Did you know that some people become attached to their illness? How could that be and why would anyone want to be ill? The fact is no one real wants to be ill. But sometimes our illnesses become who we are. There is a psychology behind illness just as there are physical symptoms.

In today’s world treating just the symptoms or just the physical disease is not always enough. We really need to look at the entire patient, his or her mind, body and spirit.

Have you ever sat down with someone for coffee or lunch and said “hey, how’s it going, how are you?” The next thing you know, they are telling you all about the recent visit to the doctor’s office. Their also telling you about the test they have to take and what medications they are on and might have to start taking after the test results are in. This story goes on and on. What’s interesting is, you may have a similar story, and now you are both comparing notes. It seems to me this is about 60%-75% of the conversations I overhear while dining out with my wife. So, what does that say about us?

This kind of conversation seems to be growing in our society. What is interesting about the people who tell you all about their disease, is, if you change the subject you most likely will here a very negative side of whatever the new topic is. So, are we just complainers, or is there more to it than that? I’m not saying everyone is like that either, but, there is growing evidence of this kind of conversation.

On the same note, if you sat down with a healthy person and started a conversation you would most likely never hear any talk of disease, doctors or tests. In fact they might be telling you the latest joke or some great show they went to, or what a wonderful weekend they had.

Now the big question; If you took someone’s illness away (cured them or allowed them to heal) what would they talk about? Could they even have a positive conversation? Do get the picture? Are you starting to understand? You see we sometimes become so accustomed to our illness that we create an identity with it, without even knowing it. How many of us use an illness to get time off work, or avoid a relationship, maybe we use our illness to control someone, (feel sorry for me or love me because) or maybe just to get out of doing a task. Sometimes we use out illness for attention! We really need to look at ourselves and ask honestly what purpose our illness serves. We might even use it to share with another in the same situation.

I think this is a trap we mentally fall into. In order to heal we have to make sure we are willing to let go of our illness, both physically and psychologically. Through awareness we can escape this trap. But how do we bring ourselves to become aware of the trap we are in?

The simplest way I know is through stillness. Become still and think about your origin, your spirit, who you are. Then think about how you present to the universe.

I have a simple method for being still. Simply, close your eyes focus on your breath and then bring your awareness to your heart. Smile at your heart until it smiles back at you. Then ask yourself who you are in this crazy world. Wait for an answer. Then ask yourself “how do I present myself to the universe?” and look closely inside. There’s old saying; “Go within or Go without”. This is an easy way to go within.

I know this sounds simple and it might not fix the problem, but it is a good place to start. If you can’t seem to get out of the negative vibration, then you might want to consider talking with a spiritual counselor or professional psychologist.

Healing Mind Body Spirit Connection