Living Well When You Don’t Feel Well: Overcoming Lyme Disease & Illness

August 15, 2023

http://  Approx. 18 Min

Living Well When You Don’t Feel Well

Overcoming Lyme Disease & Illness

Joe Trunzo PhD Professor of Psychology

Dr. Trunzo highlights a different way of thinking and coping with diseases (and life), specifically Lyme disease. 

He earned his undergraduate degree in 1993 from Marywood University in Scranton PA and completed his graduate work in 2000 at Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA. He completed his pre-doctoral internship at the University of Vermont and his post-doctoral fellowship at the Centers for Behavioral & Preventive Medicine at Brown University Medical School in Providence, RI. He is a Professor of Psychology and Chair of the Department of Applied Psychology at Bryant University. He is also a licensed, practicing clinical psychologist with expertise in the psychological management of chronic medical illnesses such as cancer and Lyme disease, as well as the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders, especially obsessive compulsive disorder. He serves on several professional committees and belongs to a number of professional organizations. In his spare time, he enjoys being with his family, live music, running, and mountain climbing.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

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**Comment**

A very sane and logical talk on the Lyme/MSIDS controversy involving three camps of thought, which then moves on into how to develop a mindset that focuses on living the best life you can while sick.  Dr. Trunzo utilizes the mindfulness based, values-oriented behavioral therapy called ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy) to help patients.

He states that by not accepting what patients are feeling and going through, they can trap themselves and create more problems.  I must throw in a personal note here: one of the most helpful things I was ever told early on by another patient who reached the other side was:

“Don’t be depressed about feeling depressed.”

This may be laughingly simple; however, I found that I needed to give myself permission to feel depressed.  Knowing, understanding and accepting the fact I was going to feel miserable and have some really rotten days (or months!) helped me tremendously.  Being chronically/persistently infected with multiple pathogens that work symbiotically and that are in your brain and virtually every organ of your body wreaking havoc, not only affects you physically but emotionally and spiritually.  Add in the fact that mainstream medicine denies this fact entirely and that your friends and family may choose to believe you are a hypochondriac rather than an extremely ill person who needs help, because after-all you “look fine” – and you can become very depressed and isolated indeed, which doesn’t help the healing process at all!

Obviously, the goal here is not to remain sick, but to achieve wellness and health; however, with Lyme/MSIDS that may take years to accomplish, and even then there is a very real potential that facets of your health may never return to the way they were before you became infected.  As with all things in Lymeland, everyone’s journey is unique to them and no two cases look alike.

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Category:

Lyme, Psychological Aspects, Treatment

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