What if healing from chronic Lyme disease involves more than treating infections—and includes learning how to reconnect with your body, regulate your nervous system, and support your natural capacity for recovery?

In this LIVE from ILADS interview, Tick Boot Camp co-host Rich sits down with Dr. Jacey Goddard, DO, a triple board-certified osteopathic physician from Maine, to explore the connection between Lyme disease, nervous system dysregulation, chronic pain, medical trauma, mind-body healing, and neuroplasticity.

Recorded at the 2025 International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) Conference in San Antonio, Texas, this conversation challenges the idea that recovering from complex chronic illness is simply about finding the next medication, supplement, or treatment protocol.

Dr. Goddard shares how her own difficult health journey shaped her approach to medicine and inspired her to help patients develop a healthier relationship with their bodies.

She explains why people living with Lyme disease, fibromyalgia, POTS, migraines, post-COVID conditions, and other complex illnesses may benefit from addressing nervous system regulation alongside appropriate medical care.

Rich and Dr. Goddard also discuss the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, the influence of chronic stress, the importance of emotional and physical connection, and why no two patients should be expected to follow identical healing journeys.

Throughout the conversation, Dr. Goddard emphasizes a message of hope:

Even when an illness is complicated and answers are difficult to find, there may still be meaningful ways to support healing and improve quality of life.

Meet Dr. Jacey Goddard, DO

Dr. Jacey E. Goddard, DO is a triple board-certified osteopathic physician practicing in Topsham, Maine.

Her medical training includes board certification in:

• Family Medicine
• Integrative Medicine
• Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine

Dr. Goddard practices at RiverTree Osteopathic Health, where she focuses on hands-on osteopathic treatment and individualized approaches to complex health conditions.

Her patients include people experiencing:

• Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses
• Fibromyalgia
• Chronic migraines
• Persistent pain
• Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS)
• Post-COVID symptoms
• Other difficult-to-treat conditions

Dr. Goddard combines her medical training with an interest in the relationship between physical health, emotional well-being, and nervous system function.

She is also the creator of The Art & Science of Healing from Within, an educational program focused on reconnecting with the body and developing practical mind-body awareness skills.

When Even a Doctor Is Told There’s Nothing More to Do

Dr. Goddard begins by sharing that her interest in complex chronic illness is deeply personal.

She has experienced her own prolonged health challenges and understands the frustration of seeking answers when medical professionals cannot explain what is happening.

Despite being a physician herself, she encountered responses suggesting that her symptoms were psychological or that nothing more could be done.

Those experiences influenced how she now approaches patients.

She recognizes that people living with chronic illness may already have spent years searching for explanations, undergoing treatments, and trying to regain their health.

Being told there are no additional options can be especially discouraging.

Dr. Goddard believes clinicians should remain curious, compassionate, and open to helping patients improve their well-being, even when a condition is not fully understood.

Her experience reinforces an important message for the Lyme disease community: A patient deserves to be heard and supported even when the answers are incomplete.

Lyme Disease in Maine: Borrelia, Bartonella, and Babesia

Rich asks Dr. Goddard about the prevalence of tick-borne diseases in Maine.

She describes tick exposure as a significant concern and recalls particularly high tick activity during the preceding spring.

Their conversation turns to three pathogen groups frequently discussed in the Lyme disease community:

Borrelia: Bacteria associated with Lyme disease and certain relapsing fever illnesses.

Bartonella: Bacteria responsible for several different infectious diseases, including cat-scratch disease.

Babesia: Tick-borne parasites that infect red blood cells and can cause babesiosis.

Rich explains that Tick Boot Camp has interviewed an increasing number of patients who report diagnoses involving multiple infections.

He asks whether this reflects changes in tick populations, greater awareness, better diagnostic testing, or improvements in clinical recognition.

Dr. Goddard believes several factors may contribute.

She also emphasizes that patients often experience multiple overlapping health challenges.

Although co-infections can occur, not every person with Lyme disease has Bartonella or Babesia, and the frequency of co-infections varies by region and exposure history.

What Is Terrain Theory, and How Does It Relate to Lyme Disease?

One of the central themes of the interview is Dr. Goddard’s interest in what she calls terrain theory.

