Accessible Steps to Healing
Summary: Over the last six or seven months, I have experienced a noticeable shift in both my physical and mental wellbeing. What began as a period of illness and an unexpected four-day fast has evolved into something much deeper: a complete change in how my body feels, how my mind functions, and how I move through daily life. I initially thought the “magic” came purely from fasting, but the more I reflected, the more I realised this transformation was likely the result of several interconnected changes building on each other over time. Sleep, movement, blood sugar regulation, dopamine, and nervous system regulation all seem to play a role in the upward spiral I now feel myself living in.
Introduction
I have spent a lot of time trying to understand what may have caused the increase in healing I feel in my body over the past several months. At first, I believed the answer was simple: a bout of gastroenteritis that forced me into an unplanned four-day fast somehow “reset” my system. But as time has passed, I have started to think the truth is more layered — and much more hopeful — than that.
Fasting and Its Ability to Heal the Body
Fasting has long been associated with healing and repair within the body. During periods without food, the body shifts away from constantly processing incoming energy and instead focuses on maintenance and restoration. Blood sugar levels stabilise, insulin levels drop, inflammation may decrease, and the body begins relying on stored energy reserves. Some research also points toward processes such as autophagy, where damaged cells are broken down and recycled more efficiently during extended fasting periods.
After around four days of fasting, the body is functioning very differently than it does during normal eating patterns. Glycogen stores are depleted, the body becomes more reliant on fat and ketones for fuel, and many people report improved mental clarity and reduced cravings. A friend of mine suggested that perhaps my dopamine system had also undergone a kind of “reset” during that period. I do not know exactly how scientifically accurate that is, but I do know one thing with certainty: my sugar cravings almost completely disappeared afterwards.
I remember noticing it in small moments at first. Walking past food shops without mentally negotiating with myself. Sitting in the evening without feeling that restless pull towards snacks or stimulation. It felt strangely quiet in my mind.
How Exercise Replaced Sugar Cravings and Stabilised My Blood Sugar
I spoke often about the “magic” that happened after my illness. At the same time, I spent a lot of energy worrying that it would suddenly disappear. If I skipped one of my walks, I worried it marked the beginning of the end — the return of weight gain, poor health, and feeling trapped in old patterns again.
I do not feel that way now. With more reflection, I no longer think there was one magical event that permanently changed me overnight. Instead, I think I unknowingly replaced one source of dopamine with another. Previously, sugar and stimulation filled that role. Now, exercise seems to fulfil much of that need instead.
Movement has become regulating rather than punishing. By exercising consistently and timing movement properly, I have flattened my blood sugar profile significantly. And because my blood sugar is more stable, the cravings that once felt overwhelming have dramatically reduced. It feels less like constantly fighting my body and more like finally working with it.
The Upward Spiral of Sleep, Exercise and Better Health
I think there is a spiral that takes place in life. It can spiral downward, but it can also spiral upward. When you are spiralling upward, each positive change reinforces the next.
For me, sleep comes first. When I sleep well and get enough rest, I have more energy to devote to the other areas of my life. Conversely, when I have slept badly, I notice almost immediately that I do not want to eat as well, move as much, or engage as fully with life. Poor sleep affects everything downstream from it.
With proper sleep, movement becomes easier. I walk more, and more importantly, I actually want to walk. I look forward to moving my body rather than forcing myself to do it. I remember one walk in particular when I suddenly realised I was not counting the minutes until I could go home. I felt present. Calm. My body felt lighter somehow, even before any physical weight loss became noticeable.
Then the food choices follow naturally. I want to nourish myself properly because I am building a life that feels worth sustaining.
As exercise becomes more consistent, my blood sugar stabilises further, which reduces the physiological cravings that used to dominate my thinking. Each piece supports the next: sleep improves movement, movement improves food choices, food choices improve blood sugar stability, and stable blood sugar improves mood, energy, and motivation. The spiral continues upward.
Living in Rest-and-Repair Instead of Fight-or-Flight
One of the biggest changes I have noticed is that I genuinely feel out of fight-or-flight mode. My body feels calmer. The constant cravings have reduced significantly. The endless need for stimulation — always needing to know what the next thing is, always searching for another hit of distraction or dopamine — has diminished.
I am simply happier.
The difference is difficult to describe unless you have experienced it yourself. It feels as though my nervous system has stopped bracing for impact all the time. I no longer wake up already mentally exhausted before the day has even begun. There is more space between thoughts now. More stillness.
I no longer spend large amounts of time questioning the meaning of life or feeling trapped on an endless treadmill that never seems to lead anywhere. I sleep better. I think more clearly. I feel more optimistic and future-focused. I have started rollerskating and ballroom dancing, taken up motorbike riding again, started a yoga and meditation practice. I am finding joy in my days.
Perhaps most importantly, I no longer feel trapped in repetitive loops about the past. That includes both the immediate past — replaying conversations and wishing I had said something differently — and the distant past, endlessly revisiting earlier life experiences and the impact they had on me. My mind feels less stuck. There is more forward momentum.
Why Healthy Habits Are Easier to Return to Over Time
This state is not permanent or effortless. There have been times when I have not been able to maintain the lifestyle that supports it. At one point, for example, I injured my foot and could not walk properly for a week. Almost immediately, I noticed my ADHD symptoms becoming more prominent again. My food cravings increased, my mood dropped, and I felt less regulated overall.
What surprised me, though, was how much easier it was to recover the second time. I already knew what “better” felt like. I already had evidence that my body could return to balance. Instead of feeling hopeless, I simply felt temporarily off-course.
That is why I no longer think any of this is “magic.” It is something much more grounded than that. It is the result of systems within the body and mind working together in a healthier way. And because of that, it also feels achievable — not just for me, but potentially for many other people too.
Closing Thoughts
Looking back, I no longer believe there was one single event responsible for the healing I have experienced. The four-day fast may have acted as a catalyst, but the real transformation seems to have come from the interaction between sleep, movement, blood sugar stability, nervous system regulation, and dopamine. Each positive change reinforced the next until my body and mind began functioning differently as a whole. It was just a result of one step at a time.
What strikes me most is how physical this shift feels. This is not simply a change in mindset or attitude; it feels like a change in operating system. Once you experience what it feels like to live in rest-and-repair rather than constant fight-or-flight, you begin to recognise how profoundly the body shapes the mind.
And perhaps that is the most hopeful part of all. If these systems can spiral downward, they can also spiral upward. Small changes build upon each other over time. Healing may not arrive all at once in some dramatic moment, but slowly, quietly, through repeated acts of rest, movement, nourishment, and care.
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Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie’s special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical ‘knowledge’ and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.
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