The Doctor.

As a kid, the whole concept of “doctor” brought to mind at best, a mixed feeling of fear and hope.

Fear because I was sick, and that seeing the doctor might result in getting a “shot.”

Hope, because the doctor will help me get well.

It took a long, long time to get past the fears and to focus on the “hope” aspect of seeing the doctor.

I had to become an “adult” with many years of positive experiences with doctors to get to that place.

I now view doctors as knowledgeable partners in  my overall strategy of maintaining a high level of health.

My early negative conditioning of fearing doctors is gone.

I was also “fortunate” in a strange way in my early conditioning concerning Polycystic Kidney Disease.

My father was one of those “macho” guys who would never see a doctor. And indeed, he was rarely sick.

So I was spared the experience of seeing him suffer with his PKD which nobody knew, including himself, that he had.

One day he passed out on the street. Two weeks later he was dead.

He didn’t want to be seen by anyone while he was in the hospital. The day he passed out was the last time I ever saw him.

Comparatively speaking, from my point of view, it was a relative easy death.

I didn’t see any suffering.

So when it was my turn to experience physical symptoms, I had no negative conditioning associated with the disease. To me, it was the disease that my father had but didn’t know he had, a disease that I knew about and was co-operating with my doctor and medical team from that point on.

For PKD patients who have witnessed family members suffer with the disease, it is understandable that you have negative conditioning associated with your disease. Many of these negative associations may be subconscious. You aren’t aware of them. Things like missing appointments or “forgetting” to take your meds may be due to this negative conditioning.

This is not your fault. Your survival mechanism wants you to avoid anything that appears to you as life-threatening.

The question is, what can you do about such negative conditioning if you may not be aware of some of its effects?

The question may be simple, but the answer isn’t.

All I can say to you is to be “cut-throat” honest with yourself. Acknowledge to yourself where you are sabotaging yourself. (“Oh, one bottle of cola won’t hurt.” Yes it will!)

Look at your excuses and denial straight in the eye and admit that it’s fear that is stopping you from following your prescribed protocol.

I’m not saying this is easy, but it can be done.

Life Coaching may be what you need to “ferret” out these sabotaging behaviors.

Perhaps I can help.

If you feel that you find yourself going off “your path” repeatedly, it might be helpful to contact me at:

info@innergameofpkd.com

and we can arrange a complimentary telephone conversation about your situation.

In the meantime,

Stay in Good condition!

Peace and Blessings!

Coach Richie Perl