1) Your self image is who you think you are,and it determines what you do and how you feel about yourself. A positive self-image is your armor against negative messages and a powerful force to help you gain self-confidence in everything you do.

2) Self-image serves as a blueprint for behavior. If you honestly view yourself and act in a way you would like to be described, you will find that you have become that way and are viewed as such by others.

3) Messages received in childhood from parents, relatives, teachers, and friends are powerful influences on self-image. These messages become "tapes" that are played in our minds unless we consciouly take action to change them.

4) An effective way to change negative self-messages is to practice positive self-talk. Thoughts creates feelings, and by changing the way you think about something, you can change the way you feel. THat will help you to take positive action. Remember, your past is not your destiny.

5) Negative messages are all around us. You must choose to rejct them and likewise choose which messages you will believe and make part of your self-image. You can be your own coach, arguing against negative messages with positive messages that describe the healthy you.

6) Use daily affirmations--simple positive statements about yourself-to promote and build on your positive self-image.

7) Keep a written and mental list of words that describe positive characteristics you have and some that you would like to have. Use those words as guides for your behavior which will create the positive image you seek.

8) Assertive behavior is an important part of a positive self-image. Being able to express your views and feelings affirms your right to self-determination and says that you regard yourself as an important person.

9) Keeping an affirmation file of everything that carries a positive message about yourself is excellent spirit booster when things seem dreary.

10)Remember you are SPECIAL. Even things you do that may seem insignificant, is done well, can affirm your specialness and add to your positive self-image.

11) Give yourself a pep talk that is like a commerical for yourself. It will be reflected in your feelings and actions.

12)Be generous in your praise and thanks to others. It will do wonders for how you feel about yourself.

13)Find apt, life-affirming metaphors to describe yourself. Eventually, they will affect your self-image.

14)Take charge of improving your self-image. If you are unsuccessful, seek professional help to get started.



Learning motivation is difficult when you are faced with a life-long companion that is presented challenges down each road you take. Here are a few tips and hints:

1) Motivation is the combination of forces that influence the decisions we make. Needs and desires motivate us to behave in certain ways.

2) At bottom, motivation rests on the twin foundations of values and beliefs

3)Those values and beliefs are generally shaped by our families and the wider culture: but we must examine and challenge these standards to limit their influence on us

4) Set your own goals in small, achievable steps, using advice from selected advisors if needed

5) choose rewards for yourself and enjoy them often to motivate yourself for further success

6) train your internal coach to give you regular positive comments; go out of your way to make positive comments about others

7)"perks" are persons, places and experiences in life that remind us how good it is to be alive. Define your perks and make use of them often to keep yourself "up."

8)Examine your habits. If they are unhealthy, they can be great obstacles to progress in making healthy choices

9) visualizing yourself looking healthy now and in the future will increase positive outcomes.



Adapting to LIfe's Challenges is never easy and comes after much soul searching. Adaptability may be one of the most important qualities of a healthy life. The circumstances of life change continually. Either we adapt to fit these changing circumstances or our well-being suffers. Here are a few tips:

1) adaptability is one of the most helpful assets a person can have, because of life's circumstances are always changing. Some people naturally adapt to major changes better than others, but everyone can learn to improve his or her ability to adapt in order to live well with a chronic illness

2)everyone faces the challenge of physical limitations--it's called aging for some. Just as againg requires a positive yet realistic approach to living life to its fullest, so does a chronic disease require a positive determination to adapt and do as much as possible with all that one has

3) A highly skilled and committed team of health care providers can be your key to successful adaptation to a chronic illness

4)There is a healthy way of denying disease as well as an unhealthy way. Denial is unhealthy when it leads to a worsening of your disease or detracts from your ability to live well. Denial is healthy when it motivates you to do everything possible to live fully and take control of your disease

5)Successful adapters are busy finding things to like about every part of life. They take a practical approach to doing as much as they can with whatever limitations they hvae been handed in life.

