Ever get that random tightness in your body? Or had a chronic illness, but gone to the doctor for them to tell you nothing’s wrong?
My life has been a serious of these starting with IBS when I was 19 and culminating with early menopause and insulin resistance at 41. No one can ever tell my WHY those things have happened….and it’s super frustrating.
Today I’d like to share with you what I’ve recently figured out in hopes that maybe it can help you figure out what your body is trying to tell you.
Self Care?
Life is crazy…I fully admit that. And my self care usually comes last on the list – like after making sure the kids have what they need (the dogs and the fish too) and then I’m too exhausted to get to what I actually need to take care of myself.
A couple of weeks ago I noticed a tightness – almost pain – right where my ribs meet just below the sternum. I couldn’t take a deep breath even because of this tightness.
I tried to figure out if I had any referring pain (never Google these kinds of symptoms or they will definitely get worse) to see if I was having some kind of heart attack. But this tightness wasn’t acute and continued for a few days.
It really didn’t take me long to figure this one out…I have been ignoring some pretty big issues in my life for years that I just don’t know how to deal with (or do know and am not ready to face) and they are starting to come to the surface.
And now my body is telling me to deal or it will escalate the effects on my body until I get the message LOUD and CLEAR with a real medical issue.
I have no idea how or why I knew this was a message and not a medical emergency. I just did. I felt that I was suffocating – both physically and emotionally – and my body was telling me to deal NOW.
Making Changes
I think the first step in listening to your body is acknowledgement. I’m there. I get it and I don’t want it to get worse…I can’t afford for it to get worse.
I know I have to deal with the pains of the past that I have stuffed down. I know if I don’t, I will get sicker. But I also know, that I’ve come a LONG way in the last year and I need to acknowledge that too.
I need to work on being mindful. Being present. Being authentic.
My reason for sharing this is to tell you to slow down, take a minute and check in with your body. It’s trying to tell you things and if you don’t heed the whispers, it’s going to start shouting…and no one wants that.
Have you ever noticed your body trying to tell you something?
