Hope vs Fear

Hope vs fear.
Every day we are faced with a choice, a choice of how to think. We can use our free will in our own personal way and how we think is our only true freedom.
When faced with difficult problems, health, money, big decisions, anything, we have to decide which way to think. Do we expect the worst or do we expect the best?
It seems that most people automatically think about the worst possible outcome to a situation then worry that it might come true or worse convince themselves that it will absolutely come true. Sometimes they are so sure that they make plans for when it comes true. The fear of the worst can become debilitating.
When it comes to our health, we need all the strength we can get for our body to do what bodies are meant to do which is heal. We don’t want to weaken ourselves with debilitating thinking. We want to strengthen ourselves in every way possible.
I think of it as a crossroad between hope and fear. Hope is life giving. Expecting the best possible outcome is a choice. There is no upside to expecting the worst possible outcome for anything.
Fear creates anxiety and the creation of and release of detrimental chemicals into the body, actually hindering the body’s normal functioning and healing capabilities. Fear, the expectation of the worst is not benign. It is dangerous and needs to be shut down every time it rears up. But how is it shut down?
It comes back to choice. We can choose to expect the best, and activate the placebo effect, or we can choose to expect the worst, the nocebo effect.
The placebo effect is real. It is so real that scientists need to factor it in to controlled testing for all drugs. For the patients/people who believe the drug will work it works. It even works for those who got the sugar pill. For those who are skeptical or think for sure it won’t work, it doesn’t work. That is the theory.
No one knows what truly is in some one’s heart of hearts and subconscious mind.
It is a conundrum. How can we really BELIEVE something will heal us without proof? It comes back to choice, free will. We have to decide which side we are on without proof or certainty ahead of time.
When the soldiers are ordered into battle they are armed. They must not only have weapons but they must have the belief that they will win the battle. Without that they are weak.  They must have hope and determination to give them strength, the strength to not give up.
It is the same for health. We must be armed with hope and keep replenishing our dose of hope every day in order to not give up. We must keep a mantra of positivity going in our minds that is so strong it won’t let the fear and anxiety activate the amygdala that then sends a signal, triggering the release of stress hormones like cortisol. Remember anxiety impedes the immune system, weakens us, diminishes the ability to win the battle.
Positivity, hope, love, gratitude put the healing chemicals into our body such as dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphins. These chemicals are healing and help keep the body at its optimum, keep the immune system up and running.
So we are back to choice, which chemicals do I want circulating in my body? How can I make the right choice? The right choice is to choose the positive thoughts. Choose hope for the future, make plans, project in your mind the best possible outcomes and imagine how good it will feel. Use the imagination to conjure up future good times. Use the positive thoughts as medicine, give yourself daily doses of imagining the best case scenarios. Read only positive books and stories, watch only happy and funny movies and shows. Think of this as medicine, therapy, food. Mind food. Fight the urge to give up and feel hopeless! Keep believing that your body knows how to heal itself if it is given the necessary care, that is the right thinking. If you are getting medical care or taking medicine, believe with all your heart that it is working! Never let doubt hinder your healing.
Do it one day at a time, one hour at a time whatever it takes.
Don’t give in to worry. Don’t poison yourself with fear, creating more anxiety and toxic chemicals which hamper the immune system.
Remember the placebo effect is a real thing, what you expect and wholeheartedly believe has been proven to happen.
When you feel the despair coming on be quick to shut it down! Choose hope, don’t choose fear. Stay armed for the battle that your body is fighting to win. Give it every weapon available by staying positive. Make plans for the future and seek out ways to love and laugh in the present. Choose hope.