I was seated in a private clinic in Nevada waiting for one of the doctors to enter the room. Until this far, everything I had heard had to deal with medical intervention. I did not expect that this doctor would look at me and ask me “do you love yourself”?
He went on to say that scientifically 83% of your recovery is due to your mindset.
This means that 17% is what doctors can offer and the overwhelmingly power of healing lies with us: our thoughts, emotions, and those we surround ourselves amongst.
So then how do we make sure we are fulfilling the 83% of our commitment to healing our bodies.
- Living in gratitude is one. This makes it so easy to keep a healthy positive attitude. If you find it hard to be thankful for anything, start a gratitude journal and you will see within a couple of days that you have a lot to be grateful for.
- Another way is getting locked in with your faith community. For me God is always present so I always have the sense that He is working on my life through my disease to make me more of the person He wants me to be. This is a very humbling experience. Getting amongst people of your faith will encourage you and keep you on track for the moments that come when you loose hope, because they do come, if only for a second and rarely but they show up and you need to be well guarded.
- I recently heard about tapping. It’s used to help calm and reset your nervous system especially when diving in and going through some painful memories. It’s important to work with someone to get to some emotional roots that harbour in the body. This can help with resetting your response to these events in the body releasing their hold on you.
- Meditation, yoga and Chi Gong are also very practical daily tools to keep your mind set positive and help move energy.
- Cardio or brisk walking keeps the energy moving, blood oxygenated and releases stresses.
From Kelly Turner’s research and book (Radical Remission: Surviving Cancer) and Radical Remission Project found online here, Kelly concluded 9 commonalities amongst those who went into remission without any or full intervention.
- Radical change of diet
- Taking control of your health
- Following intuition
- Supplements
- Releasing trapped emotions
- Increasing positive emotion
- Embracing social support
- Deepening spiritual connection
- Having a purpose for living
Interestingly, I had not seen this list until recently and I have passed the one year mark since my diagnosis. Instinctively the very first thing I did was change my diet. I have not touched sugar for over a year now and have never eaten so many vegetables in my life.
Secondly, I was point blank told that if I want my body to change I need to take responsibility for my illness, as “…only owners can make changes“. As, I made the shift my social support from Family and Friends also shifted to create a very supportive and nurturing community for me.
Thirdly, my naturopath, in my research and my oncologist, Dr. James Forsythe in Nevada highly recommended supplementation. It took me about 6 months to get on the right path with supplements, basically taking all the data and figuring out what exactly what works for my body.
One important finding I found was that Diindolylmethane (DIM) caused my breasts to swell. DIM had a counteractive effect on my body. It is definitely not one size fits all when it comes to breast health. Almost every single breast vitamin has DIM in it. I had taken it prior to my diagnosis and I had the same reaction. This deserves a separate blog page and further investigation.
Now I am working on the other 4 emotional aspects Kelly mentions, though my list above. I incorporate all of these aspects and in addition make sure I get enough silent time.
Very good friends sent me on a silent retreat in Quebec with the Art of Living over New Years. I must say it’s the best time I have spent with myself. I find since this experience I crave days of just simple food and time to myself.
The Art of Living basis is the Happiness Program which teaches you some powerful breathing techniques that definitely reduce stress and increase oxygen in the body.