EPISODE 093 | Setting the Stage for My Life: A Look at Lyme Disease with Hannah Bethel
Watch Hannah Bethel's interview on Human Amplified with Brandi Fleck.
Listen to Hannah Bethel’s Whole Human Journey
About Hannah Bethel’s Human Amplified Podcast Episode
This week, we’re continuing with our focus on the human body by talking to Nashville singer-songwriter, Reiki master, and hypnotherapist, Hannah Bethel, about her journey with Lyme disease, adventures in nature, and her latest music.
First, we dig deep into Hannah’s adventurous spirit, specifics of solo hikes she took in Alaska and Sedona, AZ, challenging limiting beliefs, and later we circle back around to how that love for adventure carries over into what she loves about touring.
In between, we learn how Lyme disease set the stage for Hannah’s current music career, which was just taking off when she first became unwell. After a couple years of healing, Hannah was able to get back into making music coupled with her passion to help others come into health holistically.
I’ve oftentimes said music has healed me and held me together in some of the hardest times in my life, so it’s really interesting to look at how music and healing have intertwined in Hannah’s life.
Yes, we discuss the specifics of symptoms and getting a Lyme diagnosis to what test to take and what practitioners Hannah went to. She tells us how she learned to listen to her body.
But, the bigger lessons here are all about how every part of being human impacts every other part and that mindset and attitude are (no pun intended) instrumental in making progress.
So relax for the next hour as Hannah makes the connection for us between listening to your own body in healing and in making music — using the subtle queues to navigate decision making and the joys of vulnerability.
At the end of the episode, we also jump in with some details about Hannah’s newly released EP, a particularly vulnerable album, Until the Sun Comes Back Around, which you’ll definitely want to check out.
And guys, Hannah is having a record release show at 3rd & Lindsley in Nashville on Wed. April 6th, 2022. Get your tickets and go listen. It’ll be an amazing night out.
The Highlights of Hannah Bethel’s Story on Human Amplified
Getting to know Hannah Bethel, Nashville singer-songwriter, Reiki Master, and integrative hypnotherapist
What it was like moving to Nashville in pursuit of a music career - an adventure in line with
The most beautiful drive Hannah’s ever seen in Alaska
What made Hannah decide to solo hike in different parts of the world and the limiting beliefs she held before she took the leap
Hannah’s backpacking trip to Shaman’s Cave in Sedona, AZ
A surprise twist around the dangerous situation Hannah found herself in while solo backpacking in Sedona
What Hannah has gotten from going on adventures
What it means to ground — Hannah describes how to do a body scan to tun into the whole body
How Hannah got Lyme Disease
How Lyme starts to take hold
The importance of the Western Blot test and having results in hand and advocating for yourself
The importance of finding a Lyme specialist to read test results
Cognitive symptoms affecting Hannah’s ability to work
Connecting with a holistic detox practitioner — Hannah credits this to curing her of Lyme
What Hannah did to heal from Lyme:
DNA tests to understand Hannah’s holistic health
Co-infections and Epstein Barr
Formaldehyde poisoning
Changing diet to cut out inflammatory foods
A combination of herbal supplements, vitamins, oxygen therapy, hyperbaric chambers, ionic foot and hand baths, laser therapy, prayer
Lyme showed Hannah how to take “radical responsibility” for herself and her situation and listen to her intuition when even the people who were supposed to know better than her were telling her something different.
Divine redirection in Hannah’s music career
Advice to people who feel like they don’t have the time to dedicate to physical healing
Seeing people do this with our mental and emotional health too
Questioning repeating patterns so things change
What happened in music for Hannah after she got physically well, including the role of healing mental and emotional healing
Hannah’s touring experience at the end of her Lyme journey
Checking in with the body to make career decisions
Hannah’s single, “Train“
Vulnerability and personal emotion in Hannah’s songwriting: “The House is on Fire” is her most vulnerable single
Even more vulnerable songs on Hannah’s new album - “I gave myself permission to write just for me,” she says.
How Hannah’s experience with Lyme impacted her creative process.
All about Hannah’s new EP, Until the Sun Comes Back Around
More About Hannah Bethel
Hannah Bethel is a rare artist who blurs lines between Americana, country, pop, and rock. Her musical artistry reflects who she is: a fierce, independent, wild, and untamed spirit. Her music captures the essence of her signature sound by blending elements of the many genres and styles that have influenced her writing and creative expression. Being fearless and unafraid to bare her deepest feelings in her songs reflects her lifestyle – from solo backpacking in the deserts of Arizona and the mystical Joshua Tree, to hiking snow-peaked mountains in Alaska – Bethel lives her life to the fullest. She has experienced deep love, great loss and the healing power of personal growth and redemption and translates those life experiences to listeners though her songs, music videos and live performances.
