Ask Dr. Shiroko

Could the flu be good for you?
Getting the flu is probably the last thing you want right now. Debilitating headaches, nausea, cough, sore throats and fever can really mess with your life. But what if the flu also served a purpose for improving your health? In this article I am going to pose the question of – “Why would it ever be good to get sick?”
As uncomfortable and annoying as it is to get sick, have you ever experienced being relieved by getting sick? As if you are getting permission to let go? Well guess what, there is a health reason for that.
Physically when we get sick we can’t think, or stay awake, or sometimes even move. We slow down and rest, so that our immune system can fight the illness and help us get better. We are forced to take a time out from our lives. When we have recovered from the illness, usually everything seems quite different. As if we had a new perspective on life.
In my P.I.E. Life formula for 100% vitality and empowerment, I talk about how everything affects all of who we are. 20% of our health has to do with physical wellness. 30% has to do with Intelligent Living. 50% has to do with Emotional Wisdom (see the P.I.E?). Stress affects us on all those levels, and must be released on all those levels. Imagine that you do something every single day at least once that you don’t want to do. Imagine that your body responds to every thought you have, and that something has to happen with the energy of every thought, every action, every emotion. How would you clear those?
When was the last time you scheduled an “emotional work out session” with the intention of releasing negative emotions when you really needed to? If you’re like most people, you probably don’t think much about your emotions, but rather respond or react to them as life happens. Finding ways to manage our response to stress is the most important thing we can do to help our bodies.
Here are three things you can do to release negative emotions from your body:
1) Exercise: Routine exercise is a great way to put your body and nervous system at rest. If you can imagine that you’re body is a sponge for negative emotions, you are constantly getting soaked, and at some point, you’ve got to be squeezed out so that you can be fresh and new again. You can use your exercise consciously to push out anger or frustration from your job while working out.
2) Improve your your communication: How many times do you lie to your loved ones because you don’t want to hurt their feelings, or you think you have to do what they ask? When you find ways of expressing your true feelings in a loving manner you are practicing healthy living.
3) Eating well: a poor diet aggravates more negative emotions, people often don’t realize that their frustration, irritation, fatigue, anger may have been kindled by a poor diet. Sugar, processed foods, chemical sweeteners, skipping meals, low blood sugar, and more, all affect your physiology in a bad way. Not only do they hurt your immune system, they make you cranky. Try making sure that you have protein with every meal for a few days, and don’t skip any meals, see if you are in a better mood.
Even if you get the flu shot, you might still get sick. Not because the shot didn’t work (although that can happen), but because your body needed to get sick in order to help you release accumulated stress. The next time you get upset about being sick for a few days, consider this. You may be doing exactly what your body needs to get healthier, cleansing your system of stuck energy and stress.
Dr. Shiroko Sokitch’s column appears monthly. She can be reached at: dr*****@ht***.com.