~You can only change yourself
~Interventions can create roadblocks to true health
~Emotions can create dis-ease in the body
~Stubbornness is an asset
My mom was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease nineteen years ago. The number one lesson that I learned is that you truly cannot change anyone else. My beliefs about health, healing, and God's perfect design of our bodies were completely different from my mother's beliefs. I had to realize and accept that although I prefer to take responsibility for my health and assist my body's natural avenues of healing, my mom was more comfortable trusting conventional medicine and the options that were presented to her by her doctors. As much as I wanted to help my mom, after a while, I realized that even if I could convince her to try something that I believe in, it would not be successful unless she believed in it, too. It's kind of the basis of the placebo effect- which studies have shown to be effective 40-80% of the time!
The second lesson that I learned is that the human body is more perfectly designed and resilient than I ever realized was possible. As much as we have learned about the human body, it is easy to misinterpret sickness and symptoms. For instance, when we are experiencing a runny nose and fever, we try to blame and remove those symptoms- not taking into account that those symptoms are simply the channels through which our bodies are healing. And the presence of those symptoms should be reassuring to us - our bodies are already on the path to recovery. When you look at it that way, it is counterproductive to interrupt the natural systems that we have to heal. Same goes for injury to a joint that results in swelling. Our first impulse is to apply ice. But, the inflammation serves a purpose (blood flow to the site of the injury). Ice may feel good initially, but what are we doing to the longterm healing? Extinguishing symptoms prematurely does not remove the cause of sickness or injury. When we don't listen to our bodies, our bodies communicate in more severe ways- and that is a blessing. We have so many opportunities to stop going down a path which is not serving us. When your car breaks down, it is unable to self-heal. If you took your car to a mechanic and the problem was not resolved, but actually got worse, would you go back to that mechanic? Would you praise and trust that mechanic? So with our health, when something goes wrong, we go to a doctor. And even when they are unable to 'fix' us or when our symptoms/disease worsen, we still go back. It seems like a really unhealthy, abusive relationship. Especially when you take into account that unlike our cars, our bodies are always trying to repair and heal. I have a deeper respect for and belief in the perfect design of the human body.
The third lesson that I learned from my mom is that sickness and disease can be caused or aggravated by emotional injury, not just physical. I felt like I had really created a good blueprint for healthy living- diet and lifestyle. And while both diet and lifestyle can positively or negatively affect our emotions, the reality is that emotions can crop up from sources beyond our control. Everyone has difficult and traumatic life experiences. Things happen that are out of our control. But what is always in our control is how we choose to respond to the hand that we are dealt. Anger, resentment, and bitterness may be intangible, but are nonetheless toxic. This lesson has encouraged me to let go of grievances.
The fourth lesson that I learned from my mom is that stubbornness can take you a long way. My mom had an amazing will to live and I'm pretty sure (or at least hopeful) that stubbornness is an inherited trait. Having a positive outlook on life is also very important. This does not mean that you need to be superficially happy all the time. It is okay to be sad, but that should be a temporary emotion. My mom was really good at always trying to find the silver lining in any situation.