5. Use some method to evoke the relaxation response.
The relaxation response is the name used to describe a physical state arrived at by several methods, including acupressure , meditation and directed visualization ( See Relaxation ). The relaxation response is important to people with cancer because when that state is achieved, the immune system is enhanced for a while. And that may have a beneficial effect on the course of your illness. It is easy to do, takes very little time, has no unpleasant side effects and almost always leaves you feeling more peaceful and relaxed.
We suggest that you choose some method of meditation or directed visualization that suits you and use it regularly. There are those who believe that learning to trigger the relaxation response is the most important part of being a Patient Active.
6. Be careful of the words you use about your illness.
To describe yourself as a victim afflicted with a catastrophic or fatal disease leaves little room for anything but despair—a very unpleasant emotion. So why not use less dramatic and less ominous words? If you persuade yourself by the words you use that you are doomed, you may unconsciously give up. Try to describe your illness and your battle with it with words that are as hopeful as you can make them.
