Does a Positive Attitude help At all?

[cinderr]

They say stay positive. They obviously don't have fibro!
Everyday I wake up, expecting a miracle or at the very least, a good day! Everyday I still feel like Hell and nothing changes. I keep going on because I have other choice but they can take that positive attitude and place it securely up the ying-yang!:twisted:

 

[1sweed]

cinderr, I try to remain positive in my thinking because without trying to keep positive, the other choice is being negative all the time that leads to severe depression. I have been there and it is not a pretty sight. I was gloomly and had no hope and my friends faded away. I stayed home alone and felt sorry for myself never once thinking that there could be another choice to take. I hit rock bottom.

I felt totally hopeless. This illness became my main focus and I saw no way out, that was until I went to therapy. My mental health therapist showed me that there is always another choice, like the fact every coin has three sides, the front and back, and side. The front and back are wide and provide many different choices, but I had only chosen the thin narrow edge.

When one chooses the wide flat spaces in choices and throws away the negative thin side, life opens up once more. Yes, there are many things we can not do anymore, and many things we must find a new path to follow, but are we not still better off in doing so then doing nothing at all but feeling sorry for ourselves.

So to you the positive look is not worth considering yet. But many who come here, come looking for ways to feel better and try things that maybe they never considered before. Some things work and some don't, but trying to improve a bad spot in life is a good thing.

I hope something helps you start a path that leads to positive thinking. We all care about you!

 

[Trellum]

Hehehehe! Well, everyone tells me I should be more positive, sometimes I feel annoyed because they don't really know what I'm going tru, but I think it's really good to stay positive. I'm trying to do my best right now, sadly fibro isn't my only problem right now I quite understand how you feel tho... I do wake up expecting a miracle, but nothing happens... day after day! I still have some hope things will change, but at the same time a part of me knows it might not happen. I'm taking my meds everyday in hopes I'll tackle this nasty hormonal issue of hell So, I guess positive attitude helps

Don't give up. You know what I tell myself very often in order to cheer myself up? I say: ''Things could be worse!''. Hehehe

 

[twiztc]

As for me I don't know if it's positivity or just sheer bloody mindedness! Yes I still have the odds down day but I refuse... REFUSE to let this thing win.
It WILL NOT take my life away from me and some days it feels like I fight tooth and nail to keep some kind of normalcy.
Yes I have an illness
Yes I can't do all the things I used to
You learn to adapt and find pleasures in other ways, you have to or you won't survive.
Sometimes it's tough, and I will indulge a bad day once in a while, just because I get tired of fighting and just need a little rest, but I don't let it consume me.
Hobbies we're my saviour. It's funny how much pleasure I can get from a ball of yarn or a twig, or some glittery paint.

 

[rollinloud]

I would like to say that attitude determines one's well being but it is not always the case. I know if you are positive towards others then you are definitely building up good karma. That is the best way to be positive. Shed light on those who are in the dark. Brighten someone else's day and you'll get the karmic swingback at some point, even if it is in your next life. Don't be a phony and put on a fake smile for everyone everyday. Be yourself, honest and try to help others. Maybe they'll help you right back.

 

[mariposa]

I felt totally hopeless. This illness became my main focus and I saw no way out, that was until I went to therapy. My mental health therapist showed me that there is always another choice, like the fact every coin has three sides, the front and back, and side. The front and back are wide and provide many different choices, but I had only chosen the thin narrow edge.

When one chooses the wide flat spaces in choices and throws away the negative thin side, life opens up once more. Yes, there are many things we can not do anymore, and many things we must find a new path to follow, but are we not still better off in doing so then doing nothing at all but feeling sorry for ourselves.

I hit the "reply" button before I had any clue what I was going to say. That's how strongly I feel about this wonderful answer that you gave, 1sweed. The thing your therapist said to you is so good... and accurate. I even did some work in crisis counseling and never heard that!

I'd never say that choosing the flat side of the coin is easy for anyone at all, but now that I'm thinking of it, I have never in my life known a happy person who chose that coin edge. And I don't mean "happy" in "la la, I feel great, let's smell the flowers" either... just... well, maybe "content" is a better choice of word. Sure, hating what life dished up, but content in making what was given work somehow... even in small ways.

 

[mariposa]

They say stay positive. They obviously don't have fibro!
Everyday I wake up, expecting a miracle or at the very least, a good day! Everyday I still feel like Hell and nothing changes. I keep going on because I have other choice but they can take that positive attitude and place it securely up the ying-yang!:twisted:

My personal thought is that it's usually impossible to be a bona fide "positive" especially when chronic pain is involved... fibro or not. BUT at the same time, I think the important thing is keeping it in mind and trying over and over even if it's one failure after another. The vital part seems to be *attempting* a positive attitude. Attempting feels good whether or not it actually works.

Like someone else said, the alternative really stinks.

