“I feel broken.”
These are words I read on a client intake form this week. Unfortunately she isn’t the first to feel this way and she won’t be the last.
One of the most common things I hear from clients is that they feel like something is wrong with them. Not just with a single body part, but with the whole of their body.
I know that feeling personally. I’ve been through years of thinking my body wasn’t cooperating. That it was fighting me. That it couldn’t do the one thing it was supposed to do. That I was lost.
In case you are feeling confused, frustrated, lost, ashamed or “broken” about your body, please hear this:
YOU ARE NOT BROKEN.
It’s so easy to feel that way when we are facing things we haven’t experienced before. Things like social media, friends and even doctors can make it worse by saying things like:
“Oh you’re fine!”
“That happened to me and I was running again after three weeks.”
“You should feel great by now.”
My client had been told those same things. Theoretically – according to the surgeons and their typical outcomes – she should be healed.
But the body doesn’t work that way.
It takes into account your entire history and story. Past surgeries, auto immune disorders, stress, being a caregiver, your history of exercise, water intake, where you live, your gender, your race and even your socioeconomic status all play a role in making you who you are, your access to healthcare and how your body functions.
It has nothing to do with being broken and everything to do with the wonderful, unique story that makes you you.
If you feel broken, remind yourself you aren’t. Remember that it takes a year after ANY surgery for the dust to settle and for you to know where you stand with recovery. Remember that every body part affects every other body part, so that C-section you had six years ago will change what recovery looks like for your hysterectomy. Remember not to compare yourself to anyone else or even to yourself six months ago. We deal with what we have now and we start fresh and build from there.
A caterpillar isn’t broken just because it isn’t a butterfly yet.
You are not broken.
You are just beginning.
