Magic of Believing

Living With Chronic Pain

Imagine the worst headache imaginable…..and it won’t go away.  Ever.  Oh sure, maybe you take some aspirin, or Tylenol, but it never really gets any better.  Now imagine that same headache is still there tomorrow when you wake up.  And the next day, and the next.  Days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months, and months into years.  That’s crazy you say.  Go to a doctor for heaven’s sake!

It’s plainly obvious something is wrong, so you do go see a doctor.  That is, assuming you are one of the lucky few that are still employed and can still afford health insurance.  You go to a doctor and they run their tests.   The result?    ………….. You have a growth in your brain.  It’s not life threatening, but it’s also not operable.  It’s yours and you are stuck with it ………… forever.

Now what………….

Be Careful of Your Thoughts

On October 6, 2008 I wrote this article called Be Careful of Your Thoughts.  The article explains the Nocebo Effect, which is an effect similar to the Placebo Effect, but instead of having the power to heal, a Nocebo can use that same power to harm.

On November 7, I received the following comment on that article from a person who calls themselves KJ:

Then how come I wake up every day? I tell myself ever night that I’ll die in my sleep of a heart attack or a brain aneurysm, and yet, I wake up every day. What am I doing wrong?

At first I honestly thought it was a practical joke,  I mean why on earth would someone wish to die in their sleep? As it turns out, the headache example I used above was not just a hypothetical scenario.  This was KJ’s real life story.  And as KJ said , “you’d be surprised what intense, non-stop pain will cause one to think at times”.

Emotional Freedom Technique

KJ and I soon began a correspondence, exchanging ideas, comments, and emails.  We explored alternatives to typical Westernized Medicine.  And we finally ended with EFT.  There is a wonderful documentary on the Emotional Freedom Technique here.

EFT was developed by Gary Craig in the mid 1990’s, and is basically a “psychological acupressure. It uses the same energy meridians used in traditional acupuncture to treat emotional and physical ailments — only without the needles.  With this method, you tap with your fingers.  And you can learn to do it yourself.

Tapping with your fingertips on specific meridian points on your head and chest, along with voicing positive affirmations, helps to clear out emotional blockages from your system, restoring your mind and body’s balance. Many people still do not realize that emotional health is absolutely essential to your physical health and healing — the two are very much inseparably linked.

Now at this point, KJ could have taken one look af EFT and said, “I’m not trying that, that’s crazy looking!”, or “I’m not into any of that New Age Mind/Body psycho babble”, and any number of negative things.  But they didn’t.  They instead found a local EFT practitioner and made an appoinment.  As KJ later told me in an email, “…..when one is in true pain, nothing is too outlandish to try”.

The Miracle Healing

What follows next is nothing short of a miracle.   On November 21, just 2 weeks after our first exchange, KJ wrote this comment:

Saturday was the EFT visit. When I got home I did the basic recipe several times throughout the rest of Saturday and several times Sunday, specific to the pain I felt. On both Saturday and Sunday I have to say I didn’t notice a whole lot of difference. On Monday however, I woke up with substantially less pain! I couldn’t hardly believe it. I did EFT several times that day too, trying to get rid of the remainder of the pain. Though I still have pain, it is substantially better than before!! I went for a walk several times this week, did my usual chores and such, and felt pretty darned good, all things considered. I’ve even scheduled my regular tennis game for this coming Monday (after a 7 week absence). The pain is creeping back, but again, I’m so much better than before, even still.

And the following day I received this in my email box:

Good day to you sir!!  I’m actually wiping tears as I write this.  I’m even tons more better today than yesterday!  It feels SO good to feel good again.  I’m going to start using EFT for everything I can.  Right now, I’m a believer, even though I can’t even begin to explain any of it.

 

I went back to the EFT person today, for a follow up and to get some questions answered.  I told the EFT person about “how we met”, and we both shed a tear thinking about what a one in a billion-trillion chance it was that I found your web site.  If only I could convey the weight of what you’ve done for me, your kindness and wanting to help…

I wanted to apologize for my initial comment, as it was not in the spirit of your web site.  I was just not doing well at that moment, and couldn’t help myself as that was how I truly felt, and hoped you could help me.  Only, you helped in a way I hadn’t anticipated.  You helped me heal, thus live.  And a story to share.  Funny how sometimes good things can come from less than ideal circumstances.

The Power to Heal

I have been blogging off and on for years.  I created this blog in September.  And never, in all my time on the Internet, have I felt like I made an personal impact on another human being.  The feeling is incredible. Thank YOU KJ for your inspiration.  Thank you for your willingness to try something new.  And thank you for sharing this with me.

Now I’m not trying to discredit traditional Western Medicine in this article.  But sometimes, we run out of options.  The point I’m trying to make is this:  There are alternatives.  And as KJ has proven, they work.

Suspend your disbelief.  Give it a try.  Believe it will work - And it will.  When we cut our finger, it grows back together.  When we get an infection, our immune system goes to work fighting it off.  Our body’s were designed to heal themselves.  And they will - if we only let them.