Today Erin welcomes back to the show Toréa Rodriguez, FDN-P to discuss not just mold, lyme, and chronic illness, but also how to navigate symptoms, testing, and communicating your illness to friends and family (especially if they don't understand). Chronic illness often carries a lot of stigma and can be called a "silent illness" because even though you may be dealing with health challenges on the inside, to the outside world, you may not look sick and "seem fine." As someone who's struggled with chronic illness, Erin is all too familiar with this, which is why she continues to show up and speak out about these conditions. If you've ever been told it's all in your head, or struggled finding a diagnosis to symptoms you experience, this episode is for you. Erin and Toréa unpack all these things and explain how finding answers - and relief - to your symptoms can be totally navigable. After completing her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry, Toréa has embodied transformation and self-discovery. She's worked at some of the leading dot-com Silicon Valley companies, has held executive positions and she used to be a professional pilot flying jets for private families & charter companies out of the San Francisco Bay Area. Her diagnosis of two debilitating autoimmune diseases brought her back to biochemistry, not only achieving full remission, but also certification as a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition® Practitioner. During that time discovered her love of coaching. Today, she coaches her clients through their own unique transformational experience that helps restore health, vitality and balance the immune system so that they can focus on their dreams without sacrificing their health. In this episode: -If you've ever been called a hypochondriac... [3:34] -Toréa’s background and why it's relevant to today's topic [8:46] -The many factors that go into the root cause of chronic illness [12:48] -The process of discovering mold as a root cause factor [14:52] -Mold-xiety and the balancing act of being aware + trusting yourself [20:34] -The Hamster Wheel Effect [24:05] -Lyme disease and medical gaslighting [28:25] -The "pathogen soup" we live in and our immune system [31:45] -How Lyme symptoms can show up so differently [33:52] -Navigating Lyme testing [40:30] -Communicating your autoimmune disease to others who don't understand [44:10] -Understanding what nourishes you vs what depletes you [51:36] Resources mentioned: Organifi supplement powder (save 20% on your order with code FUNK) https://organifi.com/FUNK Coyote River Hemp Co CBD products (save 10% & free shipping on your order with code FUNK10) https://coyoteriverhempco.com/ Chronic, by Dr. Steven Phillips https://stevenphillipsmd.com/the-book/ More about Toréa: https://www.torearodriguez.com/ The Funk'tional Nutrition Academy™ https://www.funktionalnutritionacademy.com/ Follow Erin on Insta https://www.instagram.com/the.funktional.nutritionist/ Find Toréa on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ToreaRodriguezFDN Related: How to Test for Autoimmune Triggers & Root Cause (blog) https://www.erinholthealth.com/erin-holt-health-1/2019/7/17/how-to-test-for-autoimmune-triggers-amp-root-cause