If you’ve lived with ITP for more than five minutes, you’ve probably heard this phrase:
“Be careful — you don’t want to stimulate your immune system.”
I remember hearing this early in my own ITP journey — from doctors, from well-meaning friends, and even from people in the wellness world. At the time, it left me feeling stuck and afraid to try anything. I wanted healing, but I didn’t want to make things worse.
At first glance, that advice sounds wise. After all, ITP is an autoimmune condition. The immune system is attacking platelets. Why would we want to encourage it to do more? But here’s the truth I didn’t understand until much later — and wish someone had explained sooner:
Autoimmunity is not caused by an immune system that’s too strong.
It’s caused by an immune system that has lost regulation, tolerance, and has become overwhelmed with toxins.
Once I began to understand which immune cells were misfiring — and which ones actually help restore balance — my fear began to loosen its grip.
Which Immune Cells Are the Real Problem in ITP?
In ITP, the immune system tags platelets as dangerous and destroys them. The main players involved are:
🔥 Autoreactive T Cells (Especially Th1 and Th17)
- These are helper T cells that drive inflammation
- Th1 and Th17 dominance sends constant “attack” signals
- They encourage the immune system to stay in fight mode — even when no real threat exists
🧨 B Cells (Autoantibody Producers)
- B cells create antibodies
- In ITP, some of these antibodies mistakenly bind to platelets
- Once tagged, platelets are cleared out by the spleen and liver
🚨 Chronic Inflammatory Cytokines
- Signals like TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-17 keep the immune system on high alert
- This creates immune exhaustion, not healing
👉 So when ITP warriors fear ‘stimulating’ the immune system, what they’re really afraid of is further activating these inflammatory, autoreactive pathways.
That fear makes sense — but it’s only part of the story.
A Complementary Perspective from Eastern Medicine
One of the reasons I stopped being afraid of my immune system was learning how Eastern medicine understands autoimmune conditions like ITP.
Rather than viewing ITP as a broken or aggressive immune system, Eastern traditions often describe it as a terrain problem — a body overwhelmed by toxins, stagnation, or poor detoxification, leading to what might be described as “sick” or stressed platelets.
In this view, platelets aren’t being attacked at random. They are being flagged because they no longer appear healthy within an overloaded internal environment.
When the terrain is inflamed, toxic, or congested:
- Platelets may become damaged or altered
- The immune system responds to what looks “abnormal”
- Destruction becomes a downstream effect — not the root cause
The Immune Cells That Help Restore Balance
Not all immune activity is harmful in autoimmunity.
🌲 Natural Killer (NK) Cells: The Regulators
Research on forest bathing (Shinrin-yoku) shows that time spent in nature:
- Increases Natural Killer (NK) cell activity
- Lowers cortisol and stress hormones
- Improves immune surveillance and regulation
NK cells are part of the innate immune system. Their job is to:
- Remove damaged or infected cells (including cancer cells)
- Help regulate immune responses
- Prevent immune chaos
NK cells do not cause autoimmunity.
They help keep the immune system from spiraling into confusion.
They help keep the immune system from spiraling into confusion.
This is why practices like gentle movement, prayer, rest, laughter, essential oils, and time in nature don’t “rev up” autoimmunity — they help retrain the immune system.
Why the Word “Immune Stimulation” Creates So Much Fear
The phrase immune boosting has done a lot of damage in autoimmune spaces.
ITP warriors don’t need:
- ❌ Immune activation
- ❌ Immune boosting
- ❌ More inflammatory signaling
They do need:
- ✅ Immune modulation
- ✅ Immune tolerance
- ✅ Nervous system calming
- ✅ Reduced inflammatory load
Think less gas pedal and more steering wheel and brakes.
Supporting the Immune System Without Fueling Autoimmunity
This shift — from fear to understanding — changed everything for me. My platelet recovery wasn’t about suppressing my body into silence. It was about reducing confusion, calming inflammation, and giving my immune system the right environment to relearn balance.
In my own healing journey and in my work with ITP warriors, the focus is always on restoring regulation — not suppression and not reckless stimulation.
🌿 Gentle, Regulatory Supports
- Supporting gut integrity (where immune education begins)
- Supporting liver detox pathways (to reduce immune confusion)
- Ensuring mineral sufficiency (magnesium, zinc, etc — when appropriate)
- Reducing toxin exposure
🧠 Calming the Nervous System (This Is Huge)
Chronic stress directly pushes inflammatory immune pathways.
Prayer, breathwork, slow walks, essential oils, and stillness aren’t “extra.”
They are foundational to immune healing.
They are foundational to immune healing.
Where Essential Oils Fit In
Essential oils became one of my favorite tools along the way — not because they were a magic fix, but because they supported something I was missing for a long time: a calm, regulated nervous system.
When the body is constantly stressed, inflamed, or in survival mode, the immune system follows suit.
One reason I love essential oils for autoimmune warriors is that many of them:
- Support nervous system balance
- Encourage parasympathetic (rest-and-repair) signaling
- Gently support immune communication without forcing stimulation
Oils such as Frankincense, Lavender, Copaiba, Blue Tansy, and Citrus oils can support calm, inflammation balance, and emotional resilience — all of which influence immune behavior.
Used appropriately, essential oils don’t shout at the immune system.
They whisper safety.
They whisper safety.
And when the body feels safe, healing becomes possible.
