QC: Processing Emotions When Your Body Betrays You: Expert Insights with Dr. Natasha Trujillo

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Struggling with emotional ups and downs while living with chronic illness like endometriosis? You’re not alone—and your anger makes sense. In this powerful episode, Dr. Natasha Trujillo, licensed psychologist and author of "And She Was Never the Same Again," explores how to recognize and process the emotional weight that often comes with invisible illnesses.

Discover how the "anger iceberg" reveals the deeper emotions that fuel frustration—such as grief, loss, sadness, fear, and even guilt—when your body feels like it’s fighting against you.

🔍 In this episode:
 • Why anger is a valid and adaptive response to chronic illness
• How to use the anger iceberg to uncover what’s really going on emotionally
• The impact of suppressed emotions on your well-being
• How self-awareness and reflection can help you heal
• Tools for processing emotions in healthy, personalized ways

Whether you're navigating endometriosis, autoimmune disease, or another chronic condition, this conversation sheds light on what you're really feeling—and how to care for yourself through it.

💬 Have a question about endo or chronic illness?
 Submit it via the link in the episode description, email us at [e-mail], or visit www.endobattery.com.

🔗 Be sure to subscribe, rate, and share if you found this episode helpful—it helps more people find trustworthy content about chronic illness, endometriosis, and women's health.

#Endometriosis #ChronicIllness #WomensHealth #EmotionalHealth #AngerIceberg #MentalHealthAndChronicIllness #InvisibleIllness #DrNatashaTrujillo #EndoBatteryPodcast

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Life moves fast and so should the answers to your
biggest questions.
Welcome to EndoBattery's QuickConnect, your direct line to
expert insights Short, powerfuland right to the point.
You send in the questions, Ibring in the experts and in just
five minutes you get theknowledge you need.
No long episodes, no extra timeneeded, and just remember

(00:20):
expert opinions shared here arefor general information and not
for personalized medical advice.
Always consult your providerfor your case-specific guidance.
Got a question?
Send it in and let's quicklyget you the answers.
I'm your host, alana, and it'stime to connect.
I'm joined by my expert guest,dr Natasha Trujillo.

(00:44):
I'm joined by my expert guest,dr Natasha Trujillo.
Dr Trujillo is a licensedcounseling and sports
psychologist, educator andauthor, whose work focuses on
grief, trauma and identitydevelopment.
She earned her doctorate incounseling psychology from
Purdue University in 2019 andhas extensive experience
supporting students, athletesand high achievers through
mental health challenges rangingfrom grief and self-injury to

(01:06):
eating disorders.
She's here to bring herinsights on how to navigate our
mental and emotional challengesliving with chronic illness.
Let's dive in what is a healthyway for those of us who have
anger towards our body ortowards the trauma that we've
experienced because of what'sgoing on in our body?
How do we process and cope withthat?

(01:27):
What are some healthy ways todo that?
Because that's a very realthing for a lot of us.

Speaker 2 (01:32):
Yes, it is.
Yes, it is Well.
And I will also say I don'tthink we need to give anger a
bad rap either.
I think that's a veryappropriate and adaptive emotion
in this situation.
Right, you have a chronicillness, you have something that
takes you away from somethingthat you really wanted to pursue
or shoot, you know you justhave a bad day and your plans
get changed.
It's okay.

(01:53):
It's okay to be angry.
That is appropriate, that makessense in that situation.
I often encourage people to go alittle bit deeper too, just in
terms of what is underneath someof that anger.
The anger iceberg is one of myvery favorite things to use in
therapy.
So, basically, you know, if youpicture an iceberg, you have

(02:13):
what you see.
If you're standing on a boatand you're looking at the tip of
the iceberg, that's what yousee, and so oftentimes that is
anger.
In inner society, anger isoften a more acceptable emotion
than other, than other morevulnerable emotions maybe and so
that's the tip, that's what yousee.
But we know that when you gounder the surface and you really
look at what's underneath, it'shuge, right, yeah, and there's

(02:38):
so many emotions in there.
So I often ask people what'sunder the tip of your iceberg.
And when we think about anger,you know, in this situation you
wake up and your all your plansget changed because you just
don't feel well.
That's sadness, that is great,yeah, that is great.
That is loss, that is fear,that is, you know, there's guilt

(02:59):
.
Possibly, even if it's notappropriate guilt necessarily,
you still might feel it becauseyou have to change plans A, b
and C.
And so I think that's anotherstrategy that I really want
people to consider is what isunderneath some of that anger?
I think some self-reflectiontoo.
Are you handling that anger ina way that you feel is adaptive

(03:22):
and healthy for you?
There's so many differentoutlets and you know who am I or
anyone else to say what's rightand what's wrong.
But just being able toself-reflect and figure out, you
know, am I handling this in away that works for me?
And if I'm not, what do I wantto do with that?
So I think, being willing toask yourself hard questions and,

(03:43):
if you're recognizing that youneed to do some work and figure
something out, take those risks.

Speaker 1 (03:52):
That's a wrap for this Quick Connect.
I hope today's insights helpedyou move forward with more
clarity and confidence.
Do you have more questions?
Keep them coming, send them inand I'll bring you the expert
answers.
Keep them coming, send them inand I'll bring you the expert
answers.
You can send them in by usingthe link in the top of the
description of this podcastepisode or by emailing contact

(04:12):
at endobatterycom or visitingthe endobatterycom contact page.
Until next time, keep feelingempowered through knowledge.
Thank you.