Mind Body Connection in Chronic Illness
by Dianne Bramer on Wednesday, June 29, 2011 at 9:39am
In Chronic Illness, the more you are able to educate yourself, the more you use positive energy the better you can feel, at least in your mind, even if your body does not agree at that moment.
Do something you love! I am unable to do a lot of physical activities, almost any physical activity puts me down, but that is not going to hold me back. I am able to do art, mostly like a third grader, but none the less it is my art and my therapy. I love to make cards to send to other people who need to be lifted up when they are struggling. Just knowing I make someone else smile when they are in a funk makes me smile and it gives me another reason for being here. To encourage others who are struggling because I know what it is to live with the struggle.
I also believe your body works overtime in an overload mode when you are sick or if you live with a chronic illness. I have many problems with my eyes because of my health issues, one time my Neurologist, Dr Christopher Glisson the best Neuro ever, told me that my brain is so busy trying to process everything else that is going on in my body that my eye sight is the last thing my brain cares about. My brain is actively trying to fix and keep up with all the pain, weakness, and other symptoms going on that it just doesn't care if I can see or not. WOW! That was any eye opener. No pun intended :) I never would have thought of it like that. Then the last time I saw him I asked him why I can be so good for a few days and then WHAM it is like someone comes along, literally, and flips a light switch and all hell breaks lose. He told me living with autoimmune IS like a roller coaster ride, and unfortunately that is just how it is. No sugar coating just, it is what it is Dianne. That has helped me so much, so of course I had to send him a card to tell him thank you for that!
Staying positive even when it is hard to do so can be hard and much easier said then done! It can be like a full time job. Surround yourself with goodness and for gosh sakes always feed your soul with the things you love! For me that is my family. I cherish every second I get to spend with them, even when I feel like crap. They know when I do and they understand. They can tell when I am not so good and their love gets me through each and everyday. Of course we can't always be together, which can lead to a lonely existence on some days, especially when you can't work and get around others, but I always look forward to the next meeting with one of them. Or I come on facebook and read some amazing posts that encourage me and lift me up.
All of this being said, believe me when I am having a bad day or ten, I get depressed, I cry, I complain (mostly to myself and God), but I never give up the hope that I will have better days soon. Mostly I tell myself, one of these times I will have a good day and it will turn into another and then POOF I will be cured! Ok, so it might be the day I die but I am keeping the hope! You keep yours too! In the meantime we will lean on each other and support, love, and encourage one another! STAY POSITIVE!!!
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