Healing power: changing the mind changes the body and vice versa.

When we want to heal, we tend to separate the mind and the body. Treat one or the other. But they're connected and there lies healing power.

The mind and the body are amazing tools that can change.

What do you do when you want to work on (childhood) traumas, depression, anxiety, or relationship issues? You might find a professional to talk to. It could be a psychologist, a social worker, a therapist, just someone who can pick your brain and help you manage it better. Which is great, because speaking about what has happened or is happening opens it up and gives it space, maybe also to change. With a professional you can get new insights and points of view to help you process your past and current experience and maybe change them to help you feel better. The mind is an amazing tool ánd it can be a pain in the butt and exhausting as well.

We tend to do ‘or’, but what if we did ‘and’?

And what do you do when you want to work on physical pain and discomfort, when your body isn’t working well? You might go to the doctor, a physio, a massage therapist, just someone to work on your body to fix it. Which is also great, because if something is tense or blocked or not working well, having it moved or treated will change the tissues, improve circulation or clean up that which did the harm. With a bit of time, practice and patience you’ll be right back to doing what you did, but without the pain. The body is also an amazing tool ánd can be a pain in butt and exhausting as well.

So this is all great, because we get fixed or receive help to feel better again right? But how long does it last? If it’s a minor thing it might last forever and all is good, but if it’s a bigger thing either mental/emotional or physical, there might be more to it.

Mind and body cannot be separated.

We tend to separate the mind and the body (any many more things for that matter), but why and how? How can something that is all you be separated and treated separately? If there is one thing that I’ve learned over the years of studying the human body it is that everything is connected. If you change the mind you change your body, and if you change your body, you change your mind. So why, if I suffer from a ‘mental’ thing does healthcare barely work with the body? I know change is here, but still. The mental/emotional tightness you experience isn’t just in your mind, all your tissues are tightening up and impairing bodily functions bit by bit. It’s a stress response, which can, in the long run, cause serious physical illness.

We are not the sum of our parts, we are much more than that.

And vice versa is also true. When you experience physical pain because of an accident, trauma or you name it, your mind is affected. When you find yourself in a similar situation your mind will activate your body. It will tense, maybe even causing pain or anxiety, because your mind remembers danger even when there isn’t any anymore. It’s a stress response, which can change behavioral patterns that can create mental/emotional issues. You compensate, that’s what keeps you going.

Everything is connected!

How then to work with the things that happen in your life that cause you discomfort in any way? Of course, I don’t have an answer for you. In the end you have to find what and who works for you in the moment. And you can only receive what you are ready and willing to receive. What I do know is when you change something in your mental/emotional state, shifts will happen in your body, and if your body cannot support those shifts, they can cause imbalance. This can be either physically or mental/emotional, but maybe on another level. In my (very humble) opinion (and experience) when working with the mind, you need to work with the body too. Create a safe physical container to be able to handle the mental/emotional shifts.

The other way around is also true. When you work with the physical body, tensions and blockages can be released. These tend to come from past experiences and when worked with might surface again in some form. It might be light, but is can also bring a big emotional release. In a lot of cases, it would be really great to have mental/emotional support for that, to be able to talk about and process what came up. This to avoid that the big release turns into a new traumatic experience, because of lack of emotional bedding. It’s important to work on a stable mental/emotional container to be able to handle the physical bodily shifts.

The mind, the body, emotions, it’s all YOU and all adaptable.

And with all this I’m not saying that getting 1 type of ‘treatment’ isn’t going to work. Of course it can. My point with this story is to bring more awareness to the intricacy of it all. It really is all connected. The mind-body-emotions, it’s all you and the adaptability is infinite. They all influence and affect each other. Moreover, it’s also all affected by your surroundings. Everything is connected.

In my opinion and experience, general (specialized) health services tend to focus too specifically. The invitation and question I’d like to propose and share is: What do you really feel and need? And that is to the best of your capacity in the state you find yourself in right now. Can you feel and listen to that inner wisdom, yourself, that knows what it needs? Knowing that this can change in any moment. Maybe you can’t feel anything at first, but when change happens, maybe you can feel that and then change has happened and something then something else might need to change.
Nothing ever stays the same, it’s one step at a time and whatever helps you, helps you. And that is what is most important.
And if you don’t know what to do, try something, it’s all connected, so something is bound to shift or change.

If you would like to be supported on your journey or just have a chat with me, feel free to reach out. I’d be honoured to listen to you and share with you.