 

[MercyL]

They say stay positive. They obviously don't have fibro!
Everyday I wake up, expecting a miracle or at the very least, a good day! Everyday I still feel like Hell and nothing changes. I keep going on because I have other choice but they can take that positive attitude and place it securely up the ying-yang!:twisted:

A positive attitude helps if it is warranted.

Too often, people preaching the "positive attitude" position do not suffer with severe pain, have no chronic conditions threatening their livelihoods and relationships, find your condition inconvenient, or are selling mental health remedies.

I am a firm believer in having reality be one's guide, not wishful thinking and having a positive attitude without effective symptom management is living in a fantasy world with potentially destructive consequences.


This does not mean that I think people should go about with sour faces and brittle attitudes, though. If you are having a good day, your attitude will naturally be more positive than when just sitting still is a challenge.

I just think that no one should present themselves with a constant smile on his or her face.

 

[rollinloud]

A positive attitude helps if it is warranted.

Too often, people preaching the "positive attitude" position do not suffer with severe pain, have no chronic conditions threatening their livelihoods and relationships, find your condition inconvenient, or are selling mental health remedies.

I am a firm believer in having reality be one's guide, not wishful thinking and having a positive attitude without effective symptom management is living in a fantasy world with potentially destructive consequences.


This does not mean that I think people should go about with sour faces and brittle attitudes, though. If you are having a good day, your attitude will naturally be more positive than when just sitting still is a challenge.

I just think that no one should present themselves with a constant smile on his or her face.

I agree that most of those who preach positivity don't have to deal with painful conditions on a regular basis. Hypocrisy runs rampant in 2013. Give them a condition like ours and see how positive they would be. I think it is easier to be positive when you surround yourself with positive people. Having a pet helps. They are almost always positive influences.

 

[ahteach]

A positive attitude certainly does help! Do you want to spend the rest of your life miserable and in pain, or do you want to enjoy it to the best of your ability despite the pain! I've had this since I was 14. If I spent the last 22 years with a negative and defeated spirit, my life would have been over before it had even begun. There have been times when the pain has become so unbearable and then there's times when it is able to be managed. I've lived the last 22 years in pain, at times barely unable to get out of bed and barely able to function, but the point is I have LIVED! Don't give up! You have to take it one day at a time. Without my faith in God and church, my husband, my supportive family, my two beautiful children, and my friends, I'd be lost. Find a supportive group of people to surround you, and ask yourself, what can I do to make an impact on this world? You may have Fibromyalgia, but it only has you if you let it!

 

[Trellum]

A positive attitude certainly does help! Do you want to spend the rest of your life miserable and in pain, or do you want to enjoy it to the best of your ability despite the pain! I've had this since I was 14. If I spent the last 22 years with a negative and defeated spirit, my life would have been over before it had even begun. There have been times when the pain has become so unbearable and then there's times when it is able to be managed. I've lived the last 22 years in pain, at times barely unable to get out of bed and barely able to function, but the point is I have LIVED! Don't give up! You have to take it one day at a time. Without my faith in God and church, my husband, my supportive family, my two beautiful children, and my friends, I'd be lost. Find a supportive group of people to surround you, and ask yourself, what can I do to make an impact on this world? You may have Fibromyalgia, but it only has you if you let it!

That's actually what I'm trying to do Trying to stay positive as much as I can, because I believe a negative attitude doesn't help at all. Some days is really hard to accomplish this, but I guess I'm getting better at it. Living a life feel of worries, stress and negativity can do wonders, but it's impossible to feel that way everytime. So having bad moments is totally and completely ok

 

[Little Bev]

I saw my rheumy last week and he told me that I worried too much. At first I was a little offended, because I thought I was handling things pretty well, but he obviously saw something going on that I didn't see about myself. So,he gave me the name of a therapist to see for cognative behavior therapy. After thinking about it ,I realized he was right. I was worrying and stressing about what was happening to my body. This is all new to me. So, I am seeing a therapist tomorrow to learn how to better deal with constant pain and learn to not worry so much and be more positive. I do want to feel better mentally and learn to have a better outlook. So,I do believe positive thinking is going to help. What is the alternative?

 

[1sweed]

Little Bev,
This is a good thing. I have gone through that type of therapy and it really does help you clear your head and get you back to a more peaceful state of mind. I am glad that you were able to look at yourself through your doctor's comment and realize that he is really trying to help and not offend you. Your lucky to have a caring doctor.

 

[cinderr]

OMG, Trellum--you are so right! I recently met a 83 year old woman at a garage sale who was loaded with more problems than me. She offered ME a chair, bless her heart! She had the neuropathy but more, she had a bad back and had all these injections, plus she had fibro. The day I talked to her I realized I had very little reason to complain. She was cheerful and kind, as well.
I vowed that day to count my blessing, not my aches. Then I forgot but I have now remembered! I am having a crappy day but it could be, as you said, so much worse! Soooo hard on this day, though.