And then, it happens.  3 days of pain!  A backlash!  Suddenly you feel terrible again!  You are freaking out!

Stop.

Take a deep breath.

Another one.

And another one.

This is normal.

The mind-body healing process is not linear.  You will have periods of time when you feel really well, and periods of time when you don’t.  THIS DOES NOT MEAN ANYTHING BAD.  In fact, it just means that it’s working.  The body and mind need time to process emotional and physical healing on different levels.  Eventually, you will experience very few periods of pain and predominantly live with pain-free health.  Then, those few periods of pain will disappear.  However, if one pops up every now and then, it’s not cause for panic.

Here’s why:

You must remember that the pain itself is simply a messenger.  This is why I like to throw away the words vulvodynia, interstitial cystitis, irritable bowel syndrome, fibromyalgia…they don’t really mean anything, anyway.  They are just fancy names for pain.  If you are experiencing pain/symptoms, even after long periods of wellness, it does not mean that you have failed, the mind-body tools aren’t working, or any other such dire thoughts.  Those are just THOUGHTS.  What it means is you have missed a cue from your body somewhere.  You stuffed some emotions, you aren’t listening to something important inside you, have been putting pressure on yourself/saying negative things to yourself, or you have been ignoring your own needs/wants in some fashion.

So try this:

Thank your pain.

Really!

Because it’s here to remind you of something important, something you kind of knew but glossed over.  It’s keeping you on the self-love straight-and-narrow.  It will not let you get too far out of alignment with your true self.  You have a magic body that keeps you honest and refuses to let you be hard on yourself.

How do I know?

I have one too, thank goodness.  Without it, I would never have learned that loving myself is the most important thing, my number one job in this human body.  I don’t always love myself perfectly, but I do focus on it every single day.

Don’t believe the wild, scary thoughts your mind is spewing about the pain.  Simply thank the pain, and then start looking.  Where do you need to remove self pressure?  Were do you need to feel an emotion?  Where do you need to get really honest with yourself?  Were do you need a big old dose of self love?

Thank you, pain, oh wise teacher.