What is your body telling you?
I learned that my body can heal if given half a chance and that pain is purpose. Three years ago, despite having changed my job, my social life, my activity level, diet, my mindset, lifestyle, home environment and relationship status, I got more and more sick to the point where my body shut down: Inflammations, intolerances, allergies, indigestion, amenorrhea, severe muscle and joint pain, sleeplessness and ultimately complete exhaustion.
I was still trying to live my life while running from doctor to doctor, traditional and alternative, who all gave me a localized diagnosis or told me it’s a burn-out or a psychological issue. Over time I started believing that perhaps I really am crazy, but something inside of me told me to keep looking. I just wanted help and an answer, not anti-depressants, herbs or antibiotics. I woke up one morning and could no longer continue. It suddenly became clear to me that I had tried everything except for what my body needed most, which was also my greatest fear: Taking a break, getting rest, being on sick leave. “What would others think and even worse, what would they say? Would I be replaced? Would my friends resent me for not being available? What would happen without exercise? What was I going to do now, when no one was listening or helping?”
Throughout the next four weeks, I was forced to rest as a twenty-minute walk was not only painful, but exhausting. It was terrifying to think that this was my destiny, but for some reason I was surprisingly calm. I continued studying my body, mind, and environment despite continuously being told that my ailments were created in my head or my own fault. After two weeks I started feeling a sharp stinging in my ear and neck. More research, lots of rest, meditation, breathing and writing down every symptom I could remember, led me to realize that the symptoms I experienced over three years began after a complicated wisdom tooth extraction...
Our intuition does not fail us, but I had to learn to trust it again, because I had been unheard and undermined for so long. It turned out that I had a large inflammation in my jaw bone in four places. As I had lost faith in doctors, I took my time to find the right one and had two very painful surgeries, after which 80 percent of my previous health problem were practically gone within two weeks. The other 20 percent required more lifestyle and nutritional adjustments, patience, seeking the cause behind symptoms and learning to listen to the language my body speaks to show me what it needs. I truly learned that pain is purpose, not only to tell us what is wrong with our bodies, but to push us to understand, to grow, to change direction, and to live a life we may have never thought possible. I admit that since university I was not always lucky in terms of my health, but I also admit that I paid very little attention. Illness and pain continued showing up until I finally began to listen. I was lucky to learn early enough that Health is Wealth.
What is your body telling you today?
As a certified, holistic Health Coach, I support individuals and groups in making nutritional and lifestyle changes to improve their mental, physical, social and emotional health for a happier and more successful personal and professional life. Visit my website for more information and contact me for a free discovery call!