In my experience of coaching people with IBS I’ve noticed a common thread that determines how fast someone heals.
It has to do with their belief system around the healing process and trust in their body. Some people call this faith, others call it conviction or strong desire. Your belief has to be on board to move forward. You must believe it’s possible.
When I was sick I thought it was a mistake and had clear visions for total recovery. While my doctors were negative about my prognosis I trusted that I would find the help I needed to get well.
Doubt, confusion and frustration came up, but it did not sabotage my efforts. Because I was clear that there was a way out.
Despite my faith, healing was not a straight path. It was filled with dead ends, wrong turns and disappointing results. Failure did not discourage me enough to quit. I learned something from every attempt.
The most common problem I see in clients is psychological and emotional resistance. This can take many shapes and forms.
It can look like…
Not taking action.
Lack of follow through. (not sticking with a program long enough to see results)
Cheating or lack of discipline
Denial
Deep doubt or suspicion
Confusion and overwhelm
Obsessing over every healing detail
Resignation and hopelessness
The list goes on….
Resistance is a reaction to suffering and the unknown.
But if you’re blind to your resistance, it becomes the elephant in the room, the thing that keeps you stuck.
Resistance turns the healing process into an exhausting and discouraging reality that’s easily abandoned. It’s like having one foot on the accelerator and one foot on the break.
Healing is often a mix of tough love and radical self care and leads to calm, stability and deep connection to your body.
Healing is not a straight line of improvement. It’s an ebb and flow of feeling better, then worse, for no discernible reason.
You can’t change this way this process plays out but if you adjust your expectations to expect this reality, it will be a much smoother ride. And you are likely to make it to the end.
The opposite of resistance is surrender.
Surrender doesn’t mean giving up, it means letting go of what doesn’t serve you.
It’s much easier to surrender when you feel supported. If you trust your healer/teacher/guide it will help you relax into the healing process.
Feeling support will help you let go. It’s like a seat belt that keeps you in place on a bumpy road and helps you reach your destination with minimal stress.
My story
Immediately before I met the nutritionist who helped me heal, I was extremely frustrated and didn’t know what to do next.
I’d been on the self healing path for years, researching compulsively, trying many different treatments and diets.
At the time, I was on the raw food diet and feeling worse and worse.
I was exhausted and ready to do something I would never consider normally.
I had been resistant to meditation in the past but I decided to give it a good effort.
That decision changed everything, because it sent the message to myself and universe that I had finally surrendered. I was open to do and try anything. I was ready to get out of my comfort zone.
I signed up for a meditation retreat, and that’s where I met Ann, a Paleo nutritionist vacationing at the retreat center.
It reminds me of an old proverb (which I modified):
When the student/patient is ready, the teacher/healer will come.
I was ready. And she came. And she gave me all the answers I needed to regain total health in one year. That was 10 years ago and I’ve never had digestive issues since.
How do you know you’re facing resistance?
Often our own resistance is invisible to us. But there’s a powerful technique to uncover it.
Self inquiry is that tool.
Ask yourself these questions and write down the response.
Make sure you’re relatively calm (and not in pain) so your mind is clear.
Ask from the heart and feel into your answers. What emotions and sensations come up?
Be honest and do this several times if the first attempt brings no insight. The questions are:
1. Do I believe I can can heal? Why or why not?
2. Is this a priority for me? What gets in the way?
3. What makes me quit or want to give up? How will I handle those obstacles?
If you’re not ready yet, ask yourself what you can let go of so that you can be?
And remember, everyone heals at their own pace and walks their unique path.
This process will uncover an awareness of the deep fears or resistance holding you back. You can’t let go of what you’re not aware of.
When you feel truly ready to trust, heal and let go look for synchronicity in your life. The right healer will show up. Or maybe you will become your own best healer and find something that works for you.
Follow your intuition when it arises.
Take a deep breath and move forward.
Angela Privin is proof that IBS is NOT an incurable disease or a disease at all. IBS is a body out of balance. It’s an invitation for change. After solving her own IBS mystery more than a decade ago Angela trained as a health coach to help others.
Angela uses both science and intuition to help people figure out what’s out of balance in their body. She works with lab tests, dietary changes, supplementation and nervous system rebalancing. Get help rebalancing your digestive system and solving your IBS mystery here.
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