonsils, probably from a life time of mouth breathing and my genetic facial structure (another rabbit hole I’ve been down but won’t go down right now).
The removal of my huge adenoids and tonsils actually worked for me (although it’s not necessarily what I would recommend knowing what I know now). I haven’t really struggled outside of a yearly cold since the removal.
However, in the last four months I have come down with two pretty severe nose/throat/lungs illnesses where I’ve lost my voice. This most recent one being very reminiscent of my early days with the coughing fits that just won’t quit.
In the world of Mineral Nutritional Balancing (MNB) there is a concept called “retracing.”
According to Dr. Paul Eck (the grandfather of MNB):
“Retracing” refers to a temporary return to earlier physical or emotional states during a healing program—especially when following a carefully designed nutritional protocol based on hair tissue mineral analysis (HTMA).
In Eck’s framework, retracing happens because the body is correcting deeper imbalances in reverse order of how they developed. As metabolism improves and mineral patterns normalize, the body may “revisit” past stress patterns, toxins, or weaknesses.
The retracing concept holds:
Healing is not linear
The body doesn’t simply move forward into better health. Instead, it often unwinds layers of dysfunction, moving backward through previously adapted states.Old symptoms can reappear temporarily
A person might experience past issues—fatigue, skin eruptions, emotional states, or even infections—that had seemingly resolved. In Eck’s view, this is not regression but evidence of deeper correction.Mineral patterns drive the process
As key minerals (like calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, copper, and zinc) rebalance, enzyme systems and glandular activity shifts. This can reactivate stored metabolic patterns.Detoxification is involved
Retracing often overlaps with the release of stored toxins (especially heavy metals), which can temporarily stress the system and mimic older symptoms.A sign of progress (if managed correctly)
Eck said that retracing should be mild and self-limiting. Strong or overwhelming symptoms suggest the protocol may be too much for the person.
How I think about this is: the body is basically replaying old imbalances and issues so that it can heal and resolve them more completely.
As I’ve been laying awake in the midst of these unrelenting coughing fits I have had crystal clear memories of similar nights as a child.
It feels almost like I’m literally touching those past times again. It’s like the experience of the symptoms themselves are creating a wrinkle in time.
I definitely don’t believe time to be only linear. I’ve had too many mystical experiences where I’ve experienced connection with my past or future self in the present moment. My reality exists in cycles and spirals, not straight lines.
This isn’t the first time I’ve experienced retracing viscerally, I’ve been on a MNB protocol for about 3.5 years (off and on), but this is the first time I’m really seeing how we can truly rewrite our stories through this process, if we’re willing to experience our recurring symptoms in a new way.
When I started getting these coughs as a child I remember feeling that my vulnerability (sickness) was a problem. The coughing all night was not fun for my parents (as a parent.. I know this to be true). I know my parents were worried about me and also very inconvenienced by my needing to stay home from school, go to the doctor, etc. I got the message, “You’re not as lovable when you’re sick.”
As I am retracing this illness, I am being faced with the part of me that was cut off from love for being vulnerable, and this, right here, is what I get to rewrite through the wrinkle in time created by my recurrent symptoms.
There is no blame here. As a parent, I really understand how there is sometimes a limit to how sympathetic and nurturing we can be when we’ve been kept up all night and we have work to do in the morning. We do our best. I’m sure my parents did their best.
We do not get out of life unscathed. This is an unfortunate truth.
However, as adults, we do get to choose how to see our symptoms. We get to choose how to be with them.
I am now an adult. And, I have little hurting parts in me locked away in compartments. We all do.
We don’t have to go digging around for these locked compartments (please don’t, they are locked away from a reason), but when one presents itself to us through a symptom or a memory or a process we are in; this is when we get all of our mature adult hands on deck, use our tools, feel our feelings, get brave and courageous, fall apart, and, ultimately, bring this part home.
This is when we get to integrate that part in a way that makes us more whole.
Healing is being on our own side. Or, as my mentor Coly Vulpiani says, “Healing is complete and radical self acceptance.”
Recurring symptoms do not have to be a hamster wheel of frustration, panic, and urgency.
They can be an invitation into a wrinkle in time.
When was the first time you had these symptoms?
What was going on in your life?
What were you learning or being shown?
If you’re interested in Mineral Nutritional Balancing you can always book a connection call with me to talk about how it might serve you.
In Deep Nourishment | A Course in Foundational Care for the Female Body we will go over the basics of mineral nutritional balancing and how you can work with remineralization to heal and rewrite your body’s story.
