tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1098361547792425611.post8792158548138353943..comments2023-11-14T20:22:36.929-08:00Comments on Knowledge Is Necessity: Blueprint for Recovery - YOU Are the AuthorityJohn McManamyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11857174305041382349noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1098361547792425611.post-55557233599611574992009-04-16T00:25:00.000-07:002009-04-16T00:25:00.000-07:00Very interesting survey results and even more inte...Very interesting survey results and even more interesting discussion. <br />I believe we all have enough willpower to stay healthy and alert and kick any kind of habit. The problem is we are too lazy to do self-management and find out which habits affect our lives and get rid of them. It's not easy and requires a huge amount of will- and brainpower.<br />Our bad habits are so soothing, they make Ksenyahttp://fightdepression.brighterplanet.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1098361547792425611.post-5985952372517770292009-04-08T09:47:00.000-07:002009-04-08T09:47:00.000-07:00Control is always a big issue and very sick people...Control is always a big issue and very sick people often feel all control is taken from them. This is very bad for adults. Nothing gets you to want something like an authority figure (the Doctor) telling you you shouldn't have it. Look at us trying to make healthier lifestyle choices. I know I often fall to the CHOCOLATE. Doing good with everything else tho so I often let the chocolate slide in.Lizabethhttp://blogabita.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1098361547792425611.post-63858288929853723072009-04-07T15:36:00.000-07:002009-04-07T15:36:00.000-07:00Hi Folks, Behaviors like that tend to culminate fr...Hi Folks, <BR/><BR/>Behaviors like that tend to culminate from past successes at getting what you what. We all want things and throughout our life we experience different successes or failures in trying to achieve what we wanted at that time. Many children learn early that "crying" got them a bottle or a diaper change or just attention. So, they continue to do that as each successful cry got themrgterry49noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1098361547792425611.post-84944542252226608412009-04-07T12:50:00.000-07:002009-04-07T12:50:00.000-07:00Hey, Louise. This very much needs to be said. My m...Hey, Louise. This very much needs to be said. My mom is a model of compliant behavior. She does what she needs to do to stay in good health, and is an inspiration. She is in her 80s and is in better shape than people 40 years younger.<BR/><BR/>There is will power and determination and motivation involved, but it all boils down to the fact that she is smart enough to do as she is told. <BR/><BR/>John McManamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11857174305041382349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1098361547792425611.post-25900666473880054422009-04-07T12:25:00.000-07:002009-04-07T12:25:00.000-07:00I think "willpower" is a different subject altoge...I think "willpower" is a different subject altogether.<BR/><BR/>I'm not talking about willpower to do BIG things like losing 50 pounds (very tough) or quitting smoking (an addiction.)<BR/><BR/>I'm talking about WILLFUL disobedience of necessary prescriptions to even BEGIN to become healthy.<BR/><BR/>In the case of my friend's mother, she actually refuses to drink WATER. She wants alcohol and Louise Woonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1098361547792425611.post-68587222500463231762009-04-07T12:16:00.000-07:002009-04-07T12:16:00.000-07:00Hi, Claudia. Very good question. I think trying to...Hi, Claudia. Very good question. I think trying to have more will power sets us up to fail. I prefer "smart power." An example:<BR/><BR/>Say you need to lose ten pounds. You can eat less, but sooner or later your cravings are going to overtake you. Then you wind up feeling miserable for failing and you blame it on lack of will power.<BR/><BR/>Or you can decide - instead of a high-fat muffin you John McManamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11857174305041382349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1098361547792425611.post-7686453303698393322009-04-07T11:41:00.000-07:002009-04-07T11:41:00.000-07:00WILLPOWER - a big word. I want to be well (most of...WILLPOWER - a big word. I want to be well (most of the time), but I've talked to my therapist many times about getting involved in things where I would meet other people - I have to admit that I haven't made too many attempts, though. Not because I don't want to, but because I'm afraid and don't have enough willpower to just do it. And then there are plenty of people who believe that being Claudianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1098361547792425611.post-41830314414248331142009-04-06T21:37:00.000-07:002009-04-06T21:37:00.000-07:00Hi, Lizabeth. It sounds like you and Louise are ve...Hi, Lizabeth. It sounds like you and Louise are very much in agreement, with room for interpretation on the willpower thing. The points both of you raise have primed my brain, so to speak.<BR/><BR/>With me, my diagnosis conferred on me a certain degree of absolution. Instead of regarding myself as an underachieving screw-up, in my own mind anyway I could view myself as someone who overcame John McManamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11857174305041382349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1098361547792425611.post-43915546191836975652009-04-06T18:12:00.000-07:002009-04-06T18:12:00.000-07:00I worked as a registered nurse for many years and ...I worked as a registered nurse for many years and I think Louise is perhaps overestimating willpower and underestimating the power bad habits have on people. I nursed a lot of people who simply would not follow doctors orders--even after we nurses had translated them into plain English. They knew what their choices, or perhaps more accurately, not choices could do. But we aren't the only people Lizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00401679720112841335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1098361547792425611.post-46846042703887033512009-04-06T12:47:00.000-07:002009-04-06T12:47:00.000-07:00Hi, Louise. I hear you loud and clear. Believe me,...Hi, Louise. I hear you loud and clear. Believe me, I run across people all the time who lead lives in total violation of promoting good health. It's one thing if they have made a conscious choice. It's another thing when they play victim. <BR/><BR/>I'd love to figure a way to get a read on the situation. Nobody is going to respond "No" to "Do you want to recover?" or "Yes" to "Do you wish to stayJohn McManamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11857174305041382349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1098361547792425611.post-45236082495819737582009-04-06T12:35:00.000-07:002009-04-06T12:35:00.000-07:00Hi John. Interesting survey results, but I wonder...Hi John. Interesting survey results, but I wonder about one option not listed in your survey: Secretly do not want recovery.<BR/><BR/>People who are "well" usually assume everyone should want to be like us -- that is healthy, fully-functioning, independent.<BR/><BR/>But decades of living has shown me this is presumptuous. Many, many people do not want full recovery because it would force Louise Woonoreply@blogger.com