Aches, Pains, and Gut Struggles - Your Body Isn’t Broken, It’s Just Trying to Get Your Attention

There are many reasons we disconnect from our body and ultimately the intuitive insight that lives there. The modern world forces us to eat when it is “lunch time”, go to the washroom when it is convenient, wake up when the alarm goes off. We are often trained from a young age to tame our body’s signals. Life experiences may have taught us that our bodies were not safe, so we learned to disconnect as a survival strategy. Cultural and social conditioning encourage us to value productivity over rest, through messaging such as “mind over matter”, “suck it up”, “I will rest after this deadline”, or the ominous, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead”.

The digital world has only amplified our disembodiment. Screens pull us into our mind, scrolling, reading, analyzing. Hours can disappear without noticing hunger, thirst or posture. The pace of digital life keeps our nervous system on high alert and conditions us to seek dopamine hits, which overshadow the subtle body cues. The need for rest or a wave of sadness gets bypassed. The blue light emitted from our devices interferes with our systems ability to sense natural sleep-wake cycles. Sitting for long periods of extended work, streaming or gaming disrupts digestion and energy flow. These habits train our brain to escape and distract from uncomfortable sensations instead of checking in and processing what is present. We may find it easier to scroll instead of cry, binge-watch instead of rest, game instead of process stress.

Our bodies can only take so much. This habitual treatment of our bodies like a machine instead of a felt, living, breathing experience comes with a price. When we ignore, distract or medicate the whispers of our physical body for so long, we feel blind-sided when the body begins to speak louder.

Our bodies can only take so much. This habitual treatment of our bodies like a machine instead of a felt, living, breathing experience comes with a price. When we ignore, distract or medicate the whispers of our physical body for so long, we feel blind-sided when the body begins to speak louder. This may seem like a revolt. It may feel like the body is working against us with achy joints, muscle pains, digestive issues, food sensitivities, feeling anxious. Many of us may not even be aware of how our chronic elevated stress levels, and unprocessed emotions contribute to our physical health. So, we just assume we are getting old and sick.

Stress has a sneaky way of hijacking the body. It doesn’t announce itself with a neat little label that says I’m stress. Instead, it hides inside physical sensations. It makes your shoulders ache, your digestion act up, your sleep restless…

If feeling tired even after a full nights sleep is something you are experiencing, read Why Am I Tired All The Time next & Grab the Free Wake Up With Energy guide because running on empty makes everything harder ⬇️

Fear perpetuates the stress cycle by activating our alarm system and keeping us in a heightened state. When stress creates the uncomfortable sensations in our body, such as a lump in the throat, tension in the chest, knots in the stomach, racing thoughts, fear of these sensations tells our brain to interpret these signals as dangerous and as evidence that something is desperately wrong.

Worrying and overthinking can spiral to the point that we don't feel we can access the practices, tools, and resources that our system needs to reset. Resting, slowing down, feeling our body or emotions can feel out of reach in these moments.

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A Pause for Reflection

If you’ve been noticing symptoms that seem stubborn or mysterious, try asking yourself:

• When do these symptoms flare up most? (at work, with certain people, when I’m alone?)

• What emotions or thoughts are present when I pay closer attention to my symptoms/sensations? (fear, resentment, grief, overwhelm, anger?)

• In what ways am I pushing through stress? In what areas of life am I pushing through stress?

• If my body could talk directly, what would it be begging me to pay attention to?

  
  

These questions may reveal connections you didn’t notice before. Like how your migraines line up with deadlines. Or how your back pain is worse after visits with your aging mother. Or your neck pain flairs up after a tense conversation with your husband.

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Actionable Steps

The good news: if your symptoms are stress talking, there are ways to respond that don’t require ignoring or fearing your body.

1. Name it out loud. Try saying to yourself, “This tightness in my chest might be stress, not danger.” Naming it calms the nervous system, takes away the some of the fear and some of the power.

2. Find small ways to discharge stress. Walk around the block. Breathe into your belly for a few minutes. Shake out your hands. Dance. Stress builds up in the body, and movement helps to discharge it.

3. Listen before it shouts. When you notice the whisper of stress, a shorter fuse, a little tension, pause. What’s one thing you can do today to lighten the load?

4. Check both boxes. It’s always smart to rule out medical causes. But if the doctor clears you, don’t stop there. Ask yourself, could this be stress asking for my attention?

5. Create recovery space. Stress isn’t just about what you’re facing, it’s about how much time you give yourself to recover. Rest isn’t indulgence—it’s repair.

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Closing Thoughts

Your body is not your enemy. It’s your messenger. And sometimes, those strange, frustrating symptoms are less about illness and more about the pressures you’ve been carrying silently.

What might happen if you shifted your focus from fighting and fixing your symptoms, and instead you got curious about them?

One last thing… Unfortunately, we cannot selectively numb. Disconnecting from our physical self not only limits us from feeling the nudges to drink water or rest, it also dulls our ability to experience the pleasurable and joyful sensations as well.

If you are struggling with physical pain, stress, anxiety or feeling burnt out, book a free consultation call with me here

Let this land where it needs to and trust that’s enough for today.

⬇️ Please take a moment to leave a comment below what was your biggest takeaway, what questions do you have, or what topic do you want me to write on next! ⬇️

Melissa Fraser

Holistic Psychotherapist, Nutritionist, Acupuncturist, & Yoga Therapist