Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
What the heck is it?
A mouthful.
Alright, seriously Kirsten.
CBT is a goal oriented medical practice used to change patterns of thinking and/or behaviors.
In other words, our mind is fucking powerful. POWERFUL!
It can make us sick, but it can also heal us.
Pretty incredible, right?
Now, that’s not to say I no longer believe in western medicine. I do, very much so. But there are just some things that require us to be in the “driver’s seat”. (Hey there PRC friends; Kirsten misses you all.)
Your diagnosis and symptoms are very real, but your prognosis doesn’t have to be what the specialist tells you while sitting in that bare, small, stuffy doctors office that smells like bleach. I’m not knocking doctors; they are doing exactly what they are taught to do…helping treat our “problem”. Unfortunately, what they don’t always do is inform us of some of the most important issues. Lifestyle, diet, prevention and sometimes reversal.
Whether you grab a snack out of the vending machine instead of filling up your tank with actual fuel or just simply not doing something because it wasn’t done a minute ago and it takes too much effort, we all struggle with instant gratification. (It can be crippling; we should really work on slowing down.) But what are we gaining? An extra 15 minutes on our phone right now but 15 years off of our life in the long run? Who knows. All I know is humans are silly!
If you are struggling with health issues, I strongly encourage you to start looking for tools to help with your symptoms and ways to make adaptations to your life instead of answers. Our bodies are all so different that healthcare protocol has so many grey areas. What works for one, doesn’t work for the next. Let them help you find ways to manage your illness. If I had a magic wand I would let you borrow it, but I don’t.
“BELIEVE THE DIAGNOSIS, NOT THE PROGNOSIS.”
FACT: I will always have EDS.
FACT: I will always need to use certain medications to regulate my abnormal body processes.
FICTION: My illness will cause me to live an unhappy life.
FICTION: I will never have periods of relief from my symptoms.
This documentary is the foundation of what my time at Mayo's Pain Rehabilitation Clinic was about. While the two are not connected (that I know of), their platforms share the same process for healing.
I highly encourage you take the two minutes to watch this preview and let your mind start accepting the thought of new health.
Yes, I will be making damn sure everybody in my life watches the whole thing when it comes out. Maybe twice.
Don't hesitate to ask me questions about the program if you have them.
This is knowledge every single person could benefit from, not just the chronically ill.
Remember, "Count your Rainbows, not your Thunderstorms!"
xoxo Kirsten 💕
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