Seven Root Causes of Dis-ease

The overview: Part 1 of an 8 part series

Recently I wrote a piece about the root cause of dis-ease. I think that this topic deserves a little more attention because there is a lot of misunderstanding out there about what the root cause of dis-ease actually is.

Healing presents us with an ongoing invitation to identify the roots of our suffering, and when we mistake the stem for the roots or the affect for the cause, our healing is limited.

Sometimes when we make this mistake, we do the work required to heal, but we’re disappointed with the results. Other times, we do the work to heal ourselves and we feel satisfied with the results, but we don’t realize that we’re settling for so much less than what is actually possible. In other words, if we had kept going and persisted to the roots, the results may have exceeded our expectations and transformed our entire lives.

Healing is not just about optimizing function. It’s about becoming more whole, and the growth, love and acceptance that comes out of that process radiates into the whole that we are all a part of, transforming our shared reality. This is why getting to the root cause is worthwhile- because it benefits all of us immeasurably.

In The Real Root Cause of Dis-ease, I shared that I consider root causes to be themes of dysfunction that can present in the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual quadrants of our experience. This idea that “root causes” are themes that can express differently through the four quadrants of self is important because when we attribute the root cause to a single quadrant, we end up chasing symptoms from one quadrant to the next indefinitely.

Emotions Are Not the Root Cause of Dis-ease

Recently I’ve seen a growing interest in the notion that emotions are the root cause of dis-ease. And while I’m very pleased to see emotional wellbeing entering the mainstream conversation, this is a problematic misunderstanding. Emotion is a state brought about by a chemical messenger binding to a receptor. This biochemical phenomenon is brief. The emotion itself is too fleeting to be the root cause of chronic persistent symptoms.

If you have an emotional pattern that creates a persistent chemical/emotional state, it can certainly contribute to your physical symptoms, thoughts patterns and spiritual awareness- but it still not the root cause. The root cause is the thing that led to the emotional pattern.

This could be a traumatic event, childhood wounding, ancestral memory, pre or perinatal experiences, a memory of an event or your response to that event, etc. I like to refer to these root causes as wound patterns, and within each wound pattern is a theme- a theme that can create dysfunction physically, mentally, emotionally and/or spiritually. These wounds are the root cause of disease and they are holistic in nature. They can penetrate any part of the human experience. The patterns are not just emotional. They are physical, mental and spiritual as well. If you want to identify the root cause of dis-ease you must look at the whole of yourself and recognize the pattern as it presents in all four quadrants of the self.

This is the first piece in a new series, where I’ll be sharing about the seven different wound patterns I focus on in my private practice. I’m not suggesting that there are only seven root causes of dis-ease, but after serving tens of thousands of people with a broad range of conditions over the last 20+ years in a wide variety of settings, I have identified seven patterns, that when addressed, resolve the majority of issues I’ve encountered.

Today I will offer an overview of these seven root causes, and two different ways to identify which one is most relevant to you. In the coming weeks, I will use this series to go deeper with each one so you can explore your relationship to all of them and begin the great work of root cause healing.

The Seven Root Causes

1. Insecurity

Key words: Insecure attachment, repression, suppression, fear, inauthenticity, Feeling unsafe

Common signs: Autoimmune issues, skin conditions, weight retention, disordered eating, allergies, adrenal fatigue, anxiety, worry, lack of purpose, self-doubt, fear of abandonment, quarter or mid-life crises.

Healing Path: From fear to trust

Central theme: Feeling unsafe to express who you truly are.

2. Denial

Key words: Over-reactive, highly sensitive, numb, unaware, hysterical, dramatic, emotional bypassing

Common signs: Fertility challenges, cravings, addiction, prolonged grief, PCOS, PMS/PMDD, Anorgasmia, empathic exhaustion, people pleasing behaviors, disappointed love, codependency

Healing Path: From reaction to response

Central theme: Inability to sit with discomfort

3. Shame

Key words: Too much, not enough, judgmental, over-achiever, unworthy, fixed identity, limited, hiding

Common signs: Digestive issues, disordered eating, skin issues, commitment phobia, perfectionism, relentless pursuit of self-improvement, fatigue, dysfunctional relationship with anger, low tolerance for vulnerability, imposture syndrome, low self-esteem, poor boundaries,

Healing Path: From self judgement to radical acceptance

Central theme: How things look to others is more important than experiencing placing and joy.