She uses the term to describe the factors that may influence a person’s vulnerability to illness and capacity to recover.

Rather than focusing exclusively on an infectious organism, she encourages patients and clinicians to consider the broader conditions affecting health.

These may include:

• Sleep and recovery
• Chronic stress
• Nervous system regulation
• Environmental exposures
• Nutrition and general health
• Previous trauma
• Existing medical conditions
• Individual physiological differences

Dr. Goddard explains that some patients report becoming more symptomatic during periods of significant physical or emotional stress.

She believes that understanding these patterns can help patients identify areas where additional support may be beneficial.

This perspective does not mean that stress causes Lyme disease or that improving lifestyle factors can eliminate an established infection.

Lyme disease is caused by infection with Borrelia bacteria. Supportive care may complement appropriate diagnosis and treatment but does not replace it.

Understanding Threat, Vulnerability, and Chronic Illness

Rich introduces an analogy from retired U.S. General Stanley McChrystal’s book Risk.

He describes risk as the interaction between a threat and a person’s vulnerability.

Applied to tick-borne illness, the threat might involve exposure to an infected tick.

Vulnerability could involve individual health circumstances or other factors influencing the body’s response.

Rich connects this framework to Dr. Goddard’s discussion of terrain.

They explore how environmental changes, expanding tick activity, and wildlife populations may influence opportunities for exposure.

Dr. Goddard then shifts the conversation toward the aspects of health that people may be able to support in their everyday lives.

Her goal is to help patients recognize that while they cannot control every exposure or medical outcome, they may still have opportunities to improve their comfort, coping skills, and overall well-being.

Nervous System Dysregulation and Chronic Lyme Disease

Dr. Goddard discusses how chronic illness can affect a person’s relationship with their body.

People experiencing persistent symptoms may become highly attentive to pain, fatigue, dizziness, or other physical sensations.

Over time, illness-related stress can contribute to patterns of heightened vigilance and difficulty relaxing.

Rich introduces the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system.

The sympathetic nervous system helps coordinate responses to stress and perceived threats.

The parasympathetic nervous system supports functions such as digestion, recovery, and aspects of rest.

Both systems are essential, and healthy regulation involves flexibility rather than remaining permanently in one state.

Dr. Goddard believes learning to recognize and respond to nervous system patterns can help some patients manage symptoms and improve their daily functioning.

However, nervous system dysregulation is not an established explanation for every symptom of Lyme disease, and nervous system exercises cannot substitute for treating an active infection.

Are We Becoming Disconnected From Our Bodies?

Dr. Goddard argues that modern life often encourages people to remain constantly busy and focused on external expectations.

Work, technology, social obligations, and everyday responsibilities can make it difficult to recognize physical and emotional needs.

She describes how people may become disconnected from their own internal experiences.

Rather than noticing fatigue and responding with appropriate rest, someone may continue pushing through demanding schedules.

Rather than recognizing stress, they may become accustomed to living in a heightened state of tension.

Dr. Goddard believes reconnecting with the body begins with developing awareness of these patterns.

She encourages people to approach their bodies with curiosity and compassion instead of frustration or fear.

Her message is not that patients have created their illnesses through their behavior.

Instead, she believes that learning to respond more supportively to the body may be valuable during recovery.

Your Body Is Not Your Enemy

One of Dr. Goddard’s most memorable messages is that the body should be treated as an ally rather than an enemy.

She recognizes that people living with chronic pain or unpredictable symptoms can develop a difficult relationship with their bodies.

When symptoms repeatedly interfere with daily life, it is understandable to feel frustrated, frightened, or discouraged.

Dr. Goddard encourages a different approach.

Instead of interpreting every sensation as a battle against the body, she suggests asking what support might be helpful in that moment.

That might involve rest, medical attention, adjusting an activity, practicing a calming exercise, or recognizing a physical limitation.

She believes that developing a more compassionate relationship with the body can help reduce some of the emotional distress associated with chronic illness.

This approach does not require patients to ignore symptoms or assume that positive thinking will resolve a medical condition.

Mind-Body-Spirit Healing: Treating the Whole Person

Rich and Dr. Goddard explore the relationship between physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being.

