I Don’t Fix Broken People
Holistic Healing, Acupuncture, and Coming Home to the Body
The other day, I had a small but surprisingly meaningful moment in my acupuncture office.
I was treating a client, and her husband was sitting in the lobby while we chatted. He mentioned that he’d been in business for many years and that his job was to “fix things.” Broken things, specifically.
I laughed and, half-jokingly, gestured toward my treatment room and said something like, “Yeah… me too.”
It got a chuckle. It was lighthearted. And in the moment, it felt true enough.
But later that day, I caught myself thinking about it—and realized that it actually wasn’t true at all.
Because I don’t fix broken people.
And I never have.
The Problem With the “Fix-It” Mindset in Healthcare
Language matters—especially when it comes to health and healing.
When we talk about “fixing” someone, it implies that they are broken. That something about their body or mind is defective, malfunctioning, or fundamentally wrong. This way of thinking is deeply ingrained in modern healthcare, where the body is often treated like a machine with replaceable parts.
But that’s not how I see the people who walk into my acupuncture and holistic health practice.
The people I work with are not broken.
They may be dealing with anxiety, depression, trauma, chronic illness, autoimmune conditions, pain, hormonal imbalance, or nervous system dysregulation. They may feel exhausted, overwhelmed, inflamed, disconnected, or stuck.
But broken? No.
From a Traditional Chinese Medicine and naturopathic perspective, illness is not about broken parts—it’s about imbalance. It’s about systems that are out of sync, communication within the body that’s been disrupted, or patterns that once helped someone survive but are no longer serving them.
Healing Is Not the Same as Fixing
Fixing is mechanical. Healing is relational.
Fixing assumes that an external authority comes in and corrects a problem. Healing recognizes that the body already holds deep intelligence and an innate capacity to move toward balance when it’s given the right support.
In my work as an acupuncturist and holistic practitioner, my role isn’t to override the body or force it into compliance.
My role is to listen.
To notice patterns.
To support regulation.
To help clear obstacles so the body and nervous system can do what they are already trying to do.
At its core, my work is about helping people feel at home again:
at home in their bodies
at home in their minds
at home in their nervous systems
When someone feels safe enough to inhabit themselves fully again, true healing becomes possible.
A Trauma-Informed View of the Body
Many of the people I work with have lived through chronic stress, trauma, or long periods of feeling unheard or dismissed by the medical system. Their symptoms are not signs of failure—they are intelligent responses to difficult circumstances.
A trauma-informed, holistic approach to acupuncture and healing understands that the body adapts to survive. What we often label as “dysfunction” is frequently the result of the body doing exactly what it needed to do at one point in time.
Healing, then, is not about fixing what’s wrong.
It’s about supporting safety, balance, and reconnection so the body can choose a new pattern when it’s ready.
You’re Not Broken
If there’s one thing I want people to hear, it’s this:
You are not broken.
Your symptoms are not moral failures.
Your diagnosis is not a personal flaw.
Your body is not betraying you.
Your body has been responding to the conditions it’s been given—often doing the very best it can with the resources available.
Holistic healing and acupuncture are not about fixing what’s wrong with you.
They’re about remembering what’s right, restoring balance, and creating the conditions for wholeness to re-emerge.
Sometimes, healing is simply about finding your way back home to yourself.
