In the infamous words of Fat Boy Slim, we’ve come a long way, baby.
With #IWD2019 on our heels and in the midst of a Women’s Business Summit, it’s timely to reflect on the collective progress our female counterparts fought, campaigned and rallied for, in affording us the opportunities we as women have today.
From the right to an education, to the right to a vote and have our voices and opinions heard, we have never been more influential and connected, making this THE greatest time in the history of the world to be a female. BUT…..
At the same time, with all this ambition, determination and opportunity, we’ve also never been more stressed, anxious and unhealthy.
With all the opportunities we’ve been afforded, we are the first generation that officially has a shorter life expectancy that our parents. We seem to be increasingly riddled with gut issues, auto-immune conditions, fatigue and anxiety. Talk about #balanceforbetter….we’ve become a society that competes with how busy we are, wearing it as a badge of honour as if it’s a reflection of our self worth, and we’re paying the price.
The Mental Blocks That Dis-Empower You
When I speak to the driven, ambitious women I coach and hear the thoughts, the mental blocks and the self-noise in their heads, they are able to reflect on how their internal dialogue and often subconscious thought patterns they give power to, are dis-empowering them and keeping them stuck from truly recovering from their gut issues.
These thoughts – and you may have experienced them yourself – team up with a sense of overwhelm, feeling stuck, anxiety or that all consuming, crippling fear, are a linear representation of the gut symptoms you’ll experience.
If you’ve done some investigative work, you’ll associate the link between your stressful thoughts and poor digestion and how these affect your energy, and level of fatigue, constipation, tummy aches, bloating and anxiety.
Recent findings on the link between the brain and the gut, the gut brain-axis, have confirmed the effect stress has on the gut, and without dealing with the source; your thoughts will keep you in this negative feedback loop. So what can you do?
It’s hard to call BS on yourself.
It’s hard to identify your subconscious thoughts yourself, especially catching your underlying stress, anxiety and negative self talk you don’t realise is your internal monologue mantra, swirling around in your head. That’s why I find, through the coaching process, it’s easy to spot these reoccurring thought patterns and hold them up for what they are. Your mind is a powerful tool in rationalising and will adjust to any new reality, real or imagined.
And without addressing how you deal with your stressful thoughts keeping your body is this state of stress, you can eat all the fermented and organic food you want, but never get rid of the root cause of your gut issues.
The key to managing your gut symptoms lies in addressing your mental triggers to stress, both conscious and unconscious, lowering your inflammation and balancing out your hormones. Don’t know where to start? Book your free Gut Assessment and get your roadmap and next action steps.
Why is our self-belief so important?
Our perception of the world is created by these “internal stories” or the mental dialogue, running through our minds 24/7. Our inner voice can often be critical and judgmental, recalling painful moments of failure and telling us we’re not ‘good enough.’ And this is backed by studies that show we, as women, routinely underestimate our competence, compared to males of the same level of experience. This thought process, which if you don’t have solid thought processes in place, is easy to fall victim to, and damages not only confidence and self-efficacy but the consistency you need to master your gut health.
The Comparison Trap
When you repetitively have these critical thoughts of incompetence, of falling into a comparison trap, or of not feeling worthy, you’re signalling these exact messages as affirmations, which become hardwired in your brain – just like brushing your teeth or tying your shoelaces. You don’t necessarily realise you’re engaging in these thoughts and in turn, unknowingly turning them into your beliefs.
What Mental Processes or Thought Patterns Do You Have in Place When the Shit Hits the Fan?
The mental processes you have around your thoughts and your own self-belief are a powerful insight into your future. When I see the journey my clients take, it’s the women I see take back control, of overcoming their mental blocks and negative patterns of thoughts that have driven their actions, their anxiety and gut symptoms, gain the confidence and control over their health and propel themselves into the empowering vision they set for themselves.
The Bottom Line
We have more information than ever before in how to be healthy. We know what to eat for the most part, or what to do. Yet, we are the most obese, unhealthy, overmedicated and stressed generation in history. In this oversaturated age of information we have countless diets, workouts and techniques on dealing with stress you can get off the net in seconds. Yet my clients find, it’s the accountability and consistency they are able to develop, to implement the lifestyle habits and behaviour change crucial to truly manage their gut symptoms.
Want to develop a system to address the root cause of your gut issues so you’re not relying on motivation or willpower?
Book your free Gut Assessment (valued at $79) during IWD Week. Book your session here. Valid until 15 March, 2019.
About the Author:
Anna’s mission is to connect, support and empower women who are stressed, overwhelmed and fatigued to start taking control.
Specialising in Women’s Health, Anna works with women to help them find relief from their health symptoms, along with the energy, confidence, clarity and self-efficacy to take back control of their wellbeing in parallel to their busy lives.