6)disease is a detour, not a destination

7)learn from others who have successfully adapted their life with the disese you have by observing them and reflecting on what you have seen. Then apply that information to your life and, after awhile, evaluate its effectiveness



One area that needs improving for many is who controls the stress that you are feeling. Life is going relatively smoothly for you. You enjoy your work. Your family life is fulfilling. You enjoy leisure activities. Then you visit your physician for a routine examination. You are told you have a chronic life-long illness that there is no cure for at present. The message is clear. It cant be fixed. It might be controllable. It will change the way you life. Your eyes fill with tears as you respond to STRESS.

There is physical stress which means the stress the disease is putting on your body which includes limitations and pain. There is psychological and emotional stress of the disease. It is normal to feel a sense of loss--the loss of a formerly healthy self. Quite common people experiencing this sense of loss go thorugh a grieving process similar to the death of a loved one. Ultimately it is empowering to take on the responsibility for one's life, but there are times in our lives when the very word responsibility seems burdensome. We dont want to take responsbility for a diseaese; we want to be rid of it!

Some people are diagnosed with a chronic disease and seeit as their excuse to finally take better care of themselves. Other people immediately start planning for their funeral. Stress is not an event. It is our perception of the event that is happening around us.

Here is a gerat bit of advice for avoiding undue stress:

We must try to take life
moment by moment.
The actual present
is usually pretty tolerable,
I think, if only we fraine
from adding to its burden
that of the past and the future.
How right our Lord is
about sufficient to the day.

C.S. Lewis--Letter to an American Lady

Here are few tips to handle stress in your life:

1) Stress is an inevitable part of everyone's life. Management of daily stress is important as a preventative measure in managing any health problems

2)Having a disease adds stress to life and requires specific management techniques

3)Stress is not an event. It is our perception of the event

4)If you are not making progress in managing the stress of your disease please seek professional counseling

5)Stress is like a violin; if violin strings have no stress then the violin can provide no music. But if too much stress is applied to the strings, they snap.

6)Know your stress signals. The feelings or behaviors that let you know stress is taking its toll on your well-being.

7) Assess the sources of stress in your life by listing those things that drain and energize you. Keep adding energizers until they are clearly outweight the drains.

8)Try various techniques for coping with stress, remembering that successful stress management requires preventive techniques as well as techniques to lessen the damage from temporary, major sources of stress. Build a tool box full of stress management techniques, and become a master craftsperson with your tools.



Problems are only detours. Have you ever encountered "roadblocks" in your life that present problems in reaching your goals? Sometimes detour signs cleraly reroute you so you ca continue on your way. Often, however, your have to figure it out. That's problem solving. The classic definition of a problem is "a question raised for solution." Detous can fit into that definition. Problem confront everyone, everyday. Some seem fairly simple; getting to work when your car broke down. Others seen quite complex: making lifestyle changes to accommodate health challenges while still pursuing an enjoyable life. But, whether simple or complex, the process of finding solutions is essentially the same. The people who are most likely to find solutions to problems are those who have strong desire to do so. The person who does not have much desire to go to work may view a sick child or broken car as a good excuse to stay home. The more important your goal the harder you will have to work at solving it. Knowing why this goal is important to you will reinforce your commitment to solving the problems that get into your way.

Here are a few tips:

1) knowing why a particular goal is important will reinforce your commitment to solving problems that get in your way

2) the person with the desire to find solutions will; the person with out that desire will find excuses not to solve a problem

3) determination is the strength and energy you put into finding solutions, trying them, and evaluating them

4) perseverance is the duration of your effort, the ability to stick to it until the problems is solved.

5) Start out by defining your problem, being accurate and specific. Avoid vagueness and generalities

6) List all the things you can do about your problems, brainstorming with a support group or your medical team

7) Take action on each of the solutions that seem appropriate. Give it an honest chance and then evaluate the situation to see if your problem is solved. If not, try another solution. Only action will move you ahead.

8) When trying to solve a problem, deal first with any emotion, it arouses until you can view the problem from a logical perspective.







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