All Is Well: Heal Your Body With Medicine, Affirmations, and Intuition (14 page)

People with health issues of the third emotional center gener-

ally fall into four categories: those who define themselves by fo-

cusing completely on the needs of others, those who bolster their

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sense of self by looking to career and material possessions, those

who give up all concept of self and turn to a higher power for

support, and those who avoid looking at themselves through feel-

good distractions. These diverse people are affected in different

ways when it comes to the health of the digestive system and is-

sues with weight and addiction. We will get more specific later as

we work through the actual body parts and individual ailments of

the third emotional center.

For health in these areas of your life it is essential to develop

a strong sense of self. If you don’t cultivate your self-esteem and

find a balance between how much time you spend worrying about

pleasing others and the time you spend nurturing yourself, you

may suffer from nausea, heartburn, ulcers, constipation, loose

bowels, colitis, or kidney problems. You also may struggle with

your weight, body image, or addiction. These health problems are

messages from your body telling you that what you are doing is

not working.

Third Emotional Center Affirmations and Science

According to Louise’s affirmation theory, the health of the

digestive tract, liver, gallbladder, and kidneys is associated with

thought patterns that have to do with fear: the gut-wrenching

anxiety you experience, especially in situations where you feel in-

adequate or overburdened. For example, digestive tract problems

in general are associated with fear of new things and experiences.

More specifically, spastic colon sufferers may have problems with

insecurity. Colitis is associated with a fear of letting go, while

colon problems in general are about holding on to the past.

Negative thought patterns associated with weight problems

concern the need for protection. Addiction in general is a way of

medicating emotions that you don’t know how to handle: what

Louise calls “running away from yourself.”

Finally, metabolic problems with blood sugar are associated with

responsibility and the burdens of life. Hypoglycemia is associated

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with being overwhelmed with the burdens in life, that despairing

feeling of “What’s the use?”

The health of the third emotional center is associated with

having a strong sense of self-esteem, being able to handle responsi-

bilities, and not escaping through substance abuse or addiction.

The health of our gastrointestinal tract, weight, and body image

depends on our capacity to have a healthy relationship with work

and responsibility.

So let’s see what science has to say about the effectiveness of

this kind of approach to healing third emotional center disorders.

A large body of research shows that negative emotions—

whether fear, sadness, or anger—can irritate the lining of our

stomachs while love and joy can calm it down. In fact, the more

we experience these negative emotions, the greater our chances

of developing digestive problems such as GERD (gastroesophageal

reflux disease), ulcers, and irritable bowel syndrome.1

Let’s look at the ulcer as an example. Scientists attribute ul-

cers to an overgrowth of
Heliobacter pylori,
a bacterium that occurs

naturally in the stomach.2 This overgrowth is seen more often in

people with heightened anxiety. This may be the result of an ex-

aggerated immune system response in their digestive tracts, which

makes their stomach and bowel lining more permeable to the bac-

teria.3 Stress and anxiety can come from a number of sources, but

this is especially prevalent in highly competitive work environ-

ments. Studies have shown that people who have to deal with sig-

nificant stress on a day-to-day basis have an increased incidence

of ulcers.4 The same thing can be seen in animals. Studies found

that when rodents are placed in situations where they have to con-

stantly compete for mates and resources, they experience digestive

problems and ulcers.5

Perfectionism is also closely associated with stomach and

bowel problems.6 This personality trait leads to persistent feelings

of not being good enough, and it lowers self-confidence. Studies

have shown that knocks to our sense of self-worth cause a drop in

blood levels of somatostatin, a hormone that inhibits the produc-

tion of a number of other hormones. If hormones are out of bal-

ance, the stomach and intestines don’t function properly. This can

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result in ulcers and irritable bowel syndrome. Ulcerative colitis,

a chronic inflammatory disease of the bowels, is also associated

with the need for perfection in some people.7

People who feel hopeless and helpless to escape stressful situa-

tions have higher levels of stress hormones in their blood, and this

sets the scene for digestive problems.8 One example of this can be

seen in studies that have found a correlation between growing up

in a home where there was physical abuse or constant conflict and

the likelihood of developing ulcers or eating disorders as an adult.9

Stress can lead to problems with obesity. Studies suggest that

stressful emotions affect a person’s metabolism, or ability to break

down food. When we are struggling under competitive, seemingly

hostile circumstances, we also tend to eat larger and less frequent

meals, an eating pattern that often leads to weight gain.10 During

a stressful day at work, who doesn’t skip breakfast and lunch and

then eat a big dinner as a reward? Unfortunately this seemingly

trimmed-down eating schedule doesn’t trim down your waistline.

It does just the opposite: it increases abdominal fat.

Emotions such as worry over extreme life issues and increased

responsibility also affect the way we break down sugar and can

contribute to the onset of diabetes.11 Emotional stress increases in-

flammation and the level of cortisol in the blood, which increases

insulin, causing you to store more of what you eat as fat.12 And re-

searchers have observed that people with depression and anxiety

may have disrupted neuropeptides that affect both their emotions

and their digestion. So it makes sense that affirmations that help

mend your attitude can also heal your waistline.

