Attitude and Health

Just finished reading article about Attitude and Health and how it's connected and thought I should share it with you. They were using great example on two people with Fibromyalgia going out for a walk,they both return home with higher symptoms. The first one says something in lines of "I'm feeling worse,it will never get better" while the second one says "I will have to try something different tomorrow". First one being pessimistic only makes herself feeling worse with negative thoughts,she's feeling depressed and out of control. Second one with optimistic outlook is still not denying her illness,she still understands that her activity made her feel worse but she is not blaming herself for it nor she assumes that she should not be active because it makes her feel worse. She just starts looking into different approaches to her exercise activities. I thought about it and it made me think how I react in situations like that and I figured that I would be 'the first one',maybe not to that extent but would definitely feel discouraged. When I feel worse after certain activity I anticipate the same outlook next time I participate in that activity which causes anxiety which keeps me stressed out (regardless of what activity was,working,walking,going out with large group of people) and stress makes my fibro flare up even more. Often I feel that feeling stressed never goes away. Many studies have indicated that people (and animals,believe it or not) under stress have their 'fight or flight' indicators stuck in ON position which gradually weakness the immune system.
I've been trying different things in order to get my life somewhat under control. One of the things I've been doing is trying to stay upbeat and hopeful. I'm avoiding negative people and looking forward seeing people I like,trying to get enough sleep,when my fibro is really bad food is not on my priority list and I loose weight so I've been trying to make things interesting again. Tonight I remembered this great dish from back home,there is a small restaurant that makes it,my husband called carry out in,we went to pick it up, I ate the whole thing and I was really excited about it. For healthy people this might sound strange (that someone is exited about being hungry and being exited about their food) but for people with chronic illness this makes total sense. I am still keeping my gratitude journal,there was few days that I had nothing to put down and then I remembered my loving husband and my precious children and that's what I listed in my entry. It does not have to be something big like I just won lottery,small things can make a big difference,we have to be able to notice them and be grateful about them. On bad days I felt like writing down how I felt and then I remembered,I can keep regular journal for something like that,this is my Gratitude Journal and I will stay thankful and positive. Here are few entries from today,I just re-read them and they made me smile:

*Slept all night w/o waking up (all night was 5-6 hrs but I did not wake up during those hrs of sleep)

* Friendly couple minus one :))) (this means that only one was out on the porch today,still made my day:) )

*We laughed at work (long story,I might come back to it later,it was nice to just laugh because it was funny and I am thankful that it happened)

* Happy about my dinner (this is dish I mentioned above).

I am more happy today, I am exited about my day off tomorrow, I understand that I will probably not get done about half of the things I would like to get done but that's OK, I will get to what I can and do the rest some other time.

It's been helpful for me to put my feelings (emotional and physical) on paper,it makes it more real and it gives me opportunity to look at where the things are in my life and what do I need to do next.

Good night to all!