Lisa G Saw • November 23, 2022

Symptom Dialogue

After a difficult year, including a family bereavement and two chronic injuries affecting my ability to work, I reached the point when I realised I needed to listen to my body and find out what it was telling me, which I mentioned at the end of the previous blog in this series, Holistic View of Health. Essentially, I knew I needed to look more closely at the emotional issues affecting me and try to understand what was going on at a much deeper level, and not just focus my attention on treating the injuries. So, I decided to give the Symptom Dialogue exercise a go, which was outlined in The Mind Body Bible by Dr Mark Atkinson. The exercise can even be used to address a disease or situation and not just a symptom. I decided to first focus on my foot problem (plantar fasciitis) because this was the primary injury mainly affecting my ability to teach my dance classes.

 

I felt it was important to be in the right frame of mind and be clear of any mental chatter, so I went through the process first thing in the morning. As well as it being the quietest time of the day, I’m also more creative and productive then, and I feel fresh. To make sure I was undisturbed, I set aside well over an hour of quiet time with my phone on silent. I even avoided using my computer despite the fact it would’ve been quicker for writing down my thoughts - instead, I went old-school and used pen and paper. It felt more organic and natural that way. I took a few long and slow deep breaths and relaxed.

 

The book recommends not treating the symptom like “the enemy, as something that needs to be removed or eradicated” and I realised that was exactly what I’d been doing, like I was fighting it. Instead, the aim was to explore the potential positives or opportunities that may be arising as a result of the symptom. Essentially, it was time for me to change my perspective. I needed to accept what was happening, be open to what I may learn and be grateful for the opportunity to know myself better.

 

The next step was to think of my symptom as an object, to make it easier to explore what it was trying to reveal to me. The idea was to accept the first thing that popped into my head. Immediately, I saw a ball. Then, at the top of a blank piece of paper I wrote, ‘If this foot pain could speak to me what would it say?’, which I know sounds a little odd. But, I was amazed at the random words and thoughts that came to me. I scribbled it all down and even wrote some words more than once, when there were recurring thoughts. The main thing was not to try to figure out the meaning behind it all, but simply let it all flow out across the paper.

 

Initially, my thoughts were all centred on when I'd first noticed the pain in my foot, at the start of the Covid pandemic and the first lockdown. Unsurprisingly, freedom, loneliness and frustration were the words that came to me more than once. Then thoughts drifted to the present day and feeling tired – everything was getting too much. I wanted and needed more time. Time for things other than work. No pressure. Less Stress. Time to be. Space. Time to reflect. Time for me. Time to write. Time for doing the things that make me happy.

 

Eventually, I felt drained of thoughts relating to my foot pain and I moved on to the next stage, which was looking at the downsides and upsides of the symptom. I was supposed to have an equal number of both. On the face of it, it might seem as though thinking of positives might be difficult, but after letting all my thoughts out, it was surprisingly easy. I think there are always positives that can be gleaned from our experiences when we look for them. The positives for me were having time out, slowing down, reflecting, listening to my body, going with the flow, not planning and basically giving myself some rest.

 

When I reflected on the object I’d associated with my symptom – the ball – it seemed so appropriate. At first there was this feeling of literally being stopped from moving, then of not moving forward, figuratively speaking, and then later, the realisation I was always on the go and seldom stationary, hardly resting or giving myself time to reflect.

 

The sense of clarity I’d gained from going through the whole process was remarkable. All that remained was to come up with an action plan for moving forward. I knew I had to give myself the time and rest I so sorely needed. In fact, I’d already addressed that, because a week before completing this exercise I'd made the difficult decision to have a complete break from teaching during the summer, but, I also needed a plan for the future, once my classes resumed. I had to look at my work-life balance and figure out how I could change my workload so it was physically less demanding on me and sustainable in the long term, plus allow me time for other creative pursuits.