Rich questions whether dividing human experience into separate categories sometimes prevents people from understanding how closely these aspects of life interact.

Dr. Goddard agrees that health involves interconnected processes.

She emphasizes that thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, and nervous system activity influence one another.

For example, persistent pain can affect mood and sleep.

Poor sleep may worsen pain sensitivity or emotional distress.

Stress can influence breathing patterns, muscle tension, and other physiological responses.

These relationships are real, but they do not mean that every physical symptom originates in thoughts or emotions.

Dr. Goddard’s broader message is that comprehensive care should recognize the whole person.

Mindfulness or Bodyfulness? Learning to Be Present

Dr. Goddard introduces an interesting alternative to conventional discussions of mindfulness.

She suggests that some people might benefit from thinking about bodyfulness.

Rather than focusing exclusively on thoughts, her approach encourages awareness of physical sensations and the experience of being present in the body.

She describes simple practices such as:

• Pausing briefly during the day
• Noticing physical sensations without immediately judging them
• Becoming aware of breathing
• Recognizing signs of tension or fatigue
• Allowing moments of physical comfort
• Responding to personal needs with patience

Dr. Goddard emphasizes that these practices do not require elaborate equipment or lengthy meditation sessions.

She believes small moments of awareness, repeated throughout daily life, can help people develop more supportive habits.

For patients with trauma histories or conditions that make body awareness uncomfortable, these practices may need to be adapted with professional guidance.

Neuroplasticity: Can We Change Our Patterns?

Rich and Dr. Goddard discuss the concept of neuroplasticity, the nervous system’s capacity to change through experience and learning.

Dr. Goddard believes that repeated patterns of attention, behavior, and emotional response can influence how people experience and respond to their bodies.

She describes working with patients who have experienced panic attacks, palpitations, chronic pain, and post-traumatic stress symptoms.

According to Dr. Goddard, some patients have reported improvements after learning mind-body awareness techniques.

These are her clinical observations rather than controlled evidence that the techniques treat the underlying causes of those conditions.

Neuroplasticity is a well-established biological phenomenon, but specific brain-retraining or mind-body programs vary in their supporting evidence.

For additional perspectives, explore Tick Boot Camp’s interview with Ben Ahrens about neuroplasticity.

Why Healing Is Not One-Size-Fits-All

Rich raises concerns about patients adopting identical treatment protocols simply because someone else reported success.

He describes how groups of patients sometimes begin using the same supplements or treatment approaches together.

While community support can be valuable, Rich emphasizes that people may have very different diagnoses, symptoms, medical histories, and treatment needs.

Dr. Goddard agrees.

She believes individualized care is essential because no two people have identical experiences.

An intervention that helps one person may not be appropriate for another.

This applies to medications, supplements, rehabilitation, and mind-body practices.

Their discussion encourages patients to seek personalized medical guidance rather than assuming that a treatment will work because it helped someone else.

Medical Trauma and Feeling Dismissed by Healthcare Professionals

Rich returns to Dr. Goddard’s personal experience of seeking medical help.

He notes that even physicians can encounter dismissive responses when they experience poorly understood symptoms.

Dr. Goddard acknowledges how painful and frustrating those experiences can be.

They discuss the term medical gaslighting, including whether every dismissive encounter involves deliberate manipulation or whether some clinicians simply lack sufficient knowledge.

Dr. Goddard believes intent and understanding matter when evaluating these interactions.

At the same time, she recognizes that patients may experience real emotional harm regardless of a clinician’s intentions.

The conversation emphasizes the importance of validating patient experiences without allowing painful encounters to define every future healthcare interaction.

Patients deserve respectful communication, appropriate investigation, and honest discussions about uncertainty.

Trauma, Stress, and the Healing Process

Dr. Goddard explains that prolonged illness can itself be traumatic.

People may experience fear, isolation, financial strain, repeated medical appointments, and uncertainty about their future.

Some also have previous traumatic experiences that influence how they respond to stress.

She believes helping patients develop greater emotional and physical awareness may support their ability to cope with these challenges.

Rich discusses how learning about nervous system responses changed his own understanding of health and personal development.

