What happens when your body starts to heal, but your mind is still trapped in survival mode? In this episode of hol+, Dr. Taz sits down with Amy Kurtz, certified health coach, patient advocate, speaker, and author "But You Look Fine", for a powerful conversation about chronic illness, Lyme disease, medical gaslighting, nervous system trauma, and what it really means to heal.
Together, they explore Amy’s 20+ year journey through unexplained pain, chronic symptoms, misdiagnosis, and the search for answers that finally led to a diagnosis of late-stage neurological Lyme disease and co-infections. Amy shares what it was like to be told her labs were normal while knowing something was deeply wrong in her body, and how years of invalidation shaped her relationship with her health, her identity, and her trust in herself.
Dr. Taz and Amy also discuss why so many people live in the “gray zone” between sick and well, especially when symptoms are invisible, complex, or hard to explain. They unpack why normal labs do not always mean optimal health, why Lyme disease can be missed for years, and how chronic illness can impact relationships, career, emotional safety, and the nervous system.
This conversation offers a grounded and hopeful look at what happens after illness, when the body may be improving but the mind and nervous system are still bracing for the next crash. Amy introduces her concept of Medical Trauma Brain, or MTB, which describes the anxiety, hypervigilance, fear, and survival patterns that can remain after chronic illness, cancer, stroke, chronic pain, or any major health crisis.
If you’re listening to this and thinking, “I know something is off in my body, but I don’t know where to start,” join the Circle here: 👉 https://holplus.co/circle
Healing is not only physical. It is shaped by the nervous system, emotional safety, medical experiences, self-trust, community, trauma, hormones, inflammation, and the way the body and mind learn to feel safe again. In this episode, Dr. Taz and Amy look at healing as a whole-person process, especially for people who have been dismissed, misdiagnosed, or told “but you look fine.”
Learn more about support related to this conversation:
Lyme Disease & Chronic Infections: https://holplus.co/conditions/lyme-disease/
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: https://holplus.co/conditions/chronic-fatigue-syndrome/
Amy shares why chronic illness can create an “illness after the illness,” why recovery often brings up grief, and why so many patients feel lost once they are expected to simply get back to normal. She explains how Medical Trauma Brain can show up as fear of relapse, obsessive symptom checking, anxiety, hypervigilance, and feeling physically better but emotionally stuck in survival mode.
Dr. Taz and Amy also explore the importance of the doctor-patient relationship, why patients need to feel believed, and how reclaiming agency can become a central part of healing. They discuss practical tools for calming the nervous system, including orienting, CBT-based stress checks, walking, rest, breathwork, meditation, exercise, and learning to pause before reacting to every internal alarm.
If you are navigating chronic illness, Lyme disease, invisible symptoms, medical gaslighting, nervous system dysregulation, fear of getting sick again, or the emotional aftermath of a long health journey, this episode offers language, validation, and practical tools to begin rebuilding trust with your body.
About The Guest:
Amy Kurtz is a certified health coach, patient advocate, speaker, and author dedicated to empowering patients to reclaim agency over their physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. She is the author of Kicking Sick and But You Look Fine: Trapped in the Hell Between Sick and Well and How to Break Free. Amy has been featured on Good Morning America, Oprah Daily, The Boston Globe, and Wanderlust, where she was named one of their 35 women under 35 to watch in wellness.
About Dr. Taz:
Dr. Tasneem Bhatia (Dr. Taz) is a triple board-certified integrative medicine physician,
bestselling author, and founder of hol+ a multi-location integrative medicine practice.
Learn more: https://doctortaz.com/about
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Get your copy of The Hormone Shift: Balance Your Body and Thrive Through Midlife and Menopause
Connect with Amy Kurtz:
https://amykurtz.com
https://instagram.com/@_amykurtz
Get your copy of But You Look Fine: Trapped in the Hell Between Sick and Well and How To Break Free
Host & Production Team
Host: Dr. Taz; Produced by ClipGrowth.com (Producer: Pat Gostek)
Chapters
00:00 What Is Medical Trauma Brain?
02:35 When Your Labs Are Normal But You Still Feel Sick
03:27 Amy Kurtz’s Chronic Illness Journey
05:20 The 36th Doctor and the Lyme Diagnosis
07:10 Symptoms That Started in Childhood
09:01 Learning to Live With Discomfort
11:20 Taking Her Health Into Her Own Hands
12:35 Medical Gaslighting and Losing Self-Trust
13:10 Why the Medical System Misses the Gray Zone
14:47 Hypothyroidism, Celiac, and Still Not Feeling Well
15:21 Writing Kicking Sick While Still Searching for Answers
17:06 Why Amy Wrote Her First Book
18:45 The Rise of Chronic Illness
20:34 Trusting Your Inner Intelligence
22:14 Why Lyme Disease Is So Often Missed
24:20 Chronic Lyme, Co-Infections, and Nervous System Symptoms
27:00 Tick Prevention and What Patients Need to Know
29:18 Lyme Testing and Late-Stage Diagnosis
30:15 Treating Barto...
