Are you in the driver’s seat of your own life? Do you feel like you have control of managing your health? For many of us, the answer may be “no.”
Oftentimes, we hop from doctor to doctor, hoping that someone will tell us what is truly going on with our bodies and what we can do to fix it. We allow ourselves to become trapped by, as some may call it, the “sickness industry”, and we become subject to a myriad of tests and scans, supplements and medications, and medical interventions that our doctors recommend to us. Then, we allow ourselves to feel crushed when the results are “inconclusive”, or we’re just recommended to yet another specialist, or when our doctors try to prescribe us anti-depressants.
But why? Why do we just take what our doctors tell us at face-value, without questioning, pushing back, or exploring other options? Or – better yet – listening to our own bodies and intuition?
The simple answer, is fear. Illness can be a scary thing, and when we aren’t feeling well, we begin to feel powerless in our own skin and unable to change the tide of our health status. We feel like the world is crumbling in around us and that “wellness” is far beyond our reach. We feel helpless. And in that helplessness, we give up our control over our own health.
We allow others to tell us what is best for our bodies, for our minds, and even what’s best for our spirit. We look everywhere except within ourselves for wellness, searching every which way for a miracle cure or a remedy that can help get us back on track.
But here’s the secret, folks. You are the only one who can take control of your health. You are the only one who can make the decision to get better. You are the only one who can write the ending to this tale of chronic illness that you’ve been reading and writing all these years.
This isn’t just wooey mumbo jumbo, either – science proves that those who are empowered and optimistic about their circumstances are far more likely to heal and succeed. And many of the ancient spiritual schools of thought have taught for thousands of years on the importance of taming your mind and listening to your inner guidance in order to heal your body.
The power to heal comes from within. It comes from following your instincts!
Outside interventions can be helpful because they help bring healing down to a physical level, which is sometimes the only level our minds are able to grasp. So, I’m definitely not saying jump off of all your medications or to cancel all your upcoming acupuncture appointments. But I am encouraging you to start questioning your belief systems about healing, and your ability to do so. There’s countless stories of people recovering from all types of advanced stages of disease without the use of medical intervention. It’s all about what you believe to be true.
If you believe that medication will be helpful for you, then it will be. If you believe acupuncture will be helpful, then it will be. And if you believe that wearing nothing but a wolfskin cloak and dancing under the full moon’s light will be helpful, then you’re darn right it will be!
You see, our minds are the most powerful healing agent there is. Our minds have the power to do anything, if only you believe.
So, I urge you to stop and listen to your body and not always just your doctor. Heal your mind so that your body can follow. And begin to listen to what your instincts are telling you about what it will take for you to heal. Is it quitting that incredibly stressful job that you hate? Is it leaving a toxic relationship? Is it changing your diet to AIP? Is it getting more fresh air, or meditating under the setting sun?
Whatever it is, chances are you already have an inkling as to what caused you to get sick in the first place. So, retrace your steps and start back at the beginning. Because it’s never too late to start anew.
And as you go through this process, please – empower yourself to go down your own path of healing. It might not always be perfect and you will have days where you feel more confident in your abilities than others. But at some point, you must not depend only on outside forces, doctors or people to present you with a magic pill, or even a diagnosis that can “finally” help you heal. The longer you wait to take control of your health, the further you allow yourself to drift from your natural state of well-being.
It’s time to start asking questions, and to stop accepting frustrating, confusing and misaligned advice and guidance from a medical system that isn’t always trained to ask “why” or to search for alternative ways of doing things.
It’s time to get back in the driver’s seat of your own health and embrace the idea that you are already well. You just have to believe it.
