7 Questions to Start to Re-Author your Body
This year I was introduced to Narrative Therapy and fell in love with it. Narrative Therapy is based on the belief that the person is never the problem. The problem is the problem. And that we are multi-storied being rather than single storied beings. These concepts might seem simple, but in practice they are so powerful and so healing.
So often we feel that there is something wrong with us. That we or something about us is the problem. “I am unlovable.”, “I am not worthy.”; “I will never feel good about myself.
” Once we see ‘the worthlessness’ as outside of ourselves, this creates the opportunity to reclaim our lives from its effects. To re-author our story!
Through the process of authoring our “strength” story we begin to take our power back and own the story of our bodies and our lives. Here are seven questions to get you started on re-authoring your Body Love Story:
1. What would be dominant story of your body so far? Is there a main theme of conflict?
2. Name this theme as something external/outside of you, i.e. ‘the worthlessness’.
3. Identify practices that sustain this problem.
4. Identify the things that diminish the role of this theme in how you feel about yourself or your body. Think of particular times, people, places, things you do, events, etc.
5. Using the list above, name the alternative story of your body, i.e. ‘strength’.
6. Explore this story further. How was this alternative story created in your life? Who else helped to create it? Who are the people are who’d be least surprised to hear about it? What sustains it, what it makes possible, what does it mean to you, and what particular problem-solving skills is it linked to?
7. Put these events, people, places, skills, and practices together into a story. Link them through time into your Body Love Story.
Story by Krystal Thompson