I recently immersed myself in a book, You Are What You Say, by Matthew Budd, M.D., that describes the impact of language on our bodies, our minds, our emotions, and our health. I was struck by how often the author described issues related to invisibility, and I soaked up his message about how we can transform illness into wellness.

Dr. Budd describes what he calls The Ten Linguistic Viruses. Eight of the ten are listed below, along with questions that might spark how each plays a role in your life.

Eight of the Ten Linguistic Viruses:

1. Not making requests. How often do you really want or need something from someone else, but you avoid making the request?
2. Living with uncommunicated expectations. How often do you hold back expressing your expectations of others?
3. Making unclear requests. How often do you make a request that ends up creating confusion or conflict?
4. Not observing the mood of requesting. How often do others experience your requests as demands or as begging?
5. Promising even when you aren’t clear what was requested. How often do you make a commitment, but you have a nagging feeling or come to discover that you did not ask some key questions.
6. Not declining requests. How often do you feel resentful or kick yourself for not saying “no” to what others request?
7. Breaking promises without taking care: undermining trust. How often do you agree to something, but back out, disappear from sight, or avoid doing it?
8. Treating [your] assessments [or assumptions] as the truth or…facts. How often do you assume that you are absolutely, positively right about an assumption you’ve made, but you don’t check it out from other perspectives?

As a professional life coach, I have noticed patterns in my clients’ use of language and in their sabotaging self-talk. I have witnessed the impact of negative language on their happiness, and I have taken great pleasure in helping them discover new, empowering language.

Get a copy of Dr. Budd’s book for a more thorough explanation of the impact of language on your life, and/or read this online article that summarizes Dr. Budd’s message. Let’s create visibility (and wellness) one word at a time.

www.invisiblelives.com

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