For years I’d read about the power of the mind in healing but had never really experienced it first hand. I had tried a few things like visualisation and meditation but had never really put into practice consistently, not because I didn’t believe, but more because I was a bit lazy and didn’t do all that was required to see results. About a year ago I had what was thought to be a life threatening reaction to a medication I needed to treat a nasty super bug in my lungs. I was in hospital being desensitised to the medication, a 5 hour protocol that is supposed to help the body adjust to a medication by being exposed to incremental doses. Unfortunately it was a bit of a disaster for me and my body experienced severe reactions. I had to decide whether to pull the pin and suspend the protocol or continue. I chose to continue because at the time I had no other treatment options. It was a risk but thankfully I lived to tell the story. A few months after this traumatic experience I was reflecting on the whole episode and thought about the prospect of going through this again in the future. It was inevitable I would need this medication again because it was the only one available to treat this bug in my lung effectively. For some reason I can’t really explain I convinced myself that I would be fine if I were to go through it again. It was literally a moment in time when I decided I would be ok, I didn’t know how but I just felt I would be ok. This became my pattern of thinking. I started talking to my medical team about my wish to continue to be treated with this medication, but they were hesitant and warned me the reactions could get worse. They started to devise an alternative treatment while I continued to reassure them I would be ok. About two months ago after the alternative treatment plan hadn’t been successful my team decided to opt for another attempt at a desensitisation. I was so pleased to have another opportunity  to see if what I felt would happen actually would. Thankfully the team that were overseeing the desensitisation were different to last time, so they didn’t really know how bad my reactions could be and consequently were quite relaxed about the whole thing. I must admit I was a little nervous and momentarily questioned myself …could I be wrong? … but the overriding sense was one of optimism. As I took the first dose I waited in anxious anticipation for any sign of reaction. There was nothing, not one sign of a reaction, and so it continued until I got to the second last of five doses when I started to feel a mild tingling of my tongue and a sore throat. I didn’t panic because last time I’d felt this as soon as the first dose  had gone in my mouth. Thankfully the reaction was only momentarily and I continued on. Last time the reactions grew worse starting with tingling, numbness in the mouth and throat, difficulty swallowing, swollen lips, itchy skin, peeling of the lips, fever and joint pain. What a victory! I had survived and not only that I had only experienced the mildest of reactions. Now of course I can’t prove that this is all because of my mind set but I’m choosing to believe that it played a big part. It now makes me excited about the prospect of what else I may be able to do to improve my health using some mind techniques.

Follow this link to find out what I’ve been doing to continue to work on developing a healing mindset and the positive impact it is having on my health.  https://janeslightbulbmoments.com/2017/08/09/changing-your-story/

For a snapshot of my journey so far go to: https://www.facebook.com/janeslightbulbmoments/