Your Body Has a Secret Language

Translating Symptoms into Stories That Heal

May 22, 2025

"The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven."
— John Milton

"The stories we tell ourselves either bind us to suffering or open us to healing."
— Gratefully Well

The Power of Your Inner Narrative

Your body is an exquisite listener, constantly attuned not just to what happens to you, but to the stories you tell about the events in your life.

In our previous issues in this mindset and health series, we explored how beliefs shape biology, how your body responds to expectations, and how your perception of stress matters more than the stressor itself. Now we're going deeper.

This isn't just about what you believe. It's about how you create meaning. Because beneath every symptom lies a story that can either amplify suffering or open pathways to healing.

Three Hearts, Three Stories

The afternoon light slanted through the ER windows as the third chest pain patient arrived. Three patients describing identical symptoms: chest tightness, difficult breathing, and waves of nausea.

Same symptoms. Same vital signs. Yet within hours, their paths diverged dramatically.

Doctors discharged James with reassurance. "Your heart is not the cause of your symptoms," the doctor told him. He was relieved.

Maria stayed overnight, her fingers worrying the edge of her blanket as she repeatedly asked, "But are you sure?"

They transferred Robert to cardiac monitoring. "I knew it," he whispered. "My father died of a heart attack at my age."

Looking at their charts, you might assume these different trajectories came down to subtle clinical findings, maybe an abnormal ECG or lab test. But something else became clear:

What separated their experiences wasn't biology. It was belief.

All three ultimately received the same diagnosis—non-cardiac chest pain with normal coronary arteries. Yet their bodies had already responded to the stories they believed, creating unique physiological patterns.

Meaning: Your Body's First Medicine

When my kids were young and would fall and scrape their knee, something remarkable would happen depending on my reaction. If I calmly said, "Just a minor scratch, it's fine." They would go back to playing. But if I gasped dramatically, tears would flow instantly. Same injury, different experience.

You don't experience reality directly. You experience what your brain believes reality means.

Your brain isn't a passive camera. It's a filmmaker, interpreting every sensation through past experiences, subconscious beliefs, and emotional memories.

Feel that flutter in your chest? If your narrative whispers, "Something's wrong with my heart," or "I'm really anxious", your nervous system tenses, blood vessels constrict, and anxiety chemicals flood your system.

But if your story suggested, "I'm excited about tomorrow," your body produces an entirely different chemical cascade.

A Transformation

I saw the transformative power of meaning with William, a 78-year-old retired professor. When he first arrived in my office, he could barely cross the room without gasping for breath. His medical file told a straightforward story: moderate coronary artery disease, with a moderately leaky mitral valve. He had three hospital admissions over the last six months.

But the most important diagnosis wasn't in his chart.

"Tell me about your heart condition," I asked as he settled into the chair, his wife's hand protectively covering his.

William looked down as he replied, his voice barely audible. “The cardiologist said there is nothing can be done. My heart is failing." The defeat in his eyes matched the slump in his shoulders.

I reviewed the cardiologist's notes again, along with all his tests. The actual recommendation read: "Moderate disease. No surgical intervention needed."

William's cardiologist had said "nothing needed to be done," but William had heard "nothing could be done." In that subtle misinterpretation, he had written himself a terminal story.

"William," I said, leaning forward, "Your heart isn't beyond help. It's simply asking for a different support."

We discussed cardiac rehabilitation instead of his referral treatment. I explained how reconditioning would strengthen his heart gradually and safely.

Along with cardiac rehab, my staff and I continuously reassured him that his heart was getting stronger. His entire demeanor changed. Six months later, William walked into my office, walking ahead of his wife. He related he was now walking two miles daily and hadn't seen the inside of a hospital since our first meeting.

His heart condition hadn't changed. His inner narrative about his condition had changed.

Before your body reacts, your mind assigns meaning. That meaning becomes the signal your body faithfully obeys.

Pain Is Real. Suffering Is a Story.

People don't imagine pain. It's real, valid, and deserves proper medical attention. But what about when tests find nothing wrong? When your doctor says, "Everything is normal," yet you feel anything but normal?

