When “Everything Looks Normal”… But You Still Don’t Feel Right

Lydia Cotter
1 day ago
2 min read

You’re not feeling yourself. Flat. Tired. Heavy. Moody. Foggy.

And that quiet (or not-so-quiet) inner voice keeps saying:“Something doesn’t feel quite right.”

That voice matters.

Your body has an incredible ability to send up red flags long before things become diagnosable or severe. Fatigue, irritability, bloating, anxiety, low mood, poor sleep, hormonal changes — these are not random. They’re signals. An invitation to look deeper.

Often, clients come to me after doing “all the right things.”

They’ve seen their GP.

They’ve had blood tests.

They’ve been told everything is normal and given the all-clear.

Yet they still feel exhausted, wired but tired, emotionally flat, reactive to foods, or just not like themselves anymore.

Why “Normal” Doesn’t Always Mean Optimal

In clinical practice, I regularly review blood tests that have been marked as within range — but when we look more closely, they reveal patterns of:

Nutrient deficiencies
Gut dysfunction
Inflammation
Hormonal stress
Impaired energy production

These imbalances don’t always flag as “abnormal” in a conventional setting, but they can have a very real impact on how you feel day to day.

Functional and naturopathic medicine asks a different question: Is your body functioning optimally — not just adequately?

Key Markers I Look At When You’re Feeling Flat, Tired or Out of Balance

To understand what’s really going on beneath the surface, these are some of the core markers I assess when someone is struggling with energy, mood, hormones, or gut health:

Iron studies (iron, ferritin, transferrin, transferrin saturation)
Thyroid panel (TSH, free T3, free T4, thyroid antibodies)
Vitamin B12 (serum and active forms)
Folate
Full blood count (FBC/FBE)
General biochemistry, including liver enzymes
Vitamin D
Cortisol (stress response)
Fasting blood glucose & HbA1c
Cholesterol and lipid profile

Each of these plays a role in energy production, mood regulation, hormone balance, stress resilience, gut health, and inflammation control.

Looking Beyond the Reference Range

One of the most important things to understand is this: Reference ranges are not personalised targets.

They’re based on population averages — not your age, sex, genetics, health history, stress load, or life stage. You can sit “within range” and still be under-fuelled, depleted, inflamed, or struggling to cope.

In functional medicine, we interpret results in context.We look for patterns, trends, and subtle shifts that explain why you feel the way you do — not just whether a number has crossed a diagnostic threshold.

Trust Your Body. There Is a Reason You Feel This Way.

If you know something feels off, you’re probably right.Your symptoms are not imagined. They are information.

With the right testing, interpretation, and personalised support, it’s possible to uncover what your body is asking for — and start moving toward feeling clear, energised, resilient, and well again.

If this resonates, you’re not alone — and you don’t have to keep pushing through and struggling.