My guest this week is Dr. Jill Carnahan, a physician who specializes in functional medicine. This approach focuses on identifying the root cause of illnesses, rather than just using medication to treat symptoms. Dr. Jill has not only a tremendous amount of knowledge about how our bodies and minds heal, but firsthand experience from her own serious health challenges. Much of our conversation focused on the non-medical factors that support healing, including faith, family, and mindset. We also touched on our shared experiences of mold toxicity. Other issues we explored included:
- The journey that led Dr. Jill to integrative medicine
- All the areas of gray in medical knowledge and treatment
- The role of diet in autoimmune illnesses
- Finding meaning and purpose in the midst of suffering
- The spiritual faith that sustains Dr. Jill
- The power of love and a belief in something better
- Searching for the “diamond” behind our pain and struggles
- Managing stress when dealing with any kind of illness
- The value in allowing ourselves to feel negative emotions
- Having compassion for ourselves
- The many kinds of addiction that we use to escape pain
- Dealing with self-hatred for being sick
- Links between self-hatred and autoimmune conditions
- Finding support from family during a health crisis
- The importance of finding a supportive group when healing
If you or someone you love is dealing with a difficult mental or physical illness, I expect you’ll get a lot out of this conversation.
Dr. Jill’s mold guide is available here: I’ve Been Exposed to Mold—Now What?
Jill Carnahan, MD, completed her bachelor’s degree in bioengineering at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana and her medical degree from Loyola University in Chicago.
She went on to complete a residency at the University of Illinois Program in Family Medicine at Methodist Medical Center.
Dr. Jill founded the Methodist Center for Integrative Medicine in 2009 where she served as the Integrative Medical Director until she moved to Colorado.
Her Flatiron Functional Medicine practice is located in Louisville, Colorado.
Find Dr. Jill online at her website and on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Wow, this is FANTASTIC Docta! So glad I stumbled on to you – beautiful work!
Thank you so much, Jen! I appreciate your enthusiasm and kind words.
Beautiful interview on so many levels. This is my first exposure to you, Seth. I listen to a LOT of interviews after being active on this health/healing journey for over 20 years, and I love your style, knowledge, insight and sharing your personal experience. I have followed Dr. Jill for years and was so inspired by her sharing the spiritual and esoteric side of her journey. I am still trying to figure out my extensive mold experience that probably started when I was raised in the south, many moons ago. Thank you both!
Thank you for your lovely comments, Lynne. That means a lot. I enjoyed talking with Dr. Jill so much, and as you heard, am so grateful for the information she shared that has helped me personally. The mold recovery is quite a journey, isn’t it? As I’m only just discovering. Wishing you the best.