Trusting Your Gut
Over the last few years, I’ve learned a lot about my body and how to physically take care of it. I know what foods work well and what foods don’t. I know what supplements it needs to ensure it is functioning in an optimal way. I know that getting in a good spin class or using my sauna blanket helps it detox (something it’s not great at). I’ve also learned that I can eat all of the whole foods in the world, take all the right supplements, move my body every day, and still have physical symptoms. This is because addressing mental well-being plays a huge role in achieving optimal health. And if you don’t address your mental well-being, your body will tell you that you need to address it.
Recently, I’ve been experiencing bloating and lower energy. While I know that some of these symptoms may mean that something is off in my gut, I cannot help but notice that the bloating gets worse when I’m stressed. I was at a point a few weeks ago where I could no longer ignore the physical symptoms I was experiencing. My hormones were off. I was very irritable. I still had low energy after sleeping 10+ hours. I was essentially not feeling like myself. And although I didn’t necessarily “feel” stressed every day, my body was clearly carrying it around.
Even without these physical symptoms, stress affects the way our bodies function. When we are stressed, our cortisol levels increase, which can have a negative downstream effect on our hormones, immune system, digestion, etc. To put it plain and simple, carrying around chronic stress can negatively impact our long-term health.
So why are we carrying around this stress? Why would we rather stay “busy” and suppress how we are actually feeling? Based on my experience, because it’s easier. It is easier to ignore bad feelings than to address them. It is easier to stay in a circumstance that is creating stress than it is to make a change. Sometimes it’s easier to find a few things to be grateful each day than it is to take action.
At the end of the day, this stress or anxiety will manifest into physical symptoms and you will have no other choice but to address it.
As I started working through my stressors and how I could address them, I got real with myself and answered questions like the following. These questions can help you dig deeper into why you’re feeling stressed or anxious. I recommend setting aside 5-10 minutes beforehand to meditate. This will hopefully get you out of your own head and the answers will be true to what your gut (or intuition) is telling you. Also, don’t be ambitious and try to answer all of these in one sitting. Take your time and really get to know what is behind everything you’ve been feeling.
What areas of life are causing me stress?
What about this particular situation is causing me stress? Are there any other feelings that pop up when I think about this situation?
How can I take action here?
Is there a fear popping up when I think about taking action?
What is the story behind this fear? Your ego will often have a story based in fear because it is trying to protect you. I’ve found it very powerful to write down the fear-based story and say it aloud. It puts things into perspective and makes it very obvious that it is your ego talking, not your intuition.
How may my life look different if I took a first step?
Oftentimes, we stress over things out of our control. You may have an idea in your head of how life should be or how things should go and then life throws you a curveball that you didn’t plan for. If you take a step back and listen to your intuition, you can make a decision that is based on who you are, not based on what your ego is telling you.
You get to decide what you want your life to look like. We often look for answers outside of ourselves but the answers are always within us. We have to be willing to face the difficult questions and not brush off what comes up. Plus, when you make a decision that you know in your gut is right for you, the outcome may not be what you expect or what you planned, but it leads you to where the Universe needs you.
Two books I recently read that are related to this topic are How Are You, Really by Jenna Kutcher and Not Nice by Dr. Aziz Gazipura. I recommend Jenna Kutcher’s book if you want to do more self-awareness work around how you are living your life. I recommend Dr. Gazipura’s book if you are finding that your stress or anxiety is related to people-pleasing.
If you need support in developing awareness around your ego and intuition, send me a message or read more about my coaching programs here.
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