Recently, I was counseling a client who has been diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis. The discussion came to standstill as she experienced a life-altering epiphany, or what some call an “aha!” moment.
We were discussing how ridding the body of stress can reduce chronic pain and muscle spasms. She understood the principle but hadn’t quite grasped the influence that stress had in her life.
She was describing a scenario when her symptoms were at their absolute worst. It was a time when she faced a very difficult set of challenges concerning her relationship with a close family member.
As she described that episode, she abruptly came to a screeching halt mid-sentence—and fully realized that stress was clearly exacerbating her illness and devastating her sense of well-being.
She was not one to connect stress or troubling thoughts with her disease, but now she knew stress was indeed a primary issue. It was almost always accompanied by painful flare-ups and other symptoms of Ankylosing Spondylitis, a chronic and degenerative autoimmune disorder.
She came to understand that suppressing her stressful issues of guilt, anger, resentment, and other negative emotions was wreaking havoc and keeping her sick. Aha!
In fact, stress relief is a primary key to healing. That’s why your doctor always recommends you get plenty of rest when recovering from illness or injury.
Stress relief is one of the primary strategies I used to recover from the symptoms of Ankylosing Spondylitis. The troubling and toxic emotions I lived with for many years took a huge toll on my body, but when I cleared those issues out, my body quickly responded with renewed health and healing.
Have you experienced a similar situation? Was there an “aha” event that made a powerful impact in your life? These moments of inspiration and clarity can really change things. Be on the lookout for them, and give them your full attention when they appear. Then be sure to share them with others who will benefit from the message.