I have been suffering from migraines for several years now, and have tried all kinds of medications from allopathy, ayurveda, homeopathy, naturopathy and what not, but to no avail. And then I pacified myself that this is hereditary and since my mother also has it, I will eventually have it ( after careful analysis of how my triggers and symptoms match hers). Now that I have accepted migraines to be part of me, I tried to shift my focus to prevent the triggers like constipation, going out in the sun, untimely meals, travelling etc. Still it was not possible to prevent the triggers all the time, and when something had gone off, I found myself waiting for my symptoms to start, dreading the intensity and pain. And along with it, suffering from guilt that I am not able to do my work well or fulfil my responsibilities, or being a burden for others at home.
When I discussed all of this with my mentor, Minesh, he suggested two things. Identifying and working on what is bothering me at the moment and working on my emotions which may also be a trigger and then using Creative Visualisation to deal with the physical symptoms. The suggestions did seem easy to work on, but it required lot of courage to look into myself, identify the emotional contribution to the problem and accept the fact that 'yes, that is affecting me'. It was easier to mask my feelings and say 'I'm okay', 'I'm not that kind of a person who would take all this seriously', 'Ya, this happened . But still it's fine'.
Once, I identified the disturbing situation, I was taught how to change my reaction to the problem, by accepting it, acknowledging my thoughts and feelings, and bringing in more awareness to the whole schema of things - this awareness helped to reduce the intensity of the trigger and sometimes nullify it too. And then came the second step where I spoke to my body, saying that 'I understand that through this headache you are trying to bring something to my awareness and letting me know that something is wrong. Thank you. Now I have understood. So it's okay for the pain to fade away. Ta ta. Bye Bye.' And lo behold the pain was gone. I was left in awe at this magical redemption from so many years of suffering. Is this really possible that I could just talk to my body and it would just listen to me? But yes, it actually did!!! Oh what a miracle!!! And all this while, to know that my body was actually trying to tell me something through the headache, and I was not listening to the underlying fact; instead I was trying to treat the physical symptoms on a superficial level.
I went back to happily share this experience with my mentors and express my gratitude to them. Now that I found success in managing my migraine once, I started applying it every time. The headaches do come back, but I am able to resolve the issue before the pain aggravates. I first start looking for things that are affecting me at the moment and start working on them. And also having managed it once, twice, gives me the confidence that I can handle it anytime. Oh what a relief !! And the most beautiful fact is that I found the " POWER WITHIN ME' to manage my emotions and the physical problems triggered by those emotions.
The journey was painful, but worth the effort -because I have become a more confident ME and bear this torch of self discovery to light many more lives along the way - as a facilitator, as a teammate, as a friend, as a neighbour, as a family member.
Now that I have resolved one issue, I have embarked on the next journey of working on my self-confidence, identifying areas which need work, identifying and working on my limiting beliefs, fighting the resistance to dig deeper and deeper. I already hear you wishing me 'All the best'. Thank you!
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Contributed by Jennifer Christy, Learning Facilitator at Sparkling Mindz Global Preschool.