Post 14- Evanye’s Recovery Story from Decades of Neuroplastic Digestive Symptoms & Pain and 4 Keys to Self-Healing
3-minute read
Psychotherapist Evanye Lawson shares how Dr. Rachel Hollander, of Hollander Holistic Health, guided her recovery from a variety of neuroplastic symptoms she had for decades, including digestive symptoms and chronic pain. 4.20.26
Stories of self-healing provide hope and motivation for those still struggling with neuroplastic symptoms. Thousands of recovery stories from mind-body healing techniques are documented on dozens of podcasts from Raelan Agle to The Story Behind the Symptoms with Association for the Treatment of Neuroplastic Symptoms (ATNS) President Dr. David Clarke.
A recent client of mine, Evanye, had decades of pain attributed to difficulty swallowing, ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), constipation, and fibroids. She’s even had chronic fatigue and insomnia. Evanye tried every possible diet from vegan to paleo to keto. She took herbs. She underwent uterine artery embolization to cut off blood supply to the growths on her uterus. She saw numerous practitioners, including specialists in Chinese Medicine, Naturopathy, Gastroenterology, and Gynecology.
Fortunately, her background in psychotherapy made her open to the mind-body model, where we understand the brain and nervous system creates bodily dysfunction in association with lifetime stressors and conflicting emotions. I supported Evanye’s with health coaching five times between late August and mid-December of 2025. She was having step-wise improvements, but then we lost touch for about four months, until a surprise email:
“I have finally found trust in my body again, and my confidence is soaring…After 30 years of an identity rooted in restriction and control, I finally let go—and my body did too...The work we did together helped...my body to feel safe again…I’ve been able to eat without my stomach cramping, seizing, or feeling nauseous, sluggish, or dizzy. I can finally experience stress as just stress, instead of it turning into ongoing physical symptoms. My insomnia is improving as I have learned to stay in the trust space with my body. The work we did truly supported me during a time when I felt helpless and hopeless.”
Like most of us who have recovered from years of debilitating symptoms, Evanye was not shy to then share her story on my YouTube channel.
Evanye shared 4 keys to her healing:
Processing Anger
“You gave me a homework assignment to deeply explore this unexpressed anger and where I might be angry at. And so I started, just every time I felt it, I would just let it out.”
2. Understanding her childhood
We explored Evanye’s experiences growing up and her relationship with food and her belly since childhood.
“…we had a session, and you asked me a question about how did I talk to my body [in my youth]. And it never really clicked for me or dawned on me how that conversation played a huge role in how I was having a conversation with my body now.”
3. Listening to her body
“I had been trying to find ways externally to fix the problem, and…you said...that in order for your body to find its own healing, it’s going to have to trust you…the light bulbs went off. ‘Oh…I’m not listening to myself’…And that’s when things really pivoted, because it gave me a new perspective…I totally started trusting myself…for my nervous system to thaw out, because she was frozen…More pleasure…creative thoughts…connecting with other people came back online for me.”
4. Practicing authenticity:
Evanye learned to more authentically engage in her relationships while balancing her own needs.
“There used to be an internal driver that no one really saw…If I was asked a question, I had to say yes…Even if I didn’t feel good…That internal voice of needing to have to is not there [now]…It’s more authentic…That part has been 10 times better for me.”
About her transformation:
“I remember feeling this surge of joy over me. And then that’s when I realized, oh my gosh, ding, ding, ding, you’ve been at this for 30 years.”
Regarding her future:
“The future looks like dreaming and feeling okay to dream, and knowing that even if my body is only able to give me access to certain parts, and there might be some disabled parts, that’s okay. I’m still allowed to dream further than where I have been.”
Transformation speaks beautifully.
You can learn more about Evanye Lawson and contact her through her website www.theselflovecenter.com
Dr. Rachel Hollander at her workspace.
Thank you for reading this blog. Use the code BLOG-20-OFF for US$20 off a One-on-One Video Visit with Dr. Hollander. Valid until 1/1/27.
