Speak Your Truth

Introduction

“Each patient carries his own doctor inside of him.”
—Albert Schweitzer, MD

I remember when I was first diagnosed with lupus. A coworker said to me, “Oh, I am so sorry.” I think she thought I was at death’s door, that I was not long for this world. I also remember at that instant wanting to say, “No, really, I’m okay. I am not going to die from this illness. Please do not pity me.”
I still feel that way. If you are introducing me to someone, please do not introduce me as a person “suffering from lupus,” because I don’t suffer from lupus. I am happy to report that I have no active disease . I consider myself not just a lupus survivor but a lupus thriver. I have successfully sent my disease into remission. I believe lupus can be healed or the course of the illness significantly improved if you are willing to do the mental work necessary to dissolve it. You too can possibly put lupus into remission as I did and have no active disease. It does not matter how life threatening your illness is, or how many symptoms you have, or how many hospitalizations you have had this year. You can heal yourself of this disease or at least greatly improve your quality of life.
I have learned over the years that if we wait for the medical community to come up with a cure, we will have a long wait. I think this illness may be too complicated to be cured with conventional medicine. I believe those of us who are diagnosed with lupus need to go within to make ourselves whole. Even if researchers came up with a drug for lupus that cured most people, it still would not make us whole. A cure is not the same as healing. While a cure will only suppress the symptoms of lupus, healing means to become whole. I believe going within to heal ourselves from lupus is far superior to any drug or surgery that the medical community might come up with.
That being said, I still think conventional medicine has its place in the treatment of lupus. This book is not a substitute for medical care. If you are diagnosed with lupus, get established with a qualified rheumatologist experienced in treating the disease. He or she can prescribe medication to keep you comfortable enough so you can do the mental work needed for healing. To be honest, lupus can be very painful, and you need to find your comfort zone. That’s where pain medication and even steroids come in. So please get medical attention. It is necessary to use every modality available on your healing journey.
You may never be “cured” of lupus, but you can be healed. You may still have problems with the disease, but you will feel much better when you do the work outlined in this book.
In this book, I refer to types of lupus with lowercase letters. Hence, you will see lupus, systemic lupus erythematosus (sle), and central nervous system (cns) lupus in lowercase, because I do not want to give this disease any more power or importance by capitalizing the words. This is in keeping with the style of self-help author Louise L. Hay , who referred to aids and hiv with lowercase letters. Also, I do not believe in learning all you can about lupus. I know many people say it’s a “good defense.” However, I think you are only focusing on the problem, on what you don’t want. Focusing on what you don’t want only brings you more of it. I believe it is imperative to hone in on the solution, not the problem. Please let your main focus be on healing and wellness, and your body will have the best chance to become well and whole.