Checking in with your gut

Do you ever "check your gut?" What is it telling you? Are you ignoring the messages it is sending?

On Monday, I received an e-mail at work asking for contributions to help The Julian Center, which is local nonprofit agency that provides counseling, safe shelter, and education for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and other life crises, http://www.juliancenter.org/about_us.html.  I decided I wanted to contribute so I started looking at the list of items needed, women and kid's clothing, shoes, socks, underwear etc. Then, I took another look at the list and saw "over the counter antacids?" What? Did I read that correctly? Yes, I did and they were in need of antacids.

I could not stop thinking about why the agency would request antacids. Was it because I work for a drug company? Why didn't they ask for other medications, like aspirin? Did they really have that great of a need for antacids? Then I remembered as saying I had heard before "check your gut" and it made perfect sense to me. I thought about some of the suffering and abuse the women at the center may have encountered over the years, as well as the fear they might have been experiencing as they were trying to rebuild their lives.  It is very common for fear to reveal itself in our bodies as heartburn,  gastritis, gas pains or ulcers.  All of these being symptoms antacids treat so I understood the need, and yet felt sad for the women. The real need is not for antacids, but the need for these women to realize they are safe and loved and deserve to be safe and loved.

How does this relate back to food allergies? Well, when your body is exposed to stress it can react in several different ways.  You might have a headache, stomache, fatigue, high blood pressure etc. All of these symptoms being very common and easy to ignore.   This is what happened to my body during the time I developed full blown food allergies. I experienced a tremendous amount of stress in a very short period of time. I was married, moved, robbed at gunpoint, moved again (in with my in-laws) and bought a house. All of this happened within months of each other and to say the least, I was stressed.   Experiencing just one of these events can be enough stress to trigger a reaction in your body so my body was out of control. After being miserable for months, I finally saw a doctor and was diagnosed with food allergies.  I believe I always had some food intolerances, but after my body was stressed for so long it fully developed the allergies. It is possible if I would have taken time to relax, do yoga, meditate or listen to my body's messages it was sending me that I could have prevented these allergies. Again, I encourage you to take time for yourself each day. Listen to your body, what is it saying?  What illness can you prevent?

For more information about how your body talks to you, read Louise L. Hay's book "You Can Heal Your Life."