Recipe for growing a symptom
1. Attention magnifies symptoms, so don't just notice your symptom -- shine a spotlight on it. Do research so you'll know how to tell if it's getting worse, then check often to see if you're going downhill. It's not too early to start mulling over the possibility of complications, treatments, limitations, hospitalization, invalidism, and death.
2. Imagine the undesirable outcome of your symptom. Picture your symptom escalating and your condition deteriorating. Dwell on what life will be like as you face complications, treatments, limitations, hospitalization, invalidism, and death.
3. Label your symptom. Go to your doctor seeking confirmation that something is really wrong. If he doesn't find anything wrong, search tirelessly until someone gives you a definite diagnosis. Use your diagnosis to become more informed about complications, treatments, limitations, hospitalization, invalidism, and death.
4. If your symptom should abate, worry that it will return. Anticipate its return. While waiting for your symptom to return, go to the doctor to see if it has returned, and load up on supplements and special foods to remind yourself of the fragility of your health. And remember that just because your symptom is on vacation, there's no reason to stop worrying about your potential for complications, treatments, limitations, hospitalization, invalidism, and death.
5. Ignore all healthy functioning. Catalog and chart every possible sign that could support your assumption that you have a problem. Assure yourself that staying on the defensive is the best preventive medicine. Observe the world for signs that support your belief that it's natural for things to get worse. Pay special attention to any news about complications, treatments, limitations, hospitalization, invalidism, and death.
6. Prepare for the worst. Seek out alarming stories of similar conditions that went from bad to worse. Speculate on how you and those near and dear will cope with your complications, treatments, limitations, hospitalization, invalidism, and death.
7. Get support for your concerns. Discuss your symptom with sympathetic listeners who share your anxiety. Join a support group devoted to those with your symptom. Although it pains you to do so, persistently discuss complications, treatments, limitations, hospitalization, invalidism, and death.
8. Refuse to be distracted from your symptom. Cut back on distracting social activities so that you'll have more time to focus on your symptom. Avoid anything that might take your mind off your symptom. Stay home and think about complications, treatments, limitations, hospitalization, invalidism, and death.
9. Wonder why this happened to you. Feel helpless to change your condition. Feel angry that doctors are not taking you seriously. Feel hurt that others are not as concerned as they should be. Feel martyred because you have to carry on despite your symptom. Feel depressed at the prospect of having to deal with your complications, treatments, limitations, hospitalization, invalidism, and death.
10. Dismiss the mind-body approach as unproven, unrealistic, dangerous, useless, and just too darned hard to practice. Remind everyone that your symptom is REAL and certainly not something you are imagining. Emphasize repeatedly that your symptom leads to very real complications, treatments, limitations, hospitalization, invalidism, and death.
Note: This is not an original recipe. I picked it up a long time ago and decided to pass it along to you because everyone who uses it always gets such consistent results. And this recipe is not only for growing physical problems. By tweaking it slightly, you can use it to grow any kind of symptom. You can count on this recipe for the same predictable results whether you use it to grow relationship problems, mental or emotional troubles, financial difficulties, work-related issues, fears in any area, or for just about anything that you don't like in your life.
Variation
For an interesting variation, you can grow a desirable condition by altering the recipe to emphasize what you prefer. This variation is can seem more challenging because you may have to hunt for a lot of the ingredients. You'll probably find you have all of the ingredients for feeling better tucked away somewhere, but you may have forgotten where you put them. If you take the time to gather the ingredients, though, I think you'll like the results that comes from making the extra effort of trying this variation.
1. Look for every scrap of evidence, no matter how small or far-fetched, that suggests your situation is improving. Remember that you can live without your desired improvement and still feel good, or you can live without it and feel bad: it's a matter of how you choose to look at things. Choosing to find ways to feel good no matter what is what allows your energy to move in desired directions.
2. Think about how nice it will be when you manifest your desire. Think about it in ways that generate eager anticipation. If it makes you feel good, daydream specific scenarios involving your desired situation. If it doesn't make you feel good to think about your desire, distract your attention in directions that feel better. Remember, your goal is to feel better in any small way you can.
3. Label your desired improvement. Do research about it. Notice others who have achieved it and study them to understand how they look at life. Think of ways you can practice their beliefs and attitudes.
4. If your desire seems slow to come, remember that the only reason you want it is so you will feel good. That will remind you that you can choose to feel good no matter what, just by looking at things differently. Get creative to find ways that work to make you feel better in your current situation. Focus on them. Appreciate them. If you're depressed, you might feel better if you just get mad for a while or blame someone else for your problems -- experiment to see what ways of looking at things make you feel better and use them deliberately as a bridge to going in the direction you want to go. Remember: you don't have to feel like Pollyanna to feel better.
5. Instead of fearing your desire will never manifest, get creative and look for all the ways -- no matter how small -- you can find hints of it already in your life. Focus on those expressions of your desire and appreciate them genuinely. This helps you feel good now, and, remember, feeling good is the goal.
6. Prepare for the best. Anticipate things working well. Relax. Practice optimism, resilience, a sense of humor, and flexibility.
7. Get support for different, better feeling ways of looking at life. Persistently look for situations that feel good to you. Avoid entertaining yourself with anything that give you any kind of unsettled feeling.
8. Refuse to be distracted from feeling as good as you can all the time. Make it your number one priority. Remember that your goal is not the THING that you want, but to find ways to feel better NO MATTER WHAT! Remember you do that by looking at things differently so you feel better, first. The changed results -- your goal -- will follow.
9. Refuse to speculate on what went wrong in the past. Refuse to speculate on what others think about you and your situation. Refuse to compare yourself to others. Stay focused on ways of looking at your situation that allow you to feel as good as possible. Stay firmly rooted in the present and keep your attention on yourself.
10. Look for evidence that supports the mind-body approach. Gather information that bolsters your confidence. Notice how you feel better whenever you find ways to shift your perception even slightly in the direction you want to go. Remember every unwanted situation started with some kind of tension or conflict. Notice that relaxing improves everything.
Let me know how it works for you. Happy creating!
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