February 2020

Solo Travel and Mental Health – Hint – Avoid Traffic Jams If You Can

13 Comments / Living With Chronic Pain / /

I like to travel alone – or maybe – it’s best to say traveling by myself doesn’t bother me.

Jumping in the car solo and driving for twenty-two and a half hours, sure no problem. I’ve got my thoughts for company. I talk out loud using funny accents. Give a blow-by-blow commentary of the life blurring by outside my window. I listen to music. Sing at the top of my lungs. Make plans – for tomorrow, next week, next month, a year from now.

A solo drive of any length is an excellent opportunity for personal reflection. For figuring out what you need from life. What you want from life.

Yes, Dean Winchester as a travel companion is a NEED.

It will also test you.

A sore ass by the time you reach Syracuse, New York. ✔

Dense fog through Pennsylvania. ✔

A navigation system that refuses to take you around the gridlock from Baltimore to Washington. ✔

Waking up to a flat tire in Fayetteville (left rear) and putting air in it yourself (my first time) while your back is spasming. ✔

Blowing a tire belt (right front) at the Woodbine exit in Georgia. ✔

Meeting the owner of 3 Guys Mobile Tire Service in rural America. (He was great by the way.) ✔

Driving on a spare tire to Jacksonville, Florida. ✔

Sitting in a sketchy Burger King reading a book on retirement while getting four new tires installed. ✔

For me, it’s all part of the adventure.

Until I hit the construction traffic less than fifteen miles from my resort, and it took an extra hour to get here. Then it was back to nails as weapons time. ✖

All this to say, with Roy’s remote help on the new tire situation, I made it to Kissimmee in one piece.

And I’m thrilled to be here. Or rather, I’m thrilled not to be there, at home, alone, in the cold. (Roy is currently in Africa for contract work.)

Heck, sunshine, warm temperatures, and flip-flops – what’s not to love – right?

Yep. I’m in my happy place.

Am I pain-free? Nope.

Reality check, I never will be.

Am I pain manageable? Yes. Thank you. Yes, I am.

It’s day two in Florida, and already my knees hurt less. My back hurts less. The brain fog is, for the most part, gone, and I expect continual improvement over the next few days.

Why?

Lot’s of reasons. The warmer temperatures, the stress-free environment, the extra walking, the grocery store sushi for lunch, the reading by the pool with a vodka soda, the writing of this blog on the patio with a glass of wine, the plan to go to bed early and get up early to do it all again.

If you’re thinking, sounds mental, I’d have to say I agree.

But I’m adding the word health to the mix.

It’s a mental HEALTH thing.

For me, body wellness goes hand