All Is Well: Heal Your Body With Medicine, Affirmations, and Intuition by Louise L. Hay, Mona Lisa Schulz Read Free Book Online Page A

different affirma-
    tions. Arthritis is about experiencing criticism in unsupportive
    families. So for arthritis sufferers in difficult families, the affirma-
    tion would be: “I am love. I now choose to love and approve of
    myself. I see others with love.”
    And as you are changing your thinking to a healthier mind-
    set, turn your attention outward and look at the balance between
    your needs and the needs of your family or other social group. Are
    you letting these people take advantage of you? Are you not stand-
    ing up for yourself? Do you seem to give more to your friends and
    family than you receive? Remember, to feel safe and secure you
    need to learn how to protect and support yourself in addition to
    adding to the safety and security of these other people. Always
    remember that you are not the sole resource for everyone—they
    can look to others for help and advice, too. If you have a prob-
    lem stepping aside every once in a while, there are groups you
    can join. Look into Co-Dependents Anonymous (CoDA) or other
    groups that can help you learn to balance your own needs with
    the needs of others.
    So remember, love your family, but love yourself, too. Worry
    and care about your friends, but spend some time looking at your
    own life and make positive changes. Think of yourself in the same
    way you would a good friend, and don’t neglect that relationship.
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    We all have times when we lose sight of our own needs. The key is
    to recognize and rectify this behavior before more serious health
    problems occur.
    From the Clinic Files: Immune System Case Study
    Starting at age eight, Andrea, now 17, was caretaker to her five
    younger brothers and sisters. Her parents were unavailable to the
    children, so Andrea took responsibility for creating a more stable
    home environment. But her siblings’ comfort came at a great per-
    sonal cost to Andrea. She sacrificed her own needs and even her
    safety time and time again, and she never had the chance to enjoy
    a carefree childhood or cultivate an independent identity.
    Too young to handle the role of surrogate mom, Andrea devel-
    oped a series of health problems from an early age—she had a mild
    curvature of her spine, which was treated with a brace. She tended
    to get joint and back pain when family stress became unbearable.
    After her parents died, her spine and joint pain was agonizing
    and she developed a butterfly rash. This combination sent her to
    the doctor, who eventually diagnosed her with lupus, or systemic
    lupus erythematosus (SLE). She had been getting warning signs
    for years in the form of bone and joint problems but disregarded
    them because she was handling the turbulent lives of her siblings.
    The first thing we did for Andrea was recommend a specific
    test to verify that she actually had lupus. She went to her internal
    medicine doctor, who administered a test to find out if the anti-
    body ANA DS (antinuclear antibody double strand) was present.
    With lupus the body makes these cells that can “attack” almost
    every organ of the body—whether it’s in its mildest form (fever,
    bone, joint, skin, or thyroid illness) or its more severe cases (lung,
    kidney, and brain ailments).
    The test came back positive, so we knew that lupus was indeed
    the cause of her pain. If this and other blood tests had repeatedly
    come back negative, lupus wouldn’t be the issue. In addition to
    the ANA DS test, her physician tested blood cell counts, checking
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    We Are Family
    the total number of white and red blood cells and platelets; lupus
    tends to lower these numbers.
    Like most “autoimmune illnesses,” lupus goes through ups
    and downs—there are periods of painful joint, skin, respiratory,
    fatigue, and other symptoms, and then there are symptom-free
    intervals of remission. We directed Andrea’s treatment toward get-
    ting her immune system into