Are you sitting in toxicity?
Love & Care Series
This article is about being kind to yourself, immersing yourself in what lifts you up as opposed to what knocks you down.
Toxic is a word that makes me cringe, however for the topic in this article it is apt. Whether we realise it or not, we all at some point in our lives get hijacked by toxicity.
This toxic element can apply to situations, to people, to social media groups, to our own thinking/beliefs, the news, negative articles, negative talking, toxic workplaces, toxic shows, toxic influences and buildings. The saying 'what's your poison?' Springs to mind!!! There is a veritable list of where we can pick up toxicity.
There are different ways of dealing with toxicity.
In some ways vigilance is the core answer, because when we are not vigilant it is easy to be pulled along by toxicity. When any of us is knocked by something that is toxic we will automatically draw on an outdated coping mechanism to help us to deal with the struggle. This in itself can lead us to further problems.
Of course some of us are more progressive than others and have better ways of coping. However, when our go to action knocks us down, or drags us into anger and negative thought patterns, then toxicity has affected us.
The key is to understand what is toxic for you, to know what knocks you off balance so that you can either minimise your exposure to it, or you can plan for it.
Some of this links to the kind of person that you are, so if you are sensitive, or an empath then the toxicity that you are absorbing will affect you more deeply than an individual that is able to let situations and challenges run off them.
Although, it could be, that they have created ways to ensure that they're not as affected as they could have been. Maybe moderation in already in their repertoire.
If a person does not have an effective coping mechanism, toxic experiences enter the system and they sit within the body like ticking time bombs. So if you get mad and the situation upsets you, it needs to be cleared as soon as you can, so that it does not transmute within your body into anything else.
Research suggests that heavy duty toxicity may be responsible for some of our heavier illnesses, the body mind connection may not be something that the medical profession is overly rapt with, however it has been looked at within medical settings and it has been noticed that there is a correlation to our mind/ feelings and any illness that we may get. Loosely our feelings impact on how things are for us, if you're interested in this check out Daniel Goleman's book 'Emotional Intelligence.'
Remember: That loving and caring for ourselves needs to be something that we all inherently do, in order to suffer less health issues, less illness and live with more love and joy, I know this sounds pie in the sky, almost utopian, however a little balance never hurt anyone.
Balance is the key – when we balance our exposure to situations and experiences that our body and mind finds toxic, we are making great strides to ensure that our body can heal the cellular memory of the experience. One of the reasons that we sometimes struggle when we hit toxic situations, is because the exposure that we get far outweighs our bodies’ capacity to heal.
The message here is to check in with yourself, what in your life makes you feel a little out of sorts? Maybe you are addicted to watching the news, reading the newspaper, and you find that when you engage in these past times you feel drained and lacking in energy. Or maybe you don’t even know what is knocking you down and you blame it on other things in your life.
If this is the case, check with a loved one, someone that is close to you, they may notice if your personality takes a dive, or makes a change when you engage in certain past times.
If you have emotional issues of any kind, it is imperative that you take the time to understand the feelings within your own body. Really know what unbalances you, to remain in balance.
Are there any past times that you engage in that hit you this way? It can take time to realise that a show or a situation or past time that you thought you liked is actually toxic for you. Once you know, you can create a method that helps you to moderate your exposure to the activity. This will enable you to absorb less toxicity and therefore remain healthier.
Alcoholics and drug addicts when they are in the throes of their addiction justify their resilience and how fine they are, often! Notice how different they are when they are clean.
Toxicity makes us less ourselves and traps us in a negative spiral that we are unable to leave, until we recognise that the things that we are doing are draining us.
What we absorb affects our body consciousness, whether we realise it or not. When we care for ourselves we recognise this and we ensure that we minimise our exposure, so that we can function well in the world.
The problem is, that when we have too much exposure to experiences that are toxic for us, we are less able to be our best selves in the world. Toxicity is a really unhealthy influence.
This is about being honest with yourself, yes I know that in order to keep up with current affairs you want to watch the whole of the news/ or do whatever it is. However, if it starts to have a knock on stressful affect on you, then it might be worth minimising the time spent absorbing the negativity. Watch ten minutes, then go and do something fun. Fun activities will create healing and dull anything that is toxic for you.
Toxic influences on the mind and the body, create the drip, drip affect of stress within our lives. They contribute to disease, to unease, to sleeplessness, to anxiety, to fear, to anger, to lack of motivation.
It will never be obvious that these things have contributed to what you are going through, but they will have done. They are instigators, which infiltrate your mind and sometimes infect the mind with a sense of hopelessness, sadness and struggling to cope.
Why?
Because when we engage with viewing, reading, or activities that are toxic, activities that the inner mind finds hard to cope with, we are not caring for ourselves.
What toxicity does is that it bombards the system with too much negativity, the system is not honed enough to take on that much. This means that it will release chemicals into the body to try to protect you.
With this in mind I would suggest that you note down what makes you feel discomfort. Be honest, just because you have watched show x since you were at school, does not mean that you, or your body likes it. Honesty takes some real digging deep, to know what influences you and what is playing havoc with your system and your mind!!! Particpate in activities that make you happy that make you feel good. As opposed to activities that bring you down.
Look at it this way if anything makes you feel a little less calm, just partake in it a little less...
Just to be clear, I am not knocking any of the things that I have labeled as possibly toxic. What I am saying here is that with a little discernment and understanding life can feel a little less chaotic.
Not everyone gets affected in the same way, by the same things and as I have already mentioned, a little bit of what you want to see will be fine. The call is to know when your body is reacting to a past time in a negative way and to do something else less stressful instead…
Lots love xxxXx
