WHAT YOU THINK IS NORMAL, IS NOT

Let’s talk about something. Symptoms. 

What are symptoms?

Merriam-Webster defines them as:
a : subjective evidence of disease or physical disturbance; broadly : something that indicates the presence of bodily disorder
b : an evident reaction by a plant to a pathogen
2 a : something that indicates the existence of something else symptoms of an inner turmoil
b : a slight indication

I think so many of us think that symptoms must be serious - like a major disturbance that says "Hello, this is really a problem. Look here..."

Yet, let's considering something. The quieter a symptom, the kind you can notice early on, way before something becomes a disorder, is where your true power lies. It's your body's feedback. Listening to early feedback gives us a greater opportunity to turn things around and heal before a major event occurs. 

The daily aches, pains and discomforts may feel normal and you shrug them off, but you shouldn't. These constant, low level symptoms are not normal as most of us consider them to be.  And that goes for people of any age. Even as we age, symptoms are providing feedback and it's important, the older we become, to respond to this feedback quicker and with vigor. We don't heal as quickly as we age. 

Sure, from time to time we may wake up with an ache or pain that we don't know where it came from, but that shouldn’t be happening day after day. And when it does happen, what information are we not receiving?

Symptoms are aches and pains that come in a variety of ways which may creep up on us over time and sneak into our lifestyles. We:

• don't enough energy
• can't get a good night's sleep
• binge eat
• feel unmotivated
• have frequent tummy-aches
• experience diarrhea or constipation
• feel hurt often
• start crying for no apparent reason, or get angry at anything
• feel like we worked out at the gym too long when we haven't been to the gym for a month
• experience gas, bloating, or belching.

When we are completely in line with what our bodies needs through our supportive lifestyles, then we:

• feel joyful and playful
• have a lot of energy
• experience a good moods
• look forward to each new day
• physically feel like we're in our right-sized body
• ave the energy and ability to do a variety of functional movements -- aerobic, strength, bending, stooping, climbing, lifting, and chasing.

We've got to start realizing that if we’re putting up with discomfort, THEY ARE SYMPTOMS. If we're not centered in our joy each day, something is off that we need to pay attention to.  We need to be curious about the symptom, and ask ourselves what it means. Maybe it's simple, like we shouldn't have that morning coffee (that may not feel so simple to some - it doesn't to me!) so that we can keep that tummy-ache away. Perhaps we need to get out and move more so we don't feel stiff. Or we may need to address a living situation, a relationship, a work situation or something else.  Maybe we're not eating healthy enough, or often enough, or drinking the wrong kinds of beverages. You may not be okay with yourself, who you are at your very core. 

If we listen to our bodies and minds carefully, we will get the answers we need. We have to spend time listening to ourselves, and asking what we need, just like we would our partner, spouse, or child. Love is paying attention to someone. Loving yourself is paying attention to yourself.

We’ve also got to get over the idea that there is a “quick fix“ for everything. It often takes a commitment to really look at how we’re doing things, and to change the way were doing them. This is a muscle that we need to find, develop and strengthen, and over time, it will become second nature.

It’s often really hard to strengthen this muscle on our own if we have gotten out of shape by not listening to our bodies and thoughts. As a friend of mine says, we are all in our own fish bowl of water, and we can’t see our environment because we are in it. We need objectivity.

It’s really helpful to work with someone who could help you on a day-to-day basis, Like a wellness coach or therapist who can help you understand the cloudiness of your water. 

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