Connecting with the Thom's

You’ve done the therapy. You understand your trauma. You know your triggers. So why does your body still react?

In this episode of Spill the Tea with Dr. T, biological medicine doctor Dr. Dickson Thom and nervous system and somatic practitioner Julie Thom talk about why understanding something in your mind doesn’t always change how your body responds.

In this episode:
• Why trauma responses like a racing heart, tight muscles or an upset stomach can continue even after years of therapy
• Why breathwork, meditation or “just relax” can make some people feel worse
• What your nervous system needs before regulation tools can actually work
• How to start with safety outside your body: looking around, sound, touch and movement
• Why sitting still can feel scary when your body learned to stay on alert
• A listener question about anger and snapping at your kids
• The simple morning reset that helps your day start calmer

If you’ve ever wondered why you still feel anxious, stuck or on edge when you “know better,” this episode is for you.

Chapters:
0:00 Welcome
0:22 Dr. Thom’s book and the brain protocol
4:42 Not everyone is ready to process trauma
7:22 Why your body still reacts
12:01 You don’t need to know what traumatized you
15:31 What the body needs before regulation tools work
17:12 Why “just breathe” can make it worse
18:06 The doorways to safety
21:59 Why sitting still feels scary
24:29 Listener question: snapping at my son
29:02 Phones and the morning reset
32:08 Final thoughts

Connect with Julie: @fitomizefitness on Instagram | fitomize.ca

This podcast is for education only and is not medical advice.

Do you spend more of your time in the past, the present, or the future?

A question from the book I’m reading stopped me this week. When I asked my clients, almost nobody said the present. And when I asked myself, I had to admit I’ve spent most of my life running into the future... because when I slow down, the past shows up.

I talk about why the present has never felt safe to me, why staying busy feels easier than being still, and how a lifetime of disappearing into movies and TV shows wasn’t being present at all. It was another way of watching my life from the stands.

A client said it best: simple is not the same as easy.

This week’s question: Where do you go when you don’t want to be here... and what would it take to feel safe enough to stay?

Nine weeks to go.

About the series

I’m turning fifty this year. And I’ve realized I spend so much time thinking about my life... that I forget to actually feel it.

Connecting With Myself is my countdown to 50. Every Sunday, I share a short audio story from my journey inward. Part journal, part lesson, part honest conversation with the voice in my head who asks the questions I’d rather not answer.

I’ve spent most of my life caring for everyone else. My kids. My clients. My family. This is the first time I’ve turned the attention toward me, to explore what I feel, what I need, and who I am underneath all the doing.

Some weeks will be funny. Some will be messy. A few might make me cry.

If you’ve been strong for everyone for a long time... or you’re stuck in your head and not sure how to come back to your body... you’re welcome to come along.

With warmth, Julie

fitomize.ca

Every week I sit down with my dad, Dr. Dickson Thom, to answer the questions people are actually asking about their health.

This weekend brings both the clock change and Halloween, so we took on each of them.

First, the time change. Your body clock isn’t set by the clock on the wall, so losing an hour is a small case of jet lag without leaving home. Dr. Thom walks through the morning reset and the evening wind down... keeping your wake time consistent instead of sleeping in, getting fifteen minutes of light first thing or using a bright light when it’s still dark, dimming overhead lights about two hours before bed, and screens off about an hour before.

He also shares something that surprises people. Roughly forty per cent of us have some kind of sleep issue, and a sleep problem is usually not a nighttime problem. It’s a daytime problem.

I added what I look at with waking. If you’re waking at twelve, one or two, that’s usually a safety issue. If you’re waking at three, four or five, that’s usually cortisol, and often tied to light exposure too late in the day.

Then Halloween. We asked what too much sugar does to a child’s nervous system, and the answer wasn’t what we expected. It’s not really the sugar. It’s the excitement, the disrupted routine and the hardest part of the night, which is the transition to sleep. Dr. Thom shares what to do when they walk back in the door, and why the next day matters as much as the night itself.

