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Originally Posted by A*O
I think there's a lot to be said for Positive Thinking but I think it's drawing a long bow to apply it to a serious medical condition like cancer. My father was diagnosed with cancer in Dec 2004 and despite an entirely positive and proactive frame of mind it still chewed him up and spat him out exactly 16 weeks later............... Having said that there are lots of cases of seeminly hopeless terminal cancer where the patients make a 'miraculous' recovery for no apparent reason other than positive thinking and a stubborn refusal to give in.
As for addictions. I am absolutely positive that there is an 'addict gene' which is why some people quickly get sucked into serious addiction and others can behave in similar ways and not get hooked on whatever. But even if you are genetically predisposed to addiction, my point remains that you don't wake up one morning and find yourself a hopeless heroin junkie, anorexic or alcoholic. It takes considerable time and effort to get to that stage which is why I try hard, but often fail, to be sympathetic. I am sure that many addicts get into that state in order to 'escape' their problems or psychological demons but that does not change the fact that they make conscious, informed decsions to take that path instead of seeking medical or psychiatric support.
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I agee about the positive thinking with alot of conditions..just not so much for cancer..but with things like chronic pain or conditions, and yes, addictions it can make the world of difference. I agree somewhat with your point on addictions in that people have to be responsible for their actions whether they are consiously made or not. The problem with consious choice is the denial factor that is so common with addiction. I think people who are in an addiction are responsible for their behavior and the effects it has on other people and really don't have alot of compassion when they face the consequences(maybe some empathy though
). Expecially in self destructive behavior like eating disorders even though others are hurt by it is is mostly self-involved, and I can have alittle more compassion then..when people are really only hurting themselves the most. With eating disorders what pisses me off the most is the way they use the internet to prey on eachother and enable eachother with "thinsperation"(what bullshit!). I never encouraged another person in an eating disorder-back in my day(lol) everyone of us were horrified at how everyone else was starving to death so obviously and we never enabled one another we just could not see it in ourselves. Also with eating disorders you can end up so nutritionally deprived, wasted away(including wasting of internal organs(brain too)) that your thinking can actually be, well..bat shit crazy. Alot of the really bad off people ended up being crazy if they were not when they started. Their thinking cleared up once they gained some weight and were not so bad off physically. I know this since it happened to me and I was tested at my lowest and after some recovery and the difference in the same tests was tremendous.
Until a person comes out of denial and seeks treatment and help there is little you can do for them. It is true that "you can lead a horse to water, but can't make him drink" That is where the conscious choice comes in-the choice to choose recovery. This did not happen for me until I actually saw the cardiac and other physical test results in front of me showing I was almost dead. That was the breakthrough for me. The test results did not lie and I could not deny them. Unfortunate that it had to come to that state..but some others never got it at all. In my case hospitalization(I agreed to go in but very much against my will)saved my life. Too bad most insurance( in this country at least )does not cover things like that as it used to.
*hey, at least you try hard to have sympathy or compassion or whatever, even if you do fail sometimes. at least you are trying, right?*