🌿 May Q&A with Julia – Your Recovery Questions Answered

Hello my lovely Circle members 💛

Welcome to our second Q&A session blog. You’ve sent in such thoughtful, honest questions—and I’m so grateful to each of you. Asking from the heart doesn’t just help you… it helps everyone here. These are the things so many people are wondering but haven't felt safe enough to say out loud. And by bringing them into the light, you're already creating change.

In this session, we covered topics from missing periods, to balancing recovery with daily life, to whether rewiring the brain really works—and what to do when movement feels like part of your identity.

Let’s go through each one together.

🩸 What Is Hypothalamic Amenorrhea (HA)?

HA is your body’s way of saying “it’s not safe right now.” It happens when your brain senses too much stress or not enough energy—so it pauses menstruation to protect you. This isn’t a defect or failure—it’s a powerful survival response.

What triggers it?
• Energy deficiency (not eating enough)
• Low body fat
• Overexercise
• Emotional stress or trauma
• Sleep deprivation

What heals it?
➤ Eating more (especially fats and carbs)
➤ Pausing intense exercise
➤ Regulating your nervous system
➤ Giving your body time and safety

Even if you don’t want children, getting your period back is a sign your hormones, bones, brain and body are all healing. It's not about fertility—it's about full-body wellness.

🟡 Key takeaway: HA is your body protecting you. Recovery is how you show it the threat has passed.

⏳ “How Do I Do Recovery When Life Is So Busy?”

Recovery isn’t just one more thing to add to your to-do list. It’s a complete body-brain renovation—and expecting yourself to heal and function at full capacity is like trying to rebuild a house while living inside it.

You’re not lazy. You’re healing. And that’s a full-time, invisible job.

Your tools:
➤ Make recovery non-negotiable (prioritise meals, rest, emotional support)
➤ Ruthlessly simplify (lower the bar on chores and output for now)
➤ Create a “recovery island” in your day
➤ Trust that slowness now = energy and clarity later

🟡 Key takeaway: You’re not failing. You’re rebuilding. Rearranging your life around recovery is self-love, not selfishness.

🧠 “If Neural Rewiring Works, Why Hasn’t It Worked for Me?”

You heard someone say rewiring the brain takes just a few weeks—but after months of consistent food and effort, your thoughts haven’t shifted. And that’s left you wondering: Am I broken?

No, sweetheart. You’re not broken—you’re healing in a way that’s deeper than surface-level fixes.

Why rewiring takes longer for many:
• Eating while hating yourself = brain still records a threat
• Deep fear patterns reinforced by trauma, not just habit
• Nervous system dysregulation blocks new pathways
• Recovery actions need to be paired with safety, not shame

What actually works:
➤ Full nourishment + full rest
➤ Pair recovery actions with emotional permission
➤ Validate fear, lead with courage
➤ Repeat, repeat, repeat—rewiring is slow, but it works

🟡 Key takeaway: Recovery isn’t about flipping a switch. It’s about feeding your brain safety again and again—until one day, it clicks.

🏃‍♀️ “I Love Exercise. Do I Have to Stop?”

This is such a common and tender question. You love movement. It’s part of who you are. But part of you also knows: if I can’t rest, I probably need to.

Even joyful movement becomes survival-driven in an energy deficit. It releases stress hormones, reinforces control, and delays full healing—even if it feels like it’s helping.

To heal, your body needs:
• Energy surplus (not just balance)
• Complete rest from structured movement
• Emotional safety away from output or performance

You will move again—but from a place of freedom, not fear.
➤ Let yourself grieve the pause
➤ Build a vision for future movement (joyful, flexible, embodied)
➤ Reconnect to your body with rest, self-touch, and nature
➤ Let your future self move again when it’s safe—not because she has to, but because she wants to

🟡 Key takeaway: You’re not losing your identity by pausing movement. You’re protecting your future freedom to enjoy it fully.

💛 In Summary…

Recovery isn’t linear. It’s messy, confusing, exhausting, and unbelievably brave. And every single one of these questions proves just how much you care. About your health. Your life. Your truth.

You are not failing. You are not behind. You are not alone.

Keep asking. Keep showing up. Use the Feelings Navigator when you're overwhelmed. Rest more. Nourish more. Connect more. You deserve to heal—and you are healing.

With so much love,
Julia x