The alarm went off and I couldn’t believe it was morning. After another fitful night struggling to get to sleep and waking up many times, I had finally fallen sleep at around 4am. I struggled to even lift my arm to shut the alarm off. My gut felt churned up and on my first attempt at lifting my head off the pillow an enormous wave of dizziness came over me. I laid back down. ‘How on earth was I going to get through another day?’ The enormity of living life like this put me into a pit of depression and anxiety.
Can you relate?
Are these some of the things you are struggling with as well while feeling like there is no end in sight?
I understand because I was there too.
BUT
I also came to understand that there was a way out of this and I didn’t have to stay in the suffering state forever. I began to make some discoveries in my own recovery period about how to do this and which I know will help you too (if you actually do them that is).
1. Turn down the energy you are giving to your symptoms.
You can find yourself in a total groundhog day with your symptoms if you’re not attentive with this. And if you don’t come off the merry go round in terms of what you are thinking about it all, unfortunately it very quickly leads to a perpetuation of more of the same. Our thoughts, beliefs and emotions have a profound effect on our physical body. I encourage you to look at every aspect of your life. Where are there leaking holes? Where you are giving intense energy to what you are feeling?
An example of this is you may be in facebook groups that are just a discussion of symptoms. Symptom comparisonitis is not the answer. While I understand it can be helpful to know that you are not alone, staying in the “I have all these symptoms” phase and “do you have the same symptoms?” is not a long term answer. Get what you are looking for and get out. Your time is much better spent in focusing on the path of the solution.
So as I often say turn down the volume on the energy you are giving to your symptoms. Yes, acknowledge what you need, but don’t emphasize every symptom and let it control every aspect of your day. Learning to become the observer of what you are experiencing physically without a strong emotional attachment to it all, will help you to stop recreating a stress response over and over, and subsequently give you the chance to alleviate the symptoms.
2. Practice letting go of the ‘why has this happened to me?’ mentality.
Dealing with stress and adrenal fatigue related symptoms is not an accident, not some out of the blue thing. It comes about from the way you are living your life on every level – physically, emotionally, mentally, financially, spiritually. For example, the liquidation and bankruptcy that I went through was not just from the supposed economic downturn in 2008. It came about from the way I was living my life, not stepping up and speaking up for what I needed, being afraid of conflict and creating a radical imbalance in the giving to my needs versus the giving to others.
Look at the patterns of your life. If there is something big going on right now, notice how you feel about it. Then take yourself back in time and notice when you felt the same way, then go back further and notice when you felt the same way again or had a similar experience. If you’re willing to go deep with this, you will notice that the pattern has come from way back and it is being perpetuated over and over again.
Don’t beat yourself up about this for you weren’t aware of all of this at the time. However as you become more aware now you can begin to change your thinking from ‘why has this happened to me?’ to ‘what do I need to do?’ and ‘how do I need to live in a way that truly supports me?’You will need to take care of your body in a different way right now while you are dealing with stress symptoms and this is actually the most incredible gift because you will now set yourself up for living in a whole new way that will serve you well into the future. Thank you body!
3. Be oh so kind and gentle with yourself.
Treat yourself like you would a baby or a very young child. Speak with compassion and love to yourself. Let go of the berating and the blaming and the beating on yourself. You are ok, what you are going through is actually ok. You are strong, you are resilient. Yes, you have some different needs right now. Get to know what they are and honour yourself in such a deep, deep way. Move gently through the world. Create an environment that is filled with softness. Quite literally, pile your bed with cushions, get some beautiful natural creams to rub tenderly over yourself, give yourself a beautiful head massage or allow someone else to do this for you. Ask for what you need in a way that you have never done before.
What each of these three areas will do is create the most beautiful relaxation response in your system. The result of that is that your symptoms will naturally soften and in time your body will come back to balance. Always remember, that the body can only do its innate healing work when it is in this relaxation response, it will not do its recovery when you are in the stress response. If you are doing the opposite of the three suggestions above, you will be in this stress response, keeping you stuck in tough physical symptoms.
So are you up for it?
Are you up for treating yourself in a way that you have never done before?
This is what it takes to recover fully. The practise of quite literally becoming a new you, living life in a way that you have never done before, but now in a way that really does support and hold you.
I send you much love as you negotiate this time of change. Your body has got your attention, thank you body for your wisdom!
Your job now is to honour what you know you need and to see each day as another opportunity to change into the person you desire to become.
The other end of adrenal fatigue is filled with sweet rewards, with a new life that really does serve you.
If you’re ready to make a game changing decision and shift from what’s not working into the life that you do desire, then let’s chat.
You have this one incredible life, but it starts with YOU saying yes to YOU.
Let’s chat, and map out a plan for you to get back on track.
Lisa
xo
