Discover Your Inherited Survival Mode: What Is a Miasm? + Quiz

The Preset We Carry

A miasm isn’t just an old medical idea or a word you half-remember from homeopathy school.

It’s a preset.

Imagine you’re born with software already running in the background.

You didn’t install it.

You didn’t choose it.

It came pre-loaded.

That software is your miasm — the survival pattern you inherited.

Your ancestors left you gifts, yes.

But they also left you their unfinished business. 

The grief your great-grandmother swallowed when her child died.

The shame your grandfather carried home from war but never spoke of.

The fear of poverty that lived in your family through generations of loss.

Those don’t disappear with death.

They ripple forward.

The old line says it bluntly: “the sins of the father are passed down to the sons.”

But here’s the liberating truth: they are not passed down to punish you.

They are passed down to be solved.

That’s what a miasm is:

A story-pattern.

A personality of susceptibility.

A preset script you slip into under stress.

The Game of Healing

This isn’t a tragedy.

Let's think of it more like a game.

The goal?

To move yourself back toward the original starting point: Psora.

Psora is the first miasm, and it carries the oldest story:

the delusion that we are separate —

separate from God,

from each other,

from creation itself.

Psora shows up in the skin,

the very boundary that convinces us we are individuals,

sealed off from the whole.

Every other miasm builds on that primal misunderstanding,

layering on more distorted strategies:

urgency, hiding, destruction, escape, sacrifice.

But all of them share one thing: they are attempts to survive disconnection.

Susceptibility: Why You Get What You Get

You don’t just “catch” what’s going around.

Your system chooses the disturbance it needs to act out its archetype.

It’s not random — it’s gameplay.

• If you’re prone to restlessness, you’ll get the itch.

• If you’re prone to suppression, your body will build hidden growths.

• If you’re prone to despair, your tissues will break down.

  
  

Susceptibility is intelligent.

Your body isn’t betraying you —

it’s selecting the exact disturbance that mirrors your inner archetype,

your miasmatic pattern,

so it can be surfaced and released.

This is why two people can walk through the same flu season,

the same moldy house, the same pandemic —

and one crumbles while the other doesn’t.

It’s not the germ.

It’s the match between the disturbance and your inherited survival mode.

The Mirror of Body and Story

Every miasm has a mental-emotional flavor — and the body mirrors it.

• Psora’s anxious striving → itching, eruptions, skin always “trying.”

• Sycosis’s secret shame → warts, growths, hidden things that don’t belong.

• Tubercular’s romantic escape → weak lungs, restless energy, longing for air.

• Cancer’s over-care → growths that suppress in the body, the martyr’s sacrifice - themself.

• Syphilis’s dark despair → destruction of bone, breakdown of structure itself.

The body doesn’t lie.

It acts out the archetype.

It takes the unfinished business and writes it into flesh.

Why This Matters

Miasms show you which preset you’re running.

They give you language for the archetypal personality of your susceptibility.

Because once you see the script, you can stop unconsciously performing it —

and start moving back toward Psora, the original spark of individuality.

The Beauty of Disease

Disease is beautiful because it gives us a chance to finish what our ancestors could not.

This is the brilliance of the miasm.

It doesn’t curse you with random suffering.

It hands you a map of unfinished business.

Every fever, every eruption, every breakdown is an invitation:

will you carry this another generation, or will you let it out?

Will you answer the call to let go of the pain hidden in the suffering of the body, mind, soul?

Disease is not just decay — it’s the body’s most honest art form.

It paints in rashes, sculpts in fevers, carves in pain —

until what was hidden in silence finally has a voice.

And in that sense, it’s mercy.

Because the “sins of the fathers” don’t just haunt us —

they offer us the chance to heal the whole line.

In service to the highest good,

Lindsay

Quiz: Which Survival Mode Are You?

1. When life feels overwhelming, my first instinct is to…

A) Restlessly search for answers, never feeling settled.

B) Hide my flaws, cover up, or overcompensate.

C) Collapse into despair or destructive thoughts.

D) Dream of running away or starting fresh somewhere else.

E) Take care of everyone else while ignoring myself.

F) Push into overdrive, convinced I must fix everything now.

G) Fall into repeating cycles of hope and hopelessness.

H) Withdraw and isolate, convinced I don’t belong.

I) Sound the alarm and prepare for the worst.

J) Try, fail, and keep retrying until I’m exhausted.

2. My body often mirrors my stress by…

A) Skin issues (itching, eruptions).

B) Growths, swellings, or “too much” somewhere.

C) Bone/joint issues, breakdown, degeneration.

D) Lung weakness, exhaustion, restlessness.

E) Collapsing immune system when I overgive.

F) Digestive turmoil, urgency, fevers.

G) Cyclical flare-ups (better/worse phases).

H) Isolation-related illness (feeling cut off).

I) Sudden acute illnesses, crises.

J) Recurring, frustrating small ailments.

3. My biggest emotional “tell” is…

A) Anxiety / never feeling enough.

B) Shame / hiding parts of myself.

C) Hopelessness / destructive thoughts.

D) Restless longing for escape.

E) Martyrdom / over-responsibility.

