If you were offered an opportunity to use your head to help yourself be healthier and perhaps reduce medication, would you welcome such an attractive and empowering offer?
Research in neuro-science (Psycho-Neuro Immunology) continues to show strong links in mind and body functioning. It is now widely recognized that illness is not just physical, it is hugely influenced by our emotional and psychological wellbeing. The immune system is strong when emotional stress is low.
Many forward thinking GPs are now embracing these ideas. A GP who has successfully referred a number of patients to me, once commented how patients do not realize that their thoughts may be creating or exacerbating their condition.
Do YOU reach for medication to ease symptoms of pain, of anxiety, of depression?
Whilst this can be successful in curtailing symptoms, the body’s voice is silenced. Drugs may seem to take the symptoms away, but they do not address any root cause of emotional imbalance. One could argue that side effects are just the emotional ‘dis-ease’ looking for another outlet of expression, because the outlet it found has now been silenced!? To rely solely on help that is outside of you is, I believe, to ignore the elephant in the room.
Medication has its place of course. It can be a powerful lifesaver when it is needed. Sometimes it is necessary to take drugs to pull the body up sharply and artificially in order to support it to return quickly to a stable functioning. Long term though, to rely on medication is simply to give away your power and to disregard the responsibility you hold for own wellbeing.
It can seem an easier option to turn to medication as a quick fix to a more complex problem, which may seem insurmountable to you otherwise. However you might want to think about what happens when the body rejects the medication at worst, or gets too used to it at best?
I’m not just referring to anti-anxiety drugs and anti-depressants here, but particularly, thousands of people daily, cling to increasing dosages of pain reducing drugs, in an attempt to numb the messages of pain to the brain.
Are you a woman in the prime of your life?
Many women of a certain age, tend to experience symptoms of fibromyalgia. These symptoms can flummox many medics because like IBS, they vary so much from one person to another, and can therefore be difficult to treat with conventional medication. It is worth remembering that muscles have a memory and that emotion is stored within the DNA of our cells. I have witnessed a number of times, how when a woman commits to improving her emotional wellbeing, listless symptoms of ME and painful symptoms of fibromyalgia begin to ease.
When it all feels too much…
If you have come to a point in your life when you feel burnt out and constantly shattered, not only might you experience chronic tiredness but your muscles may ache, and even twitch sometimes. It can feel like you have flu constantly. You may have difficulty sleeping and may feel you are more prone to viral and bacterial infections. Do you feel that so many circumstances of your life leave you feeling completely and utterly shattered both emotionally and physically? A prolonged physiological and emotional stress response can create a dysfunction in adrenaline levels as your body struggles to maintain function. This means that your immune system and your nervous system are tired. This can further lead to problems with your skin, digestion and bowels.
When you’re all out of giving….
This internal stress has most probably been building up for a long time. It might be that an illness or a time of added emotional or physical stress has been enough to tip the balance – the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Most clients I have helped to get better with M.E. or Chronic Fatigue or Fibromyalgia have described a feeling of wanting to be ‘under the radar’ of not feeling comfortable in their own skin, of feeling tired of meeting others’ needs, and never really feeling that their own needs have been met. In fact clients very often have learned to ignore their needs, to carry on regardless which, in turn only weakens their resolve and further tires the body physically and emotionally.
Do you feel powerless, anxious and overwhelmed to make change happen in your life? I’d like to offer you an immediate opportunity to take a break from your stresses and anxieties. CLICK TO DOWNLOAD my FREE De-Stress Audio.
The key to getting better is to find within yourself a calmer less anxiety driven way of living that allows us to rebalance our systems within our bodies and improve our health and wellbeing. Recovery is not only possible, but highly probable if you work to change certain deep rooted belief systems concerning your mind body connection.
It’s the tap on the shoulder… the whisper in your ear…
Physical disorders such as IBS, high blood pressure, frequent colds, headaches, ME, fibromyalgia, weak bladder, and sleeping problems (the list goes on…) are often signs of emotional stress.
My advice to you is to talk to your GP, undergo any necessary tests and get a diagnosis before seeking psychological help along with any other complementary therapies. It is quite common to run medication alongside therapies in the first instance, steadily reducing medication as symptoms improve.
Your body is communicating to you that the way you are living your life is in some way out of balance. I like to think of it as the tap on your shoulder, wanting your attention. It’s the only way your body can communicate with you – but do you listen?
If YOUR body could speak, what would it want you to hear?
If you’ve found this blog helpful, you may be interested to read more.
To discover how psychological therapies can help you overcome Chronic Fatigue/M.E. and Fibromyalgia, click here
To discover how to manage pain effectively and overcome drug dependency, CLICK HERE
Lisa Skeffington, Anxiety Expert – Anxiety Help Bournemouth
Helping Women Find Their Power!