Science and Spirituality From Diagnosis to Awakening: Healing Lupus Through Emotional Integration By Rakshaa Chhabriaa
- Neel Deshpande
- Mar 12
- 5 min read
Seventeen years ago, I sat in a doctor’s office and heard words that felt like a life sentence: lupus.
Like many people diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), I was told to prepare for a lifetime of management rather than healing. The language was clinical and definitive — autoimmune, chronic, incurable. It sounded final.
Yet something within me resisted the idea that my body had somehow turned against me beyond repair.
What followed was not just a health journey, but a profound exploration into the relationship between emotional upheaval, the immune system, and what we often call spirituality.
When the Body Speaks the Unspoken
Medically, lupus is described as a condition in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the body’s own tissues.
But beneath that biological description, I found myself asking a deeper question:
What inner conflict could lead the body to turn against itself?
At the time of my diagnosis, my life appeared stable from the outside. I was functioning, working, and maintaining the appearance of balance.
Internally, however, I was carrying unresolved grief, suppressed anger, and a deep pattern of self-neglect. I had become skilled at endurance — always being the dependable one, the strong one, the person who could handle everything.
What I had not mastered was emotional honesty.
As a practitioner trained in the teachings of Dr Edward Bach, I was familiar with his
philosophy that illness arises when there is a misalignment between the soul’s purpose and the personality’s path. Yet I had not fully applied this understanding to my own life.
The realisation was both humbling and transformative.
The Science of Emotional Stress and Autoimmunity
Modern science increasingly supports what many holistic traditions have long suggested: chronic emotional stress influences immune function.
The field of psychoneuroimmunology explores how psychological experiences interact with the nervous and immune systems. Research shows that prolonged stress responses — including elevated cortisol levels, inflammatory cytokines, and nervous system dysregulation — can contribute to autoimmune flare-ups.
Trauma, especially when unprocessed, leaves biological imprints. The body remembers what the mind suppresses.
Emotional distress is not merely psychological; it is biochemical.
My healing journey began when I stopped fighting my body and started listening to it.
Bach Remedies, Mindfulness, and Radical Self-Honesty
For more than two decades, I have worked as a Bach Flower therapist and mindfulness coach. Bach remedies do not suppress symptoms; they focus on addressing emotional states such as fear, resentment, shock, and hopelessness.
When I turned to these practices for my own healing, I did so with a level of honesty I had never allowed before.
Mindfulness became less of a discipline and more of a lifeline.
I began sitting with discomfort rather than escaping it. I allowed myself to feel anger without guilt. I grieved losses I had minimised. I acknowledged truths I had long avoided.
Healing required profound shifts:
Releasing the identity of the “strong one”
Setting boundaries without apology
Accepting support from others
Practising forgiveness as emotional liberation rather than spiritual obligation
Gradually, physical changes followed emotional ones. Symptoms began to ease. Flare-ups became less frequent. My energy returned, and my laboratory markers improved.
No single factor explains healing. It was not just remedies, mindfulness, or lifestyle adjustments.
It was integration — emotional, physical, and spiritual.
Science and Spirituality: Opposites or Partners?
A common question arises whenever spiritual perspectives intersect with health:
Is spirituality simply a comforting narrative we create to cope with uncertainty?
From a scientific perspective, spirituality can indeed be examined as a framework that shapes perception, resilience, and meaning-making. Studies consistently show that individuals who experience a strong sense of purpose, connection, and meaning often demonstrate greater psychological resilience and improved health outcomes.
But beyond measurable outcomes, spirituality — at least in my experience — is not about belief systems or dogma.
It is about alignment.
It is the felt understanding that body, mind, and what we call the soul are not separate entities but interconnected dimensions of the same living intelligence.
Even if spirituality is viewed as a construct, it is a powerful and adaptive one. It organises our experience around coherence rather than chaos and encourages responsibility rather than victimhood.
My healing did not come from blind belief. It came from consciously participating in my own life.
Emotional Upheaval and the Roots of Illness
The phrase “root cause” must be used with care. Chronic illness is complex and multifactorial. Genetics, environment, lifestyle, and trauma all contribute.
Recognising emotional influences does not mean assigning blame.
It means restoring agency.
In my own case, prolonged internal conflict — living out of alignment with my authentic self — created sustained stress. That stress influenced my immune system, and the immune dysregulation manifested as lupus.
When emotional congruence returned, my biology began to follow.
The body, I realised, was not an enemy.
It was a messenger.
Facing Mortality
One unexpected gift of a serious diagnosis is the confrontation with mortality.
When the illusion of endless time disappears, trivial concerns lose their power. Authenticity becomes urgent.
My diagnosis forced me to rebuild my life based on alignment rather than expectation.
Seventeen years later, I no longer define myself as “a lupus patient.”
I define myself as someone who chose to listen.
A New Paradigm of Healing
We are living in a time when science and spirituality no longer need to oppose each other.
Neuroscience now studies meditation. Immunology examines the impact of stress. Trauma research confirms the role of embodied memory.
Healing does not require rejecting modern medicine.
Doctors, treatments, and medications all have an essential place. But so do emotions, meaning, and inner truth.
Chronic illness, in some cases, can become an invitation — not merely to survive, but to awaken.
And perhaps the most powerful question we can ask is not:
“Why did this happen to me?”
But instead:
“What is my body asking me to become?”
Do We Need Guidance to Heal?
A question I am often asked is whether individuals must rely on mentors or therapists to achieve emotional and spiritual healing.
The answer is nuanced.
Practices such as journaling, meditation, and self-reflection can open profound insight. However, when emotional upheaval is rooted in trauma, childhood conditioning, or deeply ingrained belief systems, our own perspective can become limited. We cannot always see the patterns we are inside of.
In such moments, a skilled therapist or mentor serves as a mirror.
They do not rescue us. Instead, they offer a regulated presence when our nervous system feels overwhelmed. They help distinguish between genuine healing and spiritual bypassing. They challenge blind spots with compassion.
Science supports this relational aspect of healing as well.
Co-regulation — the calming influence of a safe, supportive relationship — directly affects the nervous system and immune response.
Healing is biological, but it is also relational.
Guidance is not about dependency. It is about safety, clarity, and sometimes acceleration on the path.
In my own journey, there were moments of solitary reflection and moments when wise counsel became essential. Some of the deepest healing occurred when I allowed myself to be supported.
Spiritual growth does not require isolation.
It invites connection.
Sometimes, the most courageous step in healing is simply acknowledging that we do not have to walk the path alone.
About the Author
Rakshaa Chhabriaa is a Bach Flower therapist and mindfulness coach with over 21 years of experience in emotional wellness and holistic healing. Her work integrates emotional awareness, nervous system regulation, and spiritual inquiry to support individuals navigating emotional stress, life transitions, and chronic health challenges.
Through workshops, coaching sessions, and therapeutic guidance, she helps individuals reconnect with their emotional truth and cultivate resilience from within.
Connect with Rakshaa Chhabriaa
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