"But have you tried yoga?"
"If you meditate, your symptoms will go away."
"Honey, it's just anxiety. Your symptoms will go away once you're not so stressed."
Do any of these pieces of advice sound familiar?
The unfortunate effect of this advice is that it makes it sound like it's all in our heads. That is sometimes the message behind this advice.
As a result, you might feel guilty and second guess yourself… "Should I do more? Am I doing this to myself?"
And you might feel partly angry… "How dare you tell me that it's in my head? You don't even know what I am going through!"
Those are all normal reactions. You might even try one of these techniques, but you see that it doesn't really have any immediate effects.
Mind-body therapies get a terrible rep as a result of this.
But the truth is… mind-body therapies are an important piece, and they can make a huge change in symptoms.
Some examples would be acupuncture, guided imagery, massage therapy, meditation, music therapy, tai chi, and yoga.
How do these actually make a difference?
Researchers have found that our thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and attitudes do positively or negatively affect our biological functioning.
At the same time, what we do with our bodies, such as how much we eat or move, can impact our mental state.
There is a complex relationship between mind and body.
Please remember though, POTS (& many other chronic illnesses) is a physiological condition. It does not mean that your chronic illness is all in your head if you are doing mind-body therapies.
It also doesn't mean that if you do one yoga session, it will cure you.
But over time, consistently engaging in these behaviors might alleviate some symptoms.
When your nervous system is affected, it affects your entire body.
What you are doing with mind-body therapies is that you are using the power of the brain to improve your health.
It doesn't mean it's in your head, but it does mean that you can use your nervous system to get better. Also, many of these therapies are free!
What mind-body therapy helps you out? Let me know in the comments below.
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