Looking forward is something we tend to do this time of year, and there are so many things you can look forward to, both good and bad.
We never know what will come, but in any illness, the way we approach ourselves and our future, changes how we will feel in the future. The old saying, "If you say you can't, you're right," follows through with us. If we say we can't make it through the pain, then we won't. If we say that we can't go out with our friends, we can't. If we say we can't run a marathon, we can't.
As we look to a new year, lean toward hopeful optimism. Even if things don't turn out the way we wanted, we will at least be able to say we tried, and that we prepared ourselves for something more.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Laughing
Laughing and smiling are important. They release happy chemicals that do happy stuff. I could find some website to give you all the technical stuff, but I don't think I will. Google it if you really want to know.
When you don't feel good, you don't really want to smile, much less laugh. But you need to, believe me. Watch some comedy show on TV, or if you can't find one, go on youtube. If you really don't want to do any of that, invite some funny friends over. I know my friends have the best sarcastic humor. When I get them all in a room I never even need to talk, they typically just keep going without any prompting, which is great for the days that I can't think of anything to say, but need a laugh.
If you can't think of anything to make you laugh or smile, get up, eat some comfort food. After that, you should get some exercise. Studies for fibro people show that low impact work outs, like taichi, yoga, and swimming can help you improve... I got that one from webmd.com. They also suggest stretching a lot, isometric work outs, heat, ice, and adding activities into your daily life as you get better. Here's that slide show: http://www.webmd.com/fibromyalgia/slideshow-fibromyalgia-friendly-exercises. Not only will it help you with your general well-being, but it may help you with any self image issues you may have, which is important since fibro people do tend to suffer from depression. It may also help with any sleep issues you may have.
It's important to have fun! So, no matter what, even if it's a fight to have fun, it's a fight that's worth it in the end.
When you don't feel good, you don't really want to smile, much less laugh. But you need to, believe me. Watch some comedy show on TV, or if you can't find one, go on youtube. If you really don't want to do any of that, invite some funny friends over. I know my friends have the best sarcastic humor. When I get them all in a room I never even need to talk, they typically just keep going without any prompting, which is great for the days that I can't think of anything to say, but need a laugh.
If you can't think of anything to make you laugh or smile, get up, eat some comfort food. After that, you should get some exercise. Studies for fibro people show that low impact work outs, like taichi, yoga, and swimming can help you improve... I got that one from webmd.com. They also suggest stretching a lot, isometric work outs, heat, ice, and adding activities into your daily life as you get better. Here's that slide show: http://www.webmd.com/fibromyalgia/slideshow-fibromyalgia-friendly-exercises. Not only will it help you with your general well-being, but it may help you with any self image issues you may have, which is important since fibro people do tend to suffer from depression. It may also help with any sleep issues you may have.
It's important to have fun! So, no matter what, even if it's a fight to have fun, it's a fight that's worth it in the end.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Other people
When it comes to other people, it's a balancing act. This is especially true for those with anxiety and/or depression.
There's the good things you can do: Sit with those worse off than you and serve them in some way, bake cookies for those in your area that you know could use it, go through your pantry and see what could be given to the food bank, or volunteer in your area, keeping in mind any physical limits.
Then there's the bad things (which I tend to do): Work on serving other people so much that you forget to take care of yourself, or working beyond your limits. The others include thinking for other people, avoiding them in general because you think its for the best, or that you just don't want to deal with them. No matter how bad you feel, or how much you think they hate you, being out in the world will be better off for you in the end. It's a lot easier to just lay in bed, but once you've made the decision to take the easy road you may find it hard to get off.
There's the good things you can do: Sit with those worse off than you and serve them in some way, bake cookies for those in your area that you know could use it, go through your pantry and see what could be given to the food bank, or volunteer in your area, keeping in mind any physical limits.
Then there's the bad things (which I tend to do): Work on serving other people so much that you forget to take care of yourself, or working beyond your limits. The others include thinking for other people, avoiding them in general because you think its for the best, or that you just don't want to deal with them. No matter how bad you feel, or how much you think they hate you, being out in the world will be better off for you in the end. It's a lot easier to just lay in bed, but once you've made the decision to take the easy road you may find it hard to get off.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Sleeping
It is of the opinion of my little group of helpers that sleep is important. Who'd have thought, huh?
