Most people have never felt a symptom without panicking
5 minutes to feeling centered.
Fear shifts us into stress and makes things worse if the fear is directed toward ourselves, as in our health.
There is a strong cultural program that teaches us outsource our knowledge and ask others, “Am I OK?” whenever we feel anything at all.
To even be qualified as a “symptom” it must be abnormal enough to be noticed. A detour from the everyday.
The average person is living a numbed-out experience already so symptoms must reach a certain threshold to get any attention.
For many, they increase this hurdle through getting angry at it, then caffeine, then NSAIDs, so that if the body manages to get through with a signal it’s probably at a pretty significant point.
The ignoring, dismissing, and numbing make a very effective concert to avoid ever having to feel. Which also means that most sensations will be new experiences, which are easily interpreted as alarming.
New experiences are very susceptible to context for interpretation.
When your culture tells you that you should consult someone else every time you feel anything, and most of those people are going to freak out and tell you to go to someone else, you’re likely to interpret new sensations as a problem and that you should be worried. The farther your attention gets away from yourself the more likely you are to be in fear.
I’m going to help you break the cycle of fear right now.
If you’re in this ignore-suppress-avoid cycle, it’s as if your body is a slave which exists only to do your bidding. It is to be propped up or lashed into submission unless or until it reaches a point that it absolutely cannot submit any more and revolts. It’s not a great relationship.
Putting this further into relational terms: if you freak out every time your romantic partner tells you something you don’t like or understand, you’re not likely to have a good relationship, are you?
Slowing down, becoming present with, and seeking to understand their needs will probably be much better for you both.
Let’s start installing this program in your body. The next time you notice something short of a hemorrhage that tempts you to google, medicate, or even go see a doctor, do this instead. I’m talking lumps, bumps, rashes, feeling hot, feeling achey…
Your new prescription is to be
slow, present, and seeking.
Slow - when you want to speed up, slow down. Exhale slowly once, then let yourself inhale. This is an effective way to calm down.
Present - close your eyes or let them unfocus so you can focus all of your attention on the issue or on your body in general. Set a timer for 3 minutes, and breathe.
Seeking - allow yourself to observe through each sense in turn - feel, hear, see, smell, taste. What does the issue feel like now? (Can you touch it and gather information through your incredible hands?) What do you hear when you focus on it? What does it look like? What does it smell like? What does it taste like? Cycle through your senses as you continue to practice your focus. It is possible that some of these won’t apply literally, but think about them anyway and see if anything pops up.
The most important thing here is breaking the cycle of immediately reacting with fear rather than curiosity and a desire to connect to yourself more deeply and KNOW more.
Responsiveness is the ability to respond rather than react.
Have you ever noticed how oftentimes going to the doctor or going online to research corrupt and biased search engines just leaves you with more questions and a feeling of being farther away from yourself, of being less in control than you started with?
This is a way back to control. It’s observation and a rebuilding of trust and inquiry.
Save this post for later to remind you, because it takes months to years to deprogram completely. You’ll notice yourself begin to be fearful for shorter and shorter timespans before you watch it disappear entirely.
AFTER YOU GO THROUGH THE THREE STEPS, if you still want to pursue outside resources, by all means. But if you’re thinking about that google search the whole time you will not be fully present with your body.
That’s why it’s best to begin this practice while nothing is wrong to distract you.
It takes 5 minutes.
Slow. Present. Seeking.
Exhale first, then let the inhale happen naturally.
Focus on your body’s sensations and breathe for 3 minutes.
Cycle through each sense once (1), then go about your day.
Do it in the afternoon each day after lunch so it will also improve your digestion.
PS - “But Sam, I can’t feel my body. What do you mean focus on it?”
If you can’t feel your body yet, place your hands on your lower ribs and focus on feeling that spot as you breathe.
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