Meditation

Peace of mind is one of the first casualties of an Oligo diagnosis.  Many of us need to find a way to stop worrying and slow our minds down.  This can be especially acute when in the throes of diagnosis or a round of treatment, but even an upcoming MRI can make our minds race.

After my second son was diagnosed, I found sleeping difficult and crying easy for a number of months.  But I realized that I had to pull it together if I was going to make this situation better. I had thought about meditation for years, but now I was desperate.  I enrolled in a mindfulness meditation class through Kaiser (our healthcare provider at the time) and I would recommend having some instruction and support as you start.

I think the first thing you realize when you start meditating is that our mind and thoughts control us, we don’t normally control our mind.  Meditation teaches you how to control your mind (to some degree) and how to turn it off for a short while which is the ultimate relaxation.  I have since moved on to transcendental meditation, but the effect is the same