Episode 111 - The Power of Positivity

Hi, everybody, and welcome back to the Alopecia Angel podcast. I'm your host, Johanna Dahlman, and today we are going to be talking about the power of positivity. Many of you know that I'm optimist. And as an optimist, there's been numerous studies and numerous research that has been done by Harvard and by other researchers and other scientists.

The norm, the general consensus, is that optimists and people who are positive live on average 10+ years longer than people who are negative. That's a staggering statistic, because that can really shave off 10 years of your life, or give you an extra 10 years of your life. Granted, there are other attributes to this, but at the same time, all the factors in regards to socioeconomic, weight you know, disease, or even, you know gender, or anything else that could categorize you, still didn't have an implication in terms of being positive.

They've done numerous studies that I wanted to share a couple with you today and it's quite remarkable. A 2011 study, which found that those who reported higher levels of satisfaction in areas like career, life, and family had a reduced risk for heart disease. So this study is linking health, general health in regards to optimism. And there is a direct link between cardiac health and mental health with optimism. The following year, so that's 2012, Harvard researchers reviewed more than 200 studies on this topic concluding that people who are more optimistic and satisfied with their life have a reduced risk of heart diseases and stroke. Pessimism was linked to a 19% higher risk of dying over a 30 year period in another study.

After examining the associations between optimism and heart health in more than 5100 adults of various ethnic groups for 11 years, researchers concluded that people who display a more optimistic can do attitude in life experience significantly better cardiovascular health over the long term. Those who were the most optimistic were up to 76% more likely to have a total health score in the ideal range. So this is not to say that we have to be positive and you know, just put on a fake face if we're not feeling it for the day. What I'm trying to say is that when we lean towards optimism, when we lean towards being positive, we see things switch, we see outcomes come out differently.

So let me go ahead and use my own situation with alopecia. So I was diagnosed, right? Years ago and I had alopecia areata moving into totalis and it was awful, all of it was awful. But at the same time, my positive nature, even though it was bruised a little bit, you know, it took a beating. But at the same time, I picked myself up each and every time. So yes, okay, I could take a day to cry and cry it out or an afternoon or, you know, to wallow in my situation because I didn't have any resources, there was no help, the doctors couldn't help me, and it was just a never ending cycle. And this prolonged, right? This wasn't just a few months or a few weeks. I had alopecia for over 4 years before I was able to see just a little bit of hair growth.

So in those 4 years, I had numerous ups and downs. I had numerous setbacks, I had failures, I had successes. And, at the end of it, I overcame my Mount Everest. I was able to climb to the peak and get all my hair back and not only that, but to keep it even amidst COVID, even amidst stressful times, even amidst postpartum, even amidst other life scenarios, my hair has always remained and I can guarantee you it will always remain because now I have the keys and the knowledge and an understanding of my blind spots in order to not go down that path again and that's all key to your success.

So the thing is, it's like, yes, we're all allowed as humans to feel all the feelings, the good, the bad, the ugly, etc. But we got to pick ourselves up, we got to move forward quickly. So if you're having a bad day, give yourself, you know, an hour or 2 to just like, be grumpy or have that bad day, feel it, let it go, and then let's move into an optimistic state. How do we do that? Well, there's many ways we can start writing a list of what we're grateful for. We can look to see, you know, the gap in the game.

What I mean by the gap in the gain is, is like for example: I have 2 arms, 2 legs. I have, you know, no joint pain. I have a great body that supports me, right? And so in this sense, you can also think backwards and say, what if this was all taken away? What if, you know, the arms, the legs, the mobility, the no pain in the body was all taken away all of a sudden. Now, how would you feel? You would feel awful, right? I would feel awful, for sure, and very sad.

And so now, I can appreciate even the little things that day to day I probably take for granted, of the mobility, of not having any bodily pains, of, you know, being able to even when I'm not well rested to be able to get up and be motivated and, you know, have things to do and be excited for the day, even if it's raining outside, even if it's snowing, even if you know, life happens because life will happen. It's about our perspective and navigating us, our emotions, and how we think about things that will affect us long term, right? It's not about the outside, or what things happen, whether there's a car crash, or there's traffic, or it's a snow day, and you're stuck with all your kids at home, or what have you.

It's not about the situations on the outside, it's really your response to those things. It's your mindset and your thought patterns about what's happening, whether, you know, it's anything, including the diagnosis. And so this is why it's so precarious, and this is why I'm actually preaching about this because at the time that I was diagnosed, I didn't have any tools, I didn't have any techniques, I wasn't able to reframe this, I was just in shock. I was stunned, I started crying. I was feeling all the emotions and then I leaned on the doctors and that gave me like no help, no resolution, no nothing.

