The Body’s Code: What Do My Symptoms Mean?

Metaphors are clues from our body. They are literally our body’s language. Our body’s language is through signals (aka, symptoms). Through my own healing journey, I found there was always an emotional/energetic metaphor in my symptoms that could give me clues to my healing. Make it an adventure to figure out what your body is trying to tell you.

Your Body’s Code Cheat Sheet

Use this reference guide and see if you resonate with any of what your body might be telling you.

Head symptoms and possible metaphors

Dizzy with anger, spinning with confusion, overwhelmed, unable to clear your head, a head-strong person, can’t think about one more thing (being overwhelmed), being clouded, can’t stop thinking about something, can’t get “your head around” something. 

Neck pain and symptoms and possible metaphors

Frozen in fear, afraid to turn in any direction. Afraid of making a mistake and heading the wrong way in life, having a “pain in the neck” (usually a person), afraid to stick your neck out in the world. 

Throat symptoms and possible metaphors

Choking on words, swallow emotions (anger, pain, grief), feeling choked by someone else, unable to swallow the truth, afraid to speak up, being “choked up” but unable to express it. 

Chest symptoms possible meanings

Carrying a burden on your chest, having a heavy heart, being in a suffocating situation, racing heart/racing with fear, someone being cold hearted, feeling broken hearted, carrying something on your chest (unable to “get it off your chest”). 

 Stomach symptoms and possible metaphors

Unable to digest something, sick with worry/guilt/fear, disgusted, being “gutted”(really upset), hating someone’s guts, something eating away at you, feeling stuck, can’t metabolize or process something (thoughts, emotions, a situation). 

Back symptoms and possible metaphors

Carrying everything on your back, unable to stand up for yourself, being stabbed in the back, afraid to turn your back, turning your back on someone (guilt), turning your back to something scary, living in the past (behind you), wishing you could go back and change something, afraid of your past following you. 

Legs/feet symptoms and possible metaphors

Not feeling safe moving forward, being ungrounded, unsure of your next step, feeling stuck in the mud, too scared to move, feeling like you’re sinking, carrying too much emotional weight, unable to walk away from something, having to walk away from something, feeling lost/wandering around.

Questions To Decode Your Symptoms

Think of the body part that is “talking” to you. Ask yourself, “What does it do?” That will often help you figure out what the message behind it is.

Example 1: Let’s say you have challenges with your lungs. What do they do? They help you breathe. A great question to ask yourself would be “What in my life is suffocating me? How can I change that?”

Example 2: Let’s say you have digestive issues. You could ask yourself “What can’t I digest?” “What is hard for me to assimilate or process in my life?”

Using Traditional Chinese Medicine Clues

Traditional Chinese Medicine is a fascinating system of treating the body as a whole. Each organ in Chinese Medicine is associated with a set of emotions. If you are having challenges with a specific body part or organ, it simply means it is “talking” to you. It can be very useful to look up the corresponding emotion to get clues. 

Examples:

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, lungs are associated with grief. If you are struggling with chest/lung symptoms, ask yourself if you have grief to clear.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the stomach is associated with worry. If stomach challenges plague you, looking at your patterns around worry are a good start.

source:http://amybscher.com/