Medicine Stories

Amber M Hill
Medicine Stories

Exploring both wellness and the weirdness in the wellness space, mostly through the lenses of women's metabolic health & herbalism. Mainstream medicine has many shortcomings, but many in the alternative sphere have lost their critical thinking faculties entirely. Let's navigate together.

  1. 117. Cannabis-Induced Psychosis: A Mother’s Story of Love and Loss - Tara Couture of Slowdown Farmstead

    APR 9

    117. Cannabis-Induced Psychosis: A Mother’s Story of Love and Loss - Tara Couture of Slowdown Farmstead

    In 2021 Tara and her family got the knock on their door that every parent fears most. In the days that followed they discovered eighteen-year-old Mila’s journal and were able to piece together the shocking and devastating chain of events that led to her death. Tara’s Instagram and Substack, Slowdown Farmstead, is followed and admired by tens of thousands of people. Tara and her husband raised their three daughters on their beautiful Canadian farm, lovingly tending to and butchering their own livestock in order to nourish their family and community. Deeply acquainted with the cycles of nature, Tara has a perspective on the interconnectedness of life and death that was the daily reality for our ancestors but eludes most modern people. But that did not prepare her for what could happen when a drug that is now bred to be as strong as any pharmaceutical- and which is often misunderstood as being a benign herbal medicine- snuck its way into her daughter’s life at a vulnerable time and completely rewired her brain in a matter of months. It is our hope that sharing Mila’s story will make more people aware of the increasingly common psychosis that is a side effect of the new high-THC strains of cannabis on the market, and especially of its dangers for the developing teenage brain. Please read the articles linked below for more. Tara's essay What Happened To Our Daughter- don't miss the dozens of resources about the risks of cannabis at the end How Weed Became the New OxyContin: Big Pharma and Big Tobacco Are Helping Market High-Potency, Psychosis-Inducing THC Products as Your Mother’s ‘Medical Marijuana’ Patreon bonus conversation- What We Want Our Daughter To Know: women, restriction, chronic illness & more on Tara’s metabolic journey Learn more about Tara’s book Radiance of the Ordinary Slowdown Farmstead on Substack and Instagram Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome Take our fun quiz Which Healing Herb Matches Your Energy? My website MythicMedicine.love  Mythic Medicine on Instagram Medicine Stories Facebook group Music by Mariee Siou (from her beautiful song Wild Eyes)

    1h 33m
  2. 116. Women & Herbs: From Information to Knowledge to Wisdom - Kami McBride

    MAR 1

    116. Women & Herbs: From Information to Knowledge to Wisdom - Kami McBride

    My most beloved herbal elder and I talk about our favorite subject- women throughout time using plants for self care, family healing, and community connection. After nearly 4 decades as a practicing herbalist and teacher, and in an age of informational overabundance, Kami has seen what actually works when it comes to truly embodying herbal knowing. Find Kami’s freebies & learn more about Handcrafted Healing Herbal Oils (including the peek at what you see when you log in to the course). Two Patreon bonuses for this episode- an extended conversation with Kami where we share our stories of Mothering Without Elders, and two free videos with Kami entitled Garden Herb Walk- meet 9 favorite garden herbs that can calm the nerves, help with digestion, heal the skin, kick a cold, and more! Let’s meet beautiful edible and medicinal flowers, weeds, leaves and seeds and find out which ones are used for what. Kami’s book The Herbal Kitchen Amber’s website MythicMedicine.love  Take our fun Which Healing Herb is Your Spirit Medicine? quiz Amber/Mythic Medicine on Instagram Amber’s Nourishing Motherlines Substack Medicine Stories Facebook group Music by Mariee Siou (from her beautiful song Wild Eyes)

    1h 32m
  3. 115. Nourishment Lost: in Culty Spaces, Self Induced, & Culturewide - Dr. Suuzi Hazen

    FEB 17

    115. Nourishment Lost: in Culty Spaces, Self Induced, & Culturewide - Dr. Suuzi Hazen

    Suuzi and I continue the discussion sparked by my last episode about culty trends in the wellness space by talking about her past with Kundalini yoga- what drew her in and, eventually, how noticing the state of nourishment of those deepest into the cult precipitated her exit. We then catch listeners up on our midlife metabolic meltdown hEaLinG jOuRnEyS and what path we’re taking forward as we continue to recover our vitality and deepen our understanding of why women’s bodies are so metabolically expensive. Patreon bonuses for this episode include an extended conversation w/ Suuz about the reaction to the German New Medicine episode (114) & how it surprisingly kindled a discussion amongst patrons about a remarkably similar ideology, a 10% off coupon code for Suuzi’s grass fed, grass finished liver pills, and a chance to ask us questions. Also photos of Suuzi in turbans! Dr. Suuzi on Instagram Mother’s Best Liver Pills Amber’s Nourishing Motherlines Substack Amber’s website MythicMedicine.love  Take our fun Which Healing Herb is Your Spirit Medicine? quiz Amber/Mythic Medicine on Instagram Medicine Stories Facebook group Music by Mariee Siou (from her beautiful song Wild Eyes) Mentioned in this episode: Kimberly Ann Johnson on Whose Body Is It Breath of Fire Kundalini cult/Guru Jagat documentary Kathleen Stewart's story The Rooted in Resilience podcast and specific Minnesota Starvation Experiment episodes with Kathleen Stewart The Energy Balance Podcast The group coaching program Suuzi is in is Transfrom Cronometer nutrition tracking app How to Not Get Fat on the “Pro-Metabolic Diet”: a guide for switching to nourishing foods while avoiding fat gain by Kaya of Fundamental Nourishment Eating a “Pro-Metabolic Diet” Will Not Heal You: an appeal for having context to understand the big picture by Kaya of Fundamental Nourishment

