Donna’s Blog: Writing to Heal

Countdown Reason # 14: The Autoimmune Epidemic Was Just the First Half of the Journey

THE LAST BEST CURE will be in stores, on Amazon, Indiebound, and everywhere else in two weeks. I can hardly believe it.

Many of you are fans of The Autoimmune Epidemic (now in its 5th printing!). Which, as you know, talks about all the environmental stressors and toxins we encounter in our lives that add up to inflammation and illness. I call it the barrel effect. Our bodies can handle just so much in the barrel, and then, one day, there is that one more “hit” and it spills over, leading to chronic conditions too numerous to count (well, if we are counting, 133 million adults suffer from at least one chronic condition, and the numbers are skyrocketing). I wanted you to know everything researchers know about how we can decrease what’s overfilling our barrel, both by being aware, and by knowing how to eliminate what we can.

After I finished writing The Autoimmune Epidemic, I encountered a great deal of emerging research on how the chronic and acute stress we feel also acts on our immune systems exactly like a toxin. How our state of mind can overflow the barrel, or, conversely, help to protect the immune system.

To our bodies, it doesn’t matter if the “hit” is viral, toxic, or stress. It looks the same. Stress and anxiety can cause our “barrel” to overflow in just the same way.  And so, I set out to research and write the “sequel” to The Autoimmune Epidemic. I’d talked about how to eliminate all the triggers we could to bring our immune system back to health, and why it was so important to do so.

I felt I owed it to you to talk about the one thing in our “barrel” that is most under out control: reversing the inflammation-promoting agitation, fear, stress, pain and anxiety we all encounter and experience in our lives, which leaks, like a toxin, into our barrel. Thousands of researchers have been studying how to best use scientifically studied methods to do just that. And how to activate instead, the healing secrets of the brain.

I would like to think my last two books form something of a health equation:

The Autoimmune Epidemic      +      The Last Best Cure 

Reclaim Your Body, Your Joy, Your Well-being, Your Life.

The Last Best Cure cover
My new book, The Last Best Cure -- out in two weeks!
cover image
My last book, The Autoimmune Epidemic, 2009
Photo Copyright © Marshall Clarke

About the Author

Donna Jackson Nakazawa is an award-winning science journalist and speaker whose work explores the intersection of neuroscience and human emotion. Her books include Girls on the Brink, Childhood Disruptedand The Angel and the Assassin. Her newest book, The Adverse Childhood Experiences Guided Journal, is available wherever books are sold. 

Special Note from Donna:

I’d love for you to join our growing community on Substack, where we’re exploring the deep connections between emotions, trauma, and health. Right now, all my articles are free, and it’s a great time to get involved as we shape this supportive space together. In the future, I’ll be offering specialized services for a fee, but for now, your presence and engagement mean the world to me. I hope you’ll consider following and supporting my work as we build something meaningful together.

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More from Donna's Blog: Writing to Heal

  • All Posts
  • Angel and the Assassin
  • Childhood Disrupted
  • Chronic Illness
  • Neural Re-Narrating™️
  • The Adverse Childhood Experiences Guided Journal
  • The Last Best Cure
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