To be diagnosed with myasthenia gravis is a devastating experience, especially when the doctor tells you that there is no cure, except controlling the symptoms with long-term use of dangerous pharmaceutical drugs. This may lead to depression and despair.
Myasthenia gravis is one of the many autoimmune diseases
attacking humans. The major characteristic of the disorder is weakness of
muscles, which can occur in any part of the body, but most notably in the eyes
and the limbs. The hallmark of myasthenia gravis is double vision and general
physical disability.
No matter what, we must accept the reality, and believe in
miracles, just as Albert Einstein
said: “There are two ways to live your life: believing that nothing is a miracle,
or believing as though everything is a miracle.” Believe in the miracle of
healing, with or without drugs.
But how can we believe in the miracle of healing. God has
given us an innate self-healing mechanism that enables us to fight and recover
from diseases, including autoimmune disorders. Unfortunately, many of us
ignored this natural healing; instead we have sought healing through science (I
am not saying that science does not play a pivotal role in medicine and
healing, but we often put too much emphasis on its efficacy that we have
disregarded the natural laws of healing. As a result, our natural self-healing
mechanism may have become compromised and ineffective.
Mindfulness plays an important role in our lives: it affects
how we think, how we live our lives, and how we look at our health.
What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is deliberate
presence of mind in a non-judgmental way, often focusing on something
apparently insignificant, such as our breathing. Mindfulness is letting go of
doing, at least for now, and learning how to be in the present moment. Say, you
have been diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, and you feel distressed and
distraught. Instead of taking drastic actions to cope with the disease
symptoms, you let yourself to be doing less,
but noticing more, with the ultimate
objective of probe into your mind to release wisdom on how to deal with your
myasthenia gravis. Very often, humans rush to actions without much thinking.
The downside of this is rashness is making the wrong decisions, creating the
anticipation that not only causes stress but may ultimately bring about
disappointment, which only further aggravates the stress. Remember, stress is
not only the underlying cause of myasthenia gravis but also the major
contributor to the worsening of the disease symptoms. Essentially, the function
of mindfulness is to quiet the mind so that it may see things as they really
are, and not what they appear to be. Being to be in the present moment and to
act later with wisdom is preferred to acting and reacting without second
thoughts. 
Mindfulness is a way of being—it has been around for
millennia. It is not a new concept, although recent scientific research has
attested to its health benefits. Its major contribution to mental health is
that mindfulness can alleviate stress, anxiety, and depression. Mindfulness
also contributes to physical health in that it helps the immune system recover
and speed up any healing process. In addition, mindfulness is instrumental in
correcting behavior patterns, such as sleep which plays a pivotal role in
reducing stress and improving symptoms of myasthenia gravis. All in all,
mindfulness changes your brain chemicals to help you cope with your disease
symptoms.
But how do you develop mindfulness?
Mindfulness begins with breathing. Mindful of your breathing
is the way. We all breathe, and few of us are mindful of how we breathe. When you are mindful of your breathing in and
breathing out, you become aware of the presence of your mind in the now. When
your mind slows down, you become mindful of what is happening around you. So,
begin to spend some time each day to notice your breaths. You can do this while
you are waiting for the bus or train.
Stephen Lau
Copyright© by Stephen Lau
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