Most of us have experienced it.
A symptom appears, we mention it to a friend or our GP, and we’re reassured that it’s “just stress”, “part of getting older”, or “one of those things”. We accept the explanation, carry on with life, and before long that symptom simply becomes part of our normal.
The afternoon energy slump becomes the reason we always need another coffee. The bloating after dinner becomes expected. The headaches become something we carry painkillers for. The skin flare-ups come and go, the joints ache a little more each year, and the hair in the shower gradually becomes something we try not to think about.
The problem is that our bodies don’t suddenly wake up one morning and develop an autoimmune condition, chronic fatigue, thyroid dysfunction or digestive disease overnight. More often than not, they whisper before they shout. They give us subtle signs that something beneath the surface isn’t functioning as well as it could, but because those signs are so common, we rarely stop to ask what they might actually mean.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learnt, both through my own health journey and after working with hundreds of clients, is that symptoms aren’t random. They are information. They are the body’s way of communicating that something deserves our attention.
Common doesn’t mean normal
One of the phrases I use most often in clinic is, “Common doesn’t mean normal.”
Around half of adults experience bloating regularly. Millions of people live with fatigue, headaches, poor sleep or digestive symptoms every day. That makes these symptoms incredibly common, but it doesn’t make them signs of good health.
Somewhere along the way we’ve lowered our expectations of what feeling well should actually feel like.
Many people assume it’s normal to wake up tired, rely on caffeine throughout the day, experience brain fog every afternoon or have digestive discomfort after most meals. They don’t realise that these symptoms may be early clues pointing towards inflammation, nutrient deficiencies, blood sugar imbalances, thyroid dysfunction, poor gut health or an overwhelmed nervous system.
The symptom itself isn’t always the problem. Often it’s simply the body’s way of drawing our attention to something happening beneath the surface.
This is particularly true with autoimmune conditions. Diseases such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, coeliac disease, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and alopecia areata rarely appear overnight. Long before a diagnosis is made, many people experience seemingly unrelated symptoms that don’t quite fit together. Looking back, those early warning signs often make perfect sense, but at the time they’re easy to dismiss because no one has connected the dots.
My own symptoms never existed in isolation
When I look back at my own health journey, I can see that my body had been trying to communicate with me for years.
I developed alopecia areata when I was seven years old. Psoriasis followed later, and eventually I was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome as a teenager. Along the way there were digestive symptoms, anxiety, thyroid changes and countless smaller signs that, at the time, felt completely unrelated.
Each condition was treated individually, yet nobody ever asked why my immune system seemed so determined to keep finding new ways of getting my attention.
It wasn’t until I studied biochemistry, immunology and later functional medicine that I realised these weren’t separate illnesses. They were connected. They were different expressions of the same underlying imbalances, influenced by my gut health, immune system, nervous system, nutrition, genetics and environment.
That shift in thinking completely transformed my health, and it’s now the foundation of how I work with every client who walks through my clinic.
The symptoms I think we overlook most
There are certain symptoms that come up time and time again in clinic because people simply don’t realise they’re worth investigating.
Persistent fatigue
I’m not talking about feeling tired after a busy week or a late night. I mean waking up exhausted despite sleeping for eight hours, struggling to make it through the afternoon without sugar or caffeine, or feeling as though your energy never really returns.
Fatigue is often dismissed because life is busy, but low energy can reflect everything from nutrient deficiencies and blood sugar dysregulation to poor mitochondrial function, thyroid dysfunction, chronic inflammation, ongoing infections or an overloaded nervous system.
Feeling exhausted all the time shouldn’t be your baseline.
Digestive symptoms
Perhaps there’s no symptom we’ve normalised more than bloating.
I regularly meet people who have experienced bloating after almost every meal for years and have simply accepted that this is how digestion works. Others live with constipation, loose stools, acid reflux or excessive wind without ever questioning whether their digestive system is functioning as it should.
Digestion influences almost every other system in the body. It’s where we absorb nutrients, where much of our immune system resides and where many inflammatory processes begin. When digestion isn’t working well, it’s rarely something that only affects the gut.
Hair thinning
Hair loss is incredibly emotional, and perhaps because I experienced alopecia myself, it’s one of the symptoms I feel particularly passionate about.
Whilst stress, hormones and genetics can all play a role, hair is often one of the first places the body conserves resources when something isn’t right. Low iron, thyroid dysfunction, inflammation, nutrient deficiencies, poor gut health and immune dysregulation can all contribute.
Rather than asking, “How do I stop my hair falling out?” I think the more useful question is, “Why does my body no longer feel able to prioritise growing healthy hair?”
That question often leads us much closer to the answer.
