I’ve been fascinated by Terrain Theory since I started studying holistic wellness, the medicine of the plants I was growing & how people’s internal landscape are affected by illness, stress, & grief.
Even more so since I’m fully ingrained in the bodies of work the focus on nourishment – nourishment of the blood, energy, consciousness, & the soul.
It was the real holistic concept – that has left an ever lasting impression on me and has framed my outlook towards health, wellbeing, and my relationship with life purpose.
After going back through research today I didn’t realize this was such as a hot button topic – germ theory v. terrain theory. It’s a whole thing.
It turned into a 3 hour rabbit hole today that I was not expecting. I’m going to go high level and be pretty meta here.
This post is not germ theory denialism – if anything – I land in the realm of germ and terrain theory dualism.
Essentially:
GERM THEORY – the belief that germs are the enemy, float around in the environment, and infect humans who then become sick. – Louis Pasteur (I told you – we are going real basic here)
TERRAIN THEORY: the idea that the state of the person’s tissues, immune system, and overall health is what determines whether exposure actually becomes illness. – Antoine Béchamp
Terrain theory widens the lens to the condition of the host and the body.
So in a physical wellness context – it’s clear that both of these concepts are important.
We already can see how chronic illness, poor gut microbiome, and low functioning metabolic health affects the body and the susceptibility to additional disease and illness. Le Duh.
Of course, I am interested in the psycho-spiritual relationship between the emotional/energetic terrain & the condition of the body & the human experience of life.
This is where holistic wellness is derived from. The Mind, Body, & Soul are core tenets of a life that are well – nourished & purpose driven.
We can begin to ask questions such as:
What are the existing landscape and terrain conditions of your body, mind, and soul that the disease or stressor is walking into?
Is it stepping into a body that feels safe, rested, and supported…
or a body that has been living in a storm for years?
It seems obvious – the stronger, more efficient, and healthier the terrain the better the body will be able to handle incoming threats & stressors.
We still respect:
- Antivirals, antibiotics when needed
- Western medicine in the right contexts
- Infection control in hospitals, etc.
But we add in:
- Nervous system repair
- Emotional clearing
- Relationship healing
When we are holding emotions in our blood, tissues, organs, and fascia that is constricting the movement of qi..
(Qi is the living force of the body that moves blood, breath, thoughts, and emotions.)
How much can you properly handle a new threat?
In terms of human behavior and emotional baggage, most people aren’t walking around with a blank slate nervous system.
They’re carrying old patterns, unresolved grief, chronic worry, and survival strategies that once kept them safe but now keep their body in a consistent stress state.
On top of that, you layer daily stressors—notifications, money worries, relationship tension, caretaking, world events—and the system never really gets to recalibrate to a level of home-stasis
The body is trying to digest old emotional weight while also bracing for the next hit, so even minor triggers can feel huge.
It’s not that people are “too sensitive”… it’s that their inner terrain is already overloaded.
When the system is this stacked, dysregulating conditions—poor sleep, ultra processed food, constant screen time, no real rest or solitude—don’t just “add stress,” they compound it.
The body doesn’t have the margin it used to, so reactions get louder: more irritability, more anxiety, more shutdown, more physical symptoms.
This is where we see patterns like burnout, chronic fatigue, mysterious pain, and emotional reactivity not as random problems, but as the body sounding smoke alarms:
I’m already maxed out, and you’re asking me to hold even more.
Healing in this context isn’t just about removing one stressor; it’s about gently unwinding the backlog—clearing emotional residue, regulating the nervous system, and rebuilding enough internal capacity that daily life stops feeling like a constant ambush.
When you CLEAR & REBUILD you then create a stronger “foundation” this leads to a more purposeful, grounded and effective life.