the other day the question was asked if only weak people get lyme disease. i also was very strong and active before becoming afflicted. does anyone know of any connections between your mind and thoughts and your immune system function. i have heard that certain ways of thinking, such as bitterness affect your immune system. any thoughts here?
Posted by bettyg (Member # 6147) on :
Jacob Teitelbaum's book, FROM FATIGUED TO FANTASTIC, addresses this, and I just read blurbs of that in the last 2 nights.
Deals with the unresolved issues in our lives.
It talks about fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, and a little on lyme disease.
first part of book is for patients; 2nd part is for physicians and all his questionnaires, etc. are in the back.
Well worth the $14 for this detailed 340 page book. Bettyg Posted by jerry travers (Member # 9774) on :
thanks betty for the response. just trying to get some ideas of why i am a chronic lymie.
Posted by minimonkey (Member # 8693) on :
I have some pretty strong feelings about this one --
Yes, mental state, trauma, and the like can and often do cause neurochemical changes that have immunosuppressant effects, but --
The reverse is true, also. Organic illness can cause mood and cognitive changes that are far beyond conscious control.
I personally feel that, without addressing the underlying infectious causes, chronic disease will not likely improve with any amount of positive thinking and strength of will.
Posted by lou (Member # 81) on :
The danger of this kind of thinking is that it blames the patient for his/her illness.
Posted by national catastrophe (Member # 10011) on :
For decades, ducks told me my (Lyme) illness was because of my emotions.
I have all I can do to keep from expressing my opinion about a Lyme patient who would do the same thing.
Posted by Andie333 (Member # 7370) on :
I was pretty strong in 1996 when I was first bitten by a tick and got a bulls-eye rash.
At that time, a doctor treated me with a short course of antibiotics. Up until then, I'd never been sick in my life. What I didn't know at the time was that the antibiotics I was given then were NOT enough to kill off the Lyme bacteria. So the disease had years to grow, undisturbed, throughout my body and brain.
Every now and then during those 9 years, I would have symptoms flare. But in general, my health (at least on the surface) seemed to stay good.
That remained true, even when anomalies started showing up in my blood and different doctors suspected various cancers.
It wasn't until 2003 -- almost 8 years after that tick bite -- that my health began to decline. And when it did, it tanked pretty quickly.
Do I think I was weak to have gotten Lyme? Just the opposite: I think I was dam*&d strong to have maintained my health as long as I did.
But what I do think is true is that one's state of mind can likely influence how quickly we heal. At least that's what I'm hoping is true.
Andie
Posted by national catastrophe (Member # 10011) on :
LLMDs believe excercise helps kill the Lyme spirochete because that spirochete cannot tolerate oxygen and heat. Excercise elevates the body's oxygen and heat. This according to JJB.
Posted by 5dana8 (Member # 7935) on :
Hey jerry,
I think that your emotional state is important. But really, it would take a mental giant to conquer this disease by feeling positive and low on the anger scale ect only. We all have our moments.
Some doctors have dismissed my lyme disease along the way as being depression, stress ect..
But in the long run, stress, depression, anger has been proven to affect your immune system, Like when a loved ones dies, or you lose a job...these are times when many people get sick. Stress can impact my lyme big time. I think it all interwoven.
But in saying this it is very hard to stay positive & unload the stress at times . I have gone thru and still go thru many stadges of grief...anger,bitterness, sorrow, denile ect..
How to stay out of them for any length of time is a daily struggle.
Along with treatment the things that have helped me the most in the mental department is my faith, listening to calming music, a good movie, snuggling with my dogs, and trying to make mental notes of all that I still have to be thankful for. (I call it my daily roll call) and the comfort of my friends on lymenet
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