Disease

Having the common cold is an opportunity to assess the well being of my daily practice for health and creativity. When I was young, I was tremendously reactive to getting a cold. I would panic, get depressed and make it worse. After several years of working as a nurse and being exposed to far worse things than the common cold, I grew up a bit. 

Part of the Immune System

Our unprocessed emotional reaction to illness often gets in the way of the cure. Athletic types sometimes decide to throw themselves into frantic muscle-flexing in reaction to developing an exhausting illness. More exhaustion lowers defenses. The illness often worsens as a result. Others collapse under bed covers at the first sign of a cold or flu. Stagnation inhibits immune response and can lead to lung complications. Learning and adopting moderation in treating an illness is very helpful.

With the information available on line, there is little rational excuse for an intelligent, literate person to react to disease with anything but quick research on the best course of action. Type the symptoms into a search engine. Voila! Instant education in the possible issues at hand. The next rational step is to go the the drug store and/or the doctor.

Life by science and personal responsibility is the best way to reconcile the animal brain and the frontal lobe. Yielding to panic and denial in the face of disease can be self-defeating, even fatal. Getting past learned behaviors which are counterproductive in your life can start when you must address a serious illness. Truly accepting that disease and eventual death are part of every single human life is a first step at taking adult responsibility for your own body's health and well being.