Is your mind bullying your body?

‘My body is capable of much more than I give it credit for. It’s my mind that is unwell and feeds my body stories to make me believe I’m weaker than I actually am.’

I’m gonna let that sink it for a few seconds, maybe re-read it a couple of times and then sit with it.

This was a massive lightbulb moment for me that came up after my first therapy session on Monday. After we had unpacked quite a hefty amount of feelings, I finished the session and sat on the sofa with my partner to talk things through. It was then that I said those exact words and let out a huge sigh of relief. I was like “Holy shit Jay, I think that’s it”.

This felt like a real breakthrough for me as I’ve been tirelessly searching for an answer to my symptoms and why I feel the way I do. With my anxiety at an all-time high, I’ve seen first hand how it effects my body and the physical symptoms that it triggers. So, this led me to think that maybe it’s my mind that controls my body and that for a long time I’ve been feeding it stories that it’s not strong or capable enough.

For example, the amount of times that I have talked myself out of going for a long walk. Telling myself that it’s too far from home, what if there aren’t any toilets close by or what if I feel unwell. So, I sign my body off as not being able to handle the walk and I reside at home. The thing is my body is more than capable of that long walk and there is no evidence to tell me otherwise. Yes, I have a few aches and pains occasionally but nothing that would stop me from walking. It is only because I have had these negative thoughts and created these stories in my head that I’ve convinced myself that I can’t do it. But, it’s complete and utter BS.

It’s a viscous cycle because if I tell myself these stories and then push myself to go on the walk, 9 times out of 10 one of these stories will probably play out. I’ve bullied myself into believing it. So, what happens to those worrying thoughts and negative stories? They manifest into physical symptoms and before you know it, I’ve given myself a reason to not want to go on a long walk every again.

I’m of course not suggesting that my symptoms are in fact a figment of my imagination because believe me, that is not the case. However, I do believe that my health anxiety surrounding these symptoms is heightened because of the negative stories that I feed myself. I’ve beaten myself up for so long, telling myself that I am incapable of so many things but it’s all just negative thoughts and make belief stories.

If you have been able to resonate with the above in any way, you are probably now wondering how to stop this bad habit. Well, that’s all it is, it’s a bad habit. It can be changed. I’m personally going to try interrupting my negative thoughts, noticing when they appear and challenge them by looking for the positive. For example, if I think to myself ‘I probably shouldn’t go for a walk because I might need the loo’, I’ll challenge that by asking myself ‘How can I be sure that I am going to need the toilet? How many times have I been on a walk and actually needed to rush to the loo?’ Now I’ve challenged the negative thought, it’s down on it’s knees and I’ll hit it with a positive ‘Think of how much better you’ll feel after getting some fresh air, spending time with Jay and the dog and taking some time out’. BAM. The negative thought now doesn’t have a leg to stand on and I’m enjoying my walk in the woods with a smug smile on my face.

Remember, negative thoughts come and go. They are not real, they have no hold on us and we are in control.

🧠