How to feel good with Diverticulitis? “Smile! Smiling Heals! It has been proven!”
The gastro doctor said our stomachs are connected to our smile and well-being! Even if we feel like crap, if we smile, we can convince our bodies that life is good! She was working with my diverticulitis infected husband and literally said, when he is not smiling, my husband has an upside down smile…that directly effects how he is feeling. So naturally, he is miserable all the time being just a normal guy not smiling.
So smile!!!
But as of late, this diverticulitis thing has kicked our butts. What is diverticulitis? A nasty disease where you intestines grow little pockets and certain foods going down the tubes, get stuck…and then infected…and then you curl in a ball till you beg your doctor for a dose of antibiotics to help stop the infection and unstuck the food pissing off your body!
Sadly when you get diverticulitis, you want to get it cut out. You want the knife. You want the surgery. Even more sadly, my husband is not eligible. They told him he didn’t have what everyone else had, a little chunk their the colon infected (that can be surgically removed). Nope. He has the diverticulitis where his entire intestine has zillions of these crappy pockets. Lovely.
Now it’s watch what you eat. All the time. Best part? He lost 30 lbs! Bad part – he almost cries when we make cookies or other treats. I try not to be we do have kids that love a sweet now and then.
How did he get it?
Stress. Nothing much you can do to cure it. There is no cure but to cut it out and since that is not an option…the only thing he can do is SMILE!
Doctor says smiling helps your gut. Even just faking it…putting a smile on your face automatically makes you feel better. And magically, you do! Just because you smiled.
Sadly he was also given from his genes not a natural smile, but a natural frown, so he has to work even harder to smile.
The day he came home with this news from the doctor, it was a great day. I’d never seen him smile so much in a single day. But it trails off. So I remind him. Which I’m sure is annoying and upsetting. Cause smiling is contagious...so I smile and stare over at him hoping he’ll catch on or mimic me…to which he wonders if he has food on his face or if something is mentally wrong with me.
So this weekend, go see standup comedy! Get out! Laugh! Live! Have a giggle and giggle more! Specially since you know how it’s proven to increase your happiness!
Maybe that’s why I because a comedian?
Cause a smile and doing the smiling thing is indeed the best medicine!
And try these books from Amazon.