The Body Keeps Score: Trauma, Autoimmune Disease & the Path to Nervous System Healing ft. Jess Patz
Season 2, Episode 22
RAW Season 2, Episode 22: The Body Keeps Score -- ft. Jess PatzThere's a question Jess Patz didn't know she needed to ask for years: Why is my body still acting like I'm in danger?
She had left. She had survived. By every external measure, she was safe. But her nervous system hadn't gotten the memo — and over time, the chronic stress of living in survival mode began to show up in ways she couldn't ignore. Inflammation. Fatigue. A lupus diagnosis. A stroke. Her body was keeping score of everything her life had asked it to carry.
In this episode of RAW, Alison Hite sits down with Jess Patz — speaker, nervous system educator, TEDx presenter, lupus patient, and domestic violence advocate — for one of the most powerful conversations the show has ever hosted. They go deep on the science and lived experience of trauma, how survival shapes the body, and what true healing actually looks like for someone who spent years just trying to make it through the day.
"Healing doesn't mean life becomes perfect. It means you have the tools to move through it differently.”
— Jess Patz | RAW S2E22
Meet Jess Patz!
Jess Patz is a speaker, nervous system educator, and domestic violence advocate whose work explores the intersections of trauma, health, and body-centered healing. As a TEDx presenter, Jess draws from lived experience and trauma-informed education to help people understand how survival shapes the body — and how regulation restores capacity. Her work challenges traditional ideas of resilience and offers a restorative path from survival to sustainable healing.
Connect with Jess:
@_jesspatz | jesspatz.com
In This Episode
Survival Mode Is a Biological State — Not a Character Trait
One of the most reframing ideas in this conversation is that survival mode isn't weakness — it's adaptation. Jess explains that when the nervous system is chronically exposed to threat, it reorganizes itself around danger. The body shifts resources, prioritizes short-term survival over long-term health, and eventually, that becomes the baseline. Understanding this changes the entire conversation around why trauma survivors often struggle with physical symptoms long after the trauma has ended.
The Hidden Cost of Leaving — Post-Separation Abuse
Jess shares her experience leaving an abusive marriage as a young mother, including the reality that leaving doesn't end the abuse. Post-separation abuse — harassment, manipulation, and control through the court system — keeps survivors in a state of ongoing stress, often without anyone around them recognizing it as such. The result is continued nervous system activation that the body registers as threat, even in a technically "safer" environment.
Chronic Stress, Inflammation, and Autoimmune Disease
The connection between trauma and autoimmune disease isn't just anecdotal — it's documented in research, and Jess experienced it firsthand. Years of living under chronic stress drove systemic inflammation in her body, eventually contributing to her lupus diagnosis. She talks honestly about the shock of that diagnosis, the layers of medical self-advocacy required to navigate it, and what she wishes someone had told her about the body-stress connection long before she got sick.
Lupus, Stroke Recovery, and Medical Self-Advocacy
Jess doesn't gloss over the severity of what she's been through. A lupus diagnosis was one thing — a stroke was something else entirely. She shares what recovery looked like, how she showed up for herself in healthcare settings where she often had to fight to be heard, and why medical self-advocacy is a non-negotiable skill for anyone managing chronic illness. Her story is a reminder that knowing your body, doing your research, and asking hard questions can save your life.
Regulation, Not Perfection
One of the most grounding reframes in this episode is Jess's definition of healing. Healing, she says, doesn't mean life becomes perfect. It means you develop the tools to move through it differently. For Jess, regulation looks like morning routines, prayer, gratitude practice, and intentional nervous system care — not as hacks, but as genuine architecture for a life that doesn't feel like constant crisis.
Faith as a Nervous System Resource
Jess speaks openly about the role faith has played in her healing — not as a cure-all, but as a grounding force. Prayer, gratitude, and spiritual connection have helped her return to safety repeatedly, even when circumstances were still hard. She and Alison explore how spiritual practice can serve as a biological anchor when the nervous system is dysregulated, and why this conversation deserves space in wellness.
Telling the Truth Out Loud
At the core of everything Jess does is a belief that silence protects systems, not survivors. She talks about why speaking her story out loud — on stage, in rooms, in this conversation — is itself an act of nervous system healing. When you name what happened to you, you reclaim the narrative. And when others hear it, they recognize themselves. That's how isolation ends.
