KERRY J HECKMAN, LICSW
  • About
  • Blog
  • Therapy & Groups
  • Writing
  • Freelance
  • Speaking
  • Resources
  • Contact
  • Disclaimer

How to Make a Truce with Your Body When You're Chronically Ill

4/1/2019

0 Comments

 
Most of the links on this post are informational, but a few are affiliate links to help maintain this website.

​A chronic illness can create a challenging relationship with your body. 


Many chronic illnesses are caused by autoimmunity, which is sometimes described as "the body attacking itself." Cancer can be chronic and this is when a person’s own cells become malignant and start overpowering healthy cells. Other chronic illnesses cause slow debilitation over time as the body fails you. All of these factors can make you feel like you are at war with your body. 

But what if it didn’t have to feel like a battle? 

Here are some ways to reframe the way you think about your body to help disarm negative perceptions:

1. Think of the Body and Mind as One. 

Your body is you. When a person has a chronic illness there is often a splitting that happens. The body is disconnected from the mind. The mind (or brain) interprets the body as flawed and separate. The deeper truth is that the body-mind-spirit is all one being—you. Work to align your thoughts with the idea that you are not separate from your body. 
Picture
 
2. Work to Calm the Nervous System.

Research points to a link between illness and stressful life events. Traumatic life events shift the nervous system into a chronic stress state otherwise known as "fight, flight, or freeze." The nervous system is the mastermind of the body. Calm the nervous system and all of the other systems will benefit. For example, in autoimmune disorders, the immune system is overactive, so calm the nervous system and the immune system will follow. 

Calming the nervous system is a challenging endeavor after years in a chronic stress state. Psychotherapy modalities, such as EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) or somatic therapy can help, as well as, meditation. 

3. Move Your Body if Possible. 

Sometimes due to pain or paralysis it isn't possible to incorporate movement into your daily life, but if you are able, walking, yoga, and light exercise can help you feel connected to your body. It can also help keep joints supple and improve circulation. Bring awareness to the ways that movement benefits you in your daily life. 

4. Practice embodiment. 

Embodiment is a healing practice that helps integrate the body and mind. As a side benefit it also helps calm the nervous system. Many people live from the "shoulders up," especially those who have discomfort and pain in the body. Embodiment means to experience the physical sensation of being in your body. Start by bringing your attention to your big toe. Notice the shift in your awareness. Notice the feeling of embodying your toe. Body scan meditations are one of the best ways to practice embodiment. You can find thousands of them online. A body scan leads you through noticing and feeling into every part of your body. 
Picture

5. Celebrate the healthy parts of you. 

Every person with chronic illness or disability has body parts that function and some that don’t. As often as possible express gratitude for what is well. What senses do you have? Sometimes the only place you can identify is a tiny cell somewhere in your body—feel into it and send it love.  

6. Learn to love the broken parts. 

This is perhaps the most difficult to do. Remember that your body is fighting for you in the way it has adapted to know how. Inflammation is a sign of healing. Where it hurts your body is working to heal. In the practice of mindfulness there is a concept called "acceptance." Acceptance doesn’t mean giving up, it means accepting where things are in the present moment. Work on accepting and loving what is. 

Every day your chronically ill body is creating miracles. It is working to keep you alive in microscopic ways. Call a truce and make your bodymind a team to face chronic illness together.

"Simplify, simplify.” - Henry David Thoreau
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Welcome

    I'm Kerry (She/Her/Hers) and I am a licensed therapist, group facilitator, poet, writer, & speaker. This is a place to acknowledge and validate our suffering and trauma, while also learning how to turn toward aliveness and spaciousness. 

    Kerry J Heckman

    Categories

    All
    Book Reviews
    Guest Posts
    Publications
    Rewrites
    Tuning In

    Archives

    February 2025
    January 2025
    September 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016

    RSS Feed

      SIGN UP BY EMAIL

    Subscribe
Copyright © 2025 Kerry J Heckman All rights reserved. Disclaimer.

    Sign up For Newsletter

Subscribe
  • About
  • Blog
  • Therapy & Groups
  • Writing
  • Freelance
  • Speaking
  • Resources
  • Contact
  • Disclaimer