Recently I heard from a woman who is also in a relationship with ulcerative colitis. Through her attempts to find a way to balance her body, mind and spirit she spoke to her disappointment with herself at not being able to execute her action plans towards adopting healthier habits as she had intended. The hints of perfection in her correspondence spoke to her inability to be her own support team, as she dismissed herself as having failed, cheating on her plan. As we find helpful information and healthy alternatives for us to consider and apply effort into incorporate them into our lives, we must remember to be as gentle with ourselves as we would be with others who are learning for the first time.
When we bombard ourselves with negative feedback on what we are attempting to do, we create a disrupted pathway toward achieving our goals. This skewed vision of our pathway leads us to believe that we are not capable of change.
As a person who has worked to find ways to improve my health and challenge myself to address my UC, I have been through ebbs and flows of finding myself really at ease with the progress I have made and at times completed dismissive of my body and angry at myself. These attitude shifts are quite normal and I have found particularly heightened when I have been at my most vulnerable place with my health.
Perfection is being our true self, accepting ourselves unconditionally. When you find it hard to do so, take a step back from yourself and reconsider the role you play in your journey towards living a health life. You are the learner , let your body teach you and give your mind the opportunity to be open to this healing process by being gentle with your words in action.
As you consider this, share how you have found ways to be more gentle with yourself in your healing journey.
