Iniciativa: En contacto y sincronía | “Aprender a escuchar para sanar 👂” [SPA-ENG]

Over time, we have developed a remarkable deafness to ourselves. We have learned to silence our inner voice and ignore the warning signs our body sends us. We have been programmed to care more for others, invalidating our personal experience and ignoring the deepest needs of our being.

That is why, in many cases, when we decide to listen to our body, the “illness” has already taken hold: it may be a physical ailment, emotional distress, or a more serious condition. When we reach this point, it is because we have endured too much for too long; these things do not appear out of nowhere.

The body is the home and narrator of all human experiences, a map that records stress, joys, traumas, and what has not been healed or what we refuse to see. Listening to it means not continuing to abuse it, respecting its limits, feeding it properly, paying attention to symptoms, and being alert to any changes, no matter how small.

How does society influence us when it comes to listening to our body and mind?

The type of society we live in trains us daily to remain disconnected from ourselves. This disconnection is no accident; it is a carefully constructed system that, unfortunately, is part of our culture.

We must always be busy! How often is effort (slavery) glorified and rest punished? We have been taught to keep going at all costs, under the premise that stopping for a moment is failing. Even when our bodies cry out for a break, social “mandates” demand that we work longer hours or engage in more activities, increasing the risk of chronic stress and exhaustion.

Control your emotions! From childhood, we are pushed to “control” our emotions instead of listening to them. We are emotionally repressed, which translates into a fear of feeling and expressing ourselves freely, classifying pain, anger, or sadness as “negative emotions” that must be censored. This leads us to create armor (like the layers of an onion) that later turns into psychological discomfort... which in turn can manifest itself in physical symptoms.

Smile every day! The pressure to be well or positive most of the time invalidates the reality of the human experience. Here I am referring to those false “gurus” who swarm around, promoting unrealistic messages that, far from doing any good, further confuse society. Judgment arises, pointing the finger at the “weak” who could no longer cope with a draining job or a personal situation that completely broke them. Guilt and comparison also arise, “because someone else was worse off and didn't let themselves be defeated, remaining strong and resilient.”

We must be very careful with this type of discourse, which is sometimes disguised as “support and motivation.” The line between promoting well-being and repressing natural human emotions can be very fine and easily crossed. (Not to mention that it prevents people from being authentic).

My journey: learning to listen to myself and act in favor of my healing

My journey has not been easy, and as I always say, I don't consider myself the best example of actively listening to my body. I can only mention part of my experience as a reflection.

In my immediate circle, being a “caregiver” for others was normalized. I grew up seeing that example, and somehow it became ingrained in my mind. It is well known that caregivers tend to neglect, forgive the redundancy, their physical and emotional health, completely putting themselves on the back burner and even forgetting about their own lives. I have gradually broken with some family patterns (I had to be the black sheep in many ways) and have gotten into serious fights with people close to me.

Why this perennial sacrifice complex? Why is it normal to be a slave to others?

In my case, it all started with anxiety (which I didn't know what it was) filled with a number of symptoms I had never experienced before: tingling, tremors, palpitations, tachycardia, chest pressure, fear, insomnia, sleep paralysis, constant migraines, dizziness, and vertigo. Then it escalated into quite severe depression, where I lost weight and no longer recognized myself. All the result of years of not listening to my body or myself and pushing myself to the limit.

I had to stop and seek psychological and psychiatric help because I couldn't take it anymore. I did it on my own initiative, as people questioned what was happening to me and labeled me as lazy.

Recognizing the internal noise was the hardest part, identifying that critical voice full of guilt, thoughts of not being good enough, a very negative self-concept... I understood that these “ideas” can be changed little by little. We are our own worst judges.

Without a doubt, the healing process begins with sincerity towards ourselves and understanding our own history and needs. It means stopping criticizing and judging ourselves mercilessly, and having more empathy for ourselves.

This was my contribution today to the great initiative launched by @issymarie2, who made her debut as a columnist at Holos&Lotus 🎉🎉. I cordially invite @emiliorios and @naath to participate 🤗.

See you in the comments, hugs to the whole community 🙌.

Con el tiempo hemos desarrollado una notable sordera hacia nosotros mismos. Aprendimos a silenciar nuestra voz interior y a ignorar las señales de alerta que nuestro cuerpo nos envía. Nos programaron para cuidar más del otro, invalidando nuestra experiencia personal e ignorando las necesidades más profundas de nuestro ser.

Por eso, en muchas ocasiones, cuando decidimos escuchar al cuerpo la “enfermedad” ya se ha instalado: puede ser una dolencia física, un malestar emocional o un padecimiento de mayor gravedad. Cuando llegamos a este punto es porque hemos aguantado en exceso y durante mucho tiempo, esas cosas no aparecen de la nada.

El cuerpo es el hogar y el narrador de todas las vivencias del ser humano, un mapa que registra el estrés, las alegrías, los traumas y lo no sanado o lo que nos negamos a ver. Escucharlo implica no seguir abusando de él, respetar sus límites, alimentarlo adecuadamente, prestarles atención a los síntomas y estar atento a cualquier cambio por más mínimo que sea.