And so then from there, to be able to like scratch my head and be like, okay, well, what am I going to do now, now that the doctors in Europe, now that the doctors in the US aren't helping me, what am I going to do now? And so this is where I gave myself some time, 4 years really, 4 years time to figure this out, to have the trial and errors, but you know what? I came out on top, and I know you can too. I know if you're newly diagnosed or if you've been dealing with this for weeks or months or maybe even years or decades, you can still get through this, you can still climb that Mount Everest, you can still get to the top.

Sometimes we just need a little hand holding, sometimes we need guidance, sometimes we need to ask for help, sometimes we need the coaching that comes along with experience. Sometimes we need that extra support, the accountability. I'll say that the other day I spoke to a client who had done my program last year. Last year, January, he did my program and he came to me with alopecia universalis, he's a gentleman in his, you know, mid age, 40, 50, something range. He came to me with alopecia universalis, and he's had it since he was a kid. So this is for over like 3-4 decades. And I see him on the Zoom, and guess what? He has three fourths of his head covered in hair. Three fourths!

We were talking a little bit and he's like: Tell me what to do, what's the next thing I need to do to get this like 100%. And I told him his blind spot. And I told him like: This is one little area that you need to look into. And once I told him he resisted in the beginning in January of last year. He resisted a little bit this idea, this blind spot. And I will say that if you're resisting anything, this is a flashing alarm, this is a red alert for you to look into this and uncover it and actually move in closer. If you're resisting something, you need to uncover that. So for example, you know, in in children, you can see sometimes where maybe they're scared of the dark. Well, the thing is, it's like once you move into the room where they're scared of the dark, turn on the lights, you'll see that there's nothing to be afraid of. There's nothing scary underneath the bed, there's no boogie monsters, etc. right? You need to go in and move forward into that resistance.

I talk about this because what resists persists. Yes, it rhymes, yes, it's catchy, but it's also true. So if you're resisting something, it's going to persist. So for example for people who are on a weight loss situation and want to lose weight. If you resist the fact of changing your diet, of not doing exercise, well guess what? Those extra pounds and kilos are going to persist on your body, right? I have a friend actually who told me we're the same age and he's like: Johanna, my health has declined in these last 10 years drastically, I need to do something ASAP. If not, my doctor wants to put me on like 3 or 4 meds.

That's really oof. It's scary to think that someone in their early 40s needs to be put on 3 or 4 medications just because they can't manage their diet and their lifestyle. Now he's overweight, but I gave him a bunch of directions like this is what you need to do, but you got to do it. It's not just about me telling you, are you learning, but you've got to implement, you got to do it.

And so with this last client that I told you about with allocation of Rosales, he's like: Okay, Johanna, I'm going to do it. And I gave him like a strategic timeline of how to do this and like what to do and I told him like, come back to me. Because just so you all know, when you become a client of mine, I'm always going to reach out, I'm always going to follow up. I'm always going to be, you know, seeing what's going on. Even if you don't reach out, I'm going to reach out because for me, you're not just a client. You are someone who I get to know, get to understand. I'm privy to your life and I want to see you succeed in all areas.

And so if there's one area, like in this case, there's one little blind spot left, we need to uncover that, fix it and rule it out and be done. And so he told me: Okay, Johanna, I'm going to do this and you know, I'll get back to you once, once it's done, and I told him: I'm so excited because I know this is, this is going to propel you to that next level. You've already gained three fourths of your hair, this is the first time that's ever happened in decades. And now you just have like that 25% left. You're like, you're right there, you're on the cusp. So this is fantastic.

Everyone's journey is going to be so different. My journey is, is different from everyone else's, right? I started with 4 years of trying to deal with this and trying to figure this out, but I will say that when you do ask for help, when you do join. someone, when you do get that accountability and that coaching, make sure you're getting it from the right spot, make sure you're getting it from someone who's actually not just knowledgeable within their own healing process, but then in others as well, because just because they've healed themselves doesn't necessarily mean they can help others.

I fortunately have been able to help many, many, many people in over 66 countries, but not everyone is at that same level, not everyone is able to do that. And so ask those questions, how many success stories you have. Do you have before and after pictures? Do you have interviews? Ask those questions because I'll be the first one to show you all the success stories that I've been allowed to show online and then also those interviews online as well through the podcast. So asking for help is necessary, giving yourself that grace.

So if you want to be in the gap, so to speak, in that worrisome crying spells, you know, what was me situation, give yourself that time, but don't let it last for more than half a day. Pick yourself back up and give yourself the perspective of like: Okay, what am I gaining from this? Because you know what? We all have so much to gain from alopecia. We all have so much to gain and I can't say that enough, but at the same time, maybe you won't understand me because you're not on the other side yet. But I will say there is a light at the end of the tunnel and once you're into that light, it's not just beaming and shiny, but it's like warm, it's hot and it's vibrant. I'm much more vibrant than I used to be. I'm much more healthy than I used to be in my hair and my everything else is in the best place ever than what it used to be and it's only getting better.

