MY LIFE Matters: Health and Wellness Issue - 22

My Journey
toWellness
THROUGH MENTAL HYGIENE &
SELF-DISCOVERY
BY LISA WEEMS
A
22
s cancer patients-Thrivers or Survivors-blessed to see
another year, our thoughts are filled with a plethora of
uncertainties. We have questions we often ponder: Will
I see another birthday? Will I have more complications
or symptoms to navigate? Will I progress? These uncertainties
can fill us with doubts and fears. Shadows of doubt and fear
can darken our outlook for this new year. In the spirit of health and
wellness, I believe everything starts with a healthy mindset.
How's your thought life? What do you think about the most?
Do you focus more on frustrations or disappointments? Do
you focus more on your doctor's words . . . so many WORDS.
A doctors' words can swirl around in our minds and eat away
at the faith and hope we cling to. A doctors' words speak in the
tone of statistics, studies, outcomes, and diagnosis. These words
MY LIFE MATTERS
HEALTH AND WELLNESS ISSUE SPRING 2023
feed our fears and doubts for the future. It can be overwhelming
to carry the weight of doubt and fear. Doubt and fear can steal
your peace, fog your thought processes, and steal precious sleep
at night. It's exhausting. Just to be clear and transparent, those
thoughts are valid and real, and most of all, human. With my
own breast cancer journey, going from stage II to stage IV and
now NED (no evidence of disease), I know all too well the weight
of fear, doubt, and uncertainty. I, too, battle with those thoughts
as I walk through survivorship.
One day, I heard my pastor say something interesting. He said
that fear was nothing more than " FALSE EVIDENCE APPEARING
REAL. " The acronym F.E.A.R. or " False Evidence Appearing
Real, " seemingly broke through the shadows of doubt and fear I
was carrying in my mind. It was a lightbulb moment for me. So,
MY LIFE Matters: Health and Wellness Issue

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of MY LIFE Matters: Health and Wellness Issue
