In my days as a psychotherapist, I carried so much shame about being chronically ill. The going theory in my flavor of psychotherapy was that physical symptoms/illness occur when we experience overwhelming emotion. It’s too much to process so it goes into the body. Therefore, I, with so many symptoms and health issues was a walking example of someone who doesn’t deal well with their feelings. This opinion/judgment was communicated to me over and over in so many subtle comments over the years. I really took it to heart. There was a constant refrain in my head, there must be something I’m not dealing with, there must be something I’m not looking at, I must still have so much work to do on myself.
Not every symptom in the body is a metaphor.
Not every symptom in the body is a metaphor.
Not every symptom in the body is a metaphor.
In my days as a psychotherapist, I carried so much shame about being chronically ill. The going theory in my flavor of psychotherapy was that physical symptoms/illness occur when we experience overwhelming emotion. It’s too much to process so it goes into the body. Therefore, I, with so many symptoms and health issues was a walking example of someone who doesn’t deal well with their feelings. This opinion/judgment was communicated to me over and over in so many subtle comments over the years. I really took it to heart. There was a constant refrain in my head, there must be something I’m not dealing with, there must be something I’m not looking at, I must still have so much work to do on myself.