Myth 3 – “My symptoms mean something is wrong with me.”

The 10 Myths Series – Myth 3

What we’ve already explored

In Myth 1, we looked at one of the most common fears in mindbody recovery — the belief “I’m too complicated to heal.” An often-held truth that is held as a belief. A protective pattern shaped by overwhelm and disappointment. “Healing begins when we stop treating ourselves as if we are a problem to solve and start relating to ourselves as someone who has been carrying too much for too long.”

This myth helps us to understand that complexity is not a barrier — it’s a sign of overprotection, and protection can soften.

In Myth 2, we explored the belief “If I understand it enough, I’ll finally get better.” Many of us enter recovery trying to “think” our way out of symptoms, especially the strong ones, perfectionists, helpers, and people‑pleasers. I know I did. But I discovered that “The nervous system doesn’t update through analysis. It updates through experience.”

With a lot of support when I really investigated this belief/myth and was honest it helped me to reframe healing as a relational, embodied process, not an intellectual achievement. At that time of my recovery pathway, I was all in my head, healing for me wasn’t an experiential process but an intellectual one.

Busting these first two myths laid the foundation for admitting to Myth 3.

Myth 3: “My symptoms mean something is wrong with me.”

I started to slowly shift from fear and self‑blame toward safety, connection, and a more accurate understanding of neuroplastic symptoms which satisfied the intellectual part of myself.

When symptoms flared, my mind instantly jumped to catastrophising:

“I’ve gone backwards,”

“I’m failing,”

“Something is wrong.”

Once I understood that my symptoms were not signs of damage — they were signs of activation, I started to change my internal inner critic or messaging if you prefer. I would reframe my language from

“I’ve gone backwards,”

“I’m failing,”

“Something is wrong.”

To:

“It’s ‘ok’, my symptoms are just a red flag and my body’s way of saying, ‘I’m overwhelmed’ not that ‘I’m broken’.”

I stopped interpreting symptoms as danger and my system stops treating them like danger. When I started to treat them as a friendly messenger it was in that space where a big Core shift happened:

My new belief that Symptoms are communication, not catastrophe shifted me yet again.

Why symptoms don’t automatically mean something is wrong

I think we can all agree now that our brain’s job is to keep us safe, (hopefully we are all agreed on that after breaking through Myth’s 1 & 2, if not please do go back and reread). It constantly scans for danger, using past experiences, stress levels, emotional load, and learned patterns to decide how to protect us. When the system becomes sensitised, it can misinterpret normal bodily signals as threat(s).

Symptoms often arise because our nervous system is:

• overwhelmed
• overprotective
• braced
• carrying emotional load
• stuck in old learned patterns of fear or responsibility
• trying to slow you down or signal distress

These are signs of an activation — not damage.

And the best bit – Activation is reversible!

Just take a moment to let that statement sink in.

Activation is reversible!

I’m not questioning the reality of what you feel or experience — your sensations are real. What I’m inviting you to do is gently explore a different way of understanding where those symptoms come from, shifting from the belief that they must be structural to the possibility that they may be functional.

A neuroplastic explanation never means:

• “It’s all in your head.”
• “You’re imagining it.”
• “Your symptoms aren’t real.”

Your symptoms are real.

They’re simply being generated by a system that is misreading the situation.

When symptoms are functional rather than structural, they often respond really well to mind-body approaches. Practices such as somatic work and calm, connected breathing help the nervous system recognise and experience a greater sense of safety, supporting the body’s natural capacity to heal.

Somatic approaches that help update this myth

Somatic work is essential here because it helps the nervous system feel safe, rather than just understand it. These practices gently teach the brain:

“This sensation is safe. I am safe enough.”

Below are somatic tools that directly support recovery from the belief “My symptoms mean something is wrong with me.”

1. Orienting to safety

A foundational practice for reducing fear around symptoms.

How to practise:

• Let your eyes move slowly around the room
• Notice colours, shapes, textures
• Pause when something feels pleasant or neutral

Why it helps:

It gives the brain real‑time evidence that nothing dangerous is happening — something thinking alone cannot provide.

(This aligns with the guidance in Myth 2 – Orienting.)

2. Grounding through contact

Helps shift the system out of threat and into presence.

Try:

• Feeling your feet on the floor
• Letting your back rest against a chair
• Placing your hands on a stable surface

Internal message:

“My body is supported. I am here. I am safe enough.”

3. Somatic tracking

The heart of neuroplastic recovery.

A gentle script:

• “Where do I feel this most?”
• “Can I watch it from a little distance?”
• “Is there any part that feels even 1% softer?”

Why it helps:

It teaches the brain that sensations are safe to feel — not problems to solve.

(This aligns with the guidance in Myth 2 – Somatic tracking section.)

4. Micro‑movements

Small movements help update the brain’s predictions about safety.

Examples:

• Roll shoulders by 1%
• Wiggle toes
• Shift weight
• Let the jaw soften

Why it helps:

It teaches the brain that the body is not trapped — a key ingredient in reducing symptom fear.

5. Havening touch or soothing sensory input

Perfect for people who live in their heads or struggle to receive comfort.

Try:

• Stroking upper arms
• Softly stroking palms
• Gentle touch to the face
• Using hand cream to moisturise hands (my personal favourite)

Why it helps:

It bypasses cognition and works directly with the nervous system, sending a message of safety.

6. Pendulation

Moving attention between discomfort and comfort.

Why it helps:

It teaches the system that sensations can be visited without overwhelm — reducing fear around symptoms.

7. Emotional embodiment

Symptoms often soften when underlying emotions are acknowledged.

Try:

• Noticing where an emotion sits in the body
• Offering it warmth or space
• Allowing expression rather than suppression

This is especially helpful for anyone who has developed the characteristics of “being the strong one, “Being the responsible one , or people‑pleasing patterns.

8. Boundary‑based somatic work

For any of us who live in chronic over‑responsibility.

Practices:

• Feeling the space around the body
• Practising saying “no” while noticing sensations
• Imagining a protective boundary
• Stepping forward/backward to sense agency

These help the nervous system learn that self‑protection is allowed — reducing the need for symptoms to communicate distress.

You are not broken

This myth — that symptom equal damage — is one of the most powerful barriers to recovery. When we learn that our symptoms are real, meaningful, and reversible, something profound happens – we stop fighting our bodies and start listening to them.

Your body is not failing you.

It’s communicating.

And with the right support, it can learn a new way forward.