What does a body symptom tell us?

A symptom can show up in many forms. It can be a pain, a combination of pains or condition, a combination of medical signs, or a disease.

These are all indications of our body wanting our attention: the more attention our body needs, the louder the symptom gets.

What is the first thing we do when, for example, our neck hurts? We put our hand on it and rub it to relieve the pain. When that fails we put heat and/or take a pain pill. These are all attempts to move away from the pain.

What if the pain was trying to tell us something?

When we put our hand over a hot burner, we feel the heat. Our body is telling us we will burn our hand if we continue with our action.

Pain, in this situation, saves us from burning our hand.

Rather than move away from symptoms, let us move towards something constructive.

There are three things a symptom tells us:

1) Stop: When? Immediately.

2) Look at what you are doing.

3) Do something different. Look at the situation from a different perspective, take different action, or re-evaluate what you want to accomplish.

This applies to all circumstances that involve symptoms, including diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

If you’re currently experiencing recurring symptoms in your life, ask yourself these three questions:

How are you living your life?

How is it working for you?

What changes are your symptoms telling you to make?

Author: Eli Kooby

Editor: Renée Picard

Photo: Gioia De Antoniis at Flickr