Bethel was born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin where as a child she studied dance and appeared in theater performances. She attended elementary school in nearby Oakfield, before moving to Houghton, Michigan where she attended middle and high school. She grew up listening to country and Seventies rock music. Drawing on influences from Tom Petty, The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, and Willie Nelson, among others, she spent her teenage years traveling the upper Midwest performing at fairs, bars, talent shows, coffee houses, shopping malls and country western shows. She self-released her first record at age 17, and the following year she moved to Nashville where she released three more albums over a five-year span.
Bethel’s career trajectory took a sharp upward turn following the release of her 2018 single and music video “Train.” A deeply personal song, “Train” was the beginning of a new chapter in her musical career, and one that saw her firmly taking the reins of her musical expression and how it is produced and presented. The single made its airwaves debut across multiple genre radio stations, including Lightning 100, Nashville’s long-running independent outlet known for playing groundbreaking indie rock and alt-country music, and on Music City’s WSM Radio, arguably the definitive country music station in America. The visually stunning music video was filmed in the mountains of west Texas and was premiered by The Boot. In quick succession, Bethel was selected as a CMT Music “Artist Discovery” and both she and the video were featured across all CMT broadcast, online and social media platforms.
Bethel’s next single and music video, “Rhinestone Rodeo,” was released in May 2019 and was featured on CMT’s “Next Women of Country” Spotify and Apple music playlists. The video was premiered online by Billboard, and had its national television broadcast premiere on CMT Music.
“The House Is on Fire,” Bethel’s critically acclaimed 2019 single was premiered simultaneously by Americana Highways and The Boot. A “behind the scenes” in-studio music video was showcased on the Gretsch Guitars‘ blog, and the official music video for the song was given its world premiere in March of 2020 on Ditty TV, a leading Americana music online and broadcast network. It later debuted on CMT. The song also won 1st Place in the Americana category at the 2019 International Songwriting Competition.
Bethel’s latest single, “Memphis,” and its accompanying lyric video was released in September 2020, and she recently completed an EP, “Until the Sun Comes Back Around,” during the pandemic that just released in March 2022. It includes songs such as “Bad News Baby,” and “God Speed Los Angeles.”
Bethel has toured across America and has opened for many artists across multiple genres, including The Black Lillies, Canaan Smith, Nine Days, Smithfield, The Beach Boys, Trisha Yearwood, and many others. Her music has received acclaim from many media outlets including Billboard, The Washington Post, Maverick Magazine, Americana Highways, The Alternate Root, and The Boot. She is also a “Featured Artist” endorsee of Gretsch Guitars, Taylor Guitars and Furch Guitars.
In addition to her musical career, Bethel has expanded her life’s work into the healing arts as a Reiki Master and licensed hypnotherapist.
Hannah Bethel’s EP Release Show at 3rd and Lindsley
Tickets are no longer available for Hannah’s “Until the Sun Comes Back Around” release show at 3rd & Lindsley in Nashville on Wed. April 6, 2022.
Listen to her new album where you stream or buy your music and here.
Hannah’s Links
Under Our Skin, a film Hannah Recommends about Lyme disease
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A Message from the Human Amplified Founder, Brandi Fleck
Note: This episode is timeless. However, in time, my promotions, offerings, and availability change. The same goes for guests. So, if the ads or offerings I mention in the episode are no longer available, you may not find them in the show notes at this time.
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Pin Hannah Bethel’s Healing Journey Quotes for Inspiration
CREDITS: INTRO AND OUTRO MUSIC AND EPISODE EDITING BY RYAN SAULS. EPISODE PRODUCTION AND GRAPHICS BY BRANDI FLECK. SOUND EFFECTS FROM ZAPSPLAT.COM. MID-EPISODE MUSIC IS “SYNAPSE” BY SHANE IVERS AT SILVERMAN SOUND STUDIOS. BIO AND PHOTOS PROVIDED BY CDA PUBLICITY FOR HANNAH BETHEL.
About Your Host
Brandi Fleck is a storyteller. She’s a writer, artist, and a recognized communications and interviewing expert. She is also an avid student of human nature who’s overcome past trauma and is founder of Human Amplified where she helps you embrace being your true self so you can expand more fully into your own humanity without the fear of being seen and heard. Brandi hosts the top-rated Human Amplified podcast (formerly the On Being Human podcast.) READ MORE
