REPORT IS NORMAL, BUT I FEEL ABNORMAL

This table captures the everyday suffering millions silently endure despite being told they’re “normal.” It contrasts five common complaints — fatigue, bloating, mood swings, brain fog, and irregular periods — with the dismissive responses they typically receive like “Eat light” or “Get a vitamin test.” But beneath these surface-level reassurances lies a more serious reality: poor gut health, nutrient malabsorption, chronic stress, sleep deprivation, toxic load, and hormonal disruption, especially in Indian lifestyles dominated by seed oils, processed foods, low sunlight, and screen addiction. The message is clear — normal reports don’t mean a normal life.

INTRODUCTION: THE TRUTH NO ONE WANTS TO SAY

You walk into a clinic, wait 2 hours, pay a consultation fee, get a blood test.

The results come back: everything is "normal."

You smile politely. But inside, you want to scream.

Because you feel exhausted.

You can't focus.

Your digestion is off.

You wake up tired.

You're irritable for no reason.

Your sleep is broken.

Your moods make no sense.

But the doctor says: "You're fine."

And you start wondering: "Is it just in my head?"

No, it's not.

You are not crazy. You are early.

You are the warning system your reports can’t read.

REAL-LIFE INDIAN STORIES

A 35-year-old IT professional in Bengaluru with normal TSH, Vitamin D, and sugar — but can’t stay awake after 3 pm.

A homemaker in Pune with daily migraines and mood swings — all test reports clean.

A 16-year-old in Hyderabad, anxious, underweight, unable to sleep — told to just "relax" because "labs are okay."

WHY NORMAL REPORTS DON’T MEAN A HEALTHY BODY

They detect DAMAGE, not DYSFUNCTION.

Reports wait for you to get worse before they show anything.

They don’t see early imbalance.

Lab ranges are based on SICK POPULATIONS.

“Normal” just means you’re like everyone else — tired, toxic, addicted.

Not that you are optimal.

They ignore context.

A blood sugar of 99 is “normal.” But if you're crashing by noon every day, you're not okay.

They are static. Your body is dynamic.

Tests are snapshots. Your symptoms are a live feed.

SYMPTOMS THAT REPORTS MISS — AND WHY

1. ENERGY IS LOW, BUT REPORT IS NORMAL

You feel like you’re dragging all day.

Lab says: "B12 okay. Iron okay."

Reality: Gut not absorbing. Mitochondria overloaded. Chronic inflammation.

2. SLEEP IS BROKEN, BUT REPORT IS NORMAL

You wake up tired.

Lab says: "All hormones fine."

Reality: Cortisol rhythm is wrecked. Blue light, late dinners, and constant anxiety block deep sleep.

3. GUT IS MESSY, BUT REPORT IS NORMAL

Bloating, gas, constipation, loose stools.

Lab says: "No infection."

Reality: Fiber deficiency, antibiotic history, no fermented foods. Dysbiosis.

4. MOODS ARE CHAOTIC, BUT REPORT IS NORMAL

Rage, numbness, weeping.

Lab says: "Thyroid and serotonin fine."

Reality: Emotional backlog. Gut-brain axis strained. Overstimulated nervous system.

5. HORMONES ARE WILD, BUT REPORT IS NORMAL

Irregular periods, PCOD, skin changes, hair fall.

Lab says: "LH/FSH within range."

Reality: Plastics, poor fat quality, sugar crashes, disrupted light cycles.

INDIAN CONTEXT — WHAT PEOPLE FEEL VS WHAT REPORTS MISS

Daily fatigue

Usual response: “Maybe low B12?”

What’s actually happening: Gut dysbiosis, adrenal fatigue, overuse of stimulants, nutrient malabsorption.

Bloating and gas

Usual response: “Eat light.”

What’s actually happening: Fiber is absent, no fermented foods, poor digestion due to imbalance in gut bacteria (dysbiosis).

Mood swings

Usual response: “Too sensitive.”

What’s actually happening: Mineral deficiencies, chronic sleep debt, nervous system overload.

Brain fog

Usual response: “Get Vitamin D test.”

What’s actually happening: Liver overload, high toxin burden, poor fat metabolism, processed food diet.

Irregular periods

Usual response: “Try hormonal scan.”

