Much of 2010 was spent living , thinking, dreaming, sharing and worrying about MS and CCSVI. I suspect 2011 will find me living along those lines. I also have to admit that too much time was spent in conflict with others who do not share my views and opinions. While most of us have this one thing in common, it may be the only common denominator for some. I intend to remain an advocate. I also owe something to myself. As much as I have learned to care about so many online friends, I am realistic enough to know that not all may feel the same way. I would wish for this year to include more honesty and less drama. The time is here for the ones who have done all they could to dissuade PwMS from moving forward in their efforts to be well to face the ramifications of their choices. Approximately 10,000 people will be diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis this year. Most of them will not hear about CCSVI, but will start expensive treatments that will will do little if anything except the welcome them to the MS world of DMD side effects. This has to change. Whose responsibility is that? The reasoning that one life is not worth so much is inherently flawed.

More and more, science has proven that our state of mind greatly affects our health. When we are overtired, we are more vulnerable to the kind to thinking that starts “I’ll never…” (get better, have what I need or want, reach my goal) or “I’ll always…” (be ill, lose out, get hurt) and so on. That kind of all or nothing attitude can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. To have hope, to keep on trying, to reach out for positive change, is never wasted or foolish. Wanting to be healthy is not the opposite of being in reality about what is not in our power to change.

We can learn to be grounded in reality and to wish for something else simultaneously. When we hold both together in our hearts, then the tools we have available offer us the opportunity to work in our favor. When we invest in change, then the diet, visualizations, affirmations, prayers, meditations, exercises, and support from others become benign and powerful forces.

I strongly recommend reading the January 2011 issue of The Sun magazine. I have been reading this great, truly honest and open journal for years but this issue is their first that is devoted to health and healing. The lead article is an interview with Andrew Weil. There are many very real and true stories in this magazine as well as an excerpt from Norman Cousins book Anatomy of an Illness on the power of placebo.

What I enjoyed the most was Weil's and Cousins' talk about the power of placebo. They both speak of placebo not as a sugar pill but as the power of relationship (doctor/patient) and belief to initiate and sustain the body's own innate healing system. This power is so great and so powerful but we mostly talk about it being something next to nothing. This is the magic of the art of medicine; the power of one to influence another for higher good. We in America speak negatively about placebo but it is so positive and so real.