Removing Negativity From Your Life
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) sounds scary. In fact, it is scary. By now, you have read the pamphlets and delved into online research to conclude that COPD will be a major force in your life. From the physical to the mental and emotional, COPD can zap the positivity out of your life.
Positivity is so needed and so important to your life. It is something that cannot be sacrificed. Without your positivity, a range of unwanted effects become sparked by negativity. They include:
Reduced Physical Health
COPD is enough of a physical burden; you don't want to add any others to the list. Unfortunately, an odd thing happens when people begin to see themselves as unhealthy. In these situations, they begin to pay less attention to their overall physical health while no longer taking necessary steps to maintain their current levels.
They say, “I’m already sick. Why bother taking care of myself?” They eat worse foods, reduce their exercise, slack on their sleep, and even pick up new, unhealthy habits like smoking or drinking alcohol more heavily. This is especially dangerous, as COPD and drinking alcohol may not mix well.
Obviously, this mindset is misguided and shortsighted. In reality, paying less attention to your physical health will only compound COPD symptoms and add other ailments to list. Negativity will diminish your physical health quickly.
Reduced Mental health
Just as counterintuitive things can happen with physical health from negativity, the same is true with mental health. Someone with COPD might say, “I’m sick. I’m going to die. What’s the point of going on?” Clearly, this reaction could trigger a great deal of depression.
Alternatively, someone might say, “Oh my God! COPD is terrible. When will things get worse? How bad will they get? What will I do?” This reaction would trigger an overly anxious response. In either case, mental health will worsen and issues begin to spread. Instead of being reserved to only COPD, the depression and anxiety will widen to other aspects of your mental health. Perhaps, you will become more angry or irritable. Either way, negativity wins.
Poorer Relationships
If you combine the effects of worsening physical health paired with worsening mental health, relationships begin to suffer. One factor is the idea that your physical health will cause relationships to shift drastically because COPD will limit your abilities to engage in certain social activities. Gone are the days of strenuous hikes and softball games. You might say, “What’s the point of spending time with friends? It won’t be the same.”
Another factor is that increased depression and anxiety will make relationships less appealing. Depression and anxiety are interested in having you be more depressed and more anxious. Strong relationships actually reduce these feelings, so they will convince you that relationships are unnecessary mistakes. They might encourage you to say, “If I spend time with friends, someone bad will happen. They probably don’t like me anymore.”
Whichever factor feeds into your poorer relationships, you will be less interested in relationships and your relationships might be less interested in you due to changed interests and disposition.