And the thread through all of it... if there’s an up regulation, make sure there’s an opportunity for a down regulation.

Have a question you want answered? Leave it in the comments and we’ll take it on in an upcoming episode.

Nervous system testing and finding a practitioner: https://biomed-drainage.org
Workshops and courses with Dr. Thom: https://biomed.thinkific.com/
Follow along: @fitomizefitness and @drthom.biomed
Our podcast, Connecting with the Thom’s: https://open.spotify.com/show/3x3gaTVNPRKyeoJtGZKZh4

Nothing shared here is medical advice. Always work with your own practitioner.

0:00 Welcome1:15 Why the time change hits so hard4:30 The morning reset8:24 Why sleep problems are daytime problems14:00 The two hour and one hour rule before bed16:46 Waking at 1am vs waking at 4am19:43 The two things that matter most21:39 Halloween and your child's nervous system26:43 What to do when they get home29:06 Why the next day matters more33:10 Wrap up

I’m turning fifty, and I’ve never had a best friend.

As a swimmer, the black line at the bottom of the pool was the one I talked to. This week I look at why I’ve spent my life watching from the stands. Moving to a new country and being left at the edge of the circle. Pushing too hard for friendship and ending up alone anyway. Feeling guilty for needing anything when every mom I know is struggling too. Sitting at the back of the room, letting people see what I know so they never had to see me.

And a question I can’t stop asking... am I introverted, or did I just learn to protect myself?

This week’s question: Are you quiet because that’s who you are... or because quiet was the safest place to be?

Ten weeks to go.

About the series

I’m turning fifty this year. And I’ve realized I spend so much time thinking about my life... that I forget to actually feel it.

Connecting With Myself is my countdown to 50. Every Sunday, I share a short audio story from my journey inward. Part journal, part lesson, part honest conversation with the voice in my head who asks the questions I’d rather not answer.

I’ve spent most of my life caring for everyone else. My kids. My clients. My family. This is the first time I’ve turned the attention toward me, to explore what I feel, what I need, and who I am underneath all the doing.

Some weeks will be funny. Some will be messy. A few might make me cry.

If you’ve been strong for everyone for a long time... or you’re stuck in your head and not sure how to come back to your body... you’re welcome to come along.

With warmth, Julie

fitomize.ca

Every week I sit down with my dad, Dr. Dickson Thom, to answer the questions people are actually asking about their health.

This one starts with something I hear all the time. People who have lived in survival mode most of their lives finally start feeling good... and it doesn’t feel good. It feels flat, or blah, or even unsettling. Dr. Thom explains what’s happening in the body when calm is unfamiliar.

That led us into the second half of it. Most people reach for the tools when they feel awful and drop them the moment they feel okay. We talk about why the practice matters most when nothing is wrong.

We also get into creatine, which is suddenly being recommended to everyone and not just athletes. Who actually benefits, and who might want to wait.

Then we took two questions from viewers.

What can parents and teens do when they’re constantly in conflict with each other?

And what do you actually do in the moment when your body is in fight or flight?

Have a question you want answered? Leave it in the comments and we’ll take it on in an upcoming episode.

Nervous system testing and finding a practitioner: https://biomed-drainage.org
Workshops and courses with Dr. Thom: https://biomed.thinkific.com/
Follow along: @fitomizefitness and @drthom.biomed
Our podcast, Connecting with the Thom’s: https://open.spotify.com/show/3x3gaTVNPRKyeoJtGZKZh4

Nothing shared here is medical advice. Always work with your own practitioner.

Spill the Tea with Dr. T | Viruses, Cholesterol, Blood Vessel Health & Asthma — What Your Body Is Actually Trying to Tell You

These are the questions people are sitting with in waiting rooms, typing into search bars at midnight, and not getting straight answers on.

