Never identify yourself with an illness. Don't say, "my asthma", or "my fibromyalgia". This concept is such an important aspect of healing. I have patients who spend all their free time doing Internet searches about their condition, operating under the misconception that if they just learn enough they can figure out how to cure themselves. It's a vicious cycle that is easy to get caught up inside. There are also online chat groups where many people spend hours talking about their illness with others. When so much mental focus is on being ill, the mind and the body cannot work together to get well. Healing takes place when the mind and the body are united in purpose.
Having gone through my own long and difficult healing process before I began practicing Ayurveda, I understand how powerful it is when the focus of the mind shifts. Often, the identification of oneself with an illness becomes part of the consciousness without our being fully aware of the process. When we stop owning an illness, we make space in our minds and bodies for healing to occur.
How do you stop owning an illness? Reduce the amount of time you spend talking about it. Talk instead about your successes and victories, even if they seem small to you. Lessen the amount of time you spend doing online research about your condition. Instead, spend your time vividly remembering what it was like to be well. See yourself clearly doing your favorite activity, engaging all your senses. If your favorite thing was walking on the beach, see the shoreline, hear the waves, smell the salt, feel the ocean breeze on your skin. This practice is a meditation that cultivates in the body the memory of health, and has been used often in the physical rehabilitation of individuals recovering from serious physical traumas.
Having gone through my own long and difficult healing process before I began practicing Ayurveda, I understand how powerful it is when the focus of the mind shifts. Often, the identification of oneself with an illness becomes part of the consciousness without our being fully aware of the process. When we stop owning an illness, we make space in our minds and bodies for healing to occur.
How do you stop owning an illness? Reduce the amount of time you spend talking about it. Talk instead about your successes and victories, even if they seem small to you. Lessen the amount of time you spend doing online research about your condition. Instead, spend your time vividly remembering what it was like to be well. See yourself clearly doing your favorite activity, engaging all your senses. If your favorite thing was walking on the beach, see the shoreline, hear the waves, smell the salt, feel the ocean breeze on your skin. This practice is a meditation that cultivates in the body the memory of health, and has been used often in the physical rehabilitation of individuals recovering from serious physical traumas.