Looking back into my early childhood years, I remember one thing very vividly:
I would get sick A LOT!
I wasn’t a sickly child, but it just seemed that if there was a bug going around the school or someone in my family was sick, I would for sure be the next victim. I especially dreaded catching a cold. Or even worse, a cold accompanied with a COUGH! And it would all start with a little tickle in my throat, which became a scratchy throat, which would then snowball to a mucousy stuffed head causing this annoying drip in the back of my throat, which caused this horrible nagging cough and one restless, torturous night after another! Ugh!! It was pure hell!!
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| Grandma babysitting me cause I'm sick...again!! (Age 6) |
I have also learned that everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, begins with a thought.
The fear of getting sick...is a thought! The fear of even catching a cold...is a thought! Don’t believe me? Well, then think about this for a moment. What is the first thought in your head if someone, who is obviously sick, sneezes or coughs in your direction? Or if you’re introduced to someone who just blew their nose on a very used tissue and goes to shake your hand? Do you want to embrace this person and get closer to them? Or do you back away because your thoughts are telling you “I don’t want to get sick”?
The phrase”catching a cold” or “catching your death of cold” or even “you’ll get sick if you ( fill in the blank)” is a learned negative thought pattern that has been in our Western society for generations. As a young child, I remember my mom telling me “Wear a hat or you’ll catch cold” or button up or you’ll get sick!” or “it’s too cold to go out, you’ll get sick! “ My mom learned this from her mom and her mom learned this from her mom and so on and so on. And, like most kids, I believed in the powerful words of my mom which seemed to come true!
This negative thought pattern stayed with me until I became aware of my thoughts and I realized I had a “fear of getting sick and catching a cold.” As soon as the seasons changed, I believed that I was going to get sick. And I would! But what I didn’t realize was that I was seeing myself as a victim. A victim of my own beliefs! When I began to dissolve the fear of seeing myself as a victim to a “cold”, I became stronger and healthier! (Read Are You a Victim of your Thoughts about being aware of your thoughts and releasing negative thought patterns.)
Changing negative thought patterns to healthier empowering thoughts is not easy but it can be done little by little, one day at a time. One first step is to ignore the messages that are in the media that suggest that you will get a cold during cold season! Commercials for cold and flu medications would have you believe that when weather gets colder (that’s cold or flu season ), there is no escape - you will be the victim of a cold or the flu. Well, if you think about it enough and the fear of getting sick is subconsciously looping around in your mind, chances are you WILL get sick!
The concepts of “cold season” and “flu season” are negative messages that you can choose to ignore. You can choose not to get a cold! You can choose to reject the idea that there is a season dedicated to sickness. Does the weather affect your health? Only if you believe it! (Are people living in cold climates always sick? Is there a cold season during the rainy season in tropical regions?)
I am an independent piano teacher and make a living teaching children so it is not uncommon for many of my students to come to their lesson with runny noses, coughing and sneezing in my face, blowing their nose on used tissues, and playing the piano with sticky fingers, etc. When I was still dealing with chronic Lyme symptoms, I would be terrified that one of my students would infect me and make me even sicker. I used to call my students walking Petri dishes! (I kid, I kid!!) But since I’ve changed my perspective, I’ve changed my tune. Now when a student walks in with an obvious cold, I smile and say that I don’t get colds anymore! And the mom always asks, “What do you do so you don’t get sick?
And this is what I tell them:
I believe that getting sick, like catching a cold, starts with the fear of getting sick. Since I’m working on overcoming this fear, I need a few healing aids to help me stay in a healthy frame of mind and body:
The first thing I do is wash my hands!! They say that washing for about 20 seconds kills germs so I hum the song “Happy Birthday” when I wash my hands and that seems to do the trick!
If I get a tickle in my throat, I gargle with ¼ cup apple cider vinegar ( I use raw, organic and unfiltered vinegar) and ¼ cup warm water a few times throughout the day. I also find spraying my throat every 3 hours with Zicam really works great too.
If I get a scratchy throat and start sneezing, I add Yin Chiao Classic by Planetary Herbals, to the Zicam and/or apple cider vinegar routine. This herbal supplement was recommended to me by my acupuncturist, Lauren Daniels of TLC Acupuncture and is a wonderful boost to the immune system.
And last, but far from least, Lime Medicine Tea is my best remedy for overcoming not only the fear of getting sick, but the viruses as well. I usually make a few batches and by the time I finish the second batch, I feel great! Lime Medicine Tea is a recipe from the Amazon. ( Read Lime Medicine Tea for the amazing story and recipe.) Lime tea is a natural blood cleanser, detoxifier and has an alkaline effect on the body. In other words, it brings you into a healing state.
These healing aids help me to feel strong, protected and empowered. And the fear of being sick is slowly becoming a memory. A past experience. And who knows, maybe, one day, just the thought of good health and balance... will be all I need to stay in a state of wellness.
It’s just a thought...
