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Of all the lines that are trotted out regularly within the spiritual and wellness communities, there is one that makes me shudder more than any other: The idea of dis-ease.

If you aren’t familiar with that idea, let me outline the basics: it’s the concept that all of our physical illnesses are rooted in our emotional well-being, meaning that we created them and so, of course, we can also heal them.

Before I go any further, let me pause here and say it’s not an idea I wholly disagree with. Our health is certainly more complex than Western medicine would have us believe, and there are definitely both energetic and emotional components to every health condition we experience—something that can give us great insight and support if and when we choose to lean into it.

But there is so much nuance to this, and if we stop with just that single line of thought—as Instagram sages and online experts have a tendency to do—we start to tread into some pretty unpleasant shaming and blaming that is unhealthy for everyone.

It’s true, as a therapist, I know that our own thoughts and feelings can affect our physical well-being. I think there of the stories I’ve heard of people who have died from a broken heart and even of the times in the past I’ve said, “I’m just so fed up I wish I could have a break,” only to become ill a week later (there was also that one time I broke my arm 24 hours after uttering that very line, but I digress).

However, there is so much more to the equation. And as a Soul-led therapist operating in this world, I know only too well that our energetic fields are a huge mass influenced not only by our emotions but also by our experiences and by plenty more than has happened far outside of our own conscious, personal experience.

I’m thinking there about the ancestral influences that continue to affect each of us today; even in my own lineage, I see the way that men in two generations of my family found themselves with injuries that left them struggling to walk and in constant pain. Their injuries were sustained in entirely different ways, even in slightly different body parts. But the end result? Very, very similar.

I’m thinking about the very particular specific pain that seemed to have no cause for me according to modern medicine until I ventured into my past lives and saw the time I was hung by the neck, a rope tightening around that spot.

And of course, I’m thinking about the complete sh*tshow of energy that is Western society at the present time—about the soup of fear, shame, and pain that we find ourselves swimming in every day simply by being a part of this world and that, no matter how much cleansing we do and how much we work to clean up our own energy field, cannot help but touch us.

Even aside from all of that, while some who are suffering from a chronic, debilitating, or even terminal illness may be empowered by the suggestion to “change your mind, you can heal yourself!” it’s fair to say that others will find it stressful, depressing, and downright overwhelming. Not to mention rude—where is our empathy?

So let’s take a more nuanced approach to this, shall we?

Our emotional and energetic health are important—arguably just as important as our physical health and, in fact, can have a huge impact on our physical health.

Don’t be afraid to give as much time and attention to your emotional and energetic well-being as you do to your physical. And if you’re feeling unwell, take the time to pause and ask yourself whether any underlying, non-physical aspects may have a part to play in this. If so, seek support to look at those as well as the physical causes wherever you can and remember the power you have to make changes to every part of your being.

And, throughout it all, remember that we humans are complex creatures living in a complex world. There is no shame in experiencing illness, no “failure” in finding yourself injured, and no law anywhere demanding that you and you alone have the sole responsibility to understand and “fix” any problems.

Instead, let’s seek support, let’s give support, and let’s go gently—on ourselves and others—because isn’t that the first step to true healing?

~

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