Understand that alopecia is helping you to get better. And so think of it in that way, because that perspective, that mindset shift, the power of positivity will help you not just live longer as we've seen in the studies, but will also be able to help you have better health in general, but then also help you propel you to get there sooner. I was on a podcast and I was interviewed on a podcast where the lady had Crohn's disease. She was the podcast host, she had Crohn's disease, and she had dealt with it for 10 years. And during that podcast interview, we were talking about each other's journeys, because Crohn's disease, for those of you who don't know, is an autoimmune disease. And alopecia areata, of course, is also an autoimmune disease.

And so we were both talking about our experiences, and she had a big aha moment, right then and there, when we were talking. And I told her: You know, not one minute of those four years, did I ever think that I would never get my hair back, not one minute, I knew I was going to, I just didn't know when, but the if I was going to get my hair back was never an issue, like I knew it, I knew it, I knew it, I knew it that I was going to get my hair back. And if you ever wanna hear another podcast about faith and like determination, go back to the podcast episode I did about 2 months ago with a mom, I believe it was in December, a mom and it says the title of it is like: How faith fueled this mom to heal her child with alopecia and it's amazing when you have the determination when you have the: I know I'm going to get it. I just don't know when or how.

And so the how shows up with every action step you take, and then the wind finally comes to fruition, and she, this lady, the podcast host with the Crohn's disease, she had this big aha moment. She's like: You know what, every day of those 10 years, cause it took her 10 years to finally reverse and heal this naturally because she also wanted to do things naturally. It took her 10 years and she told me: You know, every day of those 10 years, I told myself that: Why me? Why is this happening to me? And she kept questioning the situation instead of looking at this like: Okay, this is a challenge, I'm determined, I'm going to heal. And you know, I'm going to take these steps.

She didn't, she did the opposite. She Asked and questioned, like, why is this happening to me? And, you know, woe is me. And so that can just give you a little perspective of her taking 10 years to finally heal versus me, who had the positive and the optimistic resilience. Most of the time, right? Cause I did have bouts of like: Why can't I figure this out? Not why is this happening to me, but more like why I can't figure this out? And this is why I do what I do because I want everyone to figure this out, I want everybody to understand and learn and have the guidance and the coaching and expertise to walk along and, you know, help you heal along the way because I know it's possible for you, just like it was for me and everyone else.

So more studies that show how your mind influences your health in many ways. Well, your heart is not the only organ or body system that is influenced by your mental outlook. Medical news today lists a number of examples where studies have shown a link between your psychology and your health, to which I have added a couple more here. So sudden death research shows that during the first week after the death of a spouse, mortality skyrockets to double the normal rate. That's huge. Heart and cardiovascular disease, stroke and heart attacks. Letting your anger out explosively may be harmful because it triggers surges in stress hormones and injures blood vessel linings.

One study found that people over the age of 50 who expressed their anger by lashing out are more likely to have calcium deposits in their coronary arteries, an indication that you're at a high risk for a heart attack than their mellower peers. A systematic review involving data on 5000 heart attacks, 800 strokes, and 300 cases of arrhythmia also revealed that anger increases your risk of heart attack, arrhythmia, and stroke, and the risk increases with frequent anger episodes. GI problems, gastrointestinal problems, sustained or chronic stress has been linked to a number of GI problems, including inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome.

It's becoming increasingly clear that your brain, your immune system, and your gut microbes are intrinsically linked. Autism, for instance, is associated with gastrointestinal problems and potentially an overreaction in immune system. Cancer, your outlook has an effect on your ability to recover from cancer. The quality and quantity of psychological support also makes a difference in survival rates. HIV, heightened stress and dwindling support from family and friends has been shown to accelerate the progression of HIV infection.

Allergies, skin complaints like psoriasis and eczema have psychological underpinnings. The psychological state of a patient has been shown to affect the rate of healing. As noted in the article, for instance, increased levels of fear or distress before surgery have been associated with worse outcomes. So if you don't have a positive outlook when you're going into surgery, we're going to have worse outcomes, including longer stays in the hospital, more post operative complications, and higher rates of rehospitalization.

In one study on patients with chronic lower leg wounds, those who reported the highest levels of depression and anxiety showed significantly delayed healing. So again, optimism promotes longevity and this is very, very linked with everything. And so, there are many secrets to happy people, and I know that being happy, so to speak, quote unquote is very difficult when you're going through something like alopecia. You don't have to remind me, I know, I've been there, I've been in your shoes. I am a parent, so should this happen to my child, I would be absolutely devastated, but at the same time, the quick response to that, like: You know, so and so has got alopecia. Is that okay? Now I know the tools. I have them. Now I just got to implement them. Boom.

