Wellness Messages

My little girl is sick. She's just 3 and she's picked up some sort of stomach virus that's going around so it's been a messy day. She's awake now watching a video because she slept most of the day away.

As I was taking care of her I was very mindful of the messages I was sending her. I've been doing some reading about wellness and healing and how important the things about health that have been taught to us while we are young help us when we are older to have a positive attitude about illness.

There is such a balance to be struck between being sympathetic to their feeling badly and not giving them negative messages about being sickly. Being sick happens, there are actual viruses but I think the right messages and positive beliefs minimise how much we get sick and how well we heal when we do. I don't want them to adopt a sickly attitude over the normal childhood diseases that come into their little bodies.

Being sick isn't fun. Not having the wellness we feel we are entitled to is downright depressing. But I think we've gone a little too far in our society with trying to feel better immediately such that we medicate ourselves for every little ailment. I rarely take any form of medicine without first trying an alternative remedy first. It's a rare headache that a cup of tea can't cure for me. I also let my children's body heal themselves and don't run for the ibuprofen or anti-nausea medication right away. I'm not against pharmaceuticals in general, I just think a lot of the time they should be a last resort, not the first line of defence against illness.

So the messages I tried to impart to my little girl today were "it's OK, it's just your body trying to clean out the bug that got in. I know it doesn't feel good but it's something bodies do" and "I know you want to play but feel too tired but that's OK, your body is using your energy to fight off the virus". And the most important healing message I tried to give her today was "your body is strong, it will get well fast if you let it".

I remember a few years ago(and I can't give appropriate credit,I apologise) reading a question about tapping into the abundance of well-being in the universe and the question was asked "Is it easier for the divine source to heal a hang nail or pneumonia?" and of course the answer to this was "there is no difference,it's the divine, it's God".

This is the type of message I try to pass on to my children and one I've come to believe myself. The mind, body, spirit connection is very strong and believing one can heal from whatever ails them makes a huge difference in not only their ability to remain well but their ability to have a positive attitude about the illness that does come their way. Since I've come to believe this I rarely get sick and when I do get something it lasts a very short while. I've had virus after virus come and go through this house and haven't caught them. I feel this is directly related to my attitude. I used to think "I get everything that's out there" and so I did. I think the opposite now and it's become true. Strange.

So if you are fighting something, a cold, a stomach virus or a more serious disease of the body allow yourself to be open to the idea that the source from which we came knows only well-being and it's ours to tap into if we only allow ourselves to do so. And it's as likely you will be healed from whatever ails you as if you had a hangnail. And really, what do you have to lose by trying?

Now I'm going to go cuddle my little girl and be grateful her fever has gone down. It's hard to watch her be sick and upset but it's a minor illness and she will fight this off quickly as I told her earlier today. I think she's likely to be running around like crazy as though nothing happened tomorrow or shortly after. I look forward to it.

Update: Just went to wake her up for the day and as I was carrying her downstairs, her blond curls mussed up and her sweet face laying on my shoulder, I asked "How are you feeling sweetie?" noting her fever was gone and she replied "much better thank you". Does she have any idea how adorable she is?

Comments

Deepanjan Ghosh said…
I agree. We have developed this nasty habit of popping pills the moment we feel something going a bit wrong. But my fear is that there are several things which require immediate medical attention, and get worse with time. I remember a relative of mine, who had an ache in the knee after a fall, and chose to do nothing about it. Finally a week later, when he found it just wasn't going away, he went to a doctor, and the doc was like..."if only you had come to me earlier...now I have to put your leg in a cast because you've made it worse by walking around". But then I also remember this rather sickly looking classmate of mine, who's father owned a pharmacy, which means she had free access to medicines, and would pop some half-a-dozen pills a day...for nothing!

About the messages part, you know, when I used to fall sick as a kid, my mother was nasty. I remember I had to have all these medicines which were called "suspensions", they have a liquid base, with some chalky substance in it. Now the problem is, everytime I was made to have one of these things, I threw up, and she'd hit me everytime I threw up. It was really nasty. Even today, she says how me and my sister put the whole family through trouble whenever we fall sick. I mean, I don't fall sick on purpose do I? And the whole point of a family is that when you're down they're there for you. Of course, I'm beyond the age when I need my mother to care for me when I'm sick, but...I dunno...guess I'm still a little bitter about it.

Hope she gets well soon. It's heartbreaking to see a little child in pain.
I think if we tap into our intuition we know when something truly is medically important. If something were to suddenly happen to my body that hadn't happened before, an ailment I wasn't familiar with I would go check it out. Same with my children, I have a comfort level that I've developed...normal viral symptoms...let them run their course, strange pain off we go.

And injury is different than disease. I would advise everybody to check up on an injury that doesn't heal quickly...I believe the standard guideline is no improvement in a 24 hour period.

I'm sorry your mother wasn't patient with sickness. Some people aren't although I think that's reflective of a general impatient personality. I can't even imagine scolding for being sick.

My mother in law was a nurse. My husband gets sick a lot. I think he's conditioned that way somehow.

Breeze
Anonymous said…
There was a study done recently (sorry...I don't remember the source) wherein people with serious illness were being monitored regarding their responses to their illness. There was a direct correlation between how the patient responded to treatment and how his/her family reacted toward the patient and the illness. Your messages to your children are important ones. Teaching them that we build immunity to some illnesses through fighting them is excellent! They will learn to know their bodies better this way.
Unknown said…
sending love and light- i am feeling a bit poorly myself tongiht xx
Daria said…
Great attitude and great message!

And most important that that you were mindful in the message you were sending her. She has learned from that.
skywind said…
I am sorry to hear your daughter is sick. I hope that she would get well soon.
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I found your message to be powerful and will try to remember to utilize it when the babeola is sick.

M
nollyposh said…
*i have the same sort of philosophy...
i find illness always has a mind, body & spirit element (ie) Generally a "cold" is a flushing out of negative stuff on a mental level, and fever most definably a body working to rid itself of foreign germs & a natural effective process, the cancer i had was about my self esteem & relationship... The problem about the 'modern attitude' towards illness, i think, is that we are always looking to 'mask' the symptoms so that we may 'get on' with things, terrible really when what our body is generally asking us to do is exactly the opposite, Go figure!
Nolly posh~exactly! I believe the same thing...so do you think the reason I no longer get sick so much is due to my calmer, more accepting lifestyle?

Motherhood for the weak~I'm glad to help. Ihope your baby never gets sick!