Just Got Diagnosed

December 2022

 

Welcome!


We live in very angry times. Some days if feels like I run into angry people everywhere I turn. But I wonder if all that anger isn't covering up other feelings below the surface. I hope you'll take a look at my lead article this month. 



Recent News


I am working on a book that will published during the spring of 2024. The title of my book is "The Power of Closure: Why We Want It, How to Get It, and When To Walk Away." My book will be published by Tarcher Perigee, which is part of Penguin Random House. Yes, I am hard at work!


My website, JustGotDiagnosed.com is filled with advice, inspiration, and information. 

I can help you with...


My counseling and education program for newly-diagnosed as well as experienced patients, Prepared for the Road Ahead ®, is organized around emotions,  Chronic Communication (sm) (relationships), embracing change, communicating with healthcare professionals, staying informed, making treatment decisions, self-image, and planning for the future.  


Click here to learn more about me


I continue my association with HIV Plus Magazine, hivplusmag.com and Coping with Cancer. 



 

Joy! Joy! Joy?

What are your holidays looking like so far?

 

Past memories, good ones and not so good ones. Demands, some realistic and others not realistic, some coming from you, some coming from others. Your schedule, maybe too much going on, or maybe not much at all.

 

Where is the joy?

 

Someone asked me that question today. And I thought about how, during the holiday season, I always spend a lot of time talking to people about how to get it all done, how to say no, how to keep holiday stress down. Basically, how to get through the holidays – and get them over with.

 

What this made me consider is that, in the process of taking care of ourselves during the holidays, it’s easy to become so focused on avoiding stress – “surviving” – that we lose sight of the joy.

 

So it just seem like a good idea to take a minute and share some ideas with you about having a little more joy in life. 


Here's how to find the joy in your holiday!

 
 
You are not alone. Let me help you get prepared for the road ahead!
 
Pay Attention!

You know what’s like when you’re going through a rough spot. Like when nothing seems to be working in your favor. Or it seems like you’re on a treadmill and not getting anywhere. Or feeling angry at someone who disappointed you. Or frustrated at the challenges you have to deal with. Or fearful about the future.  In other words, stuck and pretty miserable.

 

When you’re sitting with all those feelings, it’s real easy to get down on the world and everybody in it. As well as down on yourself. It’s easy to give in to feeling bad because expecting to feel better might just lead to more disappointment, and you’ve already had enough of that. So the wall goes up. While you hunker down with all those low expectation. Life goes on while you suffer alone.

 

Sure, sooner or later, things get better. Right? But maybe not all that better. Maybe those feelings just kind of hang around and you get used to feeling like your life isn’t going to change.

 

Well, I have an idea for you. It’s pretty simple. In fact it’s only three words:


Open your heart!



Also, my website of the month:


I have a lot of conversations about overeating during the holiday, especially in January, after the holidays are over. It is only human to want to eat what's being served at holiday get-togethers. But if you're spending a lot of time alone over the holidays, the urge for comfort food, and to grab a pumpkin pie as you are waiting in the checkout line, may also be overwhelming. Here's a great article from Health Central on keeping your holiday eating under control. Check it out!


 
 
Gary R. McClain, PhD JustGotDiagnosed.com
 
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