What’s actually happening: Excess refined oil (seed oils), stress, disrupted insulin response, poor fat quality, low sunlight exposure.

INTEGRATED SELF-CHECKLIST

Ask yourself daily:

Do I wake up feeling rested?

Is my poop regular, formed, and easy?

Do I crave sugar or coffee to survive the day?

Do I enjoy silence, or panic without stimulation?

Do I feel calm in my body most of the day?

Do I feel bloated, heavy, or disconnected from my gut?

Do I smile spontaneously without a reason?

Can I be fully present without checking my phone?

If you answer NO to more than 3 — something is off. Even if your report says otherwise.

HOW TO START HEALING — WITHOUT WAITING FOR A BAD REPORT

Shift dinner to before sunset — support liver detox and circadian rhythm.

Walk barefoot on natural earth for 20 mins daily — restore grounding.

Replace 50% white rice with millets — fiber and minerals matter.

Add fermented foods — 1 spoon daily of pickle, kanji, or homemade curd.

Practice 20 mins of silence, stillness, or staring at trees.

Stop eating after you're full — listen to the first signal.

These don’t need a prescription. Just trust.

YOU ARE THE REPORT

The biggest test is not in numbers.

It’s in how you feel when no one is watching.

You are not imagining your suffering.

You are just ahead of your lab values.

Trust your skin.

Trust your gut.

Trust your breath.

You are not crazy.

You are sensitive.

You are early.

And that is your greatest protection.

If your report is normal but you feel abnormal —

start listening to the only instrument that matters: you.

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HEALING DIALOGUE

“THE REPORT IS NORMAL, BUT WE ARE NOT”

A tired middle-class Indian family arrives at Madhukar’s off-grid home, confused by symptoms they can’t explain, and reports that say nothing’s wrong.

CHARACTERS:

Raghav (45): Works in state electricity board. Always tired, shallow sleep, backache, and foggy mind.

Lakshmi (42): Homemaker. Bloated daily, cranky, sleep-deprived, emotionally frayed.

Rekha (16): Daughter. Constant headaches, acne, period irregularity. All blood reports “fine.”

Aditya (12): Son. Always restless, addicted to mobile, lacks appetite, eyes burn often.

Appa (70): Raghav’s father. “In our days people didn’t talk so much about health…”

Madhukar (43): A quiet, grounded man who left the academic world to live naturally with his wife and daughters in the forest near Yelmadagi. Offers no medicine — only mirrors.

(Scene opens under a banyan tree. Madhukar sits cross-legged on the stone platform. The family sits across from him, sipping herbal water, tired in both body and face.)

Raghav:

I have no major disease, doctor says.

But I feel like a ghost.

I sleep, but I don’t wake up.

I eat, but I don’t feel alive.

Lakshmi:

My whole body feels swollen.

I burp after every meal.

Sometimes I shout, and I don’t know why.

Doctor said, “Just relax.”

How to relax in a body like this?

Rekha:

My periods are all over the place.

Face is full of pimples.

One day I cry, next day I’m angry.

Hormone test, thyroid, scan — all normal.

Aditya:

I feel like nothing.

I don’t feel hungry.

But I want chips.

I don’t want to study, but I’m scared if I fail.

I play games on phone, then feel guilty.

Appa:

What is all this nonsense?

In our days, we just worked.

No tiredness, no analysis, no Google.

Madhukar (softly):

Yes, Appa.

You also walked barefoot. Ate real food. Slept with the sun.

You were aligned.

They are not.

Raghav:

But why? All our reports are normal!

Madhukar:

Your reports are designed to find disease, not imbalance.

They measure if the engine is broken, not whether it’s overheating.

Lakshmi:

But my bloating, my mood, my cravings — they’re real.

Madhukar:

Yes. Because your gut is not just a pipe.

It’s your second brain.

When it is inflamed, you feel unwell — even if bloodwork smiles.

Rekha:

Then what’s wrong with me?

Why do I feel so angry and sad and tired?

Madhukar:

Because your body is still natural.

It is reacting to unnatural rhythms:

Plastic food, synthetic light, noise at night, screens before sleep, silence in emotions.

Aditya:

And me?

Madhukar:

You are overfed and undernourished.

You don’t touch soil.

You don’t touch truth.

