Is ‘cold and flu season’ making you sick?
Credit to Author: Canadian Immigrant| Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2019 06:36:47 +0000
Few people can afford to be sick. Sickness negatively affects our ability to function well, in all our various roles, at work and at home. As newcomers to Canada, we are normally required to wait a few months before having full access to publicly funded health care services. If we are job searching, it can delay our progress.
At this time of year, we are often bombarded with messages via the media about it being “cold and flu season” so we need to stock up on the various remedies that will alleviate the symptoms. The very suggestion that at this time of year we are likely to become sick can be enough to make us sick.
The power of suggestion is … well, very powerful. As Ralph Waldo Trine said, “Never affirm or repeat about your health what you do not wish to be true.”
Focus on health, not illness
Focusing your attention on illness has been scientifically proven to make you sick. The more you focus on ways in which your body can break down, the more likely you are to experience physical symptoms. Scientists refer to this as the nocebo effect. Nocebo is Latin for “I shall harm.” You may have heard of the placebo effect that demonstrates the power of positive thinking, hope and expectation, the nocebo effect demonstrates the power of negative belief.
For example, if you are given a pill and told it will relieve your pain, it may make the pain go away, even if you are only given a sugar pill. If you are warned you may experience negative side effects with a medication (or a sugar pill), this is also likely to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Scientists believe it is the negative information that stimulates the stress response, also known as the fight-or-flight response.
It is important to remember that we operate from our subconscious mind a majority of the time. We go about our day without too much conscious thought about the way we are thinking, feeling and responding to information and circumstances. This is good news, provided our subconscious mind is full of positive thoughts, beliefs and habits that move us forward with our goals and support our health. Sadly, too many people have habitually programmed their mind over time with negative, limiting thoughts, beliefs and emotions that can sabotage their efforts to become healthy.
A belief such as “I catch colds easily” or “I always get the flu this time of year” changes how your brain communicates with your body, thereby altering your body’s biochemistry. Harmful stress hormones and neurotransmitters, such as cortisol and adrenaline are released that shut down your immune system. When your immune system is compromised, your body’s natural defense and self-repair mechanisms are compromised, leaving you depleted of energy and vulnerable to illness. Without energy, and good health, everything is more difficult.
Once you have programmed your brain with a negative belief, it will perform a Google-type search to find all the evidence to prove you right. Next thing you know, you are reaching for those cold and flu remedies.
Your thoughts can literally make you sick or they can facilitate health. Use this winter season to become more conscious of your thinking habits and beliefs about your health.