talkhealth Blog

Part of living with an illness is learning how to WAIT.   We WAIT for test results. We WAIT for a phone call from our doctor. We WAIT to see if a new medicine is going to be effective or not.  Sometimes, HOW we WAIT, is almost as important as WHAT we are waiting for.Sarah is very good at compartmentalizing her life.  She invests some thought into the WAITING, and then turns her mind to other, more productive thinking, like school work. She forges ahead and focuses on the immediate task at hand. I, on the other hand, am not quite so disciplined with my thinking process.  I am tempted to obsess about the “what if’s?”  Tempted to put other things on hold until we hear back and know the “answer”.  This, I have found, is counterproductive- in other words- NOT HELPFUL.  What I have learned, in these periods of waiting, is to pray about it and then refuse to let my mind dwell on it.   If I need to take a nap, I do.  If I need the distraction of a friend, I make a coffee date.  Netflix has even become a part of my “WAITING” strategy!   I suppose some people get angry and make threatening phone calls.  That is not my style nor my personality. I don’t want to alienate the people we depend on for help.  I am truly thankful for these people and realize they have busy lives.

Regardless of how we handle it, WAITING is one of the more difficult things we have to do. We can choose to endure this WAITING patiently and productively or we can give into fear and despair. The choice is ours in this “not so normal” life.