Breast Health Series- How Our Emotions Affect Our Breast Health
Our emotions truly affect every part of our body in a profound way. Personally, I find it easy to eat right, take my supplements, get proper sleep, exercise, and practice proper detoxification protocols but when it comes to healing emotional issues from the past, this one can be the most challenging and uncomfortable. It can be a messy, raw, and haunting place to go…deep inside the pain and traumas from your past.
Think of your emotional healing like you do a garden. If you want to have a beautiful garden with rich fertile soil, you must weed out those unwanted growths that are crowding and choking out the flowers. When we weed our emotional garden, we provide a soil of joy and love that can grow lovely fragrant flowers and healing plants to nourish and nurture our entire being. This is the part that I truly feel is the most important part of getting well and healing from the root!
Do you have any weeds or unhealthy growths (like fear, unforgiveness, bitterness, doubt, hatred, jealousy, resentment, worry) that need to be healed in order for the healthy soil and flowers (like love, forgiveness, peace, acceptance, hope, wisdom) to grow and flourish?
Every time I experience a weeding time, a renewal of healing takes place…sometimes a very small amount and other times, a larger amount. Every time the weed pulling goes a little deeper, a little more healing takes place. Sometimes during these times, you might feel like you hit a rock and can’t go any deeper. Then you get your gardening tools out and keep digging and the rock dislodges and comes out…ahhhhh, and you can breathe a bit deeper and another layer of emotional wounds are healed!
Are we ever really finished with this process? I don’t think so. It is a part of our journey from the beginning to the end. If we are breathing and living on this earth, we will always have some weeding to do, even if it’s a little bit here and there. This weeding process also helps to wash away old dialogues that got stuck in our mind when a traumatic experience occurred…maybe from childhood, teenage years or beyond. That is how we got through our trauma at the time, that dialogue that we formed in our mind helped us to survive, but now and here in the present, it is not helping us anymore. In fact it’s preventing us from moving forward in life to becoming what we are truly called to be.
Today we will discuss how our breasts are deeply tied into our emotional health and some ways to heal those deep emotional pains that have caused physical barriers to our healing.
Think about where your breasts are located on your body. They are located right in front of your heart area, the same heart that holds so many emotions, feelings, dreams, passions, aspirations, strength, and love. Your heart is a safe and treasured place that is a deep ocean of memories, emotional scars and wounds, and beauty that is tied together to represent the unique creation of you.
Our breasts represent nurturing, nourishment, and speaking the truth from our hearts. We as women usually find it easy to nurture and mother those we love and care for on a daily basis…this could be our children, aging parents, siblings, husbands, other family members and close friends, those in need, and our pets. This is how we were created and it is surely a beautiful gift we give to those around us. The concern seems to appear when we forget to nourish and nurture ourselves as well.
Dr. John Lee M.D. states, “Breast cancer can occur when one is not loving or nurturing themselves enough or not receiving nurturing from others.” He also stated that a 1995 study showed that breast cancer increased by 12 times if a woman had suffered from a traumatic life episode, such as divorce, grief (loss of a loved one), or job loss in the previous 5 years before a breast cancer diagnosis.
Cancer is a message to us that an imbalance is present.
The emotional wounds we carry within ourselves hinder us from moving forward and healing. Maybe it’s an old dialog in our mind that doesn’t serve or support us anymore that we carry around that left a deep gash in our hearts. Those old dialogs or fearful thoughts that were created within us from a trauma or painful time in our life are preventing us from living a life of freedom and joy. Those old patterns are preventing the light and beauty to shine through our seeping and scarred wounds.
When I was studying to be a Naturopath, I learned a very interesting thing from one of my mentors who taught how cancer is correlated with emotional traumas. The piece of information she shared was completely fascinating to me. She taught us that the right and left side of the body represent different genders. The left side of the body represents female and the right side of the body represents male. I now incorporate this wisdom into my consultations when working with those dealing with chronic illnesses and health issues.
Left Breast- Female- if you have breast issues within your left breast this usually is tied with a female relationship in your life (past or present) that is/was difficult. This could be a sister, mother, grandmother, aunt, daughter, co-worker, or friend.
Right Breast-Male- if you have breast issues within your right breast this is usually tied with a male relationship in your life (past or present) that is/was difficult. This could be a brother, father, husband, grandfather, uncle, son, boyfriend, co-worker, or friend.