In this episode of Spill the Tea with Dr. T, Julie brings your questions straight to her father Dr. Dickson Thom — and this one covers a lot of ground. Viruses. Cholesterol. Blood vessel health. Asthma. Four topics that get oversimplified constantly... and deserve a more honest conversation.

In this episode:

• Viruses — how the body actually handles them and what biological medicine looks at that standard care often doesn't
• Cholesterol — what that number is really telling you and why the conversation around it needs to change
• Blood vessel health — what actually supports it and what's worth paying attention to beneath the surface
• Asthma — what's happening underneath it as a nervous system and terrain response, not just a breathing problem
• Why the body's symptoms in all four of these areas are signals worth understanding, not just managing

This is what it looks like when someone with over twenty years of clinical experience in biological medicine sits down and actually answers the question.

No scripts. No agenda. Just the conversation most people wish they could have with their own practitioner.

Got a question of your own? Come find us live on Instagram and bring it. We read them all.

🌿 Resources & Next Steps:

• Get your nervous system tested: https://www.biomed-drainage.org
• Workshops and courses with Dr. Thom: https://biomed.thinkific.com/
• Listen to the full podcast, Connecting with the Thom's: https://open.spotify.com/show/3x3gaTVNPRKyeoJtGZKZh4
• Follow along: @fitomizefitness and @drthom.biomed

Nothing shared here is medical advice. Always work with your own practitioner.

We hear those words everywhere. On mugs, on yoga mats, in every wellness post. This week I sat with them and realized I couldn’t define a single one... at least not for me.

From my swimming years, when strong had a number on a clock, to motherhood, when strong meant nobody noticing what it cost, I’m asking whose definitions I’ve been living by. And I’m finding a surprising clue in the kitchen, dancing when no one is watching.

This week’s question: If no one was measuring you, needing you, or watching you... what would you do with your body today?

Eleven weeks to go.

About the series

I’m turning fifty this year. And I’ve realized I spend so much time thinking about my life... that I forget to actually feel it.

Connecting With Myself is my countdown to 50. Every Sunday, I share a short audio story from my journey inward. Part journal, part lesson, part honest conversation with the voice in my head who asks the questions I’d rather not answer.

I’ve spent most of my life caring for everyone else. My kids. My clients. My family. This is the first time I’ve turned the attention toward me, to explore what I feel, what I need, and who I am underneath all the doing.

Some weeks will be funny. Some will be messy. A few might make me cry.

If you’ve been strong for everyone for a long time... or you’re stuck in your head and not sure how to come back to your body... you’re welcome to come along.

With warmth, Julie

fitomize.ca

Spill the Tea with Dr. T | Why You're Exhausted But Can't Rest — Burnout, Functional Freeze & What Your Nervous System Actually Needs

You've rested. You've taken the supplements. You've tried to slow down.

And you still feel completely empty.

Not lazy. Not dramatic. Not broken. But running on fumes while somehow still showing up for everyone around you... and wondering privately why nothing is helping.

In this episode of Spill the Tea with Dr. T, Julie and Dr. Dickson Thom get into something that isn't talked about honestly enough. Burnout, anxiety, and shutting down are not personality flaws. They are nervous system states. And they don't resolve the way most people think they will.

In this episode:

• Why burnout doesn't get better with more rest — and what's actually keeping the system stuck
• Functional freeze — what it is, why so many people are living in it without realizing it, and why it's a nervous system response not a character issue
• Why you can feel completely numb inside while still functioning and showing up for everyone else
• Lion's Mane, nootropics, and brain supplements — where they genuinely support healing and where they hit a wall
• Why you cannot think, rest, or supplement your way out of a state your body hasn't been given permission to leave
• How the Red, Yellow, and Green Zones change everything — because what your nervous system needs depends entirely on where it's actually starting from

This episode is for the person who has been told to just rest more... and is exhausted by that answer. Who is doing everything right on paper and still feels like they're disappearing inside. Who is starting to wonder if something deeper is going on.

Something is. And it has a name. And more importantly — it has a way through.

