Arthritis is a joint disorder featuring inflammation. Follow us in this journey as we discuss the Spiritual meaning of arthritis, spiritual meaning of having arthritis and the spiritual significance of ankles.
There are more than 200 different types of arthritis, with varying methods of treatment, symptoms, and causes.
Two of the most common forms are osteoarthritis (related to wear and tear of cartilage) and rheumatoid arthritis (inflammation resulting from an overactive immune system).
Arthritis sufferers include women and men, adults and children.
From 2013 to 2015, an estimated 300,000 children and 54.4 million adults in the US have received a diagnosis of some form of arthritis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
By 2040, more than 78 million American adults are projected to have doctor-diagnosed arthritis.
Spiritual Meaning of Having Arthritis
Arthritis is a very common condition, affecting millions of people every year. It can cause a lot of pain and discomfort, but it doesn’t have to stop you from enjoying your life.
The spiritual meaning of arthritis is that you need to take care of yourself. You need to listen to your body and give it what it needs—even if that means putting your own needs aside for a while. If you’re not taking care of yourself physically, then your body will let you know with pain in the joints.
Your soul wants you to be happy, so listen to its message by taking care of yourself physically and emotionally.
Arthritis is a term for inflammation of the joints, and it can affect your spiritual life as much as your physical one.
It’s easy to feel like God has abandoned you when you’re struggling with chronic pain or feeling like you have no control over your body. But He hasn’t—and there are ways to keep your faith strong even during these trying times.
Here are three ways to stay connected to God despite arthritis:
1) Pray. Prayer is always important, but the Lord listens especially when we need Him most. There’s no better time than now to ask Him for help, guidance, and peace!
2) Worship. Worshiping God through song or prayer can help lift your mood and put things into perspective. It can remind you of what matters most in life: our relationship with God.
3) Serve others in need. When we serve others, we get a chance to reflect on how much God loves us—and also how much He loves everyone else on this planet!
Causes
Although the precise cause of this condition may be difficult to identify, here are some common factors to be aware of:
- smoking tobacco – some studies concluded that individuals who smoke are at an increased risk of developing this condition;
- having a standard American diet – this diet is high in omega-6 fatty acids (like – peanut, corn, safflower, sunflower, and soy oils), which are healthy in small doses; however, excessive intake of omega 6 combined with low consumption of omega 3 fatty acids can trigger inflammatory chemicals;
- genes – there is some evidence that RA can run in families; nevertheless, the risk is thought to be low since genes only play a small role in this condition;
- occupation – works involving repetitive movements can increase the risk of OA and other musculoskeletal conditions;
- some types of arthritis are due to metabolic problems. These include pseudogout and gout, caused by crystal deposits within the joints;
- infections – they can cause short-lived arthritis.
Spiritual Meaning of Arthritis
In my work as a therapist, I look for the root cause of health or emotional challenges, and using my own unique healing methods, I assist my clients back to health and well-being. In this article, I shall outline a few of the emotional or spiritual causes of arthritis, such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Healing arthritis begins with understanding where it first originated and addressing the root, emotional cause.
According to metaphysical teacher, Louise Hay, there are feelings of being unloved, together with an underlying criticism and resentment.
What Are The Physical Signs of Arthritis?
Before I give some examples of the emotional or spiritual causes of arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoarthritis, first let’s understand the physical impact of these painful conditions.
Although our joints are sealed and self-lubricated and designed to last a lifetime, under certain conditions they can become inflamed and painful, and even freeze and lock in position.
OSTEOARTHRITIS is believed to be caused by wear and tear of the joints and the cartilage that cushions the impact on the joint gradually deteriorates. At the worst, the smooth surfaces roughen and eventually disintegrate, leaving a painful bone-to-bone contact that restricts movement.
RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS is not as common as osteoarthritis, as it is an autoimmune disease that causes painful inflammation and swelling which can travel to different joints in the body.
Which Emotions Trigger Arthritis?
Now, let’s look at the emotional or spiritual causes of arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoarthritis.
There is a similarity of emotional causes between rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoarthritis.
However, on the whole, those with osteoarthritis tend to project their feelings outward, whereas those with rheumatoid arthritis are more self-critical or self-destructive.
Emotional or Spiritual Cause of Osteoarthritis
- Feeling trapped, resentful, and angry.
- You have never felt that you could focus on your own goals.
- When expressing your feelings you were often made to feel guilty or ashamed for expressing these feelings.
- By doing things for others you have often forgotten to attend to your own needs.
- This has resulted in feeling controlled and trapped by the needs of others.
- Your reaction has been becoming rigid and inflexible in your relationships.
- You punish yourself due to your feminine aspect being wounded. Compassion and nurturing are withdrawn. This may have been replaced with feelings of bitterness and judgment, with a need to control others.
- There may be some held-in hatred for mother or father, as old anger destroys flexibility.
- Unable to compromise creates physical inflexibility.
Emotional or Spiritual Cause of Rheumatoid Arthritis
- There may be a fear of co-dependency causing you to feel controlled and trapped.
- There is a fear of saying “no” due to a fear of being rejected and abandoned.
- Childhood conditioning may have made you feel that you deserve to be punished for being a bad person and not being good enough.
- You could have been manipulated into doing and accepting things and circumstances that brought you no joy.
- Rheumatoid arthritis takes over when the creative expression has been suppressed. There can be anger festering towards the person who stopped your joy.
- Due to suppression in the past, there may now be a lack of courage and conviction.
Do You Suffer From Arthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis or Osteoarthritis?
Tied to these feelings are holding on to feelings of hostile opinions and beliefs. Any long-term tension or depression can settle in the joints. To give an example from the late, Martin Rush, M.D.
Mixed feelings can create problems in a particular joint, for example, the elbow, part of you wants to move in one particular direction, but part of you wants to move in the opposite direction. If both muscles are pulling at the same time around the joint, it sets up tension in the joint, which tends to impede the circulation. After a time, it hurts, swells, and finally deteriorates, becomes fixed and locked.
Suppose you want to punch a troublesome person in the nose ( you want to extend the elbow). Suppose that person is your dear old father and you don’t want to hurt him (you want to contract the elbow). These feelings can be unconscious. If your father is very often in your feelings or he lives in the same house as you, your elbow is tense most of the time.
One of the biggest barriers to overcoming arthritis is the need to be right. This can leave a person with rigid thinking, uncompromising and rigid. The body will express it accordingly. Alternatively, there can be a belief that it is wrong to get angry. This may have been a learned belief from childhood. The result is repressed anger that can ‘eat oneself up’
spiritual significance of ankles
The ankles are a place of great spiritual significance.
The ankles are the point where the soul meets the body. They are where we walk in this world, and they are where our feet touch the ground of earth, which is sacred. Our ankles are also a place of great vulnerability: they can be injured or broken, and it is painful when they are. This is because there is so much more at stake than just our physical well-being: there is also our spiritual well-being at stake when we hurt our ankles!
So next time you feel pain in your ankle, remember: it could be a sign that something greater than yourself is hurting—that your soul may be in danger. Take care of yourself and protect your ankles with extra care until you feel better.
The ankles are a key part of our connection to the Earth in many spiritual traditions. In some cases, this is because the ankle is thought to be where the energy from the Earth enters our bodies. In other cases, it’s because the ankle is seen as a place where we can connect with our inner spirits and harness their power.
If you’re looking for a way to tap into your inner strength and power, try grounding yourself by placing one hand on your ankle and one hand on your chest. This will help you release any stress or anxiety that might be weighing you down, so that you can focus on your goals and make them happen!
