Recovery: The Essential Components to Healing from Disease
After the shock of a diagnosis of a serious health condition has settled, the desire is to want cure it, to want to eradicate it from the body forever. The medical treatment may take care of the physical expression of the disease, but what about the emotional side? What happens to the interpersonal and family side? What about the spiritual side? Many cancer survivors will be heard saying that they are glad to have had cancer, because it helped them change their life for the best. They admit that without the cancer, they wouldn’t have had the courage to make those significant life changes. It is almost as if the disease gave them the permission to summon their courage and change their life. These survivors will say that they are not in remission from the cancer, but actually have healed from their disease.
Healing is the process of bringing greater wholeness to consciousness. This heightened awareness addresses the cause of the disease, the lack of ease, the resistance to the flow of life. Healing disease is different than curing disease. Healing involves seeing the bigger picture. Healing engages the patient in a process of self acceptance and discovery. In his book, Love and Healing , Dr. Dean Ornish describes healing as a process whereby the patient attains greater inner peace, and greater freedom from the struggle with pain and suffering. Healing involves psychological, spiritual, social and sometimes political dimensions of the individual as well as the physical. Thus, the process of healing from cancer goes far beyond conventional medical treatment.
Be a creator: Take responsibility and take charge
Getting a disease is not a carte blanche to embark on a rampage of blame. It’s not the time to blame the water, the environment, or your genetic heritage. Nor is it time to blame yourself. It doesn’t serve to blame yourself for not having eaten enough vegetables or for having smoked as long as you did. Fruthermore, when you are reacting to external influences and get stuck in negative emotions, you are allowing yourself to remain in a vicitm state that does not support healing. The bottom line is that healing requires the abandonment of blame.
Being a creator involves taking charge of your health and doing whatever you need to do to reach your ulimate goal. This stance requires being fully responsible for all decisions that you take regarding your health. Even if you are counseled by your doctor or other experts, it remains you that makes the final call. You need to relinquish the fear of making waves. In fact, a creator will seek to make waves. That is how things change! Indeed people’s lives will be affected, and people will need to readjust their lifestyle as a result of your changes. Remember that a disease indicates an imbalance in a system. If changes are made to the system, a healthier balance point can be achieved.
From the growing field of psychoneuroimmunology, it is known that the emotions and mental attitude that we hold play a significant role in the progression of a disease process. By taking charge of your health and your life, you are sending a loud and clear message to your immune system and body that you are going to do what it takes to heal and that you are prepared for anything that will come your way. This attitude will be heard and adopted by the fighting forces within you!
Harness the power of intention
For many generations, survivors of severe trauma or disease were labelled as ‘miracles’ due to the lack of understanding. It appears that from the field of quantum physics, we seem to be able to explain more concretely what actually happened for these survivors. Whether the individual survived a concentration camp, resisted a natural tragedy, or overcame a deadly disease, the common denominator is that the survivor maintained a strong sense of intention. During the ordeal, in their minds, they were clearly going to make it. They had set an intention to overcome the odds. In that intention, they are clear about making this THE most important thing in their life at this time. They would be ready to do anything, even make radical changes, in order to reach that ultimate goal. That intention was so powerful that they were able to visualize themselves in a successful goal state. There was never any doubt that the success was going to be present. This doesn’t mean that one should not look at al the options, and realize the gravity of the situation. Using the power of intention is making a clear 100% commitment to healing from cancer.
The best way to exert this power of intention (‘I intend to heal’) is to envision yourself as if in an already healed state. This already healed state makes time for nutrition, for naps, for pleasures, for happiness. It is amazing to notice how once this state of being has been imagined, the discomforts of life prior to illness soon become apparent. It is the perfect time to invest in a journal. All hopes, dreams, stresses and fears can be let out on the page. Writing it all out allows the perspective necessary to see what is/has been hurtful and what creates happiness. The goal being to let go of pain and embrace happiness. The possibiities are endless...
Priority One: Me!
Many people affected by disease have led their lives putting others’ needs before their own. In order to heal, one needs to place one’s needs before those of others’. Although it may be difficult to change habits and force others to adapt, it is again sending a powerful message to the body that you are worth fighting for. This change of thinking style can be a major paradigm shift for many, who may feel selfish or guilty for putting their needs first. In fact, putting one’s needs first is self-loving not selfish. Learn how to say ‘yes’ to love, happiness and a sense of peace and learn to say ‘no’ to all that doesn’t include it.
Make changes
It is a time to think about one’s career, mission, family, friends, partner, place of residence, and quality of life. Who and what will stay? Who and what doesn’t? It is a time to think about what requires re-adjustment, what needs fine tuning. What feels right, what feels wrong.
The courage to change and the strength required to make changes will follow from that desire. It’s usually not difficult to see what’s in the way of being your best self. Unfortunately, during the best of times, the idea of change is hard. And so during a crisis, altering routine seems almost impossible. However, letting go of these past hurts and old habits creates a ripe new feeling of a second life, which segways healing the body.
This committment to change can be major or minor, just as some changes will be gradual, others may be drastic. Some changes require more strength and determination than others. A change in job can help you remember who you once were, allowing you to see just how much your previous job was eating away at your core self. And while it may not seem the most opportune time to do so, leaving a partner now may finally be ‘the time’ after all those years of saying ‘now is not the time’. The need to heal must come hand in hand with wanting to become your very best self. Your very best friend. This doesn’t mean becoming a star tennis player or the world’s best mother. It means feeling like your most optimum self. Feeling at peace and free of strain. It’s an opportunity for simple pleasures that you denied yourself for lack of time. It may be the time to finally complete the painting that’s half finished in the attic. It may be time to learn a new hobby, take up meditation, or enroll in a cooking class. It is time to feed the soul.
