Attitude

Discussion in 'Your Living Room' started by gardenfish, Sep 28, 2006.

ATTN: Our forums have moved here! You can still read these forums but if you'd like to participate, mosey on over to the new location.

  1. gardenfish

    gardenfish New Member

    we came here, some of us lost, weary, hopeless and sick. I am still sick but no longer lost and weary and hopeless. Sure, the damned depression and all else that I have is still with me, but it seems the the very best medicine is my attitude. I choose how I feel. I choose what I say. I choose if and how to act upon my thoughts. These are the things when partnered by the goodness on this forum that have helped me to maintain and even to thrive. Be patient with you and me. We are in this together. There is hope even when we are feeling hopeless. Hope is constant, but hopelessness is often fleeting. Best wishes to us all.
    Paul
     
  2. Linda1002

    Linda1002 New Member

    A positive attitude and laughter are the best meds around.

    Paul - I'm so happy you are having a good day. I hope you will continue to feel well for a long time!
     
  3. sparksmith

    sparksmith New Member

    I believe Linda had a signiture that said Abraham Lincoln said A man is about as happy as he makes his mind up to be.

    I did not put quotes just in case I was wrong
     
  4. Aladdin

    Aladdin Guest

    bravo - GF - bravo

    I can not begin to tell the countless comments of people who knew of my diseases/ yet could never understand why I tried to smile regardless of the situation. Just because I'm sick; I guess I'm suppose to frown and wear my sorrow as a badge - NOT - besides frowning gives women wrinkles ;)
     
  5. Linda1002

    Linda1002 New Member

    It's one of my favorites....

    "A man is about as happy as he makes up his mind to be." ~~Abe Lincoln
     
  6. pardonme

    pardonme Guest

  7. Spinner

    Spinner New Member

    Life IS good! ;D
     
  8. charisse

    charisse Been hanging here for 8 years

    When I saw this thread I could not help but respond with something the author of this thread told me.
    " Its your pain and you will decide how long to stay in it" He is not famous, just a man in a struggle himself with this illness, but he gave me the key to unlock the struggle I was in. I have posted this phrase many times here, I never want to let it die as I know it will touch someone else who needs it, in fact it has many times. ;)
     
  9. sparksmith

    sparksmith New Member

    Attitude is complex. I believe it can be affected as so many other emotions. Like GF said it is up to us to decide how long the attitude will be affected by outside influence. Yet be reminded that attitude emotions are like other senses and when affected by outside means can change beyond control for a time. It is then up to us to change it for the better.

    God Bless,
    Mike
     
  10. Dixie Chick

    Dixie Chick New Member

    Yes attitude is every thing. I try and not let things bother me but some times it is hard not to have the littlest things bother you.
    But just think of the good days and then I feel that you will have less and less bad days at least that is the way I feel right now. Ask me later and then I might change my mind. LOL
     
  11. Gwendelyn

    Gwendelyn New Member

    What a beautiful post GF. So true.

    Gwen
     
  12. Wobbles

    Wobbles Storm (April 15, 1992 - November 17, 2006)

    There's "good spin" and there's "bad spin". Let's keep the healthy attitudes.
     
  13. deercharmer1

    deercharmer1 Somewhere in the forest....

    And that is the heart of the ten-week pain management course I just completed. Our emotions are not random blips on the radar; they are driven by our thoughts about what is happening to us. All those negative thoughts have a direct correlation to the amount of stress hormones flowing through our systems, and directly increase our pain and discomfort, no matter what the ailment.

    At first, when I got dizzy and fell down, I would be furious, and frustrated to the point of tears. I just KNEW my life was over! I would never be able to go on another hike, I would never be able to get on a boat, I would no longer be able to stay active, I would be an old woman before my time, yada yada yada. The more I thought about it the worse I felt. And the worse I felt, the darker my thoughts became. It was a vicious cycle.

    When it became apparent I wasn't going to DIE from MM, I decided to figure out how to start LIVING with MM. That really forced me to take a hard look at my attitude and my choices.

