You might wonder what there is to be grateful about when your body is falling apart, your joints ache and the tasks of daily life seem insurmountable.
My suggestion is to start with the heart - which then affects the mind and the body.
Stress releases a chemical cascade that is very different from when you are not stressed. Living with a chronic disease can be stressful.
So, how do you get off the hamster wheel of stress? By learning to balance your nervous system through the power of the heart. The signals that are then sent to the brain releases chemicals that have a different impact on how you feel, emotionally, mentally and physically.
When you learn to use the power of positive thoughts and feelings and witness how your heart rhythm changes accordingly, well, it becomes a powerful agent of change.
Sincere feelings of gratitude work, too! Add to that gratitude crate so that you'll feel great!
Start looking for the small positives. Things like eyesight, clean sheets, hot water, learning to do something, a lessening of your symptoms, someone holding the door open for you, a call from a friend, a beautiful view...
Incidentally, you drain your energy when you're constantly scouring your environment for things you don't have. Why? Because the perceived lack triggers the stress response.
The stress response is not meant to be activated on a frequent basis.
Start by paying attention to how you are thinking and feeling. Are you soaking in negative emotions such as anger, frustration, resentment, worry, sadness, regret or even, boredom? If you were like me, you might surprise yourself. I sure did.
Quick! Name five things that you're grateful for right now.
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