Listen to your body -What is it trying to tell you?

What your body is trying to tell you.

Whether we are aware of it or not, our physical body is a storage for stress.

Where we hold our stress is different for each person, depending on our unique habits and constitution.

Do you get messages from your body? What do you do, do you ignore them like I did?

Over the years, I had many messages, but for the most part, I either ignored them or took medication and blamed something else for the pain or tension.

For the headache or acid reflux, I simply took a pill. I often blamed coffee or wine or eating cheese or eating too quickly, never did I think my body was trying to tell me something.

On arriving home or finishing work for the day, I would reach for that glass or bottle of wine, I told myself I deserve it, or I’ve had a stressful day, but then I did wear my stress badge with pride. 

I’d share how stressed I was, with whoever would listen, telling them how busy I had been, talk about how many plates I was spinning, how I was constantly multi- tasking, but not once did I stop to think about the tension, aches and pains or even the constant stream of negative thoughts might be part of the story.

I wasn’t sleeping well either, but then you don’t when you are stressed and have a busy life, it’s part of the job. It’s not only accepted but expected to work long hours, I had a high pressure, important job. I needed that job to pay the bills, to keep a roof over my head and to provide for my children.

I wouldn’t have thought that saying “I don’t have time to have a drink”would have the impact of being dehydrated and that could give me the constant headache or that stress was causing many of my symptoms, it was normal right, part of having a full time job.

For those upset tummies, I didn’t realise that eating on the go, rushing around meant I was eating when I was in “fight or flight” mode and not in rest and digest. So no wonder my digestion was so out of kilter.

Stress was increasing the inflammation in my body, but I told myself it would pass, I just needed the weekend or that holiday and the skin rash would disappear.

Let me ask you these questions, do you often feel tension in your back, neck and shoulders? Suffer from headaches or maybe even migraines. Do you have tummy trouble or high blood pressure or do you simply feel exhausted, even after a night’s sleep.

Do you have problems focusing or concentrating, some people refer to it as having brain fog.

They are all messages.

Ask what story you are telling yourself. Maybe it is, I haven’t got time. I’m too busy, or it’s not important. Or my favourite, “I just have too, because……. ”

It is important to listen to those messages, to reflect and become more self-aware. It’s about recognising and processing emotions too, as they can also give you symptoms, especially those emotions you have suppressed, by watching out for those automatic negative thoughts and habits.

To reflect and look at your environment and the impact, such as do you sit at your desk all day without a break, a lunch with no opportunity to stretch or move. What story are you telling yourself there?

Then there is the social conditioning too. All the things you are told or observe growing up. This one took me  longer to understand.

I was told as a child, to work hard at school, get great results, go on to get a good job, work hard and earn money. That you need to work so hard, as money is so difficult to come by,  it doesn’t grow on trees you know, you need to work long hours. You get my drift.

It took me a while, after suffering from ill health, with many varied symptoms and visits to the doctors, seven different lots of medication, even several operations to finally understand that this is simply not true. I was ignoring or masking the messages with medication or alcohol.

What is important is your health.  If you don’t make time for your wellness, you will be forced to make time for your illness. Listen to your body, it’s trying to tell you something.

There’s a reason why we are told to listen to our gut feeling.

Today, I take no medication at all and I can enjoy a glass of wine, without needing or wanting to finish the bottle.

I now practice self- care and mindfulness,  it is necessary and not selfish. Think about it as self-love, putting your needs first, as you are important too.

Take care

Carole xxx

Mindfulness and Self Care Coach