Last week one of the staff members at my work died. I think she was about my age. My mother was also about my age in her early fifties when she died of cancer. I try to avoid thinking about that. I try to avoid looking at the fear in me around that. But, avoidance doesn’t make that fear go away.
These two things have really bought home to me the importance of slowing down, doing less and connecting more to what replenishes my energy. I have been overdoing things for several months now. Well, honestly, I have been overdoing things for many, many years. It is habitual in my personality, and was compounded when I became a mum. You don’t realise until you are a mum how much mums take on; how much the stress gets locked in our bones.
Stress is one of the biggest triggers of disease, and possibly even more so for women.
The following health issues and diseases are directly associated with chronic (ongoing, unresolved) stress:
- anxiety
- depression
- pain
- fatigue
- digestive disorders
- memory disorders
- diabetes
- autoimmune diseases
Six of the leading causes of death in the Western world are impacted by emotional stress:
- heart disease
- cancer (particularly breast tumor development)
- lung ailments and respiratory disorders
- accidental injuries
- cirrhosis of the liver
- suicide
I apologise if that feels heavy, but I think it is important to look at and remember. I need to look at it and remember because I have already lived through one stress related health crisis that left me severely depressed and debilitated about 10 years ago. Avoiding looking at something does not make it go away, it actually adds to the stress we are holding within our body. Just like it takes energy and effort when we are hiding something from someone else, it also takes energy and effort to hide things from ourselves. Fear can almost literally eat you up inside. The only way to resolve that stress (stress is our response to fear) is to hold ourselves with love as we let the truth be expressed. My focus is on finding and sharing effective ways to do that so that we can live with vitality and freedom.
Aroha nui, much love, Janine
Photo by Eyasu Etsub on Unsplash