The Healing Mindset
We get so focused on the underlying biology of healing that we often forget the most important part of the healing process - the person themselves and their mindset. The mind is either in the right place to facilitate healing - or it isn’t. And when it isn’t, this acts as a major brake on recovery.
Below are eight key mindset factors that I have routinely observed to be present in people who recover from chronic conditions. They are also noticeably absent in people who remain chronically sick.
Control over thoughts
Have you ever noticed how much your thoughts affect your body? Ever had ‘butterflies’ while waiting for the dentist or to board a flight? Your body listens in to your thoughts 24/7 and responds accordingly.
Don’t confuse your mind with your brain. The brain is a physical control centre of your central nervous system while your mind comprises all the mental image pictures you accumulate in the course of living (about 25 pictures a second). Think back to a time when you were having a pleasant walk? Can you see those pictures again in your mind’s eye? Perhaps you can see and ‘hear’ others who were sharing the experience with you. This is like playing a film again as you recall those pictures from the immense filing system of your mind.
The problem is that when you have not felt well for some time, you tend to store mental pictures containing your pain and negative emotions. These may play over and over again such as, ‘I’m never going to get well’ or Nothing I do seems to help.’ What is your body’s response to these thoughts?
Just becoming aware of your own negative thoughts can help you get more in control of them. How can you direct your thoughts so that your body responds more positively? The trick is to try and get your attention off yourself and on to something outside of yourself. The next time you are overwhelmed with negative thoughts, try taking a short walk and looking at things around you until you feel less despondent.
Being informed
You don’t need a PhD in Functional Medicine to be able to grasp the underlying causes of your condition. Just having enough interest to read my report and explore some of the websites that I recommend will do the trick. For example, Dr Blanche Grube’s Patient Education Series on how dental matters affect whole health or my free e-book Seven Things That Keep You Chronically Sick on my clinic website.
Being just a little more informed helps you avoid the traps that many people fall into, such as thinking that prescription drugs will effect a cure or it doesn’t matter if you carry on eating sugar. It will also help you spot the truth instead of operating on data that isn’t true. For example, if someone says there is nothing physically wrong with you and you just need to take an antidepressant, you will know better!
Not afraid of the white coats
Don’t be afraid of anyone in a white coat or subscribe to the belief that doctor or practitioner always knows best! Too many people still have this old fashioned view and it can lead them into trouble. That is rather a rather misguided view considering that doctors are now the third leading cause of death after cancer and heart disease! Don’t be afraid to question things if you feel they are not right. Patients sometimes say to me, ‘I don’t want to get on the wrong on the wrong side of my dentist or doctor.’ Why is that? Do you owe them money?
Taking responsibility
Statistics show that people who take responsibility for their health do better generally in life, live longer and are happier than those who relinquish responsibility for their physical condition to their GP, the NHS, the Government etc. You may need practitioner expertise - even a team - Functional Medicine practitioner, GP, dentist, chiropractor etc. But stay in the driving seat and make informed decisions based on the information you have.
Getting on with it
A lot of people put off until tomorrow what they should be doing today. Handling a health condition that is affecting your life enough to come and see me should be a priority. It is also a matter of planning and confront. If you can’t do a test or visit a dentist right now, plan for when you can do it and then get it done.
Some people suffer from Rich Man’s Disease. Unfortunately, this has nothing to do with wealth. Instead, it describes the situation where people are too busy and distracted with other things to handle to address a health condition that should take priority.
Weeding out toxic personalities
Hard though it may be to confront, there are some individuals in the world who harbour evil intentions toward others. We call these toxic personalities or even merchants of chaos as that is what they create. I’m sure you can think of a few stellar examples. Their intentions can be very well hidden under a sociable exterior. They can be very convincing. However, the fruits of their labours are present in plain sight - sick associates, wrecked lives, failing businesses, life becoming hard and intolerable. The thought of anyone helping others to get better or stronger drives them crazy.
Occasionally, I come across a patient who is connected to someone who is giving them such a hard time in life that diet, supplements etc. just don’t have a chance to work. I’m afraid there is only one course of action that allows patient recovery - handle that person or weed them out of your life.
Don’t be a victim
We live in a ‘victim’ culture where people are encouraged to go around blaming others for their condition - poor childhood, bad partners, horrendous boss, uncaring GP etc. While it is true that many people don’t do as good a job of looking after others as they should, it is horribly true to say that the main person responsible for their condition is that person themself. You see people who have suffered the most awful abuse refusing to let this dominate their life and becoming a roaring success. You also see people who have had minor setbacks use this as an excuse why they will never amount to anything. It is a choice one can make - feel sorry for yourself or work to overcome the condition. It is hard to be victorious if you fall into the trap of being a ‘victim.’
Follow a plan
If you want to get something done in life, get motivated and make a plan. This keeps you on track. Sometimes people come to see me with a great big shopping bag of supplements. Here it is important to distinguish between things that could be generically helpful (from a book or blog) versus a patient under the care of a practitioner.
I tell patients that now we are working together, we are no longer working at the level of generic ideas; we are working from your specific case, lab results, symptoms, history etc. And the shopping bags aren’t making it better, otherwise you wouldn’t be here.
It is better to support underlying mechanisms rather than individual symptoms and end up with a list of supplements. It is also important to follow a proper plan and review progress periodically, as opposed to going off at a tangent by following lots of different internet advice and winding up in a mess. If you follow a plan and realise that bodies can be troublesome things at times, it is easier to view life as a game rather than an unbearable ordeal.
If you would like help with any of the above issues or would like to get back into the driving seat again, please contact the Good Health Clinic on goodhealthclinic@outlook.com or ring me on 07836 552936.