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Post by cherry on Dec 13, 2006 18:40:57 GMT -5
Yeah I know, not really the alternative treatment you would expect to talk about! Do you find that you have turned to/away from your faith with the onset of your symptoms? Or do you find that religious leaders, if you have one are sympathetic or not? I don't go to church or even own a bible. But I believe in God and find myself leaning toward Christianity in my faith in God and the holy family. Can't say I'm religious cos of that, but cos of the upheaval I've had over the last few years I think my faith has stopped me going off the rails completely. Still can't figure out where my head is with the endo, but I tend to rationalise things in my head to help me cope with it... so I'd say my faith gets me through a lot of stuff and I hope if I need something to lean on if my endo gets much worse, that maybe I'll buy a bible and read it for inspiration!
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Post by erzulie on Dec 13, 2006 21:03:59 GMT -5
Hey, an alternative treatment is an alternative treatment. A lot of people forget the spiritual side of treating disease, and it's not something any doctor can prescribe, it's just a personal thing. I don't feel like endometriosis has had an effect one way or the other on my faith, but I guess faith has helped me deal with the disease. I haven't got any particular religion and haven't found any comfort in the Bible or anywhere in particular for this, but I have a belief that we are all meant to be happy, and that we all were created with the ability to find happiness. I don't think anyone is singled out to be miserable. So when I was diagnosed with this disease and told that there is nothing they can do that won't have miserable side effects, I refused to believe that there was really nothing I could do to improve my quality of life. At the time I was in chronic pain so my quality of life wasn't too good, and if I had let myself believe it was possible that I could just get worse and become more unhappy, then I probably would have. But I had faith that there had to be something i could do because I didn't believe the Creator would ever let me be in a bad situation that I couldn't get back out of somehow. So that was why I started researching natural treatments, and I don't have chronic pain anymore so it's good that I did that! There are a lot of places to look for inspiration and encouragement, I think it's everywhere if you're open to it.
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Post by normadesmnd on Dec 14, 2006 9:30:53 GMT -5
hey cherry. i am a christian and i find my relationship with God to be my 'saving grace' in any situation, especially this one. i don't read my bible as much as i used to, but i find myself speaking with God alot more. that has helped me over this past year, dealing with this new found disease of mine. ever have any questions, just ask.
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Post by suzymart on Dec 14, 2006 15:47:02 GMT -5
Hi cherry - my Christian faith has helped me too, because when the endo [as yet undiagnosed] started really badly affecting me last year and I didn't know what on earth was happening with the pains at 2am, I was forced to cry out to god. It can also go the other way sometimes, though, when you womder why god is allowing this to happen to you!!! Let us know what's happening with you on your journey....
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Post by cherry on Dec 16, 2006 10:18:28 GMT -5
I try not to think that 'God is letting this happen to me' cos people suffer in their own ways that others will never know about. So I can't just assume I have it the worst cos I don't know what is going on with the people around me. I have found that blaming stuff on other people or things just pulls you down, and like you Erzulie, I try to find encouragement where ever there is something to interpret. I feel tons better turning away from 'conventional medicine' and instead try to look on the bright side of all this... that it makes me understand that others could be going through something so much worse, and to be more considerate of others because of that. And also, when I'm not in pain I am such a happy person, so I try to be just as happy and nice when it does hurt. I look to God as a benevolent force, not one that punishes, and so I talk to God a lot, often in massively long prayers at night, which is like meditation cos i think things through properly. This belief in a good force, and looking at examples of grace under pressure like some biblical stories I grew up with, and well as stories from other religions such as my father's muslim faith, all these things inspire me to want to rise above all the bad stuff, including the endo! I feel that God will not allow something I can't deal with in the long term, will help me up if I fell down on something, and will never turn away from me. I feel loved, and so when everything else hurts, when I feel the people closest to me don't understand or want to, this is the one thing that helps me through, someone up there cares about all of us regardless xXx PS I am smiling so much right now, positive thinking is addictive!
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Post by erzulie on Dec 16, 2006 15:01:14 GMT -5
I feel the same way, cherry. I never thought about blaming the disease on God or wondering why this happened to me. I think some people have the belief that when bad things happen to people it's because they didn't believe in God or because they didn't pray about it or because they were bad people who deserved it. I've never believed that. It's an imperfect world we live in, if there were a way to make a life for yourself where everything would go right all the time I'm sure everyone would be doing it! I also have always believed that the Creator is good and that all GOOD things come from the Creator. I don't see bad things as punishments or as things that should never be allowed to happen. I think having faith means believing that there will be a way for you to make it through anything that happens to you, not believing that you will be protected from anything bad that can happen to you.
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Post by ouchy on Dec 17, 2006 13:10:18 GMT -5
I'm actually atheist, but I feel an overwhelming love for nature and science. Learning how the body works has helped me get through dealing w/ endo and even an early miscarriage.
Examples: I don't think that I have endo because I am a bad person or that God wanted me to suffer; I believe that endo just happens in some animals/people--it's "natural." I don't think that "it just wasn't my baby's time to be;" science-wise, I just had luteal phase defect, and there wasn't enough progesterone to support a pregnancy. Sad, but also natural.
I guess if I had to describe my spiritual beliefs, I would be a "humanistic naturalist."
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