Guilt and the Immune System

[serenityqueen]

Last week I was going through some old magazines, some I barely even opened due to Mom being so sick during this time and one small article jumped out at me. I wanted to share it with you all. It's from a magazine called Body and Soul and this article was in the Jan/Feb 2008 issue.

Goodbye Guilt

Sure, we all have our guilty moments. But when you alllow thos feelings to flourish unchecked, you could be putting your health at risk. Medical research shows that harboring guilt taxes the immune system, leading to a host of health problems, including depression, auto-immune disorders and chronic fatigue. So next time you're about to do something that's guilt-worthy, think twice-or utter c'est la vie and move on with your day.



Something to think about.

[Klynn33]

I completely agree...........so true.

thanks for sharing that

[lizw]

I have MS and in the last year I have come to the conclusion that I was born feeling guilty. Guilt is a feeling I recall having all the time as a child and my way to counter this, as I grew older, was to focus on others.

This began with my older sister who had an eating disorder. I use to excerise with her not becasue I thought I was fat but so I didn't have to be alone. Following her it became men/boys.

Further more when I was small my mothers father and my own father hated each other and so when I use to visit my grandfather and he was nice to me, I felt guilt as it felt like I was betraying my father. And then I'd be in the same situation when my father treated me well, I'd feel like I was betraying my grandfather.

Ahhh, Alcoholic Families eh? Can't live with them, can't kill them.

[Impurrfect]

Thanks Judy!

I truly believe that our state of mind affects our health. After working in ER's for 12 years, my immune system is pretty darn strong. But let me get stressed out about something, start losing sleep, and I will get sick.

Hugs and prayers!

Amy

[Toomutch]

I am dealing with that right now. I have felt so much guilt about "Naomi". You can learn more in my "Naomi" thread, that I have been sick ever since I posted it. I started out with thowing up directly after sharing the post. The next day I went into a fibro flare in which I am still having symptoms; and now in addition I have a chest cold.
Is this all because I let a part of myself show that I have a great amout of guilt over. Either that or it was quite a coincedence.
Thanks for sharing the article Serenity Queen.

[jazpoppy]

Serenity Queen;

I have to totally 100% AGREE with you and the author of that article! I feel so much guilt about my mother (she's an alcoholic who lost her left leg due to diabetes) that I get diarreah (not to be gross), stomach aches, and headaches so much lately and I have always become sick when I have guilt and a lot of "unrest" in my life (I was a total mess when I asked my husband for a divorce and during the whole process I had a nervous breakdown and ended up in the hospital because I was so hooked on drugs and I was mentally disassociated. I spent 6 days there trying to detox off opiates and get my depression and anxiety disorders under control. I feel so guilty that I could not help my mom move July 1st because I fell on my back (I have severe spinal arthritis and 3 herniated disks), and cracked my head, so I was told to be on bed rest by my doctor for at least 4 days. I'm just starting to feel better now. I could not even call my mom, I had my dad tell her (and they are divorced!). My mother has a way of making me feel 2 inches tall, and she really knows what buttons to push! I am trying really hard to not feel guilty but its hard because the last time I spoke to her she blamed me for her having to live in a group home. She told me that I should not have moved an hour and a half away from her, I should be living with her and fully taking care of her. I tried to do that all last year (I lived with her part-time and had my own place that I shared with someone), but she drove me NUTS! She had me running all day and all night, plus I was working for some of that time, so all I had time to do was sleep for a little at night (she would be up ALL NIGHT drinking herself into a stupor, then she'd keep waking me up to tell me stupid things that were on TV or to yell at me and tell me I'm not doing enough for her), then I'd get up in the morning, fix her breakfast, go do chores (pay bills, do shopping, call agencies for her, etc), then make her lunch, then go to work for 1pm, get out at 6pm, make her dinner, do more running around (usually she'd have me buy her booze for her, if I refused, she would take the car away from me, as my car died and I could not afford to fix it, she would "let" me use hers as long as I complied with EVERYTHING she wanted me to do). Then after dinner and running around, I'd be in charge of making her drinks (she had me doing this most of the day too) and if I made them too weak, she'd have me add more booze or tell me that she would take the car away or not help me with bills and gas (as I didn't make much money and I had a lot of debt as well as needing A LOT of gas in that car to do all the running that she required me to do). It was H311!! I also had an abusive bf at home (where I stayed part-time) so I had another "slight" nervous breakdown and I packed up some stuff and ran away! I have NOT been back for more than an hour or so. I've been living with my new boyfriend (he's really not new, I was with him for 3 years before getting back together in February 2008) since Feb 08. I am a lot calmer, I sleep better, and I have lost quite a bit of weight since I can eat healthier down here. Mom was always sending out for greasy food when I stayed there. I have some more threads about my mother and my ex bf in "Family and Friends of Alcoholics" thread. So this guilt and health link is VERY TRUE and I'm trying to make myself healthy by "forgiving" myself for not being able to do as much as I used to for my mother. Thanks for sharing this with us Serenity, I needed to vent!

Love

Jaz