I heard a story once of two patients, on the same hospital ward, who were both diagnosed with cancer. As the physician gave the first patient his results, he said to him, “Sir I have very bad news for you. The blood test results came back, showing you have cancer and it is at the fourth stage. Even treatment at this time will not help you. You have just six months to live”. The distraught patient left the ward feeling overwhelmed and hopeless, and died six months later.
The second patient was told by the doctor, that his blood test results came back and there was no trace of cancer. Go and enjoy a good, healthy and long life. The patient was so happy and elated, he sprang into fast forward gear with his attitude for living. He went out and did all the things he had set as goals in his life, and achieved all that he wanted to successfully. He lived well into his eighty’s before he died.
What makes this story interesting and special, is that the doctor, after giving his patients their test results, returned to his office and discovered that he had mixed up the patient results. patient who was told he had six months to live, did not actually have cancer, and the patient who was told he was cancer free, was the patient who actually had cancer. He was never able to contact either of them to discuss his misdiagnosis.
I know you must be asking “Why did he die if he was not ill?”. “How could the other very ill person go on to live so long”? The answer is in the power of the mind over the body! My question is, “Why do doctors always give out a death sentence to very ill patients and not one full of hope? Instead of a death sentence, a doctor may say, “With lifestyle changes, treatment and support, you may be able to overcome this and live a long healthy life”. Do you think the survival rate will be higher? I certainly do!
In March 2011, my brother was told by his doctor that he had six months to live. He told me his diagnosis and I asked him, “When did God retire and put these doctors in charge of life?”. It added humor to the situation and made him look for a positive approach for finding treatment options. On March 2015, he was still alive and doing well. After his initial fear of dying, he began to be more hopeful and in a better frame of mind to deal with his health and issues surrounding his survival.
The relation which exists between the mind and body is very intimate. When one is affected, the other sympathizes. The condition of the mind affects the health of the physical system. If the mind is free and happy, from a consciousness of right doing and a sense of satisfaction in causing happiness, it creates cheerfulness that will react upon the whole system, causing a free circulation of the blood and a toning up of the entire body. Knowing this means we need to enhance both of them positively.
Patrick Holford puts is mildly when he states, “One of the most limiting concepts in human science is that the mind and the body are separate. Try asking an anatomist, a psychologist and a biochemist, “Where does the mind begin and the body end?”. It is however, not only scientists who live by this false distinction, it is everyone else as well. The right nutrition will help your mind, but also positive words and what you read, look at and listen to will also make a great difference.
Your state of mind has a remarkable effect on how you feel. Being positively engaged, and successful in activities that you believe in, makes all the difference in a hopeful outlook. If doctors would share their information in a positive manner instead of a negative one, the outcome of health and healing could be very different. You may find that patients will be able to turn their stress into resilience, if they are told they have a fighting chance of survival . Recovery rates will also be higher.
Why did one patient die and the other survive? The answer may be in having a positive attitude instead of a negative attitude. The next time you visit your doctor, ask him to relay information concerning your health in a positive way and see what difference it makes.
Don’t just take someone’s word as the ultimate solution. Search out health related information, magazines and books, seek counseling, listen to happy music, talk to positive people. You will be amazed at the difference it can make in your physical and emotional well-being.
Author: Charlene Chablal-de Gourville BSN, RN, AScn Environmental Health.
Adv Dip Holistic Nutrition (Candidate 2015)
Reference: Holford, P. (2009) “New Optimum Nutrition For The Mind” Basic Health Publications, Inc, USA
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