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Page 252
| Lifting Fear and "Worriment of Mind" |
| Incorporating prayer and a sense of spirituality into daily life is one of the best ways to ease mental stress, an essential part of healing. Worries and anxieties have been shown to be a contributory cause of cancer. In 1889, Eli Jones wrote in Cancer, Its Causes and Symptoms that "Worrying weakens the nervous system, lowers the nerve power and thus opens the way for the invasion of cancer." Jones believed the number-one cause of cancer is "worriment of mind." Today, over a hundred years later, clinical studies that link depression with cancer are beginning to be published. 3 |
| Dismiss all anxiety from your minds. Present your needs to God in every form of prayer and in petitions full of gratitude. Then God's own peace, which is beyond all understanding, will stand guard over your hearts and minds. Letter of Paul to the Philippians 4:6-7 |
| A positive mental attitude is essential for true healing to occur; in fact, some regard toxic emotions as a major cause of cancer. A long-term emotional state of fear, hopelessness, helplessness, depression, and even anger can all contribute to an impaired immune system and susceptibility to cancer. I believe fear is one of the primary contributing factors to ill health of any kind. On the other hand, a positive mental attitude can contribute to the healing of cancer. Through guided imagery and other psychological techniques, recovery can be enhanced. A new branch of medicine called psychoneuroimmunology has documented this. |
| Many of the cancer patients I see tend to dwell on their past with anger; for example, one patient with lung cancer had a hard time getting past his self-inflicted. anger at having once been a smoker. However, what is important is the present; the past must be let go. The past is like a cancelled check, and the future is like a promissory note. Leaving the past with all its anger and pessimism behind is an important step in alleviating fear about the future and allowing hope to emerge. |
| We live in a culture where stress is an integral part of our everyday existence. In order to grow in health, happiness, and wisdom, we need to continually create ways to rise above it while discovering and becoming comfortable with the true meaning of life as well as death. I have found the Serenity Prayer extremely comforting both for myself and for the patients who often ask me, "What are my chances?" or "Do you think I'm going to make it?" |
| God, grant me the ability to change the things in my life that I can change, the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change, and the wisdom m know the difference. |
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