This blog is #18 in a series of blogs in the form of questions or statements about a health issue and answers. These are in the typical format used when doctors take tests.
Question #18
True or false: It is important for someone to read a person’s journaling to give feedback and help process the information?
- True
- False
That’s correct! #2.
No one has to read what is written. The therapeutic process occurs as the material is expressed in the writing, giving the internalized emotions an avenue for release, and increasing the individual’s sense of control and understanding.
My vive. Improving a person’s sense of control is so important. People with autoimmune diseases (ADs) typically have all their sense of control over their destiny taken away from them. In answer to their questions for the doctor who diagnoses them, they are told, “we have no way of knowing why you got this. There is nothing you can do to make it go away. There is nothing you can do to prevent getting additional autoimmune diseases on top of this first one. Your only option is this medicine that suppresses your immune system but makes it more likely you will get cancer and infections that can kill you. And, these types of medicines can actually cause you to get a new autoimmune disease.” A person will instead have a profound new sense of control when they know the facts behind autoimmune disease. We do know why people get ADs. We do know how to make them go away. We do know how to prevent new ADs. There are other options besides these medications. And, we can work to prevent your children and grandchildren from getting these ADs that are running in the family.