You eat sugar, noise, and stress — but not sun, sweat, or stillness.

Raghav (quiet):

So, what should we do?

Our income depends on this life.

Madhukar:

You don’t need to quit your job.

You need to quit your disconnection.

PRESCRIPTION FOR A FAMILY WITH “NORMAL REPORTS” BUT AN ABNORMAL LIFE:

WAKE BEFORE THE SUN.

Every day. No compromise. Sit outside for 10 minutes. Feel cold air. Let eyes meet light.

SHIFT DINNER TO BEFORE SUNSET.

Whatever happens, eat early. Eat light. Talk during meals. Phones off.

WALK BAREFOOT DAILY.

In garden, on mud, even tile. Minimum 20 minutes. Let the body discharge static.

INTRODUCE FERMENTED FOODS.

One spoon daily — homemade pickle, kanji, curd. Without this, no gut heals.

REPLACE WHITE FOOD.

Reduce rice, sugar, maida. Add millets, jaggery, sprouts, soaked nuts.

SCREENLESS HOURS.

Two hours every evening. No screens. No exceptions. Let eyes rest and hearts open.

ONE FAMILY RITUAL DAILY.

Sing, draw, cook, laugh, stretch. Do something TOGETHER. Not perfect. Just real.

Lakshmi:

This sounds simple.

But I’ve forgotten how to live simply.

Madhukar:

Your body hasn’t forgotten.

That’s why it’s protesting.

Raghav:

We kept waiting for a report to tell us we’re sick.

But we were sick long before the report could catch us.

Madhukar:

Exactly.

You are early.

And early people must lead, not wait.

Rekha:

So my pain is not imaginary?

Madhukar:

It is INVISIBLE — not imaginary.

Aditya:

Will I ever feel normal again?

Madhukar:

Not the fake normal.

But something deeper. Something real.

Yes.

If you start today.

(The family walks away quietly, lighter in posture. Appa lags behind, and for the first time, asks Aditya to teach him how to make curd at home. A smile returns. Healing has already begun.)

THE END

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THE REPORT IS NORMAL, BUT I’M NOT

For every person who was told “You’re fine” — when they were falling apart in invisible ways.

they printed it

in clean black letters.

GLUCOSE: NORMAL

TSH: NORMAL

VITAMIN D: BARELY NORMAL

LIVER: FUNCTIONING

YOU: FUNCTIONING

they handed me the paper

and said

“everything looks fine.”

but I didn’t feel fine.

I felt like I was living in someone else’s skin,

like I was breathing glue

and thinking through cotton.

I wasn’t dying.

but I wasn’t alive.

I was tired in the morning,

wired at night,

puffy in the face,

and brittle in the mind.

they said:

“maybe stress.”

“maybe anxiety.”

“maybe just take a break.”

but I didn’t need a break.

I needed to be

broken open

and rewired

without WiFi.

I told them my stomach was a balloon.

they said “eat light.”

I told them I don’t feel hunger.

they said “eat on time.”

I told them I cry for no reason.

they said “talk to a therapist.”

I told them I’m slipping.

they said

“but your report is normal.”

NORMAL?

is it normal

to drink coffee to stay awake

and pills to sleep?

is it normal

to feel more connection with your phone

than with your family?

is it normal

to breathe shallow,

eat fast,

shit hard,

love poorly,

and repeat daily?

no.

it’s not normal.

it’s just common.

my grandmother squatted to cook

and walked 4 miles barefoot

with no blood test, no supplements, no AC.

I have a health app

a yoga mat

a multi-vitamin

and an aching soul

that no scan can see.

I’m not asking for a miracle.

I’m asking for silence that feels like peace.

poop that feels like release.

food that feels like energy.

a body that feels like home.

you gave me a report.

but I wanted a rhythm.

you gave me ranges.

but I wanted rest.

you said “come back in six months.”

but I won’t.

I’m not waiting to be diagnosed

to start healing.

I’m going to wake with the sun

walk without reason

chew without rushing

sleep with the moon

and listen to my gut

instead of your chart.

because I’m not broken.

I’m just…

not plastic.

and I refuse to believe

that silence in my blood

means silence in my soul.

you said I’m normal.

but I say:

normal is not good enough.

I want to feel alive.

I want to feel real.

I want to feel.