 

By the end of the exercise, I felt so much better and more positive. I felt the joy of having the time and freedom to do what I needed to do in order to move forward. It felt truly liberating. It was also just the start. Now I’d opened the door to my innermost thoughts, over the course of a few days, I repeated the exercise whilst thinking about different issues and each time new insights were revealed. I even focused on the stress one time, as I knew I had so much tension in my neck, shoulders and back. I wrote so much more on that occasion than any of the other times. Curiously, the object that came to me was a life ring and at the start I had a visual of it in the water and then of me holding on to it, but by the end of all my thoughts, it had grown in size and I was actually sitting on it, floating on the water, feeling fully supported by all those around me. What was really apparent was the shift in the narrative from negative to positive as the flow of thoughts lead me to a much better place. I felt like I was letting go of certain negative thoughts about the future and fully appreciating all the good people and things in my life. I felt a sense of calm and found an inner peace.

 

Whilst I certainly believed that anything was possible moving forward, there was much I had to let go of and it wouldn’t happen overnight. I’d been holding on to a lot of pain and hurt from the past, in ways I’d never even realised, which had resulted in creating a protective shield around myself, gradually growing over the years. Only now I was realising how this barrier was blocking me from starting a new relationship with someone special. Aside from this, I also felt burdens, pressures and responsibilities that came from the different areas of my life, which weighed heavily on my shoulders. I realised I had to learn to relax and let go of the worry, frustration and tension because it wasn’t helping me at all.

 

My aim was to go out in nature more, without my camera – for a change – and experience it in different ways and really feel the benefit of mindfulness. But, perhaps most significantly of all, my desire to write was reawakened. For one thing, I felt inspired to write about this year. However, something more important to me was sitting on my computer waiting to be read by someone other than me. In 2020 I’d completed writing a non-fiction book. Finally, it felt like the right time to fully embrace what I wanted to achieve and that was to have it published.

 

Awareness is such a gift. It’s been enlightening. After completing the Symptom Dialogue exercise several times, it helped me realise what I really want in life, also that it’s within my control to make it happen. I’m not sure even my words here can convey how empowering that feels. It’s like I’ve seen inside my soul and I’m learning to be my true authentic self. I’m letting go of fears and barriers, anything that’s been inhibiting me from chasing my dreams. I’m excited about what lies ahead and I feel hope and optimism is radiating through me. When I think back to the pain I experienced at the start of the year, I now realise how true it is that difficult times help us grow stronger. This was just the beginning of my emotional journey. It feels like now, this year, is the time for me to face my past and work through my issues, so I can fully and completely embrace the future.