Resolving these emotional wounds from these relationships could be a large part of your recovery on your healing journey.
Dr. R.G. Hammer (a well -known Oncologist) studied over 20,000 cases of cancer and its emotional connection. He concluded, “I searched for cancer in the cell and I found it in the brain.”
Our thoughts, emotional wounds, and disheartened spirit have a strong correlation with our health! Take for instance our genes. The gene that normally inhibits the growth of tumors (P53 gene) is shut down with negative experiences, while other genes that promote the spread of cancer are turned on (Bc12 gene).Our genes are highly influenced by our environment, including our emotional state. If you think of our genes as a loaded gun and our lifestyle choices as what can trigger the gun to fire and express itself. If we choose healthy lifestyle choices, including healing thought patterns, our loaded gun (genes) may never get triggered.
Emotional stress has been shown to increase breast cancer risk the following ways:
1. Stress raises certain stress hormones that lower immune function
2. Changes the metabolism of hormones and environmental toxins
3. Encourages cancer stem cell activity; disables tumor suppressor genes
4. Suppresses immune function; damages DNA and hinders repair
5. Stimulates angiogenesis; the development of a tumor’s blood supply
6. Stimulates growth factors that promote tumor cell growth
7. Increases risk of genetic mutations; alters the genes that control the stress response
8. Reduces the amount of Natural Killer Cells (NK cells)
Dr. Christine Northrup states from her book “Creating Breast Health” that unhealed issues of the heart, such as: unforgiveness, holding onto past hurts, resentment, relationship toxicity, abusive relationships, fear of not being loved, being emotionally unavailable, and feeling unworthy of love, may result in breast related conditions.
Here is an article I wrote several weeks ago on the art of forgiveness and how to incorporate a forgiveness practice into your healing journey:
http://beautifulhealingjourney.com/updates/42
Personality Traits
There has been research linked to particular personality traits that are apparent in breast cancer and cancer in general.
Breast Cancer Personality, according to Dr. W. Douglas Brodie, M.D. (observed after 30 years of work with cancer patients)
*Extremely conscientious, caring, dutiful, highly responsible, typically above average intelligence
*Carrying other people’s burdens, taking on too many obligations and responsibilities, takes other’s worries on themselves
*Deep seated need to make others happy, people pleaser, in need of others approval
*Lacking closeness with one or both parents or spouse
*Suppressed toxic emotions (anger, resentment, bitterness, hostility, unforgiveness), internalizing negative emotions and difficulty expressing them, stuffs emotions
*Difficulty handling and coping with stress
*Usually experiences a very stressful life event several years before the diagnosis of cancer- the individual is usually unable to deal with the traumatic series of events, which is a “last straw” on top of years of suppressed reactions to stress
*Has an inability to resolve deep seated emotional issues and conflicts, usually starting from childhood, often even being unaware of their presence
If you struggle with some of these traits you just read about, then take the time to reflect and think how maybe you can adapt healthier patterns in your life, both physically and mentally, such as: prayer, giving any resentment, anger, frustration, and unforgiveness to the Lord, full surrender to His Will.
Releasing bitterness and jealousy to Him or whatever you are dealing with personally. When we have unforgivness towards someone else, we are allowing seeds of sickness to be planted within our being. Forgiveness is not excusing what happened or excusing the wrong someone else did to you, but forgiveness is for you...release them or yourself, and give it to the Lord. Ask Him for help. He will meet you and carry you and help you do this.
Only the Lord can heal our heart, mind, and spirit, and then our bodies, which then heals the deep layers of emotional wounds from the past.
I truly believe that most of our physical sufferings and illnesses in our lives are from emotional and spiritual roots. Emotions that we stuffed deep and didn't express or feel safe to express and now they are surfacing into a physical symptom or ailment. Getting to the root of these deep emotions is vital in our healing journeys
Healing deep emotional pain will uncover the person that God created you to be...remember beauty shines from ashes You may be scarred from the past but those scars have made you beautiful! "He will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair."
Remember, the Lord's light shines through our deepest scars and reflects the beauty from whatever kind of pain you have endured. It illuminates outwardly and touches those who need to hear your story and be inspired to move forward on their own healing journey.
Shine His Beautiful Light...don't hide it!
With Love,
Rhonda
