My sister is a big believer
in the power of positive thinking and positive affirmations. She writes
out one or two that pertain to whatever's going on in her life at the
time and hangs them on her bedroom wall where they are the last thing
she sees at night and the first thing she sees in the morning. She finds
at least one positive thing will happen or that has happened each day.
Still
feeling a bit down 5 weeks after Isabella's sudden death, I decided to
take a page out of my sister's book and do the same thing. (I refuse to
acknowledge I may be depressed even though it is one of the stages of
grief.) I called my sister and asked her for help in getting started.
She sent me a bunch of different affirmations she's used in the past as
examples. I haven't written any affirmations out yet, but I plan to this
weekend.
I
have started trying to find something good in each day, even if it's
something as minor as "Hurray, it's Wednesday - only 2 more days before
the weekend." I do try to find something more meaningful than that, but
for those days when all I want to do is pull the covers over my head and
pretend the world doesn't exist, that's as positive as I can be at that
time.
I'm
told being positive is an ongoing process, but soon it'll become as
natural as breathing. I've only been practicing positive thinking for a
little over a week. So far, I've found it's become easier to let go of
or ignore those things that irritate me. Some days are harder than
others, but I have noticed that in general I'm feeling a bit happier
than I was. And I'm finding I'm looking forward to see what other
changes being positive will bring.
Hi Katherine, 13 years ago I discovered a lump in my breast at the same time my first husband and I were divorcing - with a 3 year old daughter. My friends were all amazed at how I handled it. Was I faking it? No. I am by nature the person that looks at the glass half full (of cola mind you). A few years later a high school friend was also diagnosed with breast cancer, but unlike me, she did get very depressed about it. I had numerous talks with her, and the one thing I stressed is although I can't guarantee that a positive attitude can help, you can be certain a negative attitude will do you no good. About a month into the treatments, she changed her attitude....she called me and she told me she noticed a difference. With a positive attitude she was willing to fight and go on, whereas the negative attitude was just sucking her down.
ReplyDeleteYou, Katherine are still here, with friends and family, and people who care. Show them that you care for yourself too! You're first affirmative: I am still here living my life
Charlotte,
ReplyDeleteYour comment brought tears to my eyes because you're right. I am still here and Isabella would want me to remember the great times we shared in her 8 years and not dwell on her passing. Thank you for reminding me of that.
Thank you for sharing your experience with me. It means a great deal to me. I'm sorry for everything you had to go through but am cheering that you are a breast cancer survivor.