It is seven in the morning. I have just returned from dropping my grandmother off at the airport. Since my husband was at home in bed, I was able to leave my one-year-old daughter sleeping in her crib. I decide to change her diaper before I crawl back into bed. The hope is that a new dry diaper will extend how long she sleeps. Every extra moment of rest is essential for us as PH patients. I lift her from her crib onto the changing table. As she lies on the changing table, she begins to babble. She is talking with her eyes completely closed. She is talking before she wakes up. She does wake up for a brief moment after I change her diaper, but settles back into her crib quietly.
I wonder if this scenario can be applied to our health in an analogy. She talked before she was awake and it was her talking that woke her up. Similarly, can we as patients talk ourselves into good health? Can our talking lead to being healthy? When I refer to “talking” I am suggesting positive self-talk. There is a proverb that states, “Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.” Is the proverb correct in stating that pleasant words can have such a healthy benefit? I would apply “health to the bones” to mean good physical health in our bodies, not just in our bones.
Personally I believe this proverb to be true. Positive self-talk helps reduce stress. I know there is a link between stress and PH. Doctors have told me this and I have experienced it. If I go through a week that has several stressful events, about three days later, I will experience arrhythmias. Positive self-talk is an antidote to stress. I am in better health when I choose “pleasant words.”
There is an article on WebMD titled Stress and Heart Disease that more closely looks at this theory. The article includes information on signs of stress, ways to cope with stress, advice on how to keep a positive attitude, and ways to reduce stressors. The article also has specific advice on eating, sleeping, and relaxing that can help reduce stress. Please keep in mind when reading this article that it was written for heart disease in general and not just PH patients.
I am not suggesting that if your PH is on a decline it is your fault because you lack positive self-talk. To go back to the analogy, every time my daughter talks it does not mean that she is going to wake up. As you can imagine, she talks plenty when already awake. This post is to suggest that if you do not consciously look at the struggles of this disease with pleasant words, it would be worth a try to do so. I understand that having this disease can wear our attitudes out. You don’t even have the energy to shower much less the energy to keep positive. Like every PH patient you’re probably tired of hospital stays, bad news from doctor visits, and funny looks in public places. Hopefully though, after reading this, you can exert a little more energy for pleasant words. They are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
Holdfast, a cure is on the way!
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