There are people who live for years with what is considered today a “serious illness.” There are people living today with what we consider in modern times “neurological” and “developmental conditions.”

Before diving in, I want to make something clear from the beginning: what I am about to share is my personal opinion and perspective.

Sometimes people live with certain symptoms or conditions for years without knowing exactly what they are called. They continue working, raising families, building businesses, laughing, and simply navigating life.

Then one day, something is given a name, then suddenly, the mind has something specific to focus on.

That is the part that fascinates me.

A diagnosis can bring clarity, and clarity can be important. It can help someone understand what is happening and determine what care or support may be needed, but a diagnosis can also introduce something else: fear.

The person hears the name of a condition and immediately remembers everything they have ever heard about it.

They begin searching, reading, and watching their body.

Is that pain getting worse? Was that symptom there yesterday?

And sometimes the person who had been living life before suddenly becomes consumed with monitoring everything happening inside the body.

This is where I believe we need to have a deeper conversation about the mind and our belief system.

The Mind Is Listening

What we repeatedly tell ourselves matters.

There is even a phenomenon recognized in medicine known as the nocebo effect, where negative expectations can influence

how symptoms are experienced. Expectation, fear, anxiety and heightened attention can affect what a person notices and how intensely certain symptoms are perceived.

I’m not saying that illness is imaginary, nor am I saying that someone simply thought themselves into a medical condition.

My point is different.

Our physical condition and our mental response to that condition are not always separate conversations.

Fear affects us, stress affects us, expectation affects us.

What we continually place before our minds can influence how we approach each day.

That is why I believe we must be extremely careful about what we continually feed the mind.

A Diagnosis Should Give Information, Not Become an Identity

There is a difference between saying:

“I have been diagnosed with this condition.”

and allowing the mind to conclude:

“This condition now determines who I am, what I can do and what my future must become.”

Those are two very different things.

A diagnosis can provide information. It can help determine what needs attention. It can guide decisions about treatment and care.

Still, it should never be allowed to swallow the entire identity of a human being.

You are still a person with purpose, relationships, abilities, dreams, responsibilities, laughter, ideas.

Fear does not deserve unlimited access to your mind.

What Are We Feeding the Mind?

We talk constantly about what we feed our bodies.

But what are we feeding our minds? See article on Diet Your Thoughts

Imagine receiving difficult medical information and then spending hours every day consuming frightening stories about that condition.

One video becomes another, one article becomes ten.

Someone’s person’s experience becomes the future you begin imagining for yourself.

Worst-case scenario after worst-case scenario enters the mind.

Eventually, we have to ask:

What is all of this information feeding inside me?

Being informed is important but being consumed by information is something entirely different.

There can come a point where researching our health stops educating us and begins frightening us.

The answer is not ignorance, it’s wisdom and balance.

Learn what you need to know. Ask questions. Seek appropriate medical care. Take care of your body,

yet protect your mental environment too.

Spend time with people who bring peace rather than panic.

Continue doing meaningful things.

Speak hope rather than constantly rehearsing fear, and allow your mind to encounter possibilities

beyond the worst thing that could happen.

Faith and Medicine Do Not Have to Be Enemies

My personal belief goes deeper than psychology.

I believe there is a spiritual dimension to human life. I believe in prayer. I believe in faith, and I believe we should pay careful attention to what we continually allow ourselves to meditate upon and believe.

Your Mind Needs Protection Too

Perhaps personal growth is not only about becoming more successful, disciplined or productive,

but learning how to guard the environment of our own minds.

Pay attention to what your body is communicating.

But while you are doing all of that, take care of the mind that is carrying you through it, because what we continually concentrate on can influence our fear, expectations, behavior and experience of the journey.

The mind may not control everything that happens inside the body, but never underestimate the power of what you continually teach your mind to expect, rehearse and believe.

— Stacy BG

House of Tov