Member-only story
Body Memories Bring Back Grief
They show up when you least expect it
Some years ago, I went through a hard time coping with life. I couldn’t seem to figure out what was causing my struggles.
My life had been fine, and I hadn’t felt overly stressed. The weather had been good, my home life was stable, and I’d recently had good times with my friends and family members. But I kept feeling off balance and somewhat “out of sync” with life.
When I described these feelings to my friend, she suddenly asked, “How old is your dog, Peppy?” I thought for a minute, then said, “She was born on March 30th, so she’s almost seven years old.”
“That’s it!” my friend said quietly. “Remember what else happened that day? I think you’re having a body memory, and it’s pulling you down, causing you to feel stressed and unsure of yourself.”
As soon as she said it, I knew! That was the day I got the dreaded call from my doctor telling me I had breast cancer. Tears slipped down my cheeks as I remembered that difficult time in my life.
Memories flooded back about having a double mastectomy, seeing oncologists, and being on medications with terrible side effects.
Fortunately, I’ve made it past all of that and this year, I’m celebrating fifteen years of being a breast cancer…