A Reframe for Every ITP Warrior
One of the most healing mindset shifts I made was realizing this:
My immune system was never my enemy.
It was trying to protect me — it was just receiving bad information and living in a constant state of alarm.
Your immune system is not your enemy.
It is:
- Overworked
- Misinformed
- Stuck in survival mode
Healing isn’t about silencing it into submission.
It’s about restoring leadership, communication, and trust.
Want Support on This Journey?
If you’re an ITP warrior who feels confused by conflicting advice, fearful of doing the “wrong” thing, or overwhelmed by all the noise around immune health — I understand. I’ve lived it.
Today, I help other ITP warriors explore gentle, faith-rooted, and science-informed ways to support immune regulation, reduce inflammation, and rebuild trust with their bodies.
✨ If you’d like to learn more, I’ve also created an ITP Guide for warriors who want clear, compassionate education on traditional and natural approaches to healing — without fear or overwhelm.
Whether you’re just diagnosed or years into your journey, the guide walks through immune balance, nutrition, toxins, stress, and supportive tools I wish I’d understood sooner.
You can explore the guide, learn about essential oil support, or reach out if you’d like to work together to help your immune system find its way back to balance. I’d love to connect.
Healing is possible — and it doesn’t require fear
There are years that teach us how to fly.
And there are years that teach us how to hold fast.
For me, 2026 is not about striving harder, doing more, or chasing the next thing. It is about choosing an anchor—even though part of me hesitated to choose that word.
An anchor doesn’t move the ship forward.
And that was my fear.
Because I still want to move forward—in ministry, in business, in calling. I don’t want to be stuck. I don’t want to lose momentum. I don’t want to mistake faithfulness for passivity. It doesn’t create momentum. It doesn’t look impressive.
But it keeps you from drifting when the currents are strong.
And that’s when the truth settled in: an anchor is not the opposite of movement—it’s what makes movement possible.
And drifting—quietly, slowly, almost imperceptibly—is how we lose our focus, our peace, and sometimes even our sense of calling.
The Danger of Drifting
Drifting rarely looks like rebellion.
It looks like distraction. It looks like busyness. It looks like good intentions with no grounding.
We drift when we stop paying attention to what is shaping us. We drift when we let urgency replace obedience. We drift when our schedules get louder than the voice of God.
Hebrews reminds us that we must “pay much closer attention… lest we drift away.” Drifting is not a moral failure—it’s a human one. And if we’re honest, all of us are susceptible to it.
Why an Anchor Matters (and Why It Doesn’t Mean You’re Stuck)
An anchor is not for calm seas.
Ships don’t anchor because they’re done sailing. They anchor so they don’t lose ground while they prepare to move again.
An anchor is for storms. For strong tides. For seasons when clarity feels thin and emotions run high.
Spiritually speaking, an anchor keeps us moving forward without being pulled off course. It keeps us:
- Rooted in truth when culture shifts
- Grounded in calling when comparison creeps in
- Steady in faith when prayers feel unanswered
Anchors are not glamorous—but they are faithful.
What I’m Anchoring To in 2026
For 2026, I am choosing to anchor myself intentionally and repeatedly to:
• The presence of God over productivity
If my doing is not flowing from being with Him, it’s noise.
If my doing is not flowing from being with Him, it’s noise.
• Obedience over outcomes
I am not responsible for results—only faithfulness.
I am not responsible for results—only faithfulness.
• Truth over emotion
Feelings are real, but they are not reliable anchors.
Feelings are real, but they are not reliable anchors.
• Calling over comparison
What God has entrusted to me is enough.
What God has entrusted to me is enough.
• Hope over fear
Even when the future feels uncertain, God is not.
Even when the future feels uncertain, God is not.
This anchor is not a one-time decision. It is a daily return.
I am not anchoring to stillness—I am anchoring to hope, so discouragement doesn’t quietly dictate my direction.
Anchors Are Chosen on Purpose (So We Can Move With Clarity)
Anchors don’t deploy themselves.
They must be dropped deliberately. Repeatedly. Sometimes urgently.
When life pulls hard, I want to be the kind of person who doesn’t panic—but anchors.
Not because I’m afraid to move forward, but because I want to move forward well. Who doesn’t spiral—but steadies. Who doesn’t drift—but remains.
Isaiah speaks of a people who are “steadfast of mind” because they trust in the Lord. That steadiness doesn’t come from strength—it comes from anchoring.
An Invitation, Not a Declaration (For Anyone Who Feels the Tension)
This isn’t a declaration of perfection. It’s a manifesto of intention.
If you’ve felt scattered… If you’ve felt pulled in too many directions… If you’ve sensed a quiet drifting from what matters most…
You’re not failing. You may simply need to drop an anchor—not to stop moving, but to make sure the movement ahead is aligned, sustainable, and rooted in hope.
And maybe—just maybe—2026 isn’t the year to chase the wind, but to hold fast in it.
My Prayer for the Year Ahead
Lord, anchor us. When the waters are loud. When the calling feels heavy. When waiting stretches longer than we expected.
Anchor us in Your truth. Anchor us in Your presence. Anchor us in hope.
Because ships don’t drift when they are firmly held.
And neither do we.
“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”
— Hebrews 6:19
— Hebrews 6:19
2026 doesn’t have to be a year of drifting. Come alongside other seekers in 'Battles and Breakthroughs,' where I share wisdom, hope, and practical steps to stay anchored while moving forward.
