DEAR THYROID^TM

Going through cancer and diseases can be an overwhelming negative time in our life.

Trying to maintain a positive outlook can be, well, quite trying.

If we’ve heard it once or a million times, a happy positive outlook increasingly helps to heal us as opposed to a negative outlook that really can keep one feeling their very worst.

I constantly get the question, “How do you maintain such a happy appearance when you and your husband have been through a lot of crap and such horrible trying times?”

My response is that I make myself smile within the first 15 minutes that I wake up each day and find anything throughout day to make me laugh because laughter feels like great medicine to me.

But just between me and you, it took a lot of work and patience, not only to get to this point but also how to learn to do it. So please don’t beat yourself up if you aren’t to that point yet.

One suggestion out there, is keeping a gratitude journal. At the end of each day, make notes of what made you happy or appreciated that day.  It’s very surprising how many small things might have gone unnoticed.

It is so very easy to fall into depression when our world comes crashing down around us and in turn makes us lose interest in things in life and being social.  This is the point where change needs to be made by choosing the direction that matters to you.  Getting motivated helps to give a boost by focusing on what is important to you personally.  We need to allow ourselves to feel joy, to smile and laugh, especially when we are not at the best place we could be.

Being positive helps us to look for new possibilities.  We are now working on a new us and a new life.

Oh, I could say don’t allow yourself to get lost in self-pity but in all honesty, I really do think it’s only human nature to fall into that trap, but what’s more important is pulling ourselves up by the boot straps, regain determination to reach goals that we can make happen in our new happy, positive, very optimistic life.

I know people who write down positive affirmations on sticky notes and place them where they will be seen each day. Such as:

“My circumstances do not create me, I create my circumstances.”

“The only thing I can control is my attitude towards life.”

“I choose to live my positive side of life.”

There are so many more and you will definitely find the ones that strike a chord within you.

We also know that by doing good deeds or passing a blessing on to others and also give us a positive feeling, which helps with physical and emotional healing. It’s like an instant pick me up.

Positive thinking gives us hope and helps us to think clearer and we definitely need clear and precise thinking while making choices for our health and while doing research.

Being positive is all about how we look at circumstances and determining how our life could be better. To have the ability to choose a new direction because every minute we have counts.

Don’t forget that looking happy, putting a positive expression on our faces can actually make us feel happier about the present and future.

Take some time to figure out all the things that help to give you a positive attitude and set reachable goals to insert them into your daily life. It truly will make a noticeably positive impact and hey, that’s what we are working on trying to achieve right?!

This is Ann Glanders signing off and saying, “Keep a smile on that face and find something silly to laugh at every day!”

Stop by and chat with me at Dear Ann Glanders on Face book and at Dear Thyroid.  I am here to help you out with any situation you are dealing with and I do mean anything.  Pop me a question or two and let’s get it figured out.

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Final Note: Please make sure you get your thyroid checked because you might have depression as a result of your thyroid. Thyroid depression is very real and can be extremely overwhelming. Psychiatric disturbances in thyroid patients are extremely common. Please look into it.

Tags: chronic illness and finding the positive, coping with cancer and autoimmune diseases, dealing with depression, Dear Ann Glanders thyroid and life support column, health strategies, learning how to define yourself, not allowing disease to define you, strategies for improving mental wellness

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