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Ep. 63: Finding Your Path when the System Fails You with Stacey Piedrahita
Stacey spent her career inside healthcare.
She knew the language, the protocols, the system… But when her body began to collapse, she was still dismissed, gaslit, and told to see a psychiatrist when imaging clearly showed she had a stroke.
This is an episode on what it takes to keep going when no one believes you, about the exhaustion of advocating for yourself over and over, and about the courage it takes to keep going—even when you don’t have all the answers.
Episode Overview
In this conversation, I sit down with Stacey Piedrahita, a former nurse and medical professional from North Carolina who has navigated a decade of health crises—from multiple autoimmune diagnoses to a severe electrical shock that left her with POTS, dysautonomia, mast cell disease, and a confirmed stroke.
Stacey walks us through the painful reality of being a patient in a system she once worked within, the invalidation she faced from specialist after specialist, and the exhausting fight to be believed.
We explore how the childhood programming that taught her to mask her pain and be “the strong one” showed up in her initial relationship with illness, and how getting sick has slowly forced her to unlearn that story.
This is a raw account of someone still in the midst of the journey—learning to unmask, to ask for help, and to become the most authentic version of herself.
What You’ll Discover
* The reality of being dismissed by doctors—even when you have medical training yourself.
* How the medical system follows a script and doesn’t have time to listen—and why that must change.
* The back pain at 50 that put her on a different path forever.
* The experience of being told “nothing is wrong” while her body was collapsing.
* How an electrical shock from a fence led to POTS, dysautonomia, mast cell disease, and a stroke.
* The moment a neurologist finally listened—and why it took three to get there.
* The deep childhood programming of being “the strong one” and masking pain to survive.
* Why illness is forcing her to stop hiding and start asking for help—even when it’s terrifying.
* How radical acceptance, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and faith have become her foundation.
* Who she is becoming: the most authentic version of herself—still in progress, still healing.
Timestamps
00:00 - Introduction & The Big Question of the Podcast
02:00 - Welcoming Stacey from North Carolina
04:00 - The First Crisis: Debilitating Back Pain at Age 50
06:00 - Dismissed by Doctors: “Go See a Shrink”
08:00 - The Cognitive Decline: Not Recognizing Her Own Daughter
10:00 - A Career Inside Healthcare—And Still Not Being Believed
12:00 - The Electrical Shock from a Fence—and What Followed
14:00 - POTS, Dysautonomia, Mast Cell, and the Stroke
16:00 - The Third Neurologist Who Finally Believed Her
18:00 - Childhood Programming: “I’m the Strong One”
20:00 - Learning to Ask for Help and Unmask
22:00 - Radical Acceptance and Dialectical Behavior Therapy
24:00 - Becoming the Most Authentic Version of Herself—Still in Progress
26:00 - Her Books, Breathwork Classes, and Substack
Guest Information & Links
Connect with Stacey Piedrahita:
* Website: tmsforacure.org → find her breathwork class, “Breath and Beyond with Stacey”, held every second and fourth Friday.
* Substack: https://substack.com/@revstaceyrocks. Daily recovery essays, stories, and poetry.
* Books: Available on Amazon
* “Intuitive: Speaking Her Truth”
* “Becoming the Manifesting Diva”
* “Soulful Poems” (Two Volumes)
* Soul Spells (Coming August 2026)
* Book links:
* https://a.co/d/0dIK32tF
* https://a.co/d/0bLl24q1
* Join Stacey’s Yoga Laughter class and online community: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1az1W9Eiv1/
Ready to Go Deeper?
→ Begin your Sacred Illness® Journey: https://www.aurorasomatic.com/community Use coupon code PODCAST for 20% off your first month.
→ Become a Sacred Illness® Practitioner: https://www.sacredillness.com
→ Apply to get on the waitlist to be a podcast guest: https://www.aurorasomatic.com/podcast-guest
→ Apply to be an Affiliate and help share this work:https://www.aurorasomatic.com/affiliate
→ Follow Dr. Erin on Substack:
🎶 Music by: “Instructions for Living a Life” by Savfkhttps://www.youtube.com/@SavfkMusic
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sacredillness.substack.com/subscribe
View all episodes
By Dr. Erin HayfordStacey spent her career inside healthcare.
