Your Body is Healthy… but Your Mind is Not

The words stung. My defenses immediately went up. “Your body is healthy, but your mind is not.” What does that even mean?

I was filled with so much hope and excitement going to this new acupuncturist who came so highly recommended. This is not what I was expecting to hear because I didn’t even feel sad or anxious. I just wanted help getting pregnant, why are we talking about my mind now?

Treating the whole me

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), they want to ensure that you’re healthy in all areas of your life.

Are you sleeping well? How’s your sex life? Are you satisfied in your career? Do you have any unresolved trauma or grief?

I was surprised that he didn’t start with lab work, imaging or any of the other modern medicine information and tests. Nope my acupuncturist wanted to know about me – the whole me. After my first couple acupuncture treatments, he told me that my body was extremely healthy and well, but my mind was filled with too many worries. The irony is I’ve never considered myself to be a worrier. Do I worry – of course! But is anyone not filled with worry in 2020?

“What about your heart? Do you have any past pain?” he continued.

“My mother battled cancer for 10 year and died four years ago. And just after she died, I was diagnosed with MS,” I said. That’s my story, but everyone has their own version of it. There’s not a single person on this earth that cannot honestly say they didn’t have any pain in their past.

“That is what you need to focus on. Your physical body is healthy, but you need to worry less.”

So much easier said than done!

Do I really have the ability to eliminate worry?

I had to at least give it a try. I stayed open to the possibility that worrying didn’t serve any purpose – in fact it was doing the opposite, it was holding me back from my healthiest state. The reality is, I’ve been humbled by this process.

This experience lifted the mirror for me to see just how much time and energy I waste worrying. I’ve discovered most often it’s about things that I cannot control or things that are so far in the future, they many never happen. It was a humbling and uncomfortable process. Because each time I became aware of a worry, I had to resist the temptation to judge myself, and inside let the worry go and focus on something in the moment.

So where am I now?

Nowhere close to a calm, worry-free mind. However, I realize that while I don’t have control over my worries, I do have control over my response to them. Acknowledge the thought and let it go. Completely eliminating worry is not realistic in my opinion, but I certainly can benefit from a little less worry in my mind. My acupuncturist agrees… as he is happy with my progress.

How do you best manage the worries on your mind? Please share in the comments below!