The Joys of Joy
For those of us (myself included) whose lupus makes physical activities difficult, there are other ways to be active. You can volunteer to read at your local library or senior center. You can stuff envelopes for your favorite charity or lupus organization. You can put your organizational skills to work in planning events for your local public school (while delegating the footwork to others). You can even make a nuisance of yourself to your local public officials by impressing on them the need for more federal and state funding for lupus research and lower-cost healthcare. (Phone calls and emails....Making lobbying easy!) If you're feeling a little less civic-minded, tune into one of the many cooking channels and learn how to make a flawless crème brulee for your next dessert, or how to carve summer squash into napkin holders. (Yeah...I'll get right on that!) :-)
Norman Cousins, the editor of "The Saturday Review", made health and humor history in the 1960s when he "laughed himself healthy". He had been diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, an arthritis of the spine that can cause severe pain and paralysis and can also affect the heart or other organs of the body. (Sound familiar, lupies?) Given only a short time to live, Cousins checked himself out of the hospital and into a hotel room. Armed with nutritional supplements and a lavish supply of comedy movies, joke books and other humorous agents, he not only regained the use of his previously paralyzed body, but went on to become an honored diplomat, receiving the Peace Medal from the United Nations.
Norman Cousins' story illustrates that we can affect our own health with our positivity and humor. One of my favorite quotes of his is: "The human body experiences a powerful gravitational pull in the direction of hope. That is why the patient's hopes are the physician's secret weapon. They are the hidden ingredients in any prescription." So write yourself an endorphin prescription, and read Dave Barry's latest book, rent a Mel Brooks movie, or just call up the funniest friend you know. You'll be doing yourself a real favor!
It's very easy to fall into the habit of always seeing the glass as half empty. It takes a conscious effort to overcome months or years of negative conditioning. Start small. Simply try to get through a conversation with someone without complaining about anything. Once you can manage
Latest Articles