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.
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.
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.
By the way, 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 even
while you are waiting for the bus or train.
Read my book My Myasthenia Gravis for more information on how to cope with the disease.
Stephen Lau
No comments:
Post a Comment