Key Takeaways
Survival mode is a biological response to chronic threat — not a personality trait or permanent state
The nervous system can remain in a state of activation long after physical danger has passed
Post-separation abuse is real, often invisible to outsiders, and continues to stress the nervous system
Chronic stress drives systemic inflammation, which can contribute to autoimmune conditions like lupus
Medical self-advocacy is an essential skill — especially for women navigating complex health conditions
Healing is not about life becoming easy; it's about building capacity to move through difficulty differently
Faith, prayer, and gratitude practice can serve as genuine nervous system regulation tools
Morning routines and consistent grounding rituals help retrain the nervous system toward safety
Telling your story out loud is part of healing — silence keeps survivors isolated
Regulation is a practice, not a destination
This conversation is one you'll want to hear in its entirety. Jess speaks with the kind of honesty that makes you feel less alone — whether you're a survivor, a healer, or someone who has ever wondered why their body holds onto things their mind has tried to release.
Listen to the full episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and watch on YouTube.
Ready to go deeper? TheCheekyClean Lifestyle Detox Course is now live. 20% off for RAW listeners using the code: DETOX20 at checkout.
Frequently Asked Questions
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A: Research increasingly supports a link between chronic stress, trauma, and autoimmune conditions. Prolonged exposure to stress hormones like cortisol can dysregulate the immune system and drive inflammation, which may contribute to conditions like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and others. Jess Patz, a lupus patient and nervous system educator, experienced this connection directly.
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A: Nervous system dysregulation occurs when the body's stress response system gets stuck in a state of activation — often from prolonged exposure to trauma, abuse, or chronic stress. The nervous system, designed to help us survive danger, can begin treating ordinary situations as threats. Common signs include anxiety, chronic fatigue, hypervigilance, and physical symptoms like inflammation and pain.
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A: Domestic violence exposes survivors to sustained, high-level stress that keeps the nervous system in survival mode. Over time, this chronic activation contributes to inflammation, hormonal imbalances, immune dysfunction, and increased risk of autoimmune disease, cardiovascular issues, and other chronic conditions. The physical impact often persists even after a survivor leaves the abusive environment.
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A: Post-separation abuse refers to patterns of control, harassment, and manipulation that continue after a survivor leaves an abusive relationship — often through legal proceedings, co-parenting situations, financial sabotage, or social isolation. It keeps survivors in a prolonged state of stress and is frequently unrecognized by those outside the situation.
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A: Helping the nervous system return to safety is a gradual process that often includes somatic practices, breathwork, consistent grounding routines, therapy (particularly trauma-informed approaches), community connection, and sometimes faith or spiritual practice. The key insight is that the body needs repeated experiences of safety — not just intellectual reassurance — to begin to rewire its baseline.
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A: Somatic healing refers to body-centered therapeutic approaches that work with the physical sensations and patterns stored in the body from trauma. Rather than talking through experiences cognitively, somatic work helps the nervous system process and release trauma responses at a physical level. It's increasingly recognized as an essential part of comprehensive trauma recovery.
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A: For many people, spiritual practices like prayer, gratitude, meditation, and community connection serve as genuine nervous system regulation tools. They provide a sense of safety, meaning, and grounding that can reduce physiological stress responses. While not a medical treatment, faith can be a meaningful complement to medical care — particularly in managing the emotional and psychological dimensions of chronic illness.
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A: Healing from trauma rarely looks like a straight line, and it doesn't mean the absence of hard days. As Jess Patz describes it, healing means developing the tools and capacity to move through life differently — with more awareness, regulation, and self-compassion. It includes both practical tools (routines, regulation practices, therapy) and deeper shifts in identity and self-perception.
Related Episodes
S1E26 — Self Love and Deep Connections ft. Dani Doran
Dani explores the mind-body connection, vulnerability, and what it really takes to build deep self-love. A powerful companion episode on healing the nervous system through authentic connection.
S2E11 — Healing Chronic Illness Through Root Cause Medicine ft. Drew Kanaba
Drew unpacks why conventional medicine often misses the root causes of chronic illness — and how addressing inflammation and lifestyle fundamentally changes outcomes. Direct thematic tie to Jess's lupus journey.
S2E17 — The Best Rx is Advocating for Yourself
Alison shares her own experience navigating the medical system and why self-advocacy is non-negotiable. Deeply connected to Jess's message about fighting to be heard in healthcare.