    It may feel fake to plaster on a smile and get on with life. I had to adopt the Nike motto of "Just Do It". Most of the time, I found that choosing to stay active and distracted kept me from focusing on how bad I thought I was feeling. If not, then yes, I was sick and needed to lay low for a while. That was certainly o.k.

    I later learned that those positive attitudes and feelings also have a direct correlation on our systems - they have the wonderful benefit of increasing the production of endorphins, which DECREASE pain and uncomfortable symptoms.

    In my Bible study, we speak of An Attitude of Gratitude....I am trying hard to get there, and it's working....s l o w l y......all we can really do is try it one day at a time.

    Great post - thank you, Paul!

    :D :D :D O.K. - I admit it! Me too!!!!
     
  14. burd

    burd New Member

    I believe what everyone is saying. Viewpoint and attitude is so very important.

    What I'm concerned about is long-term chronic depression, as it can be so overwhelming and the darkness is one that cannot be lifted by wishing for that. I try to fight it when I feel myself sliding into it, and in that phase I have some power, but once in it, for whatever reason, I have no strength to pull myself out of it and it seems to need to run it's course, be it hours, days, weeks, or months. And it's always there, even when I feel better, just looking over my shoulder, waiting to take advantage of the smallest moments, to smack me down again.

    I agree with what Abe said to some point but he wasn't addressing the debilitation of this kind of darkness. One cannot will oneself out of this. And I'm not intending to be the cloud over this thread I just don't want someone that doesn't understand the nature of the beast that has a grip on them or on someone they love to feel burdened with guilty thoughts or get impatient with the one they love because they can't snap themselves out of it.

    I do agree that even in this phase one must try to force positive thinking instead of wallowing in their darkness. Keep on fighting.
    And I don't allow meniere's to be a beast looking over my shoulder any more. It may aggravate the one already there, but I don't let it become one.
     
  15. gardenfish

    gardenfish New Member

    "What I'm concerned about is long-term chronic depression, as it can be so overwhelming and the darkness is one that cannot be lifted by wishing for that. I try to fight it when I feel myself sliding into it, and in that phase I have some power, but once in it, for whatever reason, I have no strength to pull myself out of it and it seems to need to run it's course, be it hours, days, weeks, or months. And it's always there, even when I feel better, just looking over my shoulder, waiting to take advantage of the smallest moments, to smack me down again."

    Terry, there are times when I too am overwhelmed with the depression. Oh, that feeling of powerlessness! That is the clinical aspect of things. I truly believe that lingering under all of that dark pain there is the attitude the helps us to break thru sooner.
     
  16. burd

    burd New Member

    I agree.
     
  17. Stacey3048

    Stacey3048 New Member

    Great post GF! Well said everyone!!! :-*
     
  18. SMC

    SMC Look for the footprints in the sand......

    For several years every doctor that I went to for help took one look at me, looked over my long list of symptoms and declared me to be depressed. I knew that it was different than that. I've dealt with depression before. It is every bit as difficult to deal with as MM. Attitude does make all of the difference in how one overcomes or at the very least learns to cope with any disease. It's OK to have that occassional pity party but then you must pull yourself together and continue to live. Fight for the best quality that you can obtain. Never settle for a dx that you know not to be true. Doctor's are not Gods and do make mistakes. It's up to us to be informed and demand treatment to help rather than hold us back.
    SherryC
     
  19. sparksmith

    sparksmith New Member

    Terry,
    I hope you caught that in my post about attitude as being influanced. When we get depressed it affects our attitude. we can not always be smiling and acting as if the world is perfect. I think Abe was considering his life as a whole not minute by minute. the best way to alieviate depression is to have an attitude of hope, then comfort, then happiness can follow. Step by step my friend and when you have lost all hope, ask someone to help you find it!!

    God Bless,
    Mike
     
  20. burd

    burd New Member

    Thank you Mike. I do understand the importance of attitude. An attitude of hope...I think that's the key. Because without hope one doesn't want to go on. I've been blessed with a husband who has always been my best friend that makes it worth the struggle.
     

Share This Page