And so the thing is, is like, there's always a solution to every problem, including your hair loss, including your alopecia. There is a solution. You just got to find it, get that accountability, uncover those blind spots. Because I will say those blind spots are huge. In one instance, I have a friend, so to speak, who she was looking to do her master's degree and at the time that she graduated college, she never looked at her transcript. She just grabbed her transcripts and was done. Then she started applying like a year or 2 later to different schools for her master's program. And she essentially applied to like 7 different ones and she never got accepted.

7 different schools, and she never got accepted. She didn't understand why, because she had good grades, she had a great resume, and all these things, and she didn't understand why she was not getting accepted into these programs. So she finally was able to actually speak to somebody in the admissions section of one of these schools and that admissions advisor told her: Hey, do you know you have this mistake on your transcript? Or you have this letter grade or you have this, you know, curious situation that this is why we're not accepting you. And she was dumbfounded. She was like: No, tell me more. What's going on? Lo and behold, she had a mistake on her transcript that implicated her GPA, which implicated her admittance into the master's degree programs that she was looking to get, or to get into, right?

And so once that one counselor, because not any other ones actually helped her out, but that one counselor was like; You know what? Go ahead and see if you can go back to your university, talk to them, see if you can get a letter or some sort of you know, transcript fixer situation, but see if you can get this resolved and we can reevaluate your admissions package to let you in or not into the master's program. Well, she went ahead and did this and lo and behold, they weren't able to fix the transcript, but they were able to get a letter stating that this in fact is a mistake, but we can't do anything about it because, you know, years have passed and it is what it is.

But guess what? That one counselor with that one master's program accepted her, but that was her blind spot. She didn't know she had a mistake. She didn't know she also didn't review her transcript, right? So for those of you finishing college, this is important. Review your transcript before it's a case closed situation. But in any case, this was her blind spot, and once she finally was able to be like: Okay, I can go back and fix it to the best of my ability. And look, lo and behold, she got in 2 years later, she was a graduate of such and such university getting her master's degree. But she had a blind spot and she had no idea until someone else pointed it out.

So this is what I'm saying, getting your advice, getting your guidance from someone who's just throwing a bunch of stuff at the wall, that's going to take a lot longer versus a strategic approach versus an approach that's tailored to you picking out your own blind spots versus: Oh, do this, do that, do this, do that. You know, it's the same thing as like, when you want to get pregnant or when you want to lose weight or in this case, when you want to grow your hair. There's going to be a lot of advice and a lot of quote unquote tips online or in forums or from friends or from family, but at the same time, a lot of it is noise.

I would say the majority of it is noise. And it's very hard to uncover and decipher the correct information from the misinformation, because I'll tell you, there's a lot of misinformation out there in regards to anything, health and wellness, whether it's weight loss, hair loss or anything else in the sphere. There's a lot of contradictory information. So you want to go with somebody who's got a proven results and framework.

If you don't know, we have a free training and it's available to you. Go ahead and email us at [email protected] and we'll send you the link. If not, you can go to my

website and you'll also see the information there for the free training. It's 49 minutes, in 49 minutes you'll understand the 6 pieces of knowledge that you need to know to understand how to heal and reverse alopecia once and for all. So I give you that as a gift, there's a lot of free downloads on my homepage as well for you to understand if you're new to Alopecia Angel, but also if you're newly diagnosed, this is also very informative.

And other podcast episodes I would recommend would be 1 through 10. 1 through 10 is fantastic just because it gives you a lot of the foundation of what's going on and what you need to know. More importantly, we have an upcoming interview with a client who saw hair growth that's coming up in a few weeks and she has FFA, she was diagnosed with frontal fibrosing alopecia, and she's got tons of hair growth. This is a beautiful thing because for those of you who don't know, FFA, frontal fibrosing alopecia, is a scarring alopecia. Many times people with scarring alopecia say, oh, there's no cure, there's nothing you can do. This is what the doctors tell me.

But the thing is, just like that whole mindset and the positivity, if you're taking in that negativity from the doctor or from whoever that's saying: Stop, there's no cure, there's no help for you, go home. If you're taking that in and accepting it, well, then that's your prerogative, but then also those are the results you're going to see. You're going to see the no results, you're going to see, you know, the lackluster situation, and you're going to continue to see the hair loss. But if you say: Nope, this person's wrong and make it a point to prove them wrong, then you have already that power of positivity in your favor, in your corner behind you.

The universe is there to back you up and it wants you to succeed regardless of any religious affiliation. The universe in general is made of energy, so the more positive outcomes, mindset, thoughts, actions that we have on a daily basis, the more this builds up cumulatively, and this also propels us to reaching our goals and succeeding at them, not just in hair loss, but also in life. So I hope this has helped you. I would love for you to rate and review the Alopecia Angel podcast podcast, this way, more and more people can see and be alerted that there is such a podcast that helps them in their journey.

If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email us at [email protected] Thanks so much. Take care.