Your disease is not your identity

You are not your IBS. You are not your eczema. You are not your anxiety.

Too often we become consumed with labeling our health issues and letting them dominate who we are. Saying "I have X" or "I am a Y" is sticking a label on our forehead which is damaging in two major ways. First, we stop believing that we can get well and so resign ourselves to a life of discomfort, inconvenience and pain, because it's just us - something that we "have". Second - I mentioned in an earlier post how the body speaks the mind. So if our mind believes that we "have" something ("I have IBS") or "are" something ("I am an insomniac") then it will keep on sending those negative triggers throughout our body which will react accordingly and inhibit our healing process. How can we change this way of thinking? Instead of saying "I have IBS" for example, say "my body has trouble digesting food and gives me stomach cramps". Taking out the "I have" or "I am" will remove the label, will help unblock resistance in trying to get better and will support the mind-body connection in its positive thinking. You may not be able to cure yourself but it doesn't need to define who you are. You are not your disease. It is only a part of a much bigger you.