Dr Jo Battye Wholehearted

07/09/2026

Morning Comtemplation with cacao and fur babies. The power of gratitude and compassion.🙏❤️🌈

06/09/2026

MY DAD…
My grandpa lost his mum when he was 9 and his father had 3 other children as a loom pattern weaver so his 12 year old sister brought him up. He gave his grammar school cap to my son who also got given a hundred pounds in an envelope for petrol so didn’t absorb the batten of legacy. My grandpa used to walk 8 miles each way to the grammar school and uphill to home. Aged 11 my dad failed the 11 plus twice and lost his hair from the stress.
Aged 4 I accompanied my dad to his PhD graduation and my siblings didn’t. I sense that moment was when I realised that I could gain my dad’s attention by achieving academically- no words spoken, but a realisation- a legacy burden. I was about the same age when he told me I couldn’t sing twinkle twinkle in tune and that’s when I started to keep quiet. I broke both my legs in a car crash aged 5 and had to stay alone for 10 days- I was rewarded with a watch for being brave. I have since given that 5 year old the care she needed back then.
I was a colicky baby (I was bottle fed and raised on Dr Spook in 1972). I was a surprise baby so my dad talks about pacing around holding me while trying to complete his thesis. They were married less than 6 months when I was conceived and my mum had lost her father less than 2 years before I was born. She describes an uneventful pregnancy and quick birth. The GP had a habit of inducing labour on Fridays for “high” blood pressure.
My dad was a great provider, but after work we gave him peace. As a teenager I was often told to “put a smile on my face” as the plan would not deviate for my benefit. My dad was fantastical about skiing and windsurfing as an escape from grief. At 12 I learned to windsurf on a heavy cheap board and my back has not been right since- I inherited determination and I was so grateful the day I got to borrow a light storm sail.
My dad only ever hit me once aged 12. I flew parallel to the floor ( my uncle Charles recounted). My dad would raise his hand and pretend to get ready to land another blow. I got a split lip the time mum flipped on me. Enough to know I didn’t want that for my sons…. Ollie did get a reflex smack on the bum when he leaned out of a second story velux window after I asked him not to- that smack he knew was different from the ones he got from his dad. His brother got a little bottom smack aged 5 on a long haul flight when he wouldn’t stop kicking the seat in front and the three of us needed rest and I was flying 30 hours solo with a 3 and 5 year old. I sensed that the people around me were relieved that my son was shocked enough to settle after that. I’m not proud of those moments of reaction, but I apologised to my son’s for reacting rather than calmly responding. Keeping up appearances is my family motto and I chose to be real and raw.
I got to spend time with my dad by accompanying him on adventures. I skied my first black ski run in a white out. I freaked out the next day when I could see the steepness as I only ever had a couple of lessons.
I nearly got blown off the Cuillin Ridge on the Isle of Skye before as he is quite rigid once an itinerary has been set.
We have to agree to disagree about how my sons were parented by their father and it still hurts that he didn’t respect or support my choices.
I have had two authentic conversations with my dad in the last 6 years. I asked him what internal experience he would choose if I had a magic wand- he chose love and his reason being that everything else is irrelevant without love. Another conversation he shared how hard it was for him to have to identify my brother after he died- the first time in 40 plus years that my brother was talked about.
Yorkshire men are generally tough and call a spade a spade. I don’t remember him ever shedding a tear. I was left hanging at midnight when it was his brother’s funeral at midday in England, because they were holding it all together. That explained the feeling that had been holding my own heart. My heart warmed when my cousin sent me his speech which explained that he was a “cryer”.
I spent a few days with my parents last year and on a superficial level had fun. They even humoured me and took me to Stonehenge on the way to Heathrow.
I am grateful for my parents who gave me life and met my physical needs well.
I reparent myself and soften those parts that I abandoned to gain attention and approval. I no longer stay quiet or abandon my needs and it’s alright if that makes people uncomfortable.
I give thanks for the challenges that mean I have evolved further than I would have done if my life had been less colourful. I wish for him that he can give his own father the same grace.
Thank goodness for inner part and family constellations 🙏❤️🌈 Still a work in progress. Awareness is key. Hopefully I have learned enough that my next partner will be less like my dad. What we are aware of we can change.

06/09/2026

Spring Special

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04/09/2026

From my Plant Spirit Medicine group
DAMIANA

I have sat with Damiana for 4 years since connecting with her potential to support sugar metabolism, bladder health and restoration of sexual vitality and strengthen all aspects of the yoni. She’s a perfect fit for the wise woman transition. As she was used with cacao in ancient cultures like the maya I have used her in my cacao paste blends.

Earlier in the week I drew her card from one of my plant card decks as I was tuning into a new cacao blend. I had also set up divine masculine and feminine card decks on one of my altars next to my sound bowls. After playing gong and bowls to set the frequency for the cacao I had been feeling since meditating at The Temple above Akaroa the previous day I decided to pick a card. I had already been feeling Mary Magdalene and was unsuprised to pick her card. The Jesua card made me smile 😊 I realised how important my intention of setting these cards on my altar was for balancing masculine and feminine aspects of myself and the collective.

I added Kawakawa from my constellations mentor’s place in Whangārei where she grows in abundance. As I used all my rose petals recently I remembered an exquisite pure rose oil I have been savouring. I also a leaf of the puriri plant I have been growing for a few years inside as I’m afraid she won’t like the extreme temperatures of my garden.

There was the birth of my Priestess blend. Stone ground as the Mayan 260 day cycle ended on the day of the Cosmic Sun and into the Magnetic Dragon.

My next blend is brewing for the equinox.

Light and dark in balance…

I also birthed cranberry cacao moose chucks ❤️🙏🌈

04/09/2026

What seeds are you planting this Spring?
Future medicine? Loving dreams?
Learning from our elders? The more I learn the more I know I don’t know 😂
Max Dorfliger is a legend within our dance community. Let me know if you would like a copy of his book. I’m reading it before I gift it to Ollie ❤️🙏

02/09/2026

Contact me by PM if you would like support with DEPRESCRIBING

A diagnostic error trapped countless individuals in a loop of lifelong antidepressant use. A major medical shift is finally forcing a change.

For nearly four decades, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have been widely prescribed as a safe, low-risk solution for depression and anxiety.

However, a growing number of patients who attempt to taper off these medications encounter debilitating withdrawal symptoms, including panic attacks, extreme insomnia, dizziness, and dissociation. Historically, medical practitioners dismissed these severe reactions, often misdiagnosing them as a relapse of the patient's underlying mental health condition.

This diagnostic error trapped countless individuals in a loop of lifelong medication use, under the false assumption that they could never safely function without the drugs.

This long-standing clinical blind spot is finally being dismantled. Led by researchers who have personally experienced the agony of SSRI withdrawal—such as Dr. Mark Horowitz, co-author of the groundbreaking Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines—the medical establishment is fundamentally rewriting its approach to quitting antidepressants. Instead of the traditional, rapid four-week halving methods, clinical guidelines are shifting toward highly gradual, individualized taper schedules. This 'deprescribing' revolution represents a critical victory for patient advocacy, acknowledging the physical reality of antidepressant dependency while providing clinicians with the tools to safely guide patients back to wellness.

source: New Scientist. (2026). Doctors are finally learning to manage antidepressant withdrawal. New Scientist.