Healthy Survivorship and Letting Things Go - Part II

In medical situations where letting something go is a necessary step to Healthy Survivorship, the act of letting it go is an act of empowerment. So, too, in situations where letting something go is the healthiest option

The following examples illustrate how letting go can relieve or prevent pain:

If the handle of a pot heats up to dangerous levels, letting it go relieves pain and prevents injury.

If distressed by guilt about past smoking while dealing with smoking-related illness, letting go of that guilt relieves negative feelings that poison otherwise happy times.

If fuming about waiting an extra hour because the lab lost your requisition slip, letting go of the anger frees you to enjoy the wait, maybe reading a magazine or talking with fellow patients or listening to music.

Letting go of activities that involve crowds helps to minimize risk of infection that could become life-threatening in the setting of a compromised immune system.

Any act that relieves or prevents pain is an act of empowerment, right? To increase your current level of comfort and/or to affect your future health positively is to have power over your life, right?

Yes!

If yes, then why is it so difficult and painful to let some things go? In my next post, I'll address the paradox of letting things go.

Comments

[Debby]

Waiting for next post. . .