3 ms·

You can do a lot just by deciding that's what's happening. Spent years with a mystery vomiting illness. Wallowed in my misery. One day, decided "I'm better now"

You can do a lot just by deciding that's what's happening. Spent years with a mystery vomiting illness. Wallowed in my misery. One day, decided "I'm better now" - and lo and fucking behold I've been fine for a year. Anecdotal, sure, but either the illness or the cure was in my head. Also... Rasputin and the Romanovs - he could stop Alexei's bleeding (haemophilia) with a phone call, when physicians had had no joy - the boy took after his father and was deeply devout. Anyway. Interesting stuff.

macawfish 11y ago
Instead of thinking about the illness being in your head, why not think of the decision being in your body?
- madaxe_again 11y ago
  If there's even a difference!
  - macawfish 11y ago
    Like it or not, 90% of the body's serotonin is produced by gut microbes... Dopamine, GABA and other lovely chemicals are also contributed by the endless sea of creatures within. :)
    - madaxe_again 11y ago
      Yup - which may have been where my problems started, as I inadvertently radically modified my intestinal flora with a brutal and strict diet - for a long time put it down to having fundamentally screwed up my digestion, but towards the point when I decided to think of it differently, I had been wondering if I'd screwed up neurotransmitter levels via microbiota genocide, and was trapped in a vicious cycle - hence the decision to go "no, you don't feel nauseous, you're hungry".
      - macawfish 11y ago
        Something similar happened to me when I was fighting some (likely chronic) yeast and staph infections last year. I got pretty strict with my diet and was underweight by about 10 pounds. Even though I was eating very healthy, I wasn't letting myself eat stuff I was hungry for. Eventually I decided I couldn't restrict myself anymore, and started eating regular again. I bounced back pretty well after that. Sounds like you decided to reinterpret a bodily cue that you'd been interpreting as nausea to mean hunger. That's awesome. Reminds me of hearing that many people misinterpret thirst for hunger, and are dehydrated because of that. Also reminds me of my grandpa, who never took pain medication, even at the dentist. He said that it didn't hurt, it just felt intensely warm.
        madaxe_again 11y ago
        I do similar with pain - break it into its component parts, and you can experience it as a warm tickling, or pressure, if you've really managed to do a number - although some things one can't map, like having finger nails torn off - although maybe that's because it's an uncommon pain one doesn't usually get a chance to examine.
toast0 11y ago
> Anecdotal, sure, but either the illness or the cure was in my head. A powerful thought is that your entire life experience is in your head --- your nerves relay signals from throughout your body, but it's up to your brain to interpret them, and you can change the interpretation. Some conditions can get better if you reinterpret their signals. Some conditions can get better if you relax because you feel in control. That's not to say you shouldn't take appropriate medical steps, too, I'm sure there are some things to check for with mystery vomiting, for example, but then you run out of things to check.

macawfish 11y ago

Instead of thinking about the illness being in your head, why not think of the decision being in your body?

madaxe_again 11y ago
If there's even a difference!
- macawfish 11y ago
  Like it or not, 90% of the body's serotonin is produced by gut microbes... Dopamine, GABA and other lovely chemicals are also contributed by the endless sea of creatures within. :)
  - madaxe_again 11y ago
    Yup - which may have been where my problems started, as I inadvertently radically modified my intestinal flora with a brutal and strict diet - for a long time put it down to having fundamentally screwed up my digestion, but towards the point when I decided to think of it differently, I had been wondering if I'd screwed up neurotransmitter levels via microbiota genocide, and was trapped in a vicious cycle - hence the decision to go "no, you don't feel nauseous, you're hungry".
    - macawfish 11y ago
      Something similar happened to me when I was fighting some (likely chronic) yeast and staph infections last year. I got pretty strict with my diet and was underweight by about 10 pounds. Even though I was eating very healthy, I wasn't letting myself eat stuff I was hungry for. Eventually I decided I couldn't restrict myself anymore, and started eating regular again. I bounced back pretty well after that. Sounds like you decided to reinterpret a bodily cue that you'd been interpreting as nausea to mean hunger. That's awesome. Reminds me of hearing that many people misinterpret thirst for hunger, and are dehydrated because of that. Also reminds me of my grandpa, who never took pain medication, even at the dentist. He said that it didn't hurt, it just felt intensely warm.
      - madaxe_again 11y ago
        I do similar with pain - break it into its component parts, and you can experience it as a warm tickling, or pressure, if you've really managed to do a number - although some things one can't map, like having finger nails torn off - although maybe that's because it's an uncommon pain one doesn't usually get a chance to examine.

toast0 11y ago

> Anecdotal, sure, but either the illness or the cure was in my head. A powerful thought is that your entire life experience is in your head --- your nerves relay signals from throughout your body, but it's up to your brain to interpret them, and you can change the interpretation. Some conditions can get better if you reinterpret their signals. Some conditions can get better if you relax because you feel in control. That's not to say you shouldn't take appropriate medical steps, too, I'm sure there are some things to check for with mystery vomiting, for example, but then you run out of things to check.