It’s commonly said that 80% of our chronic health concerns are
caused by stress. The question I have
for you is, what causes your stress?
Given the fact that stress is such an important factor in the creation
of imbalance and disease within the body, we need to be able to answer this
question in order to really get to the root problem and heal at a deeper,
long-term level. The effect of stress
can be on all body systems.
Western medicine excels at the treatment of acute and severe
health conditions. Where it falls short
is in offering viable solutions for chronic health concerns. There may not also be clear defined ways of
measuring stress. There’s little to no
ability within the framework of Western medicine to treat the root cause of
chronic health issues, largely because there’s such little focus on the
management and elimination of stress.
Instead, pharmaceuticals are used to address the symptoms of illness or
imbalance, which often creates immediate relief to the sacrifice of long-term
healing.
Even many alternative health practitioners don’t treat chronic
health concerns at a causal level. Yes,
they can often temporarily relieve stress and help people feel more relaxed and
at peace, but this experience tends to be short-lived and the patient finds
that they become dependent on the modality in order to ‘feel good.’
As health practitioners, our focus has to return to this
question of what is actually causing us to feel continual and chronic stress,
so we can treat it at a causal level. In
my clinical and life experience, I have come to realize that stress is largely
the result of the conditioning we experience in our childhood and teenage
years. We are all taught specific
beliefs about who we are, what life is, and how we should function in this
world. Many of these beliefs are
limiting and even harmful. As we become
attached to these beliefs, we lose our connection with who we really are and
the unlimited potential we inherently possess.
There are many examples of beliefs that limit us in life; here
are a few of the most common ones:
You have to fight your way to the top
Life isn’t safe; you have to put yourself first at all times
Money is evil
The key to success is to get a secure and safe job-- don’t worry
about following your passions
I’m not good enough.. and I never will be no matter how hard I
try
The key to happiness is finding someone who will love me
My job defines me
To the extent that these limiting beliefs linger in our minds,
they will determine the choices we make and the behaviors that we initiate
throughout our life. This is why so many
people find themselves in jobs or marriages that promote suffering or
struggle.
The body is often a mirror for the mind, especially when it
comes to chronic, long-term health issues.
If the body is ailing due to stress, and our stress is caused by holding
onto limiting and harmful beliefs about who we are, then the key to lasting
health and healing is to free ourselves of these beliefs and operate in this
world under a new set of principles and values.
Many of us experience a ‘wake up call’ of sorts when we are
diagnosed with a health condition such as cancer, diverticulitis, disc
degeneration, IBS, or chronic fatigue.
This is the body’s attempt to wake us up to an opportunity to create
life on our own terms and to let go of what we’ve been taught about how we
should live and what it means to be a good person.
If you want to get to the root cause of your health issues and
consciously create optimal wellness, start with your own mind. Examine the beliefs that are holding you back
and see if you can link these beliefs to the lifestyle choices you’ve made in
your career, relationships, dietary choices, and so on. A skilled health practitioner can be of great
assistance in this process. Call us at the clinic if
you’d like to discuss your unique situation and see what we can do to help.
