My friend Carolyn Thomas posted this video, produced by the Cleveland Clinic, on her blog, Heart Sisters. She asks “What if hospital staff could read our minds?”

I didn’t know what to expect, I was afraid it would be something awful like that Mel Gibson movie “What Women Want” where a sexist man could read women’s minds. Ick.

text reads practice kindness and shows two children walking with arms around each other in kindness

Practice Kindness

But this video blew my mind in its direct simplicity. Not a word is spoken. The quote from Plato above was taken from the first comment to the video on YouTube. Among the gifts, I feel my chronic illness gave me was the understanding that a person can look perfectly fine on the outside while dealing with incredible pain both physical and emotional on the inside.

This little film does that one better. It includes the complexity of conditions: from sadness and grief to elation and joy. What we think people should be burdened with can be very different from what is actually weighing on them or lifting them up. See it for yourself.

via Heart Sisters, one of my absolute favorite blogs:

♥ All about women and heart disease – our #1 killer – from the unique perspective of Carolyn Thomas, a Mayo Clinic-trained heart attack survivor

♥ Information for the general public, heart patients or their family members, health professionals, and all students of the heart.

Editors Note: Since writing this blog pos,t Dr. Aletta has written a book that may be purchased through Amazon. It’s titled: “7 Rules For Living Well With Chronic Illness” and can be purchased for Kindle. We anticipate that the print version will be ready in the fall of 2019. With compassion, wisdom and irreverence, Dr. Aletta shares her seven simple rules to help you live with chronic illness and thrive!

Elvira G. Aletta, PhD, Founder & CEO

dr aletta of explore what's next

Executive & Personal CoachingIndividual & Relationship Counseling

Life gave Dr. Aletta the opportunity to know what it’s like to hurt physically and emotionally. After an episode of serious depression in her mid-twenties, Dr. Aletta was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease that relapsed throughout her adulthood. While treatable, the cure was often as hard to bear as the disease. Later she was diagnosed with scleroderma, another chronic illness.

Throughout, Dr. Aletta battled with anxiety. Despite all this, Dr. Aletta wants you to know, you can learn to engage in life again on your terms.

Good therapy helped Dr. Aletta. She knows good therapy can help you. That’s why she created Explore What’s Next.

Today Dr. Aletta enjoys mentoring the EWN therapists, focusing on coaching and psychotherapy clients, writing and speaking. She is proud and confident that Explore What’s Next can provide you with therapists who will help you regain a sense of safety, control and joy.

716.634.2600 | draletta@explorewhatsnext.com

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Crossing the Border from the Land of Health to the Land of Ick