Dealing with the Discouraging Circumstances of Chemical Sensitivity

The illness of chemical sensitivity can present some very difficult circumstances. The following are examples of some of the challenging circumstances a person with chemical sensitivity may face:

• The symptoms of the illness can be painful by themselves.
• Family, friends, and others, including doctors, may believe the sufferer is malingering or has psychological problems.
• A person that is chemically sensitive to the touch may not be able to touch anything or anyone.
• The illness often requires people to live relatively isolated lives.
• Chemical sensitivity may cause conflict in a family, as family members may want to use products or do other things that cause the chemically sensitive individual to suffer.
• The sufferer may not be able to work, which can cause financial difficulties.
• According to the book Strategies for Surviving Chemical Sensitivity, the basics (2010), by Dr. Robert Mayer, divorce is common where a spouse contracts chemical sensitivity.
• A person with chemical sensitivity may have difficulty and stress related to finding food she can eat, clothes she can wear, and a place to live that does not make her sick.

    The following quotes have helped me deal with the difficult circumstances of chemical sensitivity:

Every one of us has times when we need to know things will get better. . . . My declaration is that this is precisely what the gospel of Jesus Christ offers us, especially in times of need. There is help. There is happiness. . . . Don’t give up . . . . Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. . . . . It will be all right in the end. Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come.

Jeffrey R. Holland, “An High Priest of Good Things to Come,” Ensign, Nov 1999.

It isn’t as bad as you sometimes think it is.
It all works out. Don’t worry.
I say that to myself every morning.
It will all work out.
Put your trust in God,
and move forward with faith
and confidence in the future.
The Lord will not forsake us.
He will not forsake us.
If we will put our trust in Him,
if we will pray to Him,
if we will live worthy of His blessings,
He will hear our prayers.

From the funeral program for Marjorie Pay Hinckley, April 10, 2004; see also “Latter-day Counsel,” Ensign, Oct. 2000, 73. (available here)

No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God . . . and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire.

Orson F. Whitney, in Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle (1972), 98.

Chemical Sensitivity and Prayer

    “A 2003 survey of 917 MCS patients revealed the two most effective treatments for MCS, in order of self-perceived harm/benefit ratio, were a chemical-free living space and chemical avoidance. Next came prayer and meditation . . . .”[1] I do  not consider myself an expert on meditation, but I have benefited immensely from prayer, so I decided to do a post on this topic.
    I prayed regularly before I became chemically sensitive, but my isolation has given me much more time to devote to pondering and prayer. Those with chemical sensitivity are often forced to live in relative isolation. Schools, churches, stores, theaters, businesses, and even the homes of friends and family members harbor chemicals that often cause symptoms in individuals with chemical sensitivity. Consequently and unfortunately, many chemically sensitive individuals do not have much interaction with other people and cannot participate in many social activities and events.
    I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and much of what I have learned about prayer has come from the Bible, and especially the teachings of Jesus. Prayer has brought a lot of peace, hope, and comfort into my life. Through prayer I have felt the love my Heavenly Father has for me. I know that Heavenly Father hears and answers my prayers. In fact, I believe that many of the ideas I have had for how to deal with chemical sensitivity (including some of the ideas on this blog) have come as inspiration from God.

    How to Pray

    A prayer might include the following:

    1) Address Heavenly Father
    2) Express gratitude for blessings
    3) Ask for things you desire
    4) Close in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. ("If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it." (John 14:14.))

    Other subjects appropriate for prayer include praising God, repenting of sins, and seeking forgiveness. Jesus was often engaged in prayer and gave an example of how to pray in the Lord’s Prayer:

9  After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10  Thy kingdom come.  Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11  Give us this day our daily bread.
12  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.[2]

I also thought that the following quote on prayer was instructive:

As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are his children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part (Matt. 7:7–11).  Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship. Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other.[3]

    The following site gives a fabulous overview of prayer: http://www.lds.org/topics/prayer?lang=eng. Chemical sensitivity can be an extremely difficult illness and I feel compassion for those who must deal with it. I often pray for those who are struggling with chemical sensitivity. If you are chemically sensitive, I'll  keep praying for you.

____________________________________  

[1] Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. In Wikipedia. Retrieved April 22, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_chemical_sensitivity (citing Gibson, P. R.; Elms, A. N.; Ruding, L. A. (2003). "Perceived treatment efficacy for conventional and alternative therapies reported by persons with multiple chemical sensitivity". Environmental health perspectives 111 (12): 1498–1504).

[2] Matthew 6:9-13.

[3] LDS Bible Dictionary, Prayer (available at http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/prayer?lang=eng&letter=p.)