Do you get headaches? What about dizziness or lightheadedness? Have you been feeling more fatigued than normal lately? Have your symptoms increased in severity recently? If so, then it’s time to take a closer look at what might be causing them. Even though the word “symptom” sounds negative, our body is actually trying to tell us something important!
Let’s look at a car for example. I’m sure you know someone right now who is driving around in their car with the ‘check engine light’ on. Right? The check engine light comes on because the sensors in the car have detected a problem. Something isn’t working the way it was designed. Maybe a belt is loose, or fluid is low. Whatever the deal is, the car is programmed to let the driver know that there is a problem.
The same is true with the symptoms that we face. They are just a way for the body to check in and say ‘Hey, something’s not quite right’. Now, that doesn’t mean that there’s something serious going on. Maybe you have a small fever because your body is fighting off a bug. That’s a totally appropriate symptom and an appropriate response. Where we sometimes get in trouble, is when we drive symptoms away, without ever looking at what is causing them in the first place.
That would be like putting tape over the check engine light so you don’t have to see it anymore. Sure, the symptom is gone BUT the underlying cause is still there! It was never addressed. And at some point, whatever triggered that warning, to begin with is going to speak up.
Symptoms are a great thing (I know I know… I may get some backlash on that). They tell us something is not right. If you have been living with symptoms and are just putting tape over that ‘check engine light’, it’s time to peel it away and figure out the root cause. Find your specialist who can shed light on what’s happening. And if you think you’ve exhausted all your options, I promise you haven’t. If you don’t know where to turn next, reach out to me and you might just find exactly what it is you’ve been searching for.
Thrive on,
Dr. Kaci Madden