4 Ways to Discover an Attitude of Gratitude
It can be difficult to feel grateful when you live with chronic illness. Sickness, fatigue and fear can make it easy to become more resentful and less grateful. It is important to find things in life to be grateful for, in spite of living with chronic illness. It may take practice but you can discover an attitude of gratitude that will change even the worst of days. 4 Ways to Discover an Attitude of Gratitude: Don’t just look at the obvious things. It is only human nature to look for the most obvious things to be grateful for. It is easy to be grateful for shelter when you have a home, for food when the…
How to Have & Keep a Joyful Attitude
Having a joyful attitude comes easy on days when everything is right on track. But on days when the medication doesn’t seem to work or when the walls feel like they are closing in, it can become easy to be weary and restless. During weeks in which the Barometric Chart can show others how rough the migraine days have been, it is easy to get lost in the pain. Like many other emotions, being joyful is a choice. Having a joyful attitude is not necessarily an indication of how life is at this very moment. Having joy is a conscious act that requires focus, dedication and perseverance. It is determined…
5 Self-Care Tools to Use on Bad Days
As much as we want to say that all of our days are filled with roses and sunshine, we all know that it isn’t possible to have good days all the time. It really isn’t having a bad day that can create turmoil in our lives, it is how we manage ourselves while we are in the middle of it all. The tricks we employ for self-care can make all the difference on those days that make us want to want to hide away. Here are 5 self-care tools to use on a bad day: Take a Bath! My daughters know this is my go to self-care tool. They probably…
4 Ways to Make Something Good Out of Bad
I am sure that most everyone has heard the phrase, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade”. If only life were as easy as adding some sugar and water to some fresh squeezed lemon juice. Unfortunately, life can be down right hard sometimes and can throw things at us that sets our lives spinning. It is much easier to sit back, go on auto-pilot and be angry or depressed. It is much harder to look for ways to make something good come out of it.
Reflection: The Dangers and Possibilities of Looking Back
Taking time for reflection or looking back is usually perceived as negative or counterproductive. Even in the Bible, God told Lot and his family not to look back when He saved them from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. When Lot’s wife looked, she turned into a pillar of salt. Through that story, God is warning us about the dangers of living in the past. When Does Reflection Turn Negative? It is difficult not to sit back and go through the long list of regrets or “what-ifs” that we have. Most people have a list of things they wish they had done differently, so this isn’t uncommon. I know that…
The Art of Knowing How Hard to Push Yourself
I have been tapering off of my last seizure medication and I have not been feeling well because of it. I have been requiring a lot more rest during the day, having headaches that are not migraine related and having some major stomach issues. To say that the process of weaning meds isn’t fun is an understatement! It is important to push myself so I can gain back some strength and energy but it is easy to cross the line and push too hard. How to push yourself without pushing too hard: Set small goals for each day. My goals are probably seen by others as not even worthy of…
The Power of Words – 5 Things You Shouldn’t Say to Yourself
The spoken word is the most powerful weapon in the world. A childhood rhyme says that “words will never hurt me” but nothing could be further from the truth. Words, once said, cannot be unsaid therefore the results of those words can linger far longer than a bruise. Words can be used to build up or to tear down, to praise or to slaughter, to clarify or to confuse. Since words are so powerful, why do we unleash the most harmful words on ourselves? Often, we say things to ourselves that we would never dream of saying to others. Through our words, we portray ourselves in such a negative way…
I Feel Better When I …
INGA Wellbeing started a Twitter campaign that made me think about what types of things I can do to make myself feel better. The idea is to share the things that make you feel better even on days that are not that great. This is a great way to turn a day around and make it seem brighter. Most people think that treating yourself must included elaborate spa days or shopping sprees. It really doesn’t have to be that extreme or expensive. In fact, the majority of people with chronic illness prefer to do what most people would consider as basic daily self care as an opportunity to pamper. These very…
When You Need a Nap After a Bath
I used to love nothing more than soaking in a hot bubble bath. It was a way to relax and pamper myself. But it has now landed on the list of things that I used to do. Why? To start with, I can no longer use hot water. I had to get used to much cooler baths. If I make my bath a sauna like I used to I will get way too hot. When I get way too hot it triggers a Hemiplegic Migraine. The most frustrating part is that baths no longer relax me and they are no longer a way to pamper myself. Baths have to be…
Life is too Short
This past November my best friend passed away after a long fight with breast cancer. The thing is that for all but her last 2 weeks you wouldn’t have known she was sick. She really did live her life on her on terms and fought the good fight. Her passing really threw me off kilter. Yes, she had stage 4 breast cancer for 3 years but she wasn’t sick the majority of that time. She came home with Hospice on a Wednesday and was gone by Friday. I physically pushed myself to be there…to do everything I could to keep the room calm and to let her husband hold her…
