Woman Diagnosed With Painful LIfe-Long Condition Declared She Was Going To Be Happy (And It Worked)
You are the sole source of the happiness you deserve. Some of us have to learn it the hard way.
Gülşah Aydoğan | Canva I was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome when I was 25 years old. I have had 56 surgeries correcting what my body does naturally. Between the doctor's visits and medications they throw at you, I know better than anyone how hard it is to shut your mind off from your illness.
I thought about my illness every waking moment. I would start conversations about it with random people at the grocery store, just to talk about it again. I was a walking pity party.
No one wanted to be around me because I was so negative and unhappy. I would tell friends I couldn't do something even without knowing if that was true. I tricked myself into thinking my bed and TV were the extent of activity I could subject my body to.
Woman diagnosed with a painful life-long condition declared she was going to be happy (and it worked)
In reality, it wasn't my body struggling with what was happening to it, it was my mind.
I literally stayed in my bed for over 7 years, having surgery after surgery, being on the highest pain medications they could give me, and taking them around the clock. My life revolved around my illness and the pain I felt.
I lost my friends. I was on disability from my job more often than not. I had no love prospects, and I didn't even think I could find someone who could handle my depressing life. I was completely depressed and consumed with all things pain and surgery. I didn't go outside unless I had a doctor's appointment, and I definitely didn't socialize with anyone but my doctors.
I was literally just existing — and that was not the life I was supposed to be living.
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It's now 2016. I see 2 doctors (versus the 14 I saw for 10+ years). I am active every single day. I'm dating and enjoying my life — and the pain, fatigue, and dislocations that I still suffer from are such a small part of it.
I decided that those things are going to happen, whether or not I am happy or depressed. I would rather face these obstacles with a happy heart than a depressed one.
It took a lot of work, and it didn't change overnight, but when I retrained my mind to see the positive things in life and just be happy, I was finally able to take my life back.
I started by thinking about the things I did before I had any of the surgeries, writing and the treadmill have become my happy place and my complete release from the stress and the constant pain. It is true what they say that working out boosts your endorphins and releases serotonin in the brain. It's just like taking an antidepressant, but in a healthy, natural way.
I'm still in pain, but I force my mind to think of other things.
Yes, I still have depressing thoughts sometimes — but taking the time to write down my goals and dreams, and choosing to be happy every single day has let me live my life the way I always wanted to.
You can obtain that life; it will take a lot of work, but it will always be worth it. Choose to be happy, no matter what life throws at you.
Christy Goldstein is a certified life and relationship coach through World Coach Institute, and a coach/expert. She also co-wrote the international bestseller Secrets to Drama Free Love.
