In his “Hope Theory”, Snyder and his colleagues talk about pathways thinking and agency thinking. The theory behind pathways thinking is that for one to reach their goals, one must first view oneself as capable, which is a motivational component. “The perceived capacity to use one’s pathways to reach desired goals. It is the knowledge that I can do this, and I am not going to be stopped!” Kendell had a baby at home, and her whole life ahead of her. She knew it was time to dig deep and move beyond her fear and pain–to look within herself. What she found, underneath all her anguish and despair was a little spark. Upon further investigation, that spark she found was hope! This hope would develop slowly and cautiously, but eventually bloom into something fierce and heroic!
Armed with this feeling of hope, she began to do her own research and then wholeheartedly committed to what she believed to be true about her disease. In the midst of this, she found that she was actually quite capable. This was even in the face of much adversity, discouragement and often times anger at her “naivete” coming from the immediate medical community around her. She took all this new-found knowledge she had discovered and formulated new pathways of thinking. From this place of hope (and being re-centered) Kendell had the courage to think outside the box and surround herself with respectable, informed doctors, and the right medicines. She discovered homeopathic remedies and spiritual modalities, creating a pathway to a new goal of health and healing. She is still on that path today—and because she was able to change her psychology and embrace hope, she continues to prevail.
Christy’s Story
Christy Lewis has also struggled with a chronic disease: bladder cancer. This type of cancer has the highest recurrence rate of any cancer, and she has been diagnosed and treated five times over the past eleven years. The cancer word is very scary indeed, and when one is diagnosed with it, they might go into a state of panic. Has it spread? What stage of cancer do I have? What are my chances of survival? When Christy was first diagnosed, she had a surge of adrenalin, and a dissociative experience as she listened to the urology doctor tell her the news. She at once thought, “Wow, is this how I’m going to go out? Bladder cancer?” As the news settled in, Christy started researching anything she could about bladder cancer.