Be assertive: Ask for help
Many people with disease have the reputation that they are independent and don’t need help. They can cope with anything themselves. Often, a person with a disease will be more worried about their spouse or family than their own disease. In the quest for healing, it is necessary to learn to ask for help. For example, ask for your spouse’s help in the kitchen, for friends to car-pool, for bosses to extend a deadline. Similarly, asking for help involves establishing boundaries: asking for space, for time alone, for the understanding from others that ‘no means no’. If they don’t understand the need for those desires to be met, there is no need to tiptoe, to ‘be nice’. Keep in mind that there will be resistance in others’s behavior at first. They will test your new resolve. Stand firm and respect your position. Asserting yourself and being clear about your boundaries will help you, and stimulate you immune system and support others as well.
Stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system
The body’s parasympathetic nervous system is the body’s recuperative state of being. It is calm and relaxed. However, in triggering the sympathetic nervous system, the body moves into a ‘fight or flight’ response. That state triggers a number of stress reactions including muscle tension, secretion of stress hormones, halted digestive, elimination and immune systems, excited cardiac function, and mental anxiety. If the body is preparing itself for battle, how can it heal? It is therefore vital that the utmost effort be made to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system which is associated with the relaxation response. This response is associated with the body concentrating its efforts on repair and recovery. As such the immune, digestive, elimination, lymphatic system are stimulated and supported. The relaxation response can be achieved through relaxation, deep breathing, meditation and visualization. A daily practice of one or several of these effective techniques is recommended.
Find meaning
Disease in all its forms is an opportunity to bring greater consciousness to the wholeness of your life experiences, your relationships, work, and expression. If there is some unlived potential, disease will persist in bringing it to your awareness.
It is a good time ask oneself all of life’s big questions. What was life like before falling ill? What do I need to do now? What can learned amidst all this? This might be a good time to develop faith. Faith in the universe, faith in g-d, faith in a guardian angel. It might be a good time to explain why life is worth living. It is a time to ask for strength, for the energy to heal. When people lack meaning, that leaves room for anxiety, stress and depression.Finding meaning is essential to moving into a place of empowerment and readiness to keep the battle alive.
Choose the best support system for you
A team of awesome multi-disciplinary health professionals and healers may help you along the way. They can inspire you with their knowledge of alternative healing and be a guiding force amidst the regular team of doctors. It is necessary to be clear on how they can specifically be of help. Ask them what they can offer and based on their answers, be sure to establish what you need and expect from them.
Let go of painful memories
On the path to healing, there is no longer time to dwell on negative emotions. That means detaching from ego, pain, drama and chaos. If drama was a way of life prior to disease, there’s no better time than now to break that pattern. Try to limit the invasion of dramatic personalities around you. Withhold from engaging in the desire to take things personally, to hold onto resentments, to get caught up in family tensions. Letting go of grudges is fundamental to healing.
However, even your own difficult emotions should be allowed their time too. If they are surfacing, they need to come out and breathe.. This can be a detox process, much like de-weeding a garden.What remains once those difficult emotions are gone are the flowers: the self care and the love.
Handle emotions with love
When an emotion surfaces, prepare yourself to listen to it. Be attentive, and tune in to its physical manifestation. Let it be present without trying to transform it in any way. By observing it in a neutral way, you are acknowledging its presence, validating not only it but you too. Shortly thereafter this step, you will notice the emotion shifting to another state. Stay tuned until you feel a state of persistent calmness.
Engage the future
Establish the reasons why you need to live. Make them personal. Commit to a future meaningful goal in 1, 3 and 5 years. How is the disease supporting your soul’s path? How can you learn? Come up with a mission statement for your soul. What does it want to do most? If you strive to for more, your mind will inspire the rest of your body. Remember that this is a fight to heal old wounds and a fight to assert your love of life. Heal the wounds and the body will follow.
Respect the wisdom of the body
Take care of the physical needs of the body by learning to listen to, and follow the body’s needs. Tune in to your intuition. Close your eyes and your body will tell you. When you experience a food craving, ask yourself if it is what you wish to eat or what your body needs. There is a difference. Do you need to go visit your friend or do you need to take a bath instead? Listen closely. There is no need to follow obligations. Following your body will support you in accessing your intuition and stimulate your inner healing resources.
Nutritious foods
Learn about a healthy diet. Try to eat organic food without pesticides. Take supplements.Discover which foods will support you, which will deplete you. Commit yourself to eating the finest and healthiest foods to support your body and your soul. However, do not get caught up in the fear of eating the wrong food or not eating the right food. Make clear decisions about what you will eat and be firm. Your assertive stance will be sending a powerful message to your body. The energy will give you a clear mind and help you on the road to healing. If you need help choosing your optimal healthy diet, meet with a specialized naturopath or registered dietician.
Conclusion
Disease will change your life. Accept that and convince yourself that you are worth creating a life that you dream of. Let the disease be a doorway to a more fulfilling and peaceful life. Live in hope, not in fear. And soon you will see life taking on another level of meaning.
© Stephane Bensoussan, M.A., Holistic Psychologist, 2004
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Mieux vivre avec le cancer
Les solutions naturelles pour atténuer les symptômes
Prix : 29.95 $ CAD
ISBN 13 : 9782761924573