Marsh Harrier
By Lisa G Saw July 6, 2025
Bob and I had just experienced a wonderful four days in Norfolk in search of the Swallowtail butterfly , which I'd never seen before, and we decided to head home via RSPB Minsmere in Suffolk. Both of us had only ever been to this reserve once before, many years ago, before we knew each other. That first visit for me was a memorable occasion because it was the first time I saw Eurasian Otters in the wild and my first ever sighting of an Eurasian Bittern. Aside from it being a lovely nature reserve to visit anyway, it was the lure of the bittern that was calling me back. We'd already had two lovely sightings of this shy and elusive waterbird in Norfolk, but I had higher hopes for a better, closer sighting at Minsmere having seen some fabulous photos on social media from a few weeks prior. So, whilst we were sad to be leaving Norfolk, I was eager for the day ahead and what we might see. Things were off to a great start as we followed the woodland trail to one of the hides and saw a small cluster of people on the path ahead looking up. Someone had spotted a Tawny Owl high up in the trees. There was even a scope set up pointing towards it. The gentleman who owned it kindly invited us to have a look. It was fabulous to see the owl nestled close to the tree trunk and with its eyes shut, having a few winks. They sleep a lot in the daytime since they're mostly nocturnal. After looking through the scope, it was a case of trying to locate it it with my bins and see if I could take a photo. I was pleased with the image I was able to capture. More people came along the path and some people were struggling to spot it. Bob and I both ended up helping others try to locate it. It can be very difficult describing to others which line of trees and branches to follow with their eyes!
Swallowtail
By Lisa G Saw June 30, 2025
In the first part of this blog post - Swallowtails in Norfolk - I wrote about our first two days spent mostly at Strumpshaw Fen, where I successfully saw my first ever Swallowtail butterfly. Following this, we had two more days exploring the area. I still hoped I'd see more of this beautiful native species at some of the other reserves. DAY 3 The forecast for this day wasn't great, but at least dry. There wouldn't be much chance of any sunshine until the afternoon, when it would warm up a bit. So, we decided to head to Buxton Heath, on the other side of Norwich. Bob knew it was a good site for the Silver-studded Blue butterfly. It's a species we have in just two locations within Sussex - both of which we've been to. It's a species that thrives on heathland and can be found in good numbers in the right habitat if it's managed well - with grazing or periodic burning in patches. It turned out the forecast wasn't very accurate. When we arrived, it was already brightening up and our chance of finding roosting butterflies disappeared very quickly. However, it was lovely exploring somewhere new and aside from one other couple and a man working there, we didn't see anyone else for the three hours we were there. We left the car park and headed towards the northern corner of the heath first and in next to no time, Bob spotted one flying. I stopped and looked down and saw there was another right beside me. I used my bins to take a closer look and suddenly noticed there were ants crawling around it. Instantly, I knew this was something special. The butterfly had only just emerged. I quickly took some photos but was having real issues with my camera. I was so disappointed not to get any good photos. The butterfly is out of focus but the ant is sharp!!! Hmmm! Not what I was going for! This close relationship with ants occurs with a few of the blue species of butterfly, such as the Large Blue, Adonis Blue and Chalkhill Blue. It's the first time I've ever seen the ants in attendance of a new emerged butterfly, so I was thrilled at least to have seen it.
Swallowtail
By Lisa G Saw June 29, 2025
When Bob and I returned from Kent, having just seen the Heath Fritillary , we looked at the weather for the following week and we saw that it was looking very changeable every day, with cool windy and/or wet weather forecast. The Swallowtail butterfly ( Papilio machaon ) is our largest native species found in the UK and Bob informed me they won't be flying if the conditions aren't good. They like the warmth! Now was not a good time for our hot spell to be over! With only one more week of my break from teaching left, we had little choice but to arrange our visit for then, regardless of the weather. I booked some accommodation for us and we figured that if we went for more than a couple of days, we were bound to have at least one fairly decent opportunity to see the final species on my UK list that I'd not seen before. DAY 1 As usual for us, we set off fairly early in the morning since we had over a three-hour drive ahead of us. The plan was to stop at Weeting Heath Nature Reserve, just inside the Norfolk border, so we could break up the drive and enjoy some time out in nature. The main purpose was to see the Stone Curlew that breed at this site ( Burhinus oedicnemus ). They're a rare summer visitor to the UK and I'd not heard of this species before. They're not in any way related to the Curlew ( Numenius arquata ), which I have seen before - though they are also quite rare and endangered. Their name relates to their similar call. We sat in two different hides during the course of the late morning and early afternoon and for quite some time we didn't think we were going to get lucky and see the Stone Curlew - though we did see a couple of Curlews. At one point I nipped back to the car, and of course that was when Bob saw one! It was on the far side of the field we were overlooking, but where the ground dipped lower out of sight. He saw it just as I was returning to the hide. So, I quickly sat down and looked for it, but I didn't get a chance to properly see it. We decided to stay a bit longer, and so this time Bob left the hide to fetch our lunch, and that was when the Stone Curlew reappeared. It even flew a short distance, quite low, as it apparently had a nest nearby and it wasn't happy about the Rooks that were too close for comfort.  Don't hold your breath - the photo is pants! The bird was so far away and it was more of a record shot. However, I did enjoy watching it through my binoculars.
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