    1h 53m
  4. 114. German New Medicine: A Lot of Magical Thinking & A Little Bit Culty Too - Demetra Gray

    FEB 5

    114. German New Medicine: A Lot of Magical Thinking & A Little Bit Culty Too - Demetra Gray

    GNM is an alt health trend that has grown in popularity in recent years. It is attractive to so many (including me and my guest, once) because it acknowledges the role that emotions and trauma play in physical health and symptom manifestation, something that mainstream medicine still somehow refuses to do. But just because some aspects of an ideology are true and helpful does not mean that the entire framework is valid. Critical thinking and humility are essential tools for navigating information overload and complex frameworks, especially when it comes to health. The allure of certainty and specialized knowledge can lead people to adopt rigid belief systems that don’t hold up to critical thinking, and the the zealotry of believing that your group’s belief system will save the world only further strengthens unconscious confirmation bias (along with other logical fallacies common in GNM- loading the language, heads you lose tails I win, us v them thinking, bizarre antisemitic conspiracies, etc). But what might be most worrisome about this growing movement is the purity mindset demanded of its more extreme adherents- the belief that nothing outside of us can affect us if only we believe strongly enough in our own omnipotence and prove our righteousness and purity by attaining a total lack of symptoms. What is viewed as radical sovereignty and empowerment is really just outright magical thinking reinforced by an absence of humility, mystery, and the reality that ultimately we are not in control of what happens to us. The body is not a closed system; we are deeply embedded in overlapping ecologies. This episode has been years in the making, and I have been asked time and time again for my take on GNM. When I was sent Demetra’s essay on the subject I knew that I had finally found the right person to have this conversation with. Her past cult experience, and my years of deep dives into culty thinking and behavior, provide a lens through which to view this phenomenon. Though we do not claim that GNM is a cult in the traditional sense, cultishness is a spectrum and GNM is definitely on that spectrum. Also its tenets are demonstrably false, and have led to death in some cases. NBD. In our Patreon bonus conversation Demetra shares her cult story- joining what she thought was a good thing, slowly realizing it wasn’t, leaving, being attacked by the leader and other members, and the long “deprogramming” and stabilization process that all cult survivors undergo Demetra’s essay The Culty Fraud of German New Medicine Dr. Moss’s report German New Medicine- Hope or Hoax? Demetra’s podcast Impolite Company on Spotify and Apple Amber’s Nourishing Motherlines Substack Amber’s website MythicMedicine.love  Take our fun Which Healing Herb is Your Spirit Medicine? quiz Mythic Medicine on Instagram Medicine Stories Facebook group Music by Mariee Siou (from her beautiful song Wild Eyes) Mentioned in this episode: Tension Myositis Syndrome Cell Danger Response A Little Bit Culty podcast (the best!) Cult documentaries (by no means an extensive list)- The Vow (NXIVM), Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence, Breath of Fire (Kundalini yoga), The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin Steven Hassan’s BITE model Cult expert Robert Jay Lifton

    1h 38m

  5. JAN 13

    113. Elemental Inheritance: Minerals & Metals in Modern Life - Niecia Nelson

    What metabolic patterns did you inherit from your parents, and what may you have passed down to your own children? Many behavioral issues, and even what are usually considered personality traits (like that of high sensitivity), can be linked to mineral imbalances and overall health.  Heavy metals often accumulate in individuals due to stress, compromised metabolic function, or ancestral imprints, not necessarily always due to direct exposure. Heroic detoxification protocols should be approached with caution, as forcing the removal of metals without addressing underlying nutrient deficiencies can have unintended consequences. Let us welcome in the medicine of sitting with the right questions as we collectively navigate information overwhelm, and walk slowly together toward ever deeper levels of self attunement and inner resourcing. Links for Niecia: Niecia’s HTMA packages Eat To Go Deep course membership Niecia on Instagram Links for Amber: Medicine Stories Patreon (extended convo w/ Niecia + more) Nourishing Motherlines Substack Take our fun Which Healing Herb is Your Spirit Medicine? quiz MythicMedicine.love  Mythic Medicine on Instagram Medicine Stories Facebook group Music by Mariee Siou (from her beautiful song Wild Eyes) Mentioned in this episode: Lead Safe Mama