She knew the language, the protocols, the system… But when her body began to collapse, she was still dismissed, gaslit, and told to see a psychiatrist when imaging clearly showed she had a stroke.
This is an episode on what it takes to keep going when no one believes you, about the exhaustion of advocating for yourself over and over, and about the courage it takes to keep going—even when you don’t have all the answers.
Episode Overview
In this conversation, I sit down with Stacey Piedrahita, a former nurse and medical professional from North Carolina who has navigated a decade of health crises—from multiple autoimmune diagnoses to a severe electrical shock that left her with POTS, dysautonomia, mast cell disease, and a confirmed stroke.
Stacey walks us through the painful reality of being a patient in a system she once worked within, the invalidation she faced from specialist after specialist, and the exhausting fight to be believed.
We explore how the childhood programming that taught her to mask her pain and be “the strong one” showed up in her initial relationship with illness, and how getting sick has slowly forced her to unlearn that story.
This is a raw account of someone still in the midst of the journey—learning to unmask, to ask for help, and to become the most authentic version of herself.
What You’ll Discover
* The reality of being dismissed by doctors—even when you have medical training yourself.
* How the medical system follows a script and doesn’t have time to listen—and why that must change.
* The back pain at 50 that put her on a different path forever.
* The experience of being told “nothing is wrong” while her body was collapsing.
* How an electrical shock from a fence led to POTS, dysautonomia, mast cell disease, and a stroke.
* The moment a neurologist finally listened—and why it took three to get there.
* The deep childhood programming of being “the strong one” and masking pain to survive.
* Why illness is forcing her to stop hiding and start asking for help—even when it’s terrifying.
* How radical acceptance, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and faith have become her foundation.
* Who she is becoming: the most authentic version of herself—still in progress, still healing.
Timestamps
00:00 - Introduction & The Big Question of the Podcast
02:00 - Welcoming Stacey from North Carolina
04:00 - The First Crisis: Debilitating Back Pain at Age 50
06:00 - Dismissed by Doctors: “Go See a Shrink”
08:00 - The Cognitive Decline: Not Recognizing Her Own Daughter
10:00 - A Career Inside Healthcare—And Still Not Being Believed
12:00 - The Electrical Shock from a Fence—and What Followed
14:00 - POTS, Dysautonomia, Mast Cell, and the Stroke
16:00 - The Third Neurologist Who Finally Believed Her
18:00 - Childhood Programming: “I’m the Strong One”
20:00 - Learning to Ask for Help and Unmask
22:00 - Radical Acceptance and Dialectical Behavior Therapy
24:00 - Becoming the Most Authentic Version of Herself—Still in Progress
26:00 - Her Books, Breathwork Classes, and Substack
Guest Information & Links
Connect with Stacey Piedrahita:
* Website: tmsforacure.org → find her breathwork class, “Breath and Beyond with Stacey”, held every second and fourth Friday.
* Substack: https://substack.com/@revstaceyrocks. Daily recovery essays, stories, and poetry.
* Books: Available on Amazon
* “Intuitive: Speaking Her Truth”
* “Becoming the Manifesting Diva”
* “Soulful Poems” (Two Volumes)
* Soul Spells (Coming August 2026)
* Book links:
* https://a.co/d/0dIK32tF
* https://a.co/d/0bLl24q1
* Join Stacey’s Yoga Laughter class and online community: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1az1W9Eiv1/
Ready to Go Deeper?
→ Begin your Sacred Illness® Journey: https://www.aurorasomatic.com/community Use coupon code PODCAST for 20% off your first month.
→ Become a Sacred Illness® Practitioner: https://www.sacredillness.com
→ Apply to get on the waitlist to be a podcast guest: https://www.aurorasomatic.com/podcast-guest
→ Apply to be an Affiliate and help share this work:https://www.aurorasomatic.com/affiliate
→ Follow Dr. Erin on Substack:
🎶 Music by: “Instructions for Living a Life” by Savfkhttps://www.youtube.com/@SavfkMusic
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sacredillness.substack.com/subscribe