Taking medication can be an emotionally fraught experience. It can bring up feelings of guilt or shame or failure. Without negating those feelings, I invite you to take a different approach.

Could you approach that medication with a sense of gratitude, peace or joy? Consider decorating the bottle with pictures or phrases of positive affirmation. Try thanking each dose. Notice the ways your life is easier or better now that you are taking it. Or, thank the people who worked hard to develop and create it.

Here at Chiropractic First, we pride ourselves on helping people live lives with limited medication. We recognize the many deeply problematic aspects of the pharmaceutical industry. We are thrilled to have helped people get off migraine medication and anti-anxiety drugs. We also know there is a time and a place for pharmaceutical interventions. In the right time and place, pharmaceuticals can be a valuable part of your healing journey.

If you are struggling with judgment around taking medication, take a few minutes to be present with those feelings. Do you feel like you were able to fully participate in the decision to take the medication? If not, stop reading this article and consider scheduling an appointment with your medical doctor. Make sure you feel clear on why you are taking the medications you are taking. 

Once you understand that the medication is right for you, I encourage you to create a practice of gratitude around taking it. If you are going to do it, beating yourself up about it isn’t going to help anything! Find some ways to create a bit of joy, peace or gratitude in the healing ritual that is taking a medication. And let us know in the comments, or next time you are in the office, what rituals are working for you!