The Ripple Effect: Emotions and Physical Health

Growing up, my dad was very educated on health and wellness. This evolved from living a life without the awareness of food and growing up in a household that abided by anything the media said about health. As time went on he started seeing the effects it began to have on close family members and friends to the point of death, that he was determined to make a change and switch to preventative health. He and my mother began to make changes in their diet and overall lifestyle when I was around the age of 7. I was very impacted by his passion for healing and food, so I began to seek interest in it too. From the outside, my approach to health from a young age sounds great, right?

Starting in sixth grade, my parents decided to switch to homeschooling. This led me to naturally desire the things my friends in public school were exposed to, so I began living in the social media world. And by living I mean, it became my identity. I started seeing girls with “perfect bodies” and airbrushed skin, and I began to believe that I wasn’t worthy unless I looked like them. By the time I turned 13, I was vigorously working out at the gym every day, eating healthy and eating less, thinking to myself “This is health.” I was miserable. My parents began to see this cycle I was living in and got me the help I needed.

I began to seek counseling but felt as if nothing was working. I kept telling myself I didn’t need it and that I’d eventually heal. I stopped counseling for a couple of years and in that time, I was living with piled-up emotions and beliefs that impacted more than just my relationship with food. It was impacting my physical body, causing many ongoing issues such as bloating, anxiety, insomnia, hormonal acne, painful cycles, and even impacting my relationships with others. Over time I allowed my pain to become my identity. I became depleted, tired, and weak from this constant cycle so I chose to go back to counseling after a close friend recommended me to her counselor who changed her life, and you can see it clear as day.

I took the leap of faith and started seeing this counselor that changed my life. We dove deep into beliefs that influenced my habits and thoughts. Discovered childhood misconceptions that influenced the way I treated my body, and began to work on the power of forgiveness within myself. This process wasn’t easy but it was so incredibly freeing.

Throughout time, this heart healing began to naturally make changes in every aspect of my life. I began to fuel my body out of love and compassion rather than determination or guilt. I began to view my emotions as friends rather than enemies and as alerts rather than the truth. I experienced the presence of God like none before when I had no choice but to rely on His strength.

The grace and compassion that I began to carry by seeing myself through how Christ sees me is what healed me not just mentally, but physically too. I learned that the emotional turmoil I was living in, is what manifested into the physical turmoil I experienced.

One of my favorite quotes is from an 18th-century physician known as William Olser, He stated “The organs weep the tears the eyes refuse to shed.”

My story is here to tell that what we believe about ourselves eventually manifests into how we live our lives, and how our physical bodies operate.