Your body has an amazing and complex system which assists you in fighting disease. It is also sensitive to what you think, feel and imagine. It doesn’t matter if your thoughts are about what has happened in the past, what is currently happening or what you fear will happen.
The thoughts and emotions that make up your everyday life, change the chemical makeup of your body. If the cells fighting infection in your body decrease, you will be more susceptible to illness. It the cells increase, you are better able to fight off infection.
Happy thought…happy feeling… greater ability to avoid infection.
Angry thought…the chemicals to fight off bacteria and viruses decrease.
Joyful thought…better ability to stay healthy.
If you are someone who thinks sad, angry or negative thoughts most of the day, you are weakening your immune system. The chemicals in your body which fight off infection can be clinically shown to decrease.
Changing what you think is one of the most crucial ways to stay healthy. The pleasant emotions coming from positive thoughts can produce an overall feeling of well-being.
When you continually rehash a negative message, “You are so stupid,” feelings of unworthiness, anger, despair surface. These feelings cause a chemical reaction in your body making it more likely to get a cold if someone sneezes on you.
How do you change your thought patterns?
Have thoughts that are life-enhancing to replace those that are life-depleting. Is it easy? No, but it is simple.
First, you need to “catch” yourself involved with the thoughts you don’t want. As you pay attention to your thoughts, you will “catch” yourself more quickly.
Second, substitute pleasant and positive thoughts for the negative thoughts.
For this step, have an internal “file” of pleasant thoughts to refer to. The most powerful substitutions are positive events in your life. Select a few of them and say to yourself, “When I have negative thoughts, I’m going to remember the colors in the sunrise when I was in Hawaii.” It doesn’t matter what the event, just so it is positive.
If you find it difficult to find good memories, do a mental activity which will break your current negative thought pattern. You can repeat multiplication tables, name an animal for each letter of the alphabet or say a prayer.
Just find something different to fill your mind.
Yes, it will take time to change the habit of negative thinking, but it has great benefits. Your immune system will be stronger and you will be happier.