This is a guest post by Prudence Sinclair.
Hello, lovely you!
I hope this finds you in good spirits. I will admit, I found myself in a bit of a funk last week. Yes, I can find myself in a bad mood from time to time. Usually, I catch myself, recognize what’s going on and quickly make a mood adjustment. But last week I got stuck in my mood. I snapped at my darling Dave. I wasn’t feeling or acting like myself.
I think my mood stemmed from a combination of the weather suddenly getting colder. And all the beautiful leaves I mentioned in my post the other week are gone. The trees are bare, and it’s getting dark earlier, and, yeah, it’s pretty cold. Also, COVID and our insane politics affect us even when we don’t watch TV!! So I slipped into a bit of a funk and let myself sit there for way too long.
It’s good that I did because my funk inspired this blog post idea.
You’ve Got to Feel Good to Get Better!
I learned something way back when I was learning how to cope without my dear dad and fighting my cancer, and that was for my body to heal, I had to FEEL GOOD emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually. Mahatma Gandhi said that we must BE the change we want to see. Whether you have a cold, a bladder infection, or cancer, it is tough for your body to heal when your mind and heart feel sick.
I know all-too-well how hard it can be to be in a “good mood” when you literally think you are dying in a matter of months. But I learned quickly that if I had any hope of healing from cancer and living to see my 30th birthday, I would need to turn my head and heart around.
This realization came when I began to read some of my now dear friend Bernie Siegel’s books.
Bernie has a quote that I responded to very much:
“The mind and body are not separate units, but one integrated system. How we act and what we think, eat, and feel are all related to our health. Physicians should be capable of teaching this behavior to patients.”
Bernie helped me to understand that all of me affected my health. And thank God he did, or I don’t know if I would be alive today, writing this blog post. Once I understood that I would have to find a way to dig myself out of my darkness in order to allow my body to heal, I set to work to figure out exactly how to do that. Today, I want to share some of the ways I learned to “cheer myself up” when I was battling cancer.
It’s Not About Denying Your Feelings
I always tell people that it’s essential to feel your feelings. Fighting for your life is scary as hell and it can put you in a really bad mood. So if you are facing a health challenge, it is 100% OKAY for you to take some time to feel the pain, grief and sadness that comes along with facing a serious illness.
What’s NOT okay for your health and overall well-being is to allow that darkness to linger. So I just want to be clear, cheering yourself up and getting yourself into a place of light has ZERO to do with denying your feelings. Feel them, and then shine some light on that darkness.
Observe Your Feelings
So now you might be wondering how you move on from feeling your darkness.
You shift into a space of observing your feelings instead of feeling them. When you observe your thoughts and feelings, you tap into your higher self and then respond to an experience instead of reacting to it.
Understand How the Brain Works
Did you know that the verbal part of our mind processes roughly 40 bits of information per second whereas the non-verbal part of our mind can process roughly 11 MILLION bits per second? Why is this important for you to know? Because when that voice in your head is telling you, “Life is scary and horrible and there is no hope,” you need to know that it is not basing this doom and gloom message on very much information at all. So, know that your thoughts and subsequent feelings are not typically based on the WHOLE truth.
Shift Your Awareness
Another way to move past your funk is to shift your awareness somewhere else. I could still move my body back when I was battling cancer, so I would put on my favorite music and dance. This took my awareness out of my thoughts/feelings and put them into my body. You can go for a walk, swim or ride a bike if you prefer. If you are not well enough to move your body, use your imagination to explore someone else’s life instead of yourself. Read romance novels or watch one of your favorite movies.
Meditate
If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you know that I am a big proponent of meditation. Meditation was one of the most important tools I used to heal myself of cancer. Meditation takes you out of your mind chatter (Link to:https://prudencesinclair.com/what_is_your_power_statement/) and places you in the eternal NOW. Meditation helps you to be an observer of your thoughts and feelings instead of a slave to them.
Surround Yourself with People Who Make You Feel Good
Only spend your time with those friends and loved ones that make you feel good; that make you laugh and put you in a good mood. If you’re dealing with a health crisis, now is NOT the time to try and be NICE and spend time with those people who are sourpusses, negative, or who bring toxic energy into your life. Hell. No. Stay Away from those people!
These were some of the most profound ways I got myself out of the dark and into the light so I could heal. If they worked for me, they can work for you, too. Download my Daily Walk & Talk and shift your awareness.
Here’s to brighter days ahead.
Eva Williams
I was inspired by this text. Many years ago, I was under constant stress for a couple of months. I was constantly tense, I didn’t want anything except work and sleep. I stopped loving my body and didn’t take care of myself at all. Therefore, I started having health problems. And it so happened that I did not even realize it. At one point, my friend came to me and said that she could not take it anymore. She took me to her friends, where I relaxed for the first time in a couple of months and forgot about my work. And the most important thing was that I got into the company of people with whom I felt comfortable. These people are now my friends and with them I definitely don’t worry about stress anymore!)