Qualities of Exceptional Patients

We’ve all heard stories of miraculous recoveries from intense illnesses. Sometimes those stories seem hard to believe. Could they really be possible?

I remember asking myself that very question when I was reading ‘Love, Medicine and Miracles’ by Bernie Siegel. It was 1995 and I was back in my childhood home in bed, in pain and unable to work. I was chronically ill in a mysterious way and nobody could give me any tangible advice about how to get better. At that time, I was very skeptical about anything alternative but I was also desperate.

At first I thought the book was a hoax but after reading more and more stories it seemed improbably that anyone would make it all up. By the end of the book, I decided that if people could heal from stage-four cancer then I would heal from what ailed me. I still had no idea how but unknowingly I had committed to the first two qualities of exceptional patients. I found the courage to believe in my wholeness and in my capacity to heal despite the fact that I was so sick.

Exceptional patients share these qualities.

* They believe in their wholeness and in their worthiness.

* They have faith in their capacity to heal.

* They seek support and receive it with gratitude.

* They persevere and pick themselves up when they fall down.

* They trust and seek guidance from within.

If you don’t have these qualities, that doesn’t mean you can’t be an exceptional patient. Each of these qualities can be cultivated and learned. The first step is believing that it’s possible.