Symptoms as Signals, Not Enemies

Most of us are taught to treat symptoms like enemies to be silenced.

Headache? Take a painkiller.
Anxiety? Suppress it.
Fatigue? Push through.
Stomach upset? Take a proton-pump inhibitor.

What we’re rarely taught is to ask a different set of questions:
Why is this happening?
What is my body trying to say?
What wisdom is here waiting to be heard?

The truth is: symptoms are not the problem. They’re the messengers.
And real healing begins when we stop fighting them and start listening.

Your Body Is Always Speaking

Symptoms are your body’s language. They’re not random or cruel. They are intelligent responses to stress, trauma, imbalance, or unmet needs.

• That bloating? Your gut could be indicating that it needs rest, not just probiotics.
• That racing heart before a meeting? It may be a nervous system remembering old patterns of pressure or fear.
• That mid-afternoon crash? Maybe it’s your blood sugar—or maybe your body is asking for stillness instead of more caffeine.

When you recognize symptoms as a conversation instead of a breakdown, everything shifts. You stop battling your body and begin to partner with it.

The Cost of Suppression

Of course, wanting relief is human. Pain is real. Fatigue is exhausting. Anxiety is uncomfortable.

But if we only suppress without understanding:

• Root causes deepen, often quietly.
• The body’s limits get overridden, creating burnout or injury.
• Fear grows because we believe our body is “the enemy.”

Eventually, symptoms return—often louder—because the body is still trying to be heard.

Symptoms as Teachers

Strange as it sounds, many people who heal end up grateful for their symptoms. Not because suffering is enjoyable—but because the discomfort woke them up:

• To patterns of overwork and self-neglect.
• To unresolved grief or hidden trauma.
• To foods, habits, or relationships that were draining them.
• To emotional truths the mind had buried, but the body carried.

Symptoms are like the red lights on a car dashboard. They’re not the engine problem themselves—they’re pointing you to what needs attention.

When the Body Feels Heard

Listening to symptoms doesn’t mean giving up. It means shifting from:

• “How do I get rid of this?” → to → “What is this trying to tell me?”
• “My body is broken.” → to → “My body is wise, and asking for support.”

When the body feels heard—without judgment or suppression—it often softens. Inflammation decreases, tension eases, and healing becomes possible.

Three Ways to Partner With Symptoms

1. Start with Curiosity, Not Fear or Annoyance
   • Ask: What was happening right before this started?
   • Am I pushing past my limits?
   • Does this symptom remind me of an old memory or emotion?
     Patterns become clear when you track not just symptoms, but the surrounding context.

2. See the Protective Role

1. • Fatigue may protect you from burnout.
   • Pain may slow you so healing can occur.
   • Anxiety may be alerting you to unsafe dynamics.
     Seeing symptoms as protective—even inconveniently so—creates compassion instead of conflict.

3. Let the Symptom Speak

1. • Close your eyes, breathe, and ask: If this symptom had a voice, what would it say?
   • It might whisper: “You’ve been pushing too hard.”
   • Or: “You need to grieve.”
   • Or: “I need you to slow down.”
     Just listening is often enough to release tension.

You Are Not Broken

You are not broken. You are being asked to listen.

When you reframe symptoms as signals—not flaws—you move into a relationship with your body based on trust. This is the foundation of healing. The body heals best when it feels safe, seen, and heard.

Up Next: Letting Go of the Diagnosis: Healing Beyond Labels

In the next post, I’ll share how to move beyond medical labels—not by denying them, but by refusing to let them define who you are or what’s possible.

Until then, ask yourself:
What are my symptoms trying to say?
And what might change if I truly listened?

P.S. If this resonates, join the interest list for my upcoming workshop:
👉 Letting Go of the Story: Healing Beyond Diagnosis
Together we’ll explore how to decode your symptoms, rewrite your health story, and rebuild trust with your body.
Join Here