Anyway, so I try to calm down as much as I can so I can sleep as well as I can. There are several ways this can be achieved: working out in some way (I don't do this much right now, but I try!), making a routine and sticking to it, not reading, writing, or watching TV in bed, making your room as dark and clean as possible.
I do a couple other things, I have a stuffed lion that has a heat pack and lavender, I have a little ladybug that emits stars, both of which sound very childish, but I like them.
The last little gadget I have is a sound machine. It has four settings, but at night, I can really only use one. I'm not sure if they meant for this machine to be calming or what, if they did they failed on my part. One of the settings is a heart beat, which reminds me of some horror film. The other two that do not calm me at night fail for the same Hitchcock reason.
The birds.
One is a morning sunrise which is nothing but birds, which inspires me to get up and challenge the day, rather than sleep.
The other is a beach, which normally I would love, but the sound goes kind of like this:
swooooosh, ciish, wooosh *SQUAWK!* swoooooosh....
I tried to use it as my bedtime soundtrack, but eventually I was hearing the "squawk" even when the sound machine was off. I still hear it, on occasion, when I go to bed.
My current noise is a babbling brook or something, which sometimes makes me think I need to go to the restroom, so I think I may have to get rid of that particular night time ritual.
Anyway, so I try to calm down as much as I can so I can sleep as well as I can. There are several ways this can be achieved: working out in some way (I don't do this much right now, but I try!), making a routine and sticking to it, not reading, writing, or watching TV in bed, making your room as dark and clean as possible.
I do a couple other things, I have a stuffed lion that has a heat pack and lavender, I have a little ladybug that emits stars, both of which sound very childish, but I like them.
The last little gadget I have is a sound machine. It has four settings, but at night, I can really only use one. I'm not sure if they meant for this machine to be calming or what, if they did they failed on my part. One of the settings is a heart beat, which reminds me of some horror film. The other two that do not calm me at night fail for the same Hitchcock reason.
The birds.
One is a morning sunrise which is nothing but birds, which inspires me to get up and challenge the day, rather than sleep.
The other is a beach, which normally I would love, but the sound goes kind of like this:
swooooosh, ciish, wooosh *SQUAWK!* swoooooosh....
I tried to use it as my bedtime soundtrack, but eventually I was hearing the "squawk" even when the sound machine was off. I still hear it, on occasion, when I go to bed.
My current noise is a babbling brook or something, which sometimes makes me think I need to go to the restroom, so I think I may have to get rid of that particular night time ritual.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Hello, all
My names Kara, I'm a woman in my early 20's living with fibromialgia, ibs, a bleeding disorder, and other occassional issues.
A lot of the accounts of people with fibro are scary. I remember sitting at my computer one day and reading post after post on a medical site all of them simarly sounding like what a lot of people think country songs are like: "my spouse left me, my kids hate me, my dog died, and I haven't gotten out of bed in a week." almost all of them said "this disease ruined my life."
I don't plan on letting it ruin my life, and I have a very supportive family to help me. Along with them, I have several doctors I see regurally. More so now that my combination of ailments has currently made me disabled. I miss work so much, and I hope to go back soon.
I also hope to be a sorce of hope and though fibro and ibs are hard to deal with, there are things in this world worth fighting for- even if you can see them sometimes.
A lot of the accounts of people with fibro are scary. I remember sitting at my computer one day and reading post after post on a medical site all of them simarly sounding like what a lot of people think country songs are like: "my spouse left me, my kids hate me, my dog died, and I haven't gotten out of bed in a week." almost all of them said "this disease ruined my life."
I don't plan on letting it ruin my life, and I have a very supportive family to help me. Along with them, I have several doctors I see regurally. More so now that my combination of ailments has currently made me disabled. I miss work so much, and I hope to go back soon.
I also hope to be a sorce of hope and though fibro and ibs are hard to deal with, there are things in this world worth fighting for- even if you can see them sometimes.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)