Symptom as Teacher, Friend, Gift
Symptoms of illness or distress can be viewed as messengers coming to tell you something important about your body or your mind. Killing the messenger, denying the message or raging against it is not an intelligent or responsible way of approaching healing. The real challenge when we experience symptoms is to listen to their messages and make the connection fully.
The ways we use language tell us a lot about the automatic way we personalize our symptoms and illnesses. For instance, we say “I have a headache” or “I have depression” when it would be much more accurate to say “”the body is headaching or “I am depressing.”
When we unconsciously link each symptom we experience to I and my, the mind is already creating a certain amount of trouble for us. We have to perceive this identification with the symptom as it occurs and intentionally release it in order to listen more deeply to its message, free from our exaggerated reactions.
Symptoms are often our best teachers, guides or friends. Instead of getting rid of them, perhaps we can be grateful for them and see them as gifts. Symptoms give people another chance, another opportunity to self-correct if they are openly received, accepted, acknowledged, honored and respected.
Thanks for reading “Is It Just Me Or…?”
Best,
Rae