If you’re struggling with hair loss, you may also find my guide, Optimising Hair Growth, helpful.
Skin changes
Our skin is one of the largest organs in the body, yet we often treat skin conditions as though they’re purely cosmetic.
Whether it’s eczema, psoriasis, acne or rosacea, the skin can provide valuable clues about inflammation, immune function, gut health and nutritional status.
I’ve seen countless clients whose skin improved not because we found the perfect cream, but because we addressed what was happening internally.
Joint pain
Many people assume aching joints are simply part of ageing, but whilst wear and tear certainly exists, inflammation is another important piece of the puzzle.
Joint pain can sometimes reflect food sensitivities, autoimmune activity, poor gut health or chronic inflammation, and understanding why the inflammation is there is often far more valuable than simply masking the discomfort.
Brain fog and anxiety
One of the most fascinating areas of research over the last decade has been the gut-brain connection.
The gut and brain communicate constantly, which means blood sugar instability, inflammation, nutrient deficiencies, digestive dysfunction and chronic stress can all influence how we think, feel and concentrate.
That doesn’t mean every episode of anxiety or brain fog starts in the gut, but it does remind us that mental and physical health are deeply interconnected.
What I see every week in clinic
One of my favourite moments is when a client begins to realise that their symptoms aren’t actually separate at all.
Someone may book because of hair loss, but as we start working together their digestion improves, their energy returns, they sleep more deeply and their skin becomes clearer.
Another may come because they’re exhausted, only to discover that their headaches have disappeared, their joints feel less stiff and they no longer need three coffees to get through the afternoon.
This is why I don’t believe in treating symptoms in isolation. The body doesn’t work in compartments, so neither should our approach to health.
Instead of asking, “What’s the best supplement for bloating?” or “What should I take for fatigue?” I prefer to ask a much bigger question:
Why is the body producing these symptoms in the first place?
Once we answer that question, the symptoms often begin to make much more sense.
Your body is trying to help you
I often say that your body isn’t working against you. It’s working for you.
Symptoms aren’t a sign that your body has failed. They’re often evidence that it’s adapting, compensating and trying to protect you in the best way it knows how.
The challenge is that we’ve been taught to ignore those messages rather than understand them.
What if your fatigue wasn’t something to push through?
What if your bloating wasn’t simply “normal”?
What if your hair loss, skin problems or headaches were all part of a bigger picture waiting to be understood?
Those questions have changed not only my own health, but the lives of so many of the people I’ve worked with over the years.
Ready to understand what your symptoms are really telling you?
If you’ve recognised yourself in this article, perhaps the next step isn’t trying another supplement or another elimination diet, but finally understanding why your symptoms are there in the first place.
That’s exactly why I created the Root Reset Intensive.
During this one-day deep dive, we’ll look at your health as a whole rather than focusing on one diagnosis or symptom. We’ll connect the dots between your medical history, lifestyle, nutrition, environment, stress, genetics and symptoms to uncover the patterns that may have been missed for years. We’ll also identify which functional tests, if any, are most appropriate for you, so any investigation is targeted rather than guesswork.
My goal isn’t simply to help you manage symptoms. It’s to help you understand your body, because once you understand why your symptoms have developed, you can begin making changes that create lasting improvements in your health.
If you’re ready to stop guessing and start getting answers, you can apply for the Root Reset Intensive here.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the first signs of autoimmune disease?
Early symptoms often include persistent fatigue, brain fog, joint pain, digestive symptoms, skin problems and unexplained hair loss. Whilst these symptoms don’t always indicate an autoimmune condition, they shouldn’t be ignored if they persist or continue to worsen.
Can autoimmune disease cause digestive symptoms?
Yes. Many autoimmune conditions are associated with digestive symptoms including bloating, constipation, diarrhoea and abdominal discomfort. Gut health also plays an important role in regulating the immune system, which is why assessing digestive health is often an important part of a functional medicine approach.
Can you have an autoimmune disease with normal blood tests?
Yes. Some people experience symptoms for months or even years before conventional blood tests become abnormal. Whilst blood tests are an important part of assessment, they don’t always tell the whole story, which is why a comprehensive clinical history and, where appropriate, functional testing can provide additional insight.
VJ Hamilton, BSc, RNT
VJ Hamilton is a Registered Nutritionist (BANT) and an expert in autoimmune disease. VJ combines her knowledge from her medical science degree in Biochemistry & Immunology with Nutritional Therapy to offer a thorough and personalised approach to support her clients based on the most current scientific research. VJ runs a virtual and in-person nutritional therapy and functional medicine practice, The Autoimmunity Nutritionist, specialising in gut skin and immune health.