Part 2: How Happy is Your Health?

Part 2: How Happy Is Your Health?

Tue 12 Jun 2012

Story by Sophie Keller
 

This post is part of Sophie Keller’s “How Happy Is Your Health?” series, on The Food Revolution this month.

Listen To Your Body



Have you noticed that when you get anxious or angry you suddenly get a physical ailment or even become accident-prone? Illnesses and accidents often occur at times of change or stress, such as moving to a new home, getting married or a change in your employment situation. This kind of uncertainty and fear can throw you off balance. In the same way, if you injure your body, you might want to look to see if there is a deeper, emotional component. Depending on the part of your body that is "stressed," this could mean different things:

Your Back

Your back represents your support system. If you tend to hold on to feelings or avoid dealing with them, you may experience back pain. If you do have back pain, ask yourself if you feel supported by those who are close to you. If you've had the pain for a while, think back to when it first started and see if you can remember whether you felt unsupported in your life when the pain began. Sorting out these old issues might help your back heal and release some of the stuck energy.

Your Arms

Your arms express your innermost feelings. Just think of all the things you do with your arms: holding, hugging, pushing away, folding to protect your heart, reaching out. Injuring your shoulder, elbow, wrist or hand can often be an indication of an emotional conflict and an ability to reach out to others.

Your Neck

Your neck gives you the ability to see all around you. When it becomes stiff, it limits your movement and vision. A stiff neck can indicate that you are becoming narrow in your views or do not want to look back or forward. If you do injure your neck, you might want to ask yourself, 'What don't I want to look at?'

Your Legs

If you hurt your legs, often there is a conflict about the direction you are going in or a fear of moving forward.

Your Stomach

Your stomach is about digesting your reality, and not just your food. If your reality is indigestible, then indigestion can assail you. If you have a pattern of stomach issues, like acid in the stomach, stomach ulcers or constipation, you might want to determine if you are feeling emotionally nourished and if your reality is in conflict with what you really want.

More from Sophie Keller:

Part 1: Take the ‘how happy is your health?’ quiz

About the author: Sophie Keller is a happiness expert, speaker and author of the best selling How Happy is 4-book series: How Happy is Your Health? How Happy is Your Home? How Happy is Your Love Life? And How Happy is Your Marriage? You can find out more about Sophie on www.howhappyis.com. Follow her on twitter @Sophie_Keller and join the conversation on happiness on facebook.com/howhappyis, the daily tips and advice can only help you to become happier.

Sophie will be donating a percentage of sales from her book to the Food Revolution throughout the month of June.