For the past 8 years I have been struggling with a lot of issues with my stomach. Well, I say my stomach, but it’s really my intestines. It has affected me so significantly, that I have been, and still am afraid to eat, because I don’t know if my stomach is going to get upset and have me desperately looking for a bathroom. (Not the most graceful experience) I have been on the freeway and all of a sudden I get that familiar and horrific gurgle and I know have limited time to bolt to the bathroom, before the unspeakable. Public bathrooms, even at a gas stations, used to horrify me, but now they have become my best friend. This stuff is a real as it gets guys…
This affliction began one day after eating sushi. I have enjoyed eating sushi for as log as I remember, so it was totally unexpected. This was the start of my relationship with my sensitive and overactive intestines. Soon after, the attacks came more frequently, although the triggers remained a mystery.
I have sought out the help of many doctors because my symptoms have become so much worse as time as moved on that I have been desperate to figure out the root. While initially, I thought my issues were purely physical, I realized that after modifying my diet significantly the symptoms persisted. This made me delve deeper. I realized that I experience high levels of anxiety pretty consistently, yet I conceal it like a rockstar. Concealing didn’t mean healing, it just rears its ugly head in other ways. I also suffer from horrible migraines and now the experience with my stomach episodes have arose. In short, I am learning that my emotions may very well playing a part root in what is happening with my health. I confirm this after being throughly tested and prodded for just about everything. Basically, I am healthy and physically sound, but my undealt emotions are needing some serious care. I am not discounting some issues I have with my diet that contribute to my ailments, but I most definitely see the effects of emotional discrepancies and how they manifest physically.
I am doing my part to identify and nurture those places of anxiety, through different modalities. Prayer is a big one, investing deeply in nurturing and trustworthy friendships, slowing down my day, writing this blog with the intention of sharing from brave places, and giving up what I can’t control to God…. I do assist myself by take vitamin D, which makes happy endorphins. I take enzymes to help break down any and all food I eat and I try and avoid sugar. More than, the physical adjustments, I am being vigilant to live with integrity and truth, matching my words with my doings. Its not an easy intention, but I see the peace in living in that intention. Its an everyday work.
I have seen a very significant shift within myself on my fronts.
Health is everything, emotional and physical, and the way we cultivate and care for the gift of it is crucial. I am doing just that, beginning with my heart and strengthening it so that it can nurture that anxiety which has been running the show in my body. That party is now over and I feel more dominion over my being.
As a follow up; I have been to 3 separate GI doctors, the last one I went to prescribed a “Breath test”. This test can detect if there is unhealthy bacteria anywhere in the body that could be causing issues. You drink a shot of a clear solution and then breathe into a bag every fifteen minutes. The solution will get the bad bacteria to rear its ugly head if there is indeed something evident. Mine came back positive, which for me was great because it explained a lot of my issues. I went on a necessary strong antibiotic for two weeks, and it changed my life significantly. I am still very much aware that mental health affects all aspects of the body, and it’s vital to try to keep it in check.
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