    1h 35m
  6. 112. Fertility is a State of Being: Metabolic Wellness Through a Woman's Lifespan - Niecia Nelson

    12/05/2024

    112. Fertility is a State of Being: Metabolic Wellness Through a Woman's Lifespan - Niecia Nelson

    Fertility is not just the ability to conceive, but is an indicator of overall health and the capacity to nurture life; it is how we extend genetic strength across time and space into generations we will never know. Pregnancy and menopause are transformative states that reveal underlying metabolic and hormonal imbalances, emphasizing the complex interplay between biochemistry, psychology, and lifestyle. In an age of rampant metabolic dysfunction, let us together find our way to renewed vitality, for ourselves and for those yet to come. Eat To Go Deep course membership HTMA packages Medicine Stories Patreon (extended convo w/ Niecia) Nourishing Motherlines Substack Niecia on Instagram Take our fun Which Healing Herb is Your Spirit Medicine? quiz My website MythicMedicine.love  Mythic Medicine on Instagram Medicine Stories Facebook group Music by Mariee Siou (from her beautiful song Wild Eyes) Get the transcript here Mentioned in this episode: Wise Women Diaries podcast interview w/ Niecia telling the story of her first birth, instagram of podcast host is Trusting Life Casey Means Niecia has learned about biomechanics in pregnancy and birth from Adelaide Meadow Reclaiming Childbirth as a Rite of Passage by Rachel Reed Mary Lou Singleton on early motherhood

    2h 7m
  7. Nourishing Motherlines

    05/23/2024

    Nourishing Motherlines

    In which I read a few pieces from my new Substack. Bone, blood, milk, and marrow... Nourishing Motherlines is a collection of memoir-adjacent personal writings exploring my evolving understanding of nourishment (not nutrients), how my mitochondria and minerals were inherited from my motherline (and yours from yours), my hEaLiNg JoUrNeY as I navigate hypothyroid and hypoadrenal exhaustion and a host of related symptoms, what I am focusing on as I prepare to help my daughters with seemingly inevitable future health issues as women alive in the 21st century, and your garden variety midlife self-concept implosion. My new Nourishing Motherlines Substack Energy booklet from the 80s Medicine Stories Patreon (podcast bonuses!) Take our fun Which Healing Herb is Your Spirit Medicine? quiz My website MythicMedicine.love  Mythic Medicine on Instagram Medicine Stories Facebook group Music by Mariee Siou (from her beautiful song Wild Eyes)

    35 min
  8. 110. Women's Bodies are Metabolically Expensive (Why Things Break So Easily) - Dr. Suuzi Hazen

    03/18/2024

    110. Women's Bodies are Metabolically Expensive (Why Things Break So Easily) - Dr. Suuzi Hazen

    Chinese Medicine holds that women’s bodies are 10x harder to heal than men’s, as our reproductive system is biologically much more precious and metabolically more intensive to maintain. In this conversation my good friend, third time guest, and Doctor of Chinese Medicine Suuzi and I catch up one year after we both underwent severe energy loss to share how we’ve rebuilt and healed. We talk about shifting away from the mindset of achieving “optimum human health” (an illusion that contributed to our health crises), working and mothering in a state of total burnout, how our childrens’ metabolic patterns can mirror our own & how we’ve helped our own kids heal, the link between high sensitivity and mineral depletion, why we’ve chosen a metabolically appropriate approach to weight loss even though it takes much longer, and so much more. RESOURCES: Join Amber & Suuzi for the Medicine Stories Retreat in Croatia, August ‘24! Register for our Croatia Curious Zoom Call on April 10th (replay available for those registered) Suuzi’s website Mother’s Best Liver Pills and her Instagram Medicine Stories Patreon (podcast bonuses!) Take our fun quiz Which Healing Herb is Your Spirit Medicine? The Science of Human Energy newsletter book from the 80s Suuzi’s previous interviews- episode 103 Midlife Burnout for Women & Why Healing Work Can Make Us Worse and episode 18 Land Based Living, Mothering, & Eating Women whose work has helped us- Niecia Nelson- Eat To Go Deep course and Instagram (my guest on episode 100 Returning the Mother to Herself: Our Nourishment Shapes How We Receive Life) Sena Maria- Offerings and Instagram Jenna Hamm- Offerings and Instagram Sarah Kleiner- Offerings and Instagram (my guest on episode 104 Your Body is Not a Closed System: The Sun, Cell Signaling, and Metabolic Wellness) My website MythicMedicine.love  Mythic Medicine on Instagram Medicine Stories Facebook group Music by Mariee Siou (from her beautiful song Wild Eyes)

    1h 28m
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4.7
out of 5
1,247 Ratings

About

Exploring both wellness and the weirdness in the wellness space, mostly through the lenses of women's metabolic health & herbalism. Mainstream medicine has many shortcomings, but many in the alternative sphere have lost their critical thinking faculties entirely. Let's navigate together.

Information

  • Creator
    Amber M Hill
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2025
  • Episodes
    113
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Show Website
    Medicine Stories

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