F) Panic / crisis energy.

G) Melancholy cycles of hope & despair.

H) Feeling unwanted, cursed, or outcast.

I) Fear of danger, needing security.

J) Frustration at never quite succeeding.

4. In relationships, when I feel vulnerable I tend to…

A) Get restless, anxious, or irritable.

B) Put on a mask and overcompensate.

C) Push people away with destructive words or actions.

D) Fantasize about leaving, starting over elsewhere.

E) Smother or overgive to keep the peace.

F) Go into high drama, crisis, or overreaction.

G) Swing between hope and despair, confusing others.

H) Pull away, convinced no one really wants me.

I) Get clingy or panicked, desperate for reassurance.

J) Try, fail, apologize, and try again until it wears everyone out.

5. My “default story” about life sounds most like…

A) “I’m never enough.”

B) “I have to hide my flaws or I won’t belong.”

C) “Nothing matters — it’s all going to fall apart anyway.”

D) “I can’t stay still — I need to get away.”

E) “If I sacrifice myself, maybe everyone else will be okay.”

F) “If I don’t fix this now, I’ll lose everything.”

G) “Things always come back around to disappointment.”

H) “I’ll be abandoned no matter what I do.”

I) “Something bad is always about to happen.”

J) “If I just keep trying, maybe one day I’ll succeed.”

6. The phrase that best fits me is…

A) Restless Striver

B) The Overcompensator

C) The Destroyer

D) The Escaper

E) The Martyr

F) The Dramatist

G) The Relapser

H) The Outcast

I) The Fire Alarm

J) The Almoster

Answer Key

A = Psora

B = Sycosis

C = Syphilis

D = Tubercular

E = Cancer

F = Typhoid

G = Malaria

H = Leprosy

I = Acute

J = Ringworm

Quiz Results

A Note on Your Result

Most people run more than one miasm — in fact, you probably carry several survival modes in your system.

But usually, one will be burning the brightest or speaking the loudest right now.

That’s the one your body is asking you to settle first.

Remember: you don’t want to become attached to your miasm.

It’s not your identity.

It’s just the current program your system is running, the “level” of the game you’re working through.

Once you complete this round, another may rise up for healing —

until the patterns of inheritance loosen and you return closer to Psora, the original spark of vitality.

A – Psora: The Restless Striver

You live with the itch of “never enough.” Always reaching, always restless, you’re wired to seek what’s missing. Psora shows up as skin eruptions, anxiety, or unfinished projects — but it’s really the spark that pushes you toward growth. Your path is learning to rest in enoughness.

B – Sycosis: The Overcompensator

Your survival mode is all about covering up and amplifying. You hide shame behind masks, secrets, or “too much” — whether that’s work, possessions, or effort. Physically, it can show as warts, swelling, or excess. The gift? A creative ability to make things flourish. Healing comes when you allow imperfection.

C – Syphilis: The Destroyer

When overwhelmed, you lean into despair, rebellion, or even self-destruction. You see what’s broken and want to burn it down. In the body, that can look like degeneration or breakdown. The gift is your refusal to tolerate falseness — but your work is choosing transformation over annihilation.

D – Tubercular: The Escaper

Restless, romantic, always seeking fresh air — your instinct is to move, wander, or dream of elsewhere. Physically, this can show as weak lungs or exhaustion. The beauty of your archetype is vision and longing for freedom. Healing comes from rooting down without feeling trapped.

E – Cancer: The Martyr

You over-care, over-give, and over-sacrifice. Your worth feels tied to what you can do for others. Physically, this can show as immune collapse or growths. The gift is fierce loyalty and devotion — but your path is learning to give without erasing yourself.

F – Typhoid: The Dramatist

Everything feels urgent, like survival depends on fixing it right now. You swing between fevered effort and collapse. Physically, this may show as digestive turmoil or sudden fevers. Your strength is focus and decisive energy — but healing means realizing not every moment is life-or-death.

G – Malaria: The Relapser

Your life moves in loops — hope followed by disappointment, energy followed by fatigue. You feel stuck in cycles. Physically, this shows in relapsing fevers or alternating states. The gift? Persistence. The path forward is learning steadiness and breaking the loop.

H – Leprosy: The Outcast

You carry the archetype of isolation. Shame or rejection makes you pull away, convinced you don’t belong. Physically, this can appear as illness tied to separation. But the gift is deep compassion for the unwanted. Healing is reclaiming your dignity and belonging.

I – Acute: The Fire Alarm

Your survival mode is alarm, crisis, fight-or-flight. You see danger and react fast. In the body, this shows up as sudden, intense illnesses. The gift is that you’re alert and responsive. Healing comes from learning that not everything requires red alert.

J – Ringworm: The Almoster

You live in the cycle of “try, fail, try again.” Frustration is your middle name. Physically, this can show as recurring, irritating conditions. But your persistence is also your strength. Healing comes when you honor small steps as real progress.

Over the next few months, I’ll be walking through each MIASM one by one — the personalities of susceptibility, the “game levels” of dis-ease.

Stay tuned to read more about your archetype, and see how its story shows up in both your body and your life.