If you search the PubMed scientific database, you will find many studies that show the connection between negative emotions and illness. However, we don't need scientists to tell us this.
We've all felt the mind-body connection. When we're nervous, we feel a churning in our abdomen.
When we're depressed, our whole body feels filled with cement.
When we're angry, our heart races and our face becomes flushed.
When we feel calm and loving, our heart rate slows, we breathe more deeply, our muscles relax and we feel lighter inside.
Those feelings mirror countless chemical (and genetic) processes within our bodies. The truth is, we're not separate from our bodies, and the sooner we realize that, the sooner we can harness that knowledge for our health.
Our bodies aren't to blame for our illnesses, but then again, we aren't either.
I used to wonder: If I had listened to my body sooner, could I have prevented my autoimmune disease?
It's a moot point, really. Although it felt like it happened overnight, autoimmune diseases usually take years to develop, and over that time, the symptoms are just not acute enough to be diagnosed. While I can't turn back time, I CAN choose health every day from this point forward.
Every choice I make now is an act of self-love and self-healing.
If you've been angry with your body (and/or yourself) for a long time like me, it can time and practice to change. Try paying attention to that voice in your head. How do you talk to yourself? How do you talk to your body?
If you catch yourself being mean, stop, take a deep breath and replace those thoughts with kinder ones. You deserve nothing less.
When our children get sick, do we get mad at them, or do we nurture them, and do everything in our power to help them be well?
Don't our bodies deserve that same unconditional love?
The answer is yes.
xoxo -Kara
#livebetter #givebetter
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