The greatest crime of the western world is the systemic invalidation and neglect of our own experience.

I 100% believe we create illness whether that be physical or mental through the consistent invalidation and neglect of the way our body feels. Our bodies store ancient wisdom; all you have to do is listen. We often view our emotions or our physical symptoms as an inconvenience. We simply want to get rid of them, so we use any means necessary to repress the pain. From a neuroscience perspective, this “numbing out” is built into us from the moment we were born as a way to cope with vulnerabilities too much to bear. The problem is we can become stuck in denial, stuck in repression, stuck in fight or flight. Many of us were raised in such a way that our emotions, our authentic selves, our truth, were not welcomed. We were told to stop crying, be quiet, and behave. Therefore, from an early age we learned to repress our energy. When we experience this kind of stuckness of the soul there is no rest, no release, no play and we go through life controlled by that which we avoid. We seek answers externally, because inside there is a void. The relationship with self becomes that of self-abandonment. The natural reaction to facing futility is sadness. True resilience is found on the other side of our tears. The body keeps the score and until your emotions are out of you, they are still in you, gnawing at your very existence. In order to heal we must feel our emotions; we must allow them to move through us.

On top of these core emotional wounds, we live in an incredibly toxic world. “All diseases begin in the gut,” a phrase coined by Hippocrates the father of modern medicine. It my belief and the belief of many other health professionals that damage in the gut due to environmental factors is the root cause of chronic illness. And yet it is the agenda of the modern medical system to placate our symptoms through medication and medical gaslighting. Ignoring the symptoms that our body is using to communicate with us does a great disservice to our souls because in every emotion, in every physical symptom there is an answer. There is aliveness waiting for those who are willing to get curious about their internal experiences and dive deep into them.

What happens when we ignore the early symptoms of chronic illness?

From someone who had a chronic illness from the day she was born; the symptoms became worse. Memory issues, brain fog, fatigue, chronic and severe constipation, stomach pain, bloating. The pain got so bad that I had to start listening to my body. I abandoned modern healthcare and became my own advocate. I researched nutritional intervention and lifestyle changes, then healed my digestive system, which was severely damaged, through the GAPS DIET founded by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. I no longer suffer from IBS because I attuned to the unmet needs of my body!

What happens when we ignore the early signs of mental illness?

For me, my feelings grew more and more intense. The circumstances of my life became more and more dangerous and destructive. I grew up in an abusive home. The neglect and verbal abuse led me to search for love elsewhere. I found it online, in all the wrong places and was groomed for many years by a pedophile. I then left home and found myself in a relationship with a predator and narcissistic abuser. That relationship lasted 4 years until I could no longer bear the pain. I subsequently spent two years healing myself, reading endless books, watching podcasts, doing spiritual counselling, breath work, and massage therapy. The toxic people were removed out of my life, and I created an environment for myself where I felt safe to rest and express my authentic self. I found the origins of my pain and removed the negative core beliefs and fears that were infecting my operating system. This allowed me to start pursuing the things that breathed life into me, that gave me energy. I no longer suffer from depression, anxiety, and suicidal/homicidal ideation all because I listened to what my body was communicating to me about the circumstances of my life and the unmet needs of my soul!

What would have happened had I paid attention to these symptoms sooner?

When we ignore the ancient wisdom of our human vessel the symptoms will escalate until they are so loud, we cannot go on ignoring them. Sometimes change doesn’t happen, until the pain gets bad enough. Pain can give us great courage to try something new. The answers we all look for are not found outside of us; there is no quick fix, no drug, luxury item, or lover that can fill the void inside. The answers are inside of you, and they are rooted in a sense of “nosis” or knowing. It is found by becoming aligned with who you really are on the soul level. Extract the lies, the expectations, the fears, and the negative core beliefs about yourself that are driving your vessel, and you can begin to live a life that is truly nourishing on the soul level.

Naturally it is scary to take that first step out of the confines of what everyone else thinks you should do and into a new way that honors your role as a parent to your own unique child. Everyone has the desire to belong or to fit in somewhere, but at what cost? Who truly owns your parenting you or the external voices that surround you? How can we give our children the best quality of life if we are making decisions rooted in fear, anger, or resentment? Is it enough to provide food and shelter or do our children need more, our authentic presence? And at what point do we trust in nature and realize that the soul holds all the answers to which we have been seeking?

You either face your demons or they raise your children.