The link between addiction and feelings of low self-worth and

self-esteem is evident in many studies. Time and time again re-

search has shown that people overeat, smoke, drink too much al-

cohol, and engage in other forms of escapism to cover up anxiety,

depression, anger, or feelings of inadequacy and to escape respon-

sibilities they can’t handle.13 These are simply diversionary tactics,

and it makes sense that people use them. Alcohol is an antianxiety

drug that many people use to numb themselves and avoid facing

their true identity. While it is unhealthy, nicotine can help people

deal with anger, impatience, and irritability. It has been shown to

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give us a temporary feeling of happiness and relaxation. The same

is true for certain foods—specifically carbohydrates and chocolate.

A strong sense of self—the focus of the third emotional cen-

ter—can help us simultaneously avoid and deal with feelings of

stress, hopelessness, and helplessness that lead to many of the di-

gestive, obesity, and addiction problems we’ve just explored.

So now that we know the affirmation theory and science, how

do we actually create health in the third emotional center?

Digestive Problems

The organs that make up the digestive tract are the mouth,

esophagus, stomach, small intestines, large intestines (or colon),

rectum, and anus.

People who tend to have digestive tract–related issues are gen-

erally focused on getting more, more, more of everything. Excess

is stimulating, and we thrive on adrenaline because it makes us

feel bigger than we actually are, so these people search for this

rush. They work too much, party too much, and simply keep

going and doing until it nearly kills them. They amass power and

material wealth in an effort to fill a void in their souls. So while

it may look like these folks have everything figured out, this con-

stant hunger is born from a low sense of self-worth. They have

yet to find contentment and joy in who they are. Their lives are

all about appearance, and they search for bigger, better cars and

houses, believing that this will make them feel bigger and better,

pumping up their self-esteem. But bigger isn’t necessarily better.

It’s important to have a healthy self-esteem that’s based not only

on your outside but your inside as well.

There are plenty of effective medical options available for di-

gestive disorders you may experience, including heartburn, reflux,

ulcers, abdominal distension, bloating, Crohn’s disease, and irri-

table bowel syndrome. But in most cases, medical treatment works

to address the symptom rather than the root cause of the problem.

If you are experiencing chronic digestive tract problems, you also

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will have to address the thought and behavioral patterns that un-

derlie these health issues.

All digestive problems stem from the same basic emotion—

fear. For example, people with general stomach problems fear

what is new and believe that they are not competent enough to

handle what life sends their way. They are often controlled by fear,

anxiety, and uncertainty. If this sounds familiar and you want to

banish the fear and face new experiences head-on, the healing

affirmation is “Life agrees with me. I assimilate the new every mo-

ment of every day. All is well.” If you suffer with ulcers, the nega-

tive thoughts likely have to do with the fear that you are not good

enough, and the affirmation would be “I love and approve of my-

self. I am at peace. I am calm. All is well.” Colitis (inflammation

of the colon) is associated with deep-seated insecurity and self-

doubt, and the appropriate affirmation is “I love and approve of

myself. I am doing the best I can. I am wonderful. I am at peace.”

Remember that the specific affirmation will depend on the condi-

tion. For more affirmations to heal specific disorders, see the table

in Chapter 11.

In addition to the affirmations, you must also evaluate your

life and your priorities. Check out your current situation. Are you

always on hyperdrive? Do you live and work in a very competitive

environment? Do you take any time to get to know yourself out-

side these external pursuits? The answers to these questions will

help clue you in to where the imbalances in your life exist. If you

are all work, you need time to play. If you are all about speed, you

need to slow down. The human body cannot last at full throttle

for its entire life. You may thrive on the rush of a good fight, the

adrenaline that pours into your system when you face a challenge,

but soon your body starts to sense that you need more peace. It

clues you in with stomach problems, hinting that you simply can

no longer stomach this fast-paced life. Your body is screaming out

for rest and relaxation.

When looking at changing thought patterns and behaviors

that could be adding to your digestive problems, the most impor-

tant change you can make is to realize that you have innate good-

ness—you are more than your net worth. The low self-esteem that

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causes people to go, go, go will manifest in pain. It’s not easy to

build up your sense of self but it can be done.

Look at your life honestly. Ask yourself if your material goods

really bring you joy or if they’re simply a cover—a protective

shell—that hides you from the world. You need to get your con-

sumer tendencies under control. Try to take a spending vacation

one day each week, meaning you don’t buy anything. Put the

credit cards away. Stash your cash somewhere hard to access. If

you can manage it, don’t handle cash or finances at all—even if

they’re not your own. And at the end of the day, evaluate the feel-

ings you had from living simply. If you find it too hard to step

away from money for one day per week, you might want to look

into counseling to help you find a way to let go of this obsession.

Along the same lines, take a day during the week where you

don’t primp. No makeup. No hairstyling. No fancy labels or ac-