The Protection and Illumination of Illness Pt II

Whenever I read or hear a medical commentator state that it's strange that technologically medicine is so advanced and western societies are very affluent, but yet people are still getting ill, I have a wry smile.

Because most people do not acknowledge the role that illness plays in their lives and why illnesses are created to perform a function, you can bet that they will continue to use it. And we will continuously look for solutions and "cures" when the real answer lies within us.

In the EFT Specialty Series II DVD, a lawyer stated that court cases always made him nervous and on one occasion he actually got a strep infection.

Illness is a high price to pay for not stating your needs and protecting yourself from confrontation.

Coming from a family from which certain members have used illness to get their (hidden, unconscious and therefore unvoiced) needs met, my anecdotal experience suggests that the following two types of people are more prone to create illness:

1. The Emotionally Unconscious (who doesn't recognize their hidden fears and anxieties) and;
2. The Highly Sensitive Person (who has trouble articulating their needs openly)

The Emotionally Unconscious

I suspect that this is by far the biggest group. In the West, we are not encouraged to be in touch with our emotions or take emotional responsibility for what we feel. We are encouraged to project onto and blame others for our emotional state however. This lack of self reflection means that illness can be used by the emotionally unconscious to control what others do or to get attention from others.

The Highly Sensitive Person (HSP)

Highly Sensitive People often have a very difficult time asserting their needs, in fact they've often been encouraged to downplay their own needs in order to service others. And so are prone to abuse and not feeling safe in the world.

For the HSP, confrontation feels very threatening to their world, where they need to please people in order to feel safe. Boundaries within their family (whether their own family or family of origin) have often been inappropriate and illness provides a way to assert boundaries. It also means that they avoid confrontation.

Highly Sensitive People also take on the anxiety of other family members who cannot process their emotions honestly for themselves, which often leads to illness.

The Positive Aspects of Illness

Illness can be used to illuminate where someone's needs aren't being met. If the repressed feelings are identified and brought to the surface where they can be released, then true healing begins. The soul always seeks to develop and grow and releasing all emotional conflicts allows it do so.