The Voice in Your Head

Every day a voice in your head talks to you, shaping how you perceive and react to life's ups and downs. 

Does the voice in your head frighten you ("This medicine is poison!")? Or calm you down ("Millions of patients do well because of this medicine.")? Make you feel impotent ("People who receive good treatment still die.")? Or hopeful ("This treatment gives you the best chance.")?

The initial utterances of the voice in your head may be spontaneous and out of your control, just as you might blurt out a crude word after accidentally smashing your thumb with a hammer.

Still, you can affect what you say thereafter. "I'm a klutz and shouldn't be allowed near tools" sends a different message than "I need to slow down and pay closer attention to what I'm doing."

The voice in your head is a key player on your healthcare team, guiding your reactions to challenges, setbacks and uncertainty. As a Healthy Survivor, you benefit if the voice in your head is a best friend offering words of:

• calm if you're anxious
• sympathy if you're sad
• encouragement if you're scared
• forgiveness if you goofed

If the voice in your head acts more like an enemy or bully, invest the time and energy needed to develop this voice into a kinder, more forgiving and more encouraging companion. You cannot choose the voice in your head, but you can choose to shape your relationship with this voice in healing ways.

Comments

[Andrea Gauthier]

Very wise words that bear repeating again and again. So easy to forget. Thank you, Wendy.

[Jan Hasak]

The new and improved voice in my head gives me hope, offering a kinder and gentler alternative to the old voice that used to haunt me. Thanks for posting.
Jan