Chronic Illness Q&A with Dr. B.

Dr. Larry Berkelhammer

The purpose of this blog and the entire website is to provide evidence-based information on how to live with self-care mastery. It is for all medical patients, caregivers, and advocates who want to learn how to collaborate with physicians to optimize the efficacy of your medical care.

I post to this blog three times per week. Monday posts are relevant published articles. Wednesday posts are videos of webinars or interviews. Friday posts consist of questions about living better with chronic health challenges, and my answers to them.

Here is this week’s question:

QUESTION:  Would you say more about the connection between improved health and finding meaning and purpose.

ANSWER: There are numerous case studies in my book In Your Own Hands: New Hope for People with Chronic Medical Conditions describing advanced metastatic cancer patients who beat the odds once they found something that made them excited to get up in the morning, which helped them to feel good about themselves. These patients lived longer than predicted and some even went into long-term remission. There are many reports of people near death who were determined to live long enough to see their child or grandchild graduate from college, get married, or to see their first grandchild born. Somehow, they managed to stay alive long enough for that joyous event; some died immediately afterward and others lived considerably longer than expected.

The best explanation is that by finding something to enthusiastically look forward to every day of our lives, we have a greater reason to live, which serves as a boost to the immune system and physiological functioning in general.

This website is offered as a free public service, supplying information that has been found helpful to certain people living with chronic health challenges. No treatment is offered on this website. The advice is general, and may or may not apply to your individual situation, and is not a substitute for psychotherapy or medical treatment.

What questions do you have about how to live better with chronic health challenges that are related to the relationship between states of mind and health?

Just scroll down and type your question in the comment box below. I will post a reply to your comment, but your specific question may not appear in this column. When I get a certain number of related questions, I pick one that covers them all and I answer that one.