A diagnosis is tough news to handle. Many questions will come up:

• Why did it happen? Did I do something to deserve it? How will I cope with it?
• How can I pursue all those plans I had for my life when I have this illness to deal with?

Here are my top 5 tips to help you face the diagnosis with courage and focus on your healing:

1. Start by changing your beliefs about illness and healing - It is important to release the misconception that God / the Buddha / the universe acts like a parent figure that will reward and punish. Love does not punish and you definitely did not get ill because you are being punished. Start, instead, to pay more attention to your spirituality. By nurturing your spirituality, you will reduce your susceptibility to fear and the choices you make based on fear. You will, also, gain the inner strength that will see you through your healing journey
2. Commit to yourself - The actual work that needs to be done can only be done by you. So ask yourself:
   • What motivation do you have for healing?
   • What have you dreamed up for your life before your illness and what part of that dream do you still want to accomplish? 
   • What action can you take today to make the dream reality? Rome was not built in a day and healing an illness does not happen overnight. Healing requires that you practice regularly whatever healing discipline(s) you choose to adopt
3. See beyond the visible - You are able to choose which thoughts to dwell on. Choose to see a healthy, strong and fit version of you. Dwell on your strengths...you have many, just look at yourself in the mirror....Faith and optimism are key to healing. Send yourself positive, optimistic messages; through loving self-talk, by being compassionate with yourself, by celebrating each accomplishment you make regardless of whether you think the accomplishment is big or small
4. Find ways to stay inspired - Inspire yourself with the stories and wisdom of those who have pulled themselves through nightmarish experiences and gone on to build productive, joyful lives. Inspirational stories lift you and keep you optimistic about your own potential to heal. You may have been diagnosed with an illness but you still have the power to decide whether the diagnosis and the illness will handicap your spirit
5. Practice describing yourself as an individual separate from your illness. Try not to confuse who you are with the body part that is hurting. You are larger than your illness. As Carolyn Myss likes to say, "your biography becomes your biology", so don't let your illness control every aspect of your being. Find those words that describe you as the strong person that you are and that describe your illness as an experience through which you are passing. Here are some examples you could use:
1. "My spirit is stronger than my physical body"
2. "Illness holds a message of change for me and I need to be receptive to whatever change is necessary"
3. "There are lessons I must learn as I work through the process of healing"

All crises pass, nothing ever stays the same. Illness can become the means through which you discover your true calling or your most valuable abilities. Don't let the limitations you experience today influence what you may experience tomorrow. Everything is possible and the universe is always listening!

• Popular night shades include tomatoes, eggplant, all kinds of peppers (except black pepper) and potatoes
• Night shades contain high levels of solanine, an alkaloid which causes bones to excrete calcium, other minerals, and trace elements
• Night shades may have several benefits especially for those who become tense from work, stress, or other activities which require great concentration
• If you have arthritis, it is wise to use these vegetables sparingly or better yet, to avoid them all together 
• Notice if you experience stiffness, loss of energy, diarrhea, headaches, vomiting, light-headedness or difficulty focusing several hours after eating night shades
• If you are sensitive to night shades, start reading labels. Some homeopathics, prescriptions, over-the-counter medications as well as numerous processed foods contain nightshades

Click here to get your FREE Night Shade hand out. Included in this list are some surprises, which although not truly nightshades, share the same inflammation-inducing alkaloids.