EDWARDSVILLE - As a wellness coach, it’s my job to guide patients to change the way they talk to themselves in order to get positive results. Outside of my job title - I am a woman two years away from turning forty; a single mom living two hundred and ninety-five miles away from any family; and above all…human. Therefore, I fully understand how extraordinarily difficult it is to climb out of the deep, dark negativity rabbit hole we place ourselves in.
The single hardest decision of my life was to escape the toxic marriage I had been living in for just over a decade. After losing my identity and self-respect to another person, I concluded that my daughter wasn’t being raised effectively due to her mom setting a terrible precedent. I was showing her how to survive life instead of teaching her how to live a truly happy and quality life.
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Since making that decision, I don’t hide the fact that life has been this constant roller coaster of intense heartache and discovery of immense strength. Every time I feel completely defeated there remains a light shining in the darkness to remind myself to crawl out of the hole and dust myself off. With every ounce of confidence regained, I feel like Super Woman.
Yet, despite all the self-discovery to keep the light shining bright, there are still days when I am my own kryptonite. I am 100 percent confident that no one can be as disgustingly mean to me as I have been to myself on my worst days. In my line of work, I’m incredibly aware that those days are the ones where my self-image and health suffer the most. Which is why during intense fibromyalgia flares my boss asks, “Are you sure the trigger isn’t all between your ears?”
Even with the knowledge of how the mind and body interact, it’s easy to ignore the absolute truth when falling down into the rabbit hole - YOU largely determine the environment your body exists in daily.
Other people’s words, judgments and actions towards you can wound deeper than the sharpest knife but it’s your own mind that can become the deadliest of enemies. Our own thoughts, feelings, judgments, fears, beliefs, and comparisons all play a role in what the body reflects back onto you. Negative thoughts fill the cracks in our foundation leading to the development of severe health issues. It begins with what seems like small issues appearing – a lack of energy, increased pain, digestive issues, feelings of sadness, weakening of the immune system…etc. Those symptoms we choose to ignore or let go until they are uncontrollable, undeniably play a role in how fast (or slow) the body heals in illness, injury or during physical and emotional trauma.
If there is one nugget you take away from this article, please know you are not alone in the deep, dark negativity rabbit hole. If you’re struggling to love your body right now, you are not alone. If you are struggling to feel at home in your body right now, you are not alone. If you feel discomfort, tension, anxiety, or full-bodied fear that feels like a physical prison, you are not alone. There are SO MANY people on this planet experiencing exactly what you are right this second.
The hardest part of shifting our inner voice to an exceptionally positive one starts with being genuine and honest with our own thoughts. After years of the constant negativity, it can be exceedingly difficult to acknowledge that the foundation you built for yourself was created from blocks of perceived faults and weaknesses. The second part is the most vital – know that beyond a shadow of a doubt, asking for help is the absolute strongest thing you can do in this life. We all have the power to be our own superhero or our own kryptonite. Starting today, which will you choose?
Opinions expressed in this section are solely those of the individual authors and do not represent the views of RiverBender.com or its affiliates. We provide a platform for community voices, but the responsibility for opinions rests with their authors.
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