There’s a pervasive thought going around that might not ever be said but is certainly implied.

‘If I do all the right things then I’ll never be sick.’

You see this in the amount of programs, pills and powders we are sold every day.

And we’re buying them.

Because fear sells. And people are afraid of being sick and they’re afraid of being overweight and giving the appearance of being lazy.

This can trap us in a cycle of health anxiety that keeps us programmed and perpetually needing the buy the latest thing in order to be healthy.

Here’s the thing : this isn’t real health.

If we want our body to be in ‘rest and digest’ where it has a chance to heal and our immune system functions optimally, we can’t keep throwing products at it.

At some point we need to slow down long enough to where we can consider how we think and how our thoughts and actions are actually affecting us.

The question becomes, ‘how do I, overtime, add to my life so I can live sustainably?’

Navigating Health Anxiety

When we’re in a threat response that is over-coupled with our food, we’re not great at being attuned to what our dietary needs are. There tends to be a lot of activation and not enough compassion and curiosity around what’s happening.

Here are two ways you can move out of health anxiety :

  1. Have curiosity vs. always thinking something is wrong with you.
    Not every like wrinkle or bump or weird noise in your knee is actually something wrong with you. Please do not hear me advocating for you to not go to the doctor and receive needed treatment and care. Many times I see people operating from a very black and white stance when it comes to their health rather than remaining curious and open and understanding that there are many conditions to one cause and many causes can stem from one condition. Know that you have options.
  2. You may need education on the physiology of what our body does in a place of safety vs. a threat.
    The fact of the matter is, stress changes our body. Plain and simple.

Both of these are a daily practice to get to the place of being able to separate the stories that something is perpetually wrong with you and that you can do all the right things to ensure that something doesn’t.

It’s not at all rational to think that we can control our behavior and hunger 24/7 and avoid all discomfort.

You can dive deeper into this topic with the two videos below :

If you would like help to navigate your food, body image or health anxiety journey, please reach out. We offer free 30 minute consultations for those looking for guidance.