Healing

In physical therapy we’re mostly focused on improving movement skills or maximizing ability. However, there are other essential factors that need to be present in both children and adults for physical therapy or any other form of healing to lead to wellness.

The most powerful lesson that I learned during my almost two years feeling dizzy was to take control of the things that I could control. When we face illness or disability there are many different ways to approach it, as there are different ways to approach life.

Obviously it is important to take the steps necessary to try to improve our situations from a medical standpoint, but simultaneously we have the power to change many aspects of our emotional, mental and physical lives today. Taking these positive actions does several things. It gives us permission to enjoy every moment on this earth, despite the challenges that comes with it, and it also puts our bodies and minds in healing mode, giving the body the tools it needs to repair itself.

Nutrition & Sleep

We can control every bite of food that goes into our mouths. Choose to eat food that will enhance our health or it can be a detriment to our bodies ability to heal. Sleep needs to be a priority for anyone experiencing an illness or disability. Again, this is a choice and priority we can make each day.  In My Stroke of Insight  Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor expresses just how important sleep was in her recovery.

Exercise

Find a form of exercise/movement that doesn’t worsen your symptoms. Don’t focus on exercise only to treatment an ailment. Use it in the exact opposite way- find a way that you can move that feels GOOD and do it over and over. Let your brain experience positive movement that is not connected to pain or discomfort.

Optimism

Believe you can be happy. Believe you can control your own life and not only can you be happy, but you can make a difference in others lives. This can be an extremely challenging leap when you are dealing with something tough. I get it. I was miserable for quite a while, knowing that if I didn’t get better I couldn’t continue the career that I loved and couldn’t continue to support my family financially. In addition to these responsibilities, many of the things I enjoyed doing, like yoga and running, were also dependent on my physical health. Exploring different options outside my comfort zone of things I could do that didn’t rely on movement, I began writing a book, something I had always been interested in doing. For expertise and inspiration on optimism check out The Optimist’s Guide to Life. Let Anthony’s unique life experience teach you how to choose an optimistic view of life. He will show you how possible it is no matter what challenge you face.