From Chronic Pain to Passion

Let me know if you relate to this…

Often, when we start getting the hang of mind-body healing for chronic dis-ease, we find ourselves digging and digging and digging for complex answers to why we’re having a symptom. We want to know exactly what past trauma or life stressor or self-criticism habit is triggering every single one of our twinges or flare-ups.

And sometimes, identifying that trigger precisely can be helpful! It can empower us to change something in our thoughts, behaviors or environment in a way that has a positive impact on our wellbeing.

But there are other times when digging for answers just leads to more digging — and it can become its own way of pressuring ourselves and adding more stress load to our nervous system.

So when it feels like that’s the case, here’s something you can try:

Think of your nervous system as a baby. And think of your symptoms — the signals that your nervous system is sending you — as the cries that a baby uses to get their caretaker’s attention.

The meaning behind a baby’s cries is always something very simple and immediate.

As the baby’s caretaker, your mind may complicate things with stories like, “the baby’s crying because I’m a terrible parent and I wasn’t home all day yesterday.”

But that’s not what the baby’s trying to say. Again, the baby is trying to communicate something simple and immediate. Something like:

“I’m hungry right now! I want you to feed me right now!”

​​​​​​​Or, “I’m tired right now! I want you to put me in a quiet, comfortable place to rest right now!”

Or, “I feel unsettled right now! I want you to hold and soothe me right now!”

So just ask yourself this simple question: If you think of your nervous system as a baby, what is it trying to say to you… right now? What kind of care is it asking you for right now? 💛

With tons of love,

Anna

P.S. If you missed my free workshop last week, you can still access the replay right here!