Why Do You Choose to Be Unwell?
repost from my LinkedIn profile
Believe and receive ...
Dis-ease is a lack of ease. Dis-order is a lack of order. Dis-comfort is a lack of comfort.
Sick as an adjective means to be unwell. Sick as a verb means to seek.
Psychosomatic, although viewed and felt as a derogatory remark, it actually pertains to the relation between mind and body. Twenty-two years ago, I went in search of answers for the source of pain felt in my body and was told it was all in my head.
Ouch! That hurt more than the pain I wanted answers on!
All in my head.... How dare he suggest such a thing! I wasn't making it up!
As a writer, words matter. They are either tools of creation or weapons of destruction, therefore, choosing them wisely crafts the reader's experience. Now take this thought into consideration as you:
you read information on the internet, and in this case, about health and wellness
you speak to yourself
you speak to others
What is the speaker's or writer's agenda behind the words chosen?
There's a big narrative around the idea of lack, scarcity, inability, and defective. If I bought into everything I read and hear today, I'd be terrified and living under a rock because the story is collectively, we're crashing, burning and dependent upon someone or something else to save us!
At the same time, there are scores of gurus which I see as an acronym that stands for Gee, Your Are You, attempting to empower each of us into believing beyond what we see and hear.
After receiving the diagnosis of all in my head syndrome, I was offered a prescription for an antidepressant. The explanation was: they help raise your tolerance for pain. Was he gently suggesting depression? Let's face it, I was told it was all in my head, yet, didn't feel depressed so I politely thanked him while refusing the medication.
This was a pivotal point in my life. With a deep desire to feel better, I was introduced to and began practicing yoga. I also started spending time outdoors hiking nearly everyday.
Yoga, which means to join or to yoke, unites the mind and body through breath. Hiking connects mind and body as well because you can't help but notice your quickening breath through your movement. Not surprisingly, I felt great! It was as if the pain was being released with every breath! What was even more amazing were the insights I began having which continue today. But in the early days of my new routine, I gained clarity around how pained I was by life.
The shoulds and shouldn'ts were endless. I had no idea how many judgments and complaints made up my inner monologue until they bubbled up while away from my desk.
Depression is the result of chemical changes within the brain. The mind is not the brain. It's a pathway of communication with the body AND vice versa. It's a receiver and a transmitter, influencing brain processes. Neglecting to intentionally tune into your mind is a choice to focus on the negativity, worry, doubt, the need to figure things out and so on. This is how you unknowingly create dis-comfort, dis-order, and dis-ease and disrupt the harmonic alignment between mind and body.
An additional challenge we all face are the countless chemicals impacting our brain and body which distract and disconnect us from the mind.
You think you live a clean life. And let's be honest, you live on planet Earth, and minimally breathe the same air as everyone else. City or rural, you are exposed to chemicals from industry and farming to digging up the soil which is home to heavy metals. We are exposed to a plethora of unhealthy factors every day.
Chemicals do not need to be seen or smelled to affect your health. In fact, aromatic compounds are only defined as such based on original discoveries. Typically, they have very faint aromas, if they have any at all, which can go undetected especially when there are other stronger odors wafting about. It's also quite possible that you're not accustomed to using your nose.
This discovery is why I adapted my use of essential oils years ago from the conventional form of symptom relief to focusing on the dynamic connection between the gut, brain and cellular health.
My life, like yours, has been riddled with stress and let's be honest, the infusion of emotional and environmental toxicity is not letting up anytime soon. Since that original diagnosis, the way I played the game of life dramatically changed. I stopped living by cultural beliefs and learned to accept and live by the compass and messaging system within. I credit a lifestyle of unification. Seeing everything as a whole ... holy ... holistic
The body and mind are one
Your neurochemistry regulates every physiological cycle and function. The stress response happens by design. It happens to be your built-in mechanism of protection that is meant to be an intermittent rather than 24 /7 experience. The longer it's activated through, the more significant chronic health issues become.
When you choose to believe cultural beliefs and stories that judge and undermine your body's natural abilities, you're choosing to be unwell.
Wellness is a state of mind that dictates the quality of your physical health.
Of course there are health issues. This is due to a chronically activated stress response which disrupts your nature and its ability to flourish. However, this is not limited to just your body. It happens all throughout nature. This is the reason we see various plants take over landscapes, or experience excessive yeast or viral outbreaks in the body as well as even witness the extinction of animals. All living organisms are affected by stressors and experience similar reactions simply because nature is wired to survive.
Take a moment to consider your reactions when you feel like your livelihood is being threatened. You do what it takes to protect yourself which is in alignment with your life force. Surviving the moment!
It's the fearful thoughts that follow that separate you from having a healthy return to balance.
Consider, man is nature's biggest stressor! (Please be advised, this statement has nothing to do with any environmental movement.) It's a fact. We've come from being immersed and living with nature to viewing it as an accessory as well as a frequent threat to our own existence. We no longer live holistically or in alignment with nature and seek ways to control the outcome.
Without the wisdom of nature, you wouldn't be alive, and I'm not referring to plants or the overall environment. You wouldn't be here because your body IS nature. The building blocks of a human body are the very same ones that form all of nature ... and just like you will defend your right to live and survive, so does the rest of nature!
Did someone mention viruses? Survival is a natural reaction for every organism.
The difference between you and the rest of nature is the fact that you have the ability to gauge and choose the thoughts and emotions you align yourself with. While there are undeniable facts about your experiences, it's your emotions that either motivate or inspire your interpretations, actions and ultimate sense of wellness.
Harness your emotions and wield your thoughts wisely. This is your superpower!
Join the upcoming workshop on Detoxing from negative thoughts, judgments and harsh beliefs