BECOMING SICK IS A PROCESS

THE LINK BETWEEN YOUR STRESSORS AND YOUR BODY

“I have a patient, an eight-year-old little girl who received the heart of a murdered ten-year-old girl. Her mother brought her to me when she started screaming at night about her dreams of the man who had murdered her donor. She said her daughter knows who it was. After several sessions, I just could not deny the reality of what this child was telling me. Her mother and I finally decided to call the police and using the descriptions from the little girl... the time, the weapon, the place, the clothes he wore, what the little girl he killed had said to him… everything the little heart transplant recipient reported was completely accurate.”

DEALING WITH STRESS

• Admit and identify your stressors- what rattles you?

• Keep a journal - write a paragraph describing the event. Analyze how you feel, why it is stressful, what skills, support and resources that can help you cope. By doing this, you are regulating the amygdala threat response.

• Practice acceptance and forgiveness- don’t sweat the small stuff

• Practice letting go of what you can’t control. Put things you cannot control into a container (I use prayer). Seal it, bury it or junk it.

• Get a life - find ways to have a fun and fulfilled life. You may not control what you feel but you can control what do.

• Find a hobby, volunteer activity.

• Vitamin D and nutrition

• Mindfulness - this is an attitude towards living. It involves living in the NOW... not the past, not the future… just NOW. It is an antidote to the amygdala rapid reaction.

• Relaxation-breathing and progressive muscle relaxation. Focusing on your breath in a way to slow it down and make it full.

• Talk to someone.

THE BODY’S BILL… SOME DAY YOUR BODY WILL PRESENT ITS BILL