Optimism and Physical Health
When faced with setbacks and challenges, we’ve all received the well-meaning advice to “stay positive.” The greater the challenge, the more this glass-half-full wisdom can come across as Pollyannaish and unrealistic. It’s hard to find the motivation to focus on the positive when positivity seems like nothing more than wishful thinking.
The real obstacle to positivity is that our brains are hard-wired to look for and focus on threats. This survival mechanism served humankind well back when we were hunters and gatherers, living each day with the very real threat of being killed by someone or something in our immediate surroundings.
That was eons ago. Today, this mechanism breeds pessimism and negativity through the mind’s tendency to wander until it finds a threat. These “threats” magnify the perceived likelihood that things are going—and/or are going to go—poorly. When the threat is real and lurking in the bushes down the path, this mechanism serves you well. When the threat is imagined and you spend two months convinced the project you’re working on is going to flop, this mechanism leaves you with a soured view of reality that wreaks havoc in your life.
What are you thankful, for?
great post, thanks @alphav7. 😊
I am thankful for my family !❤
how about you?
@alphav7 I am grateful for growing gardens, sunshine, breezes on my face and 7 Cups
@alphav7
Thankful for God being there all this time, helping me live through tremendous things and giving me the time to come back to him; thankful for all the wonderful people in my life today that I am so blessed to have and appreciate so well--many in my life and many on here and a few others online. I am also thankful for a still having a place to live. that is a lot to be grateful for, in itself.
I try my best not to allow fear to consume me. Since I was 6 months old I was diagnosed with epilepsy. My diagnoses had changed like 3 times over the years. I had partial complex seizures several years ago and most recently its now Primary Generalized seizures which effects the entire brain which I did not have priviously. The two priviously only effected the left side of my brain plus at 14 I was diagnosed with Asthma so already I have 2 life threatening illnesses. I also have acid reflux, sciatica, arthritis and Osteoporosis. I was never bothered with epilepsy as a child despite knowing at the time something was different About me but it never bothered me. My mom never explained to me what the illness was or anything. All I knew was I had epilepsy & Convulsions but didn’t know what it was. At 14 I was taken off seizure meds but then 30 years later after 2 bad seizures I had to go back on medication. At some point after being placed back on meds and learning what it was and the symptoms it begandefining who I was and placing a lot of fear in me which the fear was heightened by both my daughter and grandaughter both were also diagnosed with epilepsy at 9 months ols. Although much of the fear has gone away I do still fear living alone. I am a loner with no friends or support sysem and children far away so if anything were to happen its likely no one would know til it was too late.
In any event I try not to put too much thought into this but what I do try to do rather than have fear I try to look at my illnesses as a gift. Many of us will get an illness will view it as being a death sentence of sorts. To me they kind of let it dictate how they live the rest of their life. Me on the other hand I have had epilepsy my entire life and the rest came throughout the years but I use my illnesses to teach others letting them know just because we have this illness doesnt mean we have to throw in the towel and give up living. Sure I have had some very serious seizure episodes and thankfully one 1 very critical asthma attack but the fact of the matter being 65 years of age I am still here still surviiving is a gift in itself. Sciatica when I was diagnosed at 23 It was bareable where medication was not yet necessary but gradully later it got bad. Doctors warned me not to sit, lay down or walk too much as it could cause worse problems. Well being my mom started me off really early in life at 2 years old to walk-she didnt believe intransportation of any sort. So naturally I told the doctors you take away my ability to walk you take away my life.. I was stubborn. It took me About 3 years doing walking little by little adding a bit extra each time til gradually I was back walking the way I once did and at times I was walking better than I use to. At 65 I will get on the floor to play with my granddaughter, race her etc. The only thing I wont do that she wants me to do is climb the monkey bars but I do my best not to let my disabilities stop me from being a part of life.