About

Betsy Leighton is a trained and certified Safe and Sound Protocol Provider (SSP) in St. Paul, MN. She offers spiritual counseling, forgiveness coaching, chronic illness and caregiving counseling based on a novel co-creative healing modality called the Sacred Self-Healing Method (SSHM). The SSHM uses tools readily available such as the voice with sound healing, the breath, and forgiveness, to affect transformation. In addition to a Doctorate in Spiritual Counseling, Betsy holds certificates in Spiritual Direction, Sound Healing, and Holistic Nutrition. She has written four books; three about the SSHM; her latest book chronicles her experience healing her nervous system dysregulation and Mast Cell Activation Syndrome with the SSP to solo backpack 300 miles in 2024 successfully. Betsy blogs about spirituality and chronic illness, has appeared on podcasts discussing her healing journey, forgiveness, and trauma, and offers online self-study courses including a Certificate Program in the SSHM.

My chronic illness journey

In 1990 I contracted Lyme disease and began a downward health spiral. I hit bottom in 2020 when I had several concussions and entered an undiagnosed Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) flare. I could only eat a dozen foods, reacted to multitudes of environmental stimuli, and couldn’t walk a block.

I decided that I had to find a better way, which led me to discover that I had MCAS and started my journey back to health.

What I tried

Along my healing path, I have tried just about everything available for MCAS, including:

• Anthroposophical medicine
• Liver/gallbladder cleanses
• Infrared sauna
• Detox baths
• Herbal detoxifying
• Binders and cleanses
• Healing the gut*, and SIBO healing
• GAPS Protocol, low histamine diet, gluten-free, dairy-free, nightshade-free, grain-free, soy-free, sugar-free, Primal diet, Paleo diet, low histamine diet, low oxalate diet, low salicylate, low FODMAP, Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), anti-inflammatory diet, Supergut diet*, and Keto diet
• LymeStop Treatment
• Moving to a mold-free home and getting rid of most of my belongings
• Herbal Lyme Disease protocols
• EMF, magnetic field, and dirty electricity remediation
• Frequency-Specific Microcurrent (FSM) and Healy
• Five Element Acupuncture, traditional acupuncture, and chiropractic
• Homeopathy
• Massage, shiatsu, yoga, Pilates, and pain release protocol
• Low Dose Immunotherapy (LDI)
• Parasite cleansing protocols
• Intermittent fasting
• Hyperbaric oxygen
• Infrared light
• Far/Near Infrared saunas
• Ozone saunas and ozone insufflation
• SSRIs, antibiotics, and triptans
• THC/CBD
• Reiki, Cranio-Sacral treatment, Osteopathy, and healing touch
• Forest bathing
• Pranayama and sacred breath practices
• Sound Healing
• Crystals
• Vagal toning, healing, and retraining
• Forgiveness practice
• Qi Gong
• Castor oil packs
• Intermittent fasting
• Chi machine
• Coffee enemas
• Cranio Sacral Treatment (CST)
• Osteopathic treatment
• Cromolyn sodium
• H1 and H2 blockers
• Inositol Hexaphosphate (IP6)
• Ketotifen
• Methylene blue
• Quantum Neuro Reset Therapy (QNRT)
• Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)
• Dynamic Neuro Retraining System (DNRS)
• Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP)*
• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
• Sacred Self-Healing

*Most helpful

What helped the most

These things were helpful in their way, some much more than others. The biggest healing gains occurred when I did nervous system retraining with the SSP and healed my gut. Check out my blog posts where I share stories about what I tried, what worked for me, lower histamine and anti-inflammatory recipes, and tips for trying these healing modalities yourself.