By Lissa Rankin, MD
Guest writer for Wake Up World
I write a lot about authenticity, being unapologetically YOU, and letting your freak flag fly. In my TEDx talk (see below), I spoke about the importance of tapping into your Inner Pilot Light and living in alignment with what’s true for you as a means of both preventative medicine and medical treatment. And in my book Mind Over Medicine: Scientific Proof You Can Heal Yourself, I make the assertion that caring for your body is the least important part of your health and that expressing your true self in all aspects of your life is the most important part.
But you might not believe me. How can authenticity and disease be linked?
As research for my next book, I’m reading the book Consciousness & Healing. In a chapter co-written by the phenomenal Candace Pert, a study was referenced that blew me away.
Authenticity & Disease Progression
Steve Cole and his colleagues at UCLA investigated HIV-positive gay men to determine whether how “out” vs. “closeted” they were with their homosexuality affected disease progression. Study participants were asked to rate themselves as “definitely in the closet”, “in the closet most the time”, “half in and half out”, “out most of the time”, or “completely out of the closet”. Researchers then followed the course of their disease.
What did they find?
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Hiding Who You Are – Whether From Yourself or Others – Makes You Sick
Bingo. On all counts, HIV infection advanced more quickly in direct proportion to how out “of the closet” the patients were. The more they lived in alignment with their truth, the healthier they were. And the results weren’t subtle. Those that were mostly or all the way in the closet hit critically low CD4 counts 40% faster than those who were mostly or all the way out, with a 21% reduction in time to death.
Other data suggests that this isn’t just true for AIDS. Concealing your identity – whether you’re hiding your unhappiness in your marriage, your dissatisfaction at work, your frustration with how creatively thwarted you feel while raising three kids, or your sexual frustration in a partnership where you’re not getting any – can compromise your ability to heal.
Repression of your true feelings is bad for your health. Unfettered expression of who you are ramps up your inherent physiological self-healing mechanisms.
Being unapologetically YOU is also the ticket to emotional freedom, more open-hearted relationships, better business success, a deeper connection to Source, and more restful sleep!
It’s your choice.
Are you in the closet in your life?
Are you living in alignment with your truth? Do you even know what your truth is?
If you’re not sure or you need help coming out in all aspects of your life, accept the invitation to align with your truth and take a daily dose of preventative medicine by signing up for free daily messages from your Inner Pilot Light.
What can you do to more closely align with your truth? Let us be your witnesses.
Holding the door wide open,
Recommended articles by Lissa Rankin:
- The Unmistakable Link Between Unhealed Trauma and Physical Illness
- Satisfying Our Emotional Needs Without Being Codependent
- Relationships on the Spiritual Path
- How to Make Your Body Ripe for Miracles
- Are You “Spiritual But Not Religious?”
- 10 Fun Ways to Reduce Your Cortisol Levels
- 6 Stories To Make You Believe In The Power Of The Mind To Heal You
- 7 Tips For Finding Your Tribe
- Holding Space When Someone Is In Pain
- 10 Surprising Things That Trigger “Fight-Or-Flight”
About the authors:
Lissa Rankin, MD is a mind-body medicine physician on a grass roots mission to heal healthcare, while empowering you to heal yourself. She is the founder of the Whole Health Medicine Institute training program for physicians and healthcare providers, and the New York Times bestselling author of the books Mind Over Medicine: Scientific Proof That You Can Heal Yourself (2013), The Fear Cure (2014), and The Anatomy of a Calling (2015).
Lissa blogs at LissaRankin.com and created the online community HealHealthCareNow.com. She is also the author of several other books, a speaker, a professional artist, an amateur ski bum, and an avid hiker. She lives in the San Francisco Bay area.
Connect with Lissa on Facebook and Twitter, or visit LissaRankin.com.
The Anatomy of a Calling: A Doctor’s Journey from the Head to the Heart and a Prescription for Finding Your Life’s Purpose
The new book by Lissa Rankin, MD.
We are all on a mission to step into our true nature and fulfill the assignment our souls were sent to Earth to fulfill.
In The Anatomy of a Calling, Lissa describes her entire spiritual journey for the first time — beginning with what she calls her “perfect storm” of events — and recounts the many transformative experiences that led to a profound awakening of her soul. Through her father’s death, her daughter’s birth, career victories and failures, and an ongoing struggle to identify as both a doctor and a healer, Lissa discovers a powerful self-awareness.
As she shares her story, she encourages you to find out where you are on your own journey, offering inspiring guideposts and practices along the way. With compelling lessons on trusting intuition, surrendering to love, and learning to see adversity as an opportunity for soul growth,The Anatomy of a Calling invites you to make a powerful shift in consciousness and reach your highest destiny.
Lissa Rankin’s book “The Anatomy of a Calling” is available here on Amazon.
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