BELIEF BECOMES

by Deborah Maragopoulos FNP | Apr 30, 2018 | Blog, Mind/Body | 0 comments

Nina was sent to me for a psycho-spiritual healing. She had advanced stage IV head and neck cancer and there was nothing medicine could do for her. A lovely blond woman in her late forties, Nina sat quietly before me, a cupcake-sized tumor protruding from her neck. I took her hands in mine.

“Nina, if you are finished here on earth, I'll help you transition. If you're not ready to die, I'll help you live. It's your choice.”

Tearing up, she smiled at me, “I'm not ready to die.”

“Ok. Then we've got some work to do.”

Conventional therapy of radical surgery and radiation would have given her a few years, but a very poor quality of life – inability to eat, to speak, to hear, facial paralysis, and blindness. Nina chose an alternative route. Without much hope for her advanced cancer since her diagnosis, Nina exhausted all the complementary cancer treatments she could on her own.

What Nina hadn't explored was the psycho-spiritual root of her dis-ease. It became clear to me during our first two-hour consult that Nina had planted a death wish a long time ago and it was related to her mother.

“What happened when your mother died?”

Nina admitted to being so devastated at the death of her beloved mother some 20 years earlier that she just wanted to die, too. But Nina had a young daughter of her own, so she stayed. But she never got over her grief. And that death seed got planted deep in her subconscious just waiting to blossom.

Now, of course, there were other things that contributed to Nina’s cancer. She smoked in her youth. Her diet wasn't great. She was exposed to heavy metals in her line of work. And her mother did die of breast cancer.

Yet how many people have all these exposures and live long dis-ease free lives. Is it good genes? Or is it an attitude?

Belief becomes.

We manifest what we believe. If we believe we will die young, age like our parents, get the same diseases as they did, then we probably will. And if we live their same lifestyle, then it's even more likely we will succumb to the family curse – be it cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s.

You can change your destiny through your lifestyle choices and your beliefs.

My work with Nina was to explore her beliefs that seeded her vulnerability to cancer and to find out what she had to live for. Nina really wanted to live long enough to see her daughter graduate from college and get married.

So I helped Nina have the highest quality of life possible. She faithfully did all her homework. Yes, I give my patients homework – things to read, meditate on, affirmations, and lifestyle changes.

Nina attended her daughter’s college graduation, and then a year later danced at her daughter’s wedding. And when she had completed these goals, Nina was done. I then spent time helping her family let her go. She died peacefully at home nearly five years after we first met, some seven years longer than the doctors originally gave her.

Nina's daughter is still one of my sweetest patients. The same age as my children, she's open to my maternal love and advice. They all feel like family to me. Full Circle Family Health has provided me the space to help my patients from birth to death. It's a privilege to heal body, mind, and soul.

UNVEIL THE CORE BELIEF THAT MAY BE CAUSING YOUR DISEASE

This is the hardest part of the treatment. Finding what may be underlying my patient's dis-ease at a psycho-spiritual level takes some finesse. Thankfully, balancing their hypothalamus with Genesis Gold® can deepen their sleep, and often their subconscious reveals the truth to them in dreams.

As I get to know a patient, their core issue becomes apparent, and when they are ready to deal with it, we do. Sometimes I am blessed to have a new patient come to me for a consult and they are so ripe (ready to heal) that I can "see" what their core issue is, speak it, and the patient says, "Yes, that makes sense!" Healing is much faster when we deal with the psycho-spiritual along with the physical.

Dis-ease is your body’s way of talking to you. I’d rather your body whisper than scream what it needs. That’s why I created Genesis Gold®, to help us know more clearly what our bodies need to be optimally well. I call it becoming innate.

excerpt from Hormones in Harmony®

Frequently Asked Questions:

Can your hypothalamus cause weight gain?

Yes. The hypothalamus is the master regulator of metabolism, controlling how your body stores and burns energy through its signaling to the thyroid, adrenals, and pancreas. When the hypothalamus becomes dysregulated by chronic stress, poor sleep, inflammation, or blood sugar instability, it defends a higher weight "set point" — causing the body to hold onto fat regardless of diet or exercise. This makes hypothalamic dysfunction an upstream root cause of stubborn weight gain.

What is a weight set point and why won't mine move?

A weight set point is the body weight your hypothalamus works to defend, calibrated over time by stress, sleep, hormones, and inflammation. When you diet, the hypothalamus perceives scarcity and responds by slowing metabolism, increasing hunger hormones, and suppressing satiety signals to return you to that set point. This is why most people regain lost weight within two to five years of conventional dieting — the set point itself was never recalibrated, only temporarily overridden.

Why do I gain weight under stress even when I'm not eating more?

Chronic stress raises cortisol, which disrupts blood sugar regulation, promotes abdominal fat storage, and signals the hypothalamus that the body is under threat. In survival mode, the hypothalamus defends fat stores and slows metabolism — so weight can increase even without any change in calorie intake. The stress chemistry, not the food, is driving the weight gain, which is why stress reduction is essential to any lasting metabolic reset.

Why do I regain weight after stopping GLP-1 medications?

GLP-1 medications work peripherally on appetite and gastric signaling, but they do not address the underlying hypothalamic dysregulation that sets your defended weight. Because the hypothalamic set point is never recalibrated, the body resumes defending its original weight once the medication stops — leading to significant regain. Long-term success requires restoring hypothalamic regulation so the set point itself lowers, rather than relying on appetite suppression alone.

How long does it take to reset your metabolism?

Genuine metabolic recalibration takes a minimum of 90 days, because the hypothalamus needs consistent signals of safety and sufficiency before it will lower its defended set point. This differs from a diet, which produces temporary suppression the body quickly corrects. A 90-day reset typically moves through three phases: stabilizing stress chemistry (days 1–30), rebuilding metabolic efficiency (days 31–60), and lowering the weight set point (days 61–90).

Why does my thyroid feel slow even though my labs are "normal"?

Under chronic stress, the body converts thyroid hormone into reverse T3, which blocks active thyroid receptors and slows metabolism at the cellular level — even when standard lab values appear normal. This means you can experience genuine symptoms of slow metabolism, such as fatigue, cold intolerance, and brain fog, while your thyroid panel looks unremarkable. Addressing the upstream hypothalamic and stress signaling often improves thyroid conversion and symptoms.

Is stubborn weight gain a willpower problem?

No. Stubborn weight gain is a signaling problem, not a willpower problem. The hypothalamus governs weight through survival mechanisms that operate below conscious control — defending its set point by slowing metabolism and increasing hunger when it perceives threat. No amount of discipline can override this system; lasting change comes from restoring hypothalamic regulation through reduced stress, balanced blood sugar, restorative sleep, and targeted nutritional support.

About the Author - Deborah Maragopoulos FNP

Known as the Hormone Queen®️, I’ve made it my mission to help everyone - no matter their age - balance their hormones, and live the energy and joy their DNA and true destiny desires. See more about me my story here...

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Last Updated: April 7, 2022