Healing Identity: How Who We Are Shapes Our Health
In today’s fast-paced world, many of us are aware of the profound impact stress has on our health. Yet, according to *Cured* by Dr. Jeffrey Rediger, the deeper cause of many illnesses isn't just stress itself but something much more fundamental: our identity. In this book, Dr. Rediger draws on decades of research and practice to suggest that our sense of self—how we perceive ourselves and our place in the world—directly affects our physical, mental, and spiritual health. This is a perspective that challenges us to look far beyond the conventional understanding of health as a matter of diet, exercise, and genetics. Instead, it asks us to consider who we are at our core and how healing this inner identity can unlock real and lasting wellness.
The Hidden Causes of Illness
We often think of the causes of death or disease in terms of physical factors like cancer, heart disease, or diabetes. These are tangible issues that we can diagnose and treat with medical interventions. However, what Dr. Rediger reveals is that the root of these illnesses often lies in something less tangible but equally important: stress-related diseases caused by unresolved emotional, psychological, and spiritual factors.
In fact, 80% of primary care visits in the United States are due to stress-related diseases. While many of us know the harmful effects of stress, Dr. Rediger dives deeper into why we are stressed in the first place. His findings show that our chronic stress often originates from unresolved trauma, relationship dynamics, societal pressures, and an internal disconnect from our true selves. All of these factors lead to what he calls a "fractured identity."
When we lose touch with who we truly are, we unknowingly create stress in our minds and bodies. Over time, this chronic stress manifests in various forms of illness. It’s not simply about having a stressful job or balancing a busy schedule; it’s about the unresolved wounds that shape our identities and, consequently, our health.
Identity and Healing
A groundbreaking concept from *Cured* is the idea of healing our identity to heal our bodies. Dr. Rediger highlights that many of the people who achieved full recoveries from so-called incurable diseases did so by addressing the deepest aspects of themselves: their core beliefs, their relationships, their sense of purpose, and the unresolved traumas they carried. These individuals didn’t just treat the symptoms of their disease; they addressed the core fractures in their identity, and in doing so, their bodies followed suit in healing.
But what does it mean to “heal your identity”?
To begin, it involves reconnecting with who we truly are beneath the layers of conditioning, societal expectations, and past hurts. It means acknowledging the emotional wounds we’ve carried, whether from childhood trauma or unresolved pain in our adult lives. Healing identity means bringing to light the aspects of ourselves we’ve ignored, denied, or suppressed. As we come into alignment with our authentic selves, we release the psychological and emotional stress that contributes to physical illness.
For many, this might involve working through past traumas, redefining unhealthy relationships, or reconnecting with a sense of purpose and meaning in life. The process is deeply individual and requires a holistic approach, which may include therapy, somatic work, mindfulness, spiritual practice, or simply taking the time to reflect on who we are and what matters most to us.
The Mind-Body-Spirit Connection
It’s no coincidence that healing identity has such a profound effect on the body. As somatic therapists have long known, the body holds onto emotional and psychological experiences. Unresolved pain from the past is not just a memory in the brain—it’s something the body carries. This is why trauma can often lead to chronic tension, immune system dysfunction, or even physical pain.
Dr. Rediger’s work emphasizes that when we heal our fractured identity, we release the body from the grips of these unresolved stresses. We stop sending the nervous system into overdrive, and we allow the body to enter a state of repair and restoration. The healing of identity isn’t just a metaphor—it’s a literal process that allows our bodies to heal at the cellular level.
Spiritual health, too, plays a critical role. Many of the individuals who healed in *Cured* described reconnecting with a deeper sense of meaning or a higher power as part of their journey. Whether through religion, spirituality, or simply a sense of awe at the interconnectedness of life, finding a connection to something larger than oneself has been shown to reduce stress and foster greater resilience in the face of illness.
Moving Forward: Healing as a Journey of Self-Discovery
So, what does this mean for those of us looking to improve our health?
It means that healing our identity is not a one-time event, but an ongoing journey of self-discovery. It requires us to ask ourselves: Who am I? What unresolved pain am I carrying? How do my relationships and my environment shape my sense of self? By answering these questions, we can begin to realign with our true identity and foster a state of health that goes far beyond the absence of disease.
It also means that healing is not just about changing what we eat, how we exercise, or which medications we take. While these are important factors, they are only part of the equation. True healing requires looking inward, understanding who we are at our deepest level, and addressing the root causes of stress that fracture our sense of self.
As we heal our identity, we heal our bodies, our minds, and our spirits.
Final Thoughts
The concept of healing our identity to heal our bodies is a profound shift in how we approach health and wellness. It challenges us to look beyond surface-level interventions and address the deeper issues that affect our well-being. Dr. Rediger’s insights in *Cured* offer a roadmap for those seeking true healing—a journey that starts not with fixing the body, but with rediscovering the self.
If you're ready to take that journey, start by asking yourself: *Who am I, really?* And how can I heal the parts of myself that I’ve long ignored? The answers may hold the key to unlocking the health and vitality you’ve been searching for.
Be well.
