The topic of tapping the mind's full potential is fascinating and something I've been thinking through a lot over the last two months.
As I wrote in my post re _Anatomy of an Illness_, I feel that spondy is so insidious, it attacks us physically, emotionally, and mentally - the latter two dimensions being collateral damage from the physical aspect. Because of that we need the right combination of physical, emotional, and mental solutions. The last two are often either overlooked and controversial because they are so nebulous. As your brother suggests, addressing the emotional and mental aspects are a good attitude and the ability to use your mind to heal yourself. While both are theoretically critical to healing and are under-utilized, I don't know if you can rely solely on those two approaches.
The thing I struggle with is whether or not I lose objectivity/the ability to make rational decisions if I'm too optimistic. How do you balance the two? I'm not 100% certain that blind optimism is healthy. I dunno.
Also, I acknowledge that my attitude changed when I started seeing significant results in my treatment. Would I have been able to change my attitude if I had not observed it? I wish I could say yes, but I must confess that I doubt it. (I don't want to find out either!) To me the key is finding something to break the downward spiral, and using any positive event to begin building positive momentum. Whether it's slowly beginning to get more sleep, slowly feeling less stiffness and pain, all of those should be treated as the start of a real slow chain of dominoes that moves us to a better place.
A couple months ago my mentor at work lectured for me for using languge that suggested I couldn't "beat" this disease. I was surprised, because I didn't expect an incredibly sharp, objective, and rational executive giving me a pep talk on the importance of attitude. In all of my dealings with her, I've always been impressed with how she cooly and clearly focuses on the facts, breaks down the problem and proposes a rational solution. Yet here she is lecturing me on the intangible benefits of a positive attitude. This definitely struck a chord with me and watered the sapling to my attitude shift. (She recommended that I read Lance Armstrong's book on how he tackled cancer. Never got to it...)
The topic of how to use the mind for healing is polarizing, but I think that is a good thing. Aside from the threads providing much needed support to the community, one could argue that the topics that need the most discussion, aren't the ones we agree with, but the ones where there is more disagreement. Unfortunately, I don't check the forums during the week, so I will not get to see where this thread goes until Friday. I hope others will chime in on this, regardless of their opinion. I learn the most when I hear different and contrasting opinions because it forces me to look at something in a different perspective.
Thanks again for sharing. More importantly, I hope to hear more good progress from you in the future!
Freddie
