Today’s Mold Talks Heroes guest is Alexis Manning, an exposure survivor, awareness advocate, and Diagnostic Practitioner in training. Alexis shares her story of being exposed to mold in a variety of ways throughout her entire life, from childhood all the way through adulthood. It wasn’t until she began to experience overwhelming chronic symptoms that she began to realize something wasn’t quite right.
Like many other individuals suffering through exposure, it took some time and multiple doctors before the topic of mold came on her radar. Luckily, she read a book that introduced her to Neil Nathan, who suggested that she was suffering from mold exposure.
As an overly-sensitive individual, it took over two years of retraining her lymphatic system before she was able to begin detox protocols. Thankfully, she’s now cruising along her healing journey and pushing to get back to feeling like herself. While the journey may have been long, the ability to get back to her normal life made the struggles worth it.
Now, Alexis is dedicated to proactively working to maintain a healthy home environment. She’s also committed to helping others who are suffering from similar experiences and bringing greater awareness to this topic. Creating more education about this topic will help it become more accepted and understood throughout society as a whole.
In this episode:
1:00: Alexis explains when she first realized that mold exposure drastically impacted her health. She details the long list of symptoms she faced, yet western medicine could not help her heal. It wasn’t until she read a book by Neil Nathan and began to consult with him that she was introduced to the idea of indoor environmental exposures. “Looking back, I realized I had significant exposures to mold all of my life.
3:30: Alexis lists the places she believes she’s faced mold exposure throughout her life. From her childhood home to her time in the military and living on an island, she now realizes that she’s been in close contact with this indoor contaminant frequently and in a variety of ways. “Where haven’t I faced exposure?”
6:00: Alexis and Michael further discuss her exposure while in the military and the high level of indoor contamination in many of the housing situations.
8:00: Alexis details how she began her healing journey that was guided by Neil Nathan. Her husband immediately filed for retirement from the military, and they moved in with friends in California. "It certainly wasn’t a fast process... You have to get out of the environment to heal." As a highly over-sensitized individual to mold, it took over two years to retrain her limbic system before her body was even able to begin the detoxing process.
11:15: Alexis explains that while it took her two years to begin detoxing, the progression in improvements made the entire journey worth it. "Just getting out of the mold and being in an environment where I knew I was safe… was tremendously healing. That, coupled with a physician that was empathetic and caring, was so helpful in healing.
14:00: Alexis goes through how few people believed her and the small support system she had while attempting to heal. Her husband, best friend, and neighbors were the foundation that got her through.
17:15: Alexis explains the role that fear played in exacerbating her symptoms and how the immediate threat of mold exposure was frightening. It took some time for her to teach her body and brain that it could once again be safe. “You’re retraining your limbic system to say okay, yes large amounts of mold are unhealthy, but everybody's exposed to it everywhere and small amounts of exposure are normal.”
27:30: Alexis details her own experience with helping other individuals suffering from exposure and how each of them has a similar story. There is a lot of fear, a majority of outside people not believing or understanding the situation, and a fight to figure out how to heal. That is why education is so important. “My dad said to me the other day, ‘You worry too much about mold.’ But he has no idea how much it took from us.”
31:30: Alexis explains how important it is to be proactive in purchasing a safe new home and then stay on top of preventing any contamination issues. It’s much more expensive to deal with the fallout of mold exposure than to put money up front to avoid a contamination situation. "We run dehumidifiers, we run air purifiers, we test periodically, we stay on top of house dust… It’s easier to stay on top of it than go backward."
39:00: Alexis details steps she wishes she would have taken to avoid pitfalls throughout her mold journey. Above all, avoiding fear is a key component she hopes others focus on. “Things can get better.”
40:30: Alexis provides one key piece of advice she wants to share with others. You live in your body. You know your body better than anyone else. It’s okay to advocate for yourself.”
LEARN MORE ABOUT ALEXIS AT:
www.atpfunctionalhealth.com (coming soon)
Instagram: allthingshealthmt