When life gives you a boomerang…

DON'T FORGET TO DUCK!

Have you gone through a really rough time in your life and felt the relief of having made it to the other side only to find yourself knee deep in something so similar that you can swear you’re living the nightmare all over again? 

My illness symptoms and “cures” often felt like a recurring nightmare. I would spend weeks at a time feeling as if my body was under attack - mud-in-my-veins fatigue, the inability to eat more than 3 or 4 foods without suffering, mysterious aches and pains, skin so dry and puffy I was embarrassed to show my face, sensory issues that kept me confined to calm quiet spaces - then discover the latest fix in the form of the newest supplement or CAM treatment that would bring me relief. I would bask in the feeling of relative normalcy for a few days (or weeks, if lucky) only to have the dis-ease seemingly thrown right back in my face. In no time I would become “the victim” again. “Whoa is me.” “Why can’t I catch a break?” “I knew that wasn’t the answer.” “It couldn’t have been that easy.”  In retrospect, I think deep down I was just waiting for the boomerang to come back and hit me. Instead of fully embracing the joy of wellness, I was busy worrying about when it was going to end. Instead of doing everything I could to take ownership of my health, my subconscious was finding a way to sabotage this new state of being. 

You may likely find this idea ridiculous. You have very REAL symptoms and simply “thinking” them away is too simple. You’re right, it’s not quite that simple. Deep rooted neural networks have settled into your brain and are keeping you stuck in an unconscious trauma cycle resulting in an array of negative symptoms.  As difficult as it may seem at times, the best thing you can do to break the cycle is to focus on gratitude as often as you can. If you find that you just can’t muster up the ability to be thankful for anything when you’re down in the trenches, then try expressing gratitude when you’re not. Notice when you feel joy and hold onto that feeling as long as you can. When you catch yourself feeling “normal” see if you can find happiness in the moment and remember how that happiness feels in your body. Over time, these waves of joy will come with greater frequency and stick around longer. Who knows, you may even be able to see your dis-ease in a different light and notice that you’ve been learning and growing along the way. Let that realization fill you with peace.

THIS WEEK: Instead of allowing yourself to fall victim to your circumstances a second (or third or twentieth) time, see if you can tap into the wisdom you’ve gained so far. Consider allowing those lessons to empower you to see the situation from a different perspective. You might be surprised at how you’re able to breeze through it with grace this round and maybe that boomerang won’t hit you so hard when it comes back. One day maybe you’ll be surprised to realize that it doesn’t return at all.

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