🌿 Resources & Next Steps:

• Get your nervous system tested and find your zone: https://www.biomed-drainage.org
• Workshops and courses with Dr. Thom: https://biomed.thinkific.com/
• Listen to the full podcast, Connecting with the Thom's: https://open.spotify.com/show/3x3gaTVNPRKyeoJtGZKZh4
• Follow along: @fitomizefitness and @drthom.biomed

Nothing shared here is medical advice. Always work with your own practitioner.

Are Vagus Nerve Devices Worth It? And What Is Your Nervous System's Real Age?

Vagus nerve devices are everywhere right now. Clips, patches, wearables, stimulators — each one promising to calm your nervous system, improve your HRV, and fast track your healing.

But what are they actually doing? And more importantly... who do they actually help?

In this episode of Spill the Tea with Dr. T, Julie and Dr. Dickson Thom cut through the noise on one of the biggest trends in nervous system health right now — and then take it somewhere most people haven't thought to go.

Can you actually measure the age of your nervous system? Not your chronological age. Your biological, functional, nervous system age. And if you can... what does that number tell you?

Stay to the end. Because that's where we get into what actually moves the needle on healing. And it's usually not what people expect.

In this episode:

• Vagus nerve devices — what they are, what the research actually supports, and what they can't do
• Who benefits from vagus nerve stimulation and who needs something else entirely first
• Nervous system age — whether this is something you can genuinely measure or just a compelling concept
• What HRV and BIA reveal about how old your nervous system is actually functioning
• What consistently moves the needle on healing when devices and trends fall short
• Why the answer is almost never the thing currently trending

If you are a practitioner or coach who wants to learn how to assess the nervous system the way we do — with real data, real frameworks, and real clinical application — our workshops are open now.

🌿 Resources & Next Steps:

• Practitioner workshops and courses with Dr. Thom: https://biomed.thinkific.com/
• Get your nervous system tested: https://www.biomed-drainage.org
• Listen to the full podcast, Connecting with the Thom's: https://open.spotify.com/show/3x3gaTVNPRKyeoJtGZKZh4
• Follow along: @fitomizefitness and @drthom.biomed

Nothing shared here is medical advice. Always work with your own practitioner.

Why Small Moments Hit So Hard — Rejection Sensitivity, Lymph & Nervous System Safety Explained

Have you ever had a small moment land so hard it knocked the wind out of you?

A look. A tone. A message left on read. Something that most people would brush off... but for you, it goes straight to the body. The chest tightens. The mind spirals. The whole day shifts.

You are not too sensitive. You are not imagining it. Your nervous system is doing exactly what it was wired to do.

In this episode of Spill the Tea with Dr. T, Julie and Dr. Dickson Thom cover a lot of ground — and it all connects back to the same thing. A nervous system that hasn't felt safe enough to come out of survival mode.

In this episode:

• The lymphatic system — what it's actually doing in your body and why it matters more than most people realize
• Rejection sensitive dysphoria — why certain moments land so disproportionately hard and what that reveals about nervous system state
• What a full day on your phone is quietly doing to your system — and why most of us don't notice until the damage is done
• The 6 doorways to safety — what they are, why they matter, and how they become the foundation of real healing
• Why none of this means you're broken — and what changes when you finally understand the why behind how you feel

This episode is for the person who has been told they're too much. Who absorbs other people's moods without meaning to. Who gets exhausted by things that don't seem to exhaust others.

There is a reason for all of it. And understanding that reason is where everything begins to shift.

🌿 Resources & Next Steps:

• Get your nervous system tested: https://www.biomed-drainage.org
• Workshops and courses with Dr. Thom: https://biomed.thinkific.com/
• Listen to the full podcast, Connecting with the Thom's: https://open.spotify.com/show/3x3gaTVNPRKyeoJtGZKZh4
• Follow along: @fitomizefitness and @drthom.biomed

Nothing shared here is medical advice. Always work with your own practitioner.