This is where meaning becomes most powerful.

"The physical pain is difficult," a patient once told me, "but it's the idea that I'll never be the person I thought I'd be keeps me up at night."

Suffering is not what your body feels, but what you believe those sensations mean about your current condition and the future.

Your brain constantly tells stories like this, interpreting everything through the subconscious mind.

Childhood memories when a doctor's tone reminds you of a dismissive teacher.
Family scripts about "everyone in our family has back problems."
Cultural narratives about illness and healing.
Personal fears that transform ordinary sensations into catastrophic meanings.

Unless you realize this narration, it directs your physiology without your input. But here's the liberating truth:

You aren't just a passive audience to your brain's storytelling. You're also the author.

Your Brain Is Always Telling Stories, So Rewrite Your Narrative

This doesn't mean forcing positivity or denying legitimate concerns. It means developing the capacity to notice automatic narratives and ask:

Is this story true or has my mind filled gaps with assumptions and speculation?
Does this narrative help me heal, or keep me trapped in fear?
How would I feel if I am able to perceive this differently?

This isn't denial. It's discernment, distinguishing between facts and perception.

This isn't about pretending everything's fine. It's recognizing that between stimulus and response lies a space where you can choose a narrative that creates less suffering and more possibility.

This works through a physiological mechanism based in neuroscience.

How Biology Follows Belief

Reinterpreting your story from a more optimistic perspective stimulates your Vagus nerve, which activates your parasympathetic nervous system. This shifts your nervous system from "fight or flight" to "rest and digest," which leads to:

Your immune system reducing unnecessary inflammation.
Hormonal rhythms normalize, affecting sleep and energy.
The gut-brain connection transmits signals of safety rather than danger.
Blood flow increases to areas previously constricted by stress.
Muscular tension eases, reducing pain.

Your body stops preparing for a catastrophe and starts preparing for repair.

Your brain reorganizes itself based on experience and belief. This reorganization extends throughout your entire body.

Now let's explore practical steps for implementing this shift in perspective.

Putting This Into Practice

This process involves multiple steps that vary based on individual circumstances and specific symptoms. The following framework provides a general approach to guide your practice. Remember that no single interpretation of your symptoms is inherently correct or incorrect—each perspective simply carries different outcomes and consequences.

1. Symptoms - If these symptoms are new, consult a healthcare professional for evaluation and advice. This important first step ensures you receive proper medical evaluation and eliminates potential concerns about overlooking a condition requiring medical or surgical intervention. Seeking professional guidance also provides peace of mind, allowing you to address the issue without lingering doubts about more serious underlying causes.

2. Recognize Your Inner Narrative:

Identify thought patterns that emerge when you are experiencing symptoms. Pay attention to how you interpret and explain these physical sensations to yourself.
Acknowledge emotional responses connected to your symptoms. Notice that negative emotions often accompany perspectives where you feel powerless or at the mercy of your condition.
Understand the connection between your mindset and your experience. This perspective isn't inherently right or wrong, but recognizing that a sense of helplessness typically correlates with both negative emotional states and persistent symptoms can be valuable for your healing journey.

3. Practice Compassionate Inquiry.

When you detect a limiting narrative, gently asked yourself: "Can I be absolutely certain this interpretation is accurate? What alternative explanations are there?"

4. Explore Multiple Perspectives.

For each symptom you experience, deliberately formulate at least one alternative interpretation or meaning. Pay careful attention to how your body responds to these different narratives.

5. The One Belief That Changes Everything

"While I cannot control every symptom or circumstance in my life, I remain the architect of their meaning. I have the power to choose how I interpret and respond to each experience."
This creates space between experience and interpretation, where healing becomes possible even when a cure remains elusive.
It won't eliminate pain or magically resolve conditions requiring medical intervention but it dissolves much of the suffering that comes from catastrophic thinking and feeling helpless.

Final Thought

You are more than your symptoms.

Your mind is a storyteller with the power to reshape experience. A meaning-maker whose narrative influence your biology in profound ways.

When discomfort arises, take a moment to reflect on the narrative you are believing.

Your body responds to every thought. Your path forward begins with your choice.