This week on The Less Stressed Life Podcast, I am joined by  Heather Deranja, RD. Heather bravely shares her own story of autoimmune and cervical cancer diagnoses as well as how she began her journey as a Registered Dietician and why she transitioned into the human behavior component of the healing process.   Heather dives into autoimmunity, the nervous system, brain, trauma, and all the emotions of facing our past to better our future.KEY TAKEAWAYS:Stress and autoimmune linkStress and gastro distressWhat's going on in your head is affecting everything elseStress effect on mitochondriaThe identity of our autoimmune disorder and how it affects us "becomes us"Resistance mode- what is it and why is it a problem ask yourself, "How am I contributing to the outcomes?"The stigma around trauma- it's not only "big trauma" that affects usBasic human needs are essential for us to be efficient and have healthy relationships in our livesHaving awareness is the first step in being able to changeGUEST SHARED HELPFUL TIPS ON:Changing neuro pathways and overcoming resistanceCreating silence to access the inner guidance (can not bulldoze through life)Finding your inner child "gatekeeper" to how you are as an adultHow do we realize our own trauma for self-awareness?How to start addressing past trauma (30 min by yourself to disconnecting, nature, permission to have the thoughts come and go without judgment)Take inventory of trauma, find patternsCreating a basic needs document / Journaling to get it outRemoving the shame and guiltIdentify the perspective you're coming from, evaluate and retrain the brain/rewrite the narrativeABOUT GUEST:Heather Deranja is a registered dietitian nutritionist, healer, podcast host, and cognitive behavioral specialist. She helps individuals break emotional patterns, stop self-sabotage and develop conscious behaviors for a healthy life.WHERE TO FIND  HEATHER:@heatherderanja on Instagramheatherderanja.comWHERE TO FIND CHRISTA:https://www.christabiegler.com/On IG:instagram.com/anti.inflammatory.nutritionist/Shop our Favoriteschristabiegler.com/shopLoving the podcast? Leave us a review and ENTER OUR GIVEAWAY NOW!Sharing & reviewing this podcast is the BEST way to help us succeed with our mission to help integrate the best of East & West empower you to raise the bar on your health story. Just go to https://reviewthispodcast.com/lessstressedlifeSPONSORS:A special thanks to our VIP sponsor RUPA Health, our lab concierge service that helps our clients get standard bloodwork 2/3 off retail direct to consumer lab test pricing. Let them know I sent you when you sign up for your free practitioner account.