Together, they explore the importance of recognizing patterns without judging oneself for having them.

Trauma-informed care can be an important part of supporting people with chronic illness, but trauma is not a prerequisite for developing Lyme disease, and resolving trauma is not a cure for infection.

The Art & Science of Healing from Within

Dr. Goddard discusses the development of her educational course, The Art & Science of Healing from Within.

She explains that the program originally had a different title: The Art and Science of Being Human.

Her goal was to teach skills she wishes she had learned earlier in life.

These include reconnecting with the body, recognizing habitual patterns, and practicing self-awareness throughout ordinary daily activities.

She ultimately changed the title to emphasize healing and make the purpose of the course clearer.

Dr. Goddard believes that meaningful change does not always require expensive devices, complicated routines, or spending hours meditating.

Instead, she encourages people to practice brief moments of connection with themselves throughout the day.

The course reflects her educational philosophy and personal clinical experience. Its effectiveness as a treatment for Lyme disease has not been established through clinical trials.

How Osteopathic Medicine Fits Into Her Approach

As an osteopathic physician, Dr. Goddard emphasizes the relationship between the body’s structure and function.

Her primary clinical focus is osteopathic manipulative treatment, a hands-on approach used by some physicians to evaluate and address musculoskeletal dysfunction.

She integrates this work with her interest in whole-person care.

Patients may seek osteopathic treatment for concerns involving pain, movement, or physical discomfort.

The effectiveness of osteopathic manipulative treatment varies by condition, and it should not be considered a substitute for antimicrobial treatment when an active bacterial infection requires it.

Dr. Goddard’s approach reflects her belief that patients may benefit from attention to both their diagnosed medical conditions and their overall functioning.

How to Work With Dr. Jacey Goddard

Dr. Goddard practices at RiverTree Osteopathic Health in Topsham, Maine.

Her work focuses on osteopathic manipulative treatment, integrative medicine, and supporting patients with complex health challenges.

For more information about her medical background and philosophy, visit her official physician biography.

Patients and healthcare professionals interested in her educational approach to nervous system regulation and mind-body awareness can also explore The Art & Science of Healing from Within.

Key Takeaways

• Healing from chronic illness can involve multiple dimensions of health. Dr. Goddard emphasizes physical, emotional, and nervous system support alongside appropriate medical care.
• Dr. Goddard understands medical uncertainty firsthand. Her personal healing journey shaped her compassionate approach to patients with difficult-to-treat conditions.
• Lyme disease is a significant concern in Maine. Rich and Dr. Goddard discuss Borrelia, Bartonella, Babesia, and changing patterns of tick exposure.
• Individual vulnerability is complex. Sleep, stress, medical history, environmental exposures, and other factors can influence overall health.
• Nervous system regulation may support symptom management. Learning about autonomic responses can help some people better understand their experiences.
• The body deserves compassion. Dr. Goddard encourages patients to develop a more supportive relationship with their physical sensations and needs.
• Mind-body practices do not need to be complicated. Brief moments of awareness may be more practical than elaborate daily routines.
• Neuroplasticity offers opportunities for learning and adaptation. However, specific brain-retraining programs should not be assumed to cure infectious diseases.
• Medical trauma deserves recognition. Patients can experience emotional harm when symptoms are dismissed or poorly understood.
• Individualized treatment matters. No single supplement, protocol, or nervous system technique is appropriate for every patient.
• Healing is possible, but no method guarantees recovery. Dr. Goddard encourages hope, curiosity, and compassionate self-care.

About This LIVE from ILADS Interview

Recorded at the 2025 International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society Conference in San Antonio, Texas, this conversation features Dr. Jacey Goddard, DO, a triple board-certified osteopathic physician practicing in Topsham, Maine.

Rich and Dr. Goddard explore the relationship between chronic Lyme disease, nervous system regulation, mind-body healing, medical trauma, neuroplasticity, and individualized healthcare.

Their discussion challenges patients and practitioners to consider how physical health, emotional experiences, and nervous system function interact—while recognizing the importance of appropriate medical diagnosis and treatment.

Discover more interviews with physicians, researchers, and patient advocates through Tick Boot Camp’s LIVE from ILADS podcast series.