Emotions and Cancer
How could this be me? As I lay on my bed, unable to sleep because of the pain in my body, especially my joints, it seemed unreal that I was in this state. I had been a healthy and active person, so how did this happen? Instead of going from work activity to more activity as I had for years, I lie on the bed or stumbled to the couch to read, watch TV, or rest. My enemy was my own reflection in the mirror staring back at me. I looked like a skeleton without hair; a broken doll that was beyond repair, but I knew that those images and thoughts could be my worst enemy. I realized that this was a moment to re-evaluate what I was thinking and doing. How we view the world and our situation is powerful. Our health is affected by the state of our body, our emotions, and lifestyle, and if we give in with a fatalistic mindset, cancer will eat us up.
Lifestyle
First of all, I thought about my body. I was getting older, and I felt like I was always trying to catch up. I had fallen into the snack trap to keep my body going and to get the quick energy to meet deadlines. However, most of those snacks are full of sugar or carbohydrates that turn to sugar. Except for the quick energy boost, they are usually devoid of the nutrition that our bodies need. Even though I had been overweight, now I was losing weight and not sleeping well. Even my digestive track had turned against me, or so it seemed. I was afraid to eat and especially to go out and eat. In addition, I was at a point in life where hormone changes were taking place. To sum it up, my body was affecting my emotions and my emotions my body, and the drug treatments for cancer were adding insult to injury.
Health
As one painful day blended into another, I knew that I had to take charge of my thinking. A proverb came to mind, “As a man or woman thinks in their heart, so they are,” Proverbs 23:7. In psychology, there is something called the self-fulfilling prophecy. I did not want to fall in that negative pit. As long as there is life there is hope. James 5:13- 15 says, “Is anyone of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is anyone of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him or her and anoint him or her with oil, in the name of the Lord, (which represents the Holy Spirit), and the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him or her up.” So I did go to the elders and they prayed the prayer of faith over me. I chose life and healthy eating and thinking habits. In addition, this writer, Jennifer Delgado, has some good information on emotions and feelings, so check out her site.
