When symptoms begin to make sense

One of the questions that has accompanied me throughout my career is, “Why do symptoms appear when they do?”

As a physiotherapist, I was trained to assess the physical body. To look at movement, posture, injury, tissues and biomechanics. Yet over the years I noticed something that didn’t always fit neatly into the conventional explanations.

Many people could identify exactly when a symptom began, yet there was often no obvious injury

Others would experience pain that seemed to come and go without explanation. Symptoms might flare during a holiday, after a difficult decision had finally been made, when life became calmer, or after a prolonged period of stress had come to an end.

 

The timing often appeared illogical

Or perhaps it only appeared illogical because we were looking through the wrong lens.

Many of us have come to accept that stress can influence our health, yet we still often expect a simple relationship: more stress equals more symptoms; less stress equals fewer symptoms.

In practice, the picture is often far more nuanced than this.

Over time, my search for a deeper understanding led me to train in Lifestyle Prescriptions®, a framework that explores the relationship between symptoms, emotions, beliefs, life experiences and the body.

At the heart of this work is the Organ-Mind-Brain Anatomy, which invites us to consider that symptoms may not be random events, but rather carry information that can be explored within the context of a person’s life.

Rather than asking, “What’s wrong with this body part?” we begin to ask, “What was happening in my life before this symptom appeared?”

 

This question opens a completely different conversation

It requires awareness, curiosity and often a degree of honesty with ourselves. The answers are not always immediately obvious, nor are they always comfortable. As we begin to explore the connections between our symptoms and our lives, we may recognise pressures we have been carrying, responsibilities we have taken on, conflicts we have been navigating, losses we have not fully processed, or expectations we have placed upon ourselves without realising their impact.

Gradually, patterns begin to emerge.

We discover that our symptoms have not arisen randomly.

We have participated in the conditions that led to them, often unconsciously and often whilst doing our best to navigate life.

 

Responsibility without blame 

This is quite different from fault.

In fact, it is one of the reasons compassion becomes so important.

As understanding grows, we often begin to recognise the ways in which our own thoughts, beliefs, emotional responses and life circumstances may have contributed to the conditions in which symptoms developed.

For some people, this realisation can be challenging. Yet it is also deeply empowering. Rather than seeing ourselves as victims of a random and unpredictable body, we begin to recognise patterns that were operating outside of our awareness.

 

Compassion is key

Compassion allows us to meet these discoveries without judgement. We can acknowledge that we were doing the best we could with the awareness, resources and understanding available to us at the time. Understanding often reveals just how much we have been carrying, adapting to, or managing beneath the surface.

As patterns become visible, many people discover that their symptoms make more sense than they first imagined. What once felt random, frustrating or unfair can begin to feel understandable.

For me, this is one of the most profound gifts of the Lifestyle Prescriptions® approach. Not because it promises all the answers, but because it invites us to ask different questions.

Questions that can deepen our understanding of ourselves, our lives and our health.

If you would like to learn more about the Lifestyle Prescriptions® approach and how I integrate it into my work with low back pain and musculoskeletal symptoms, you can read more here:
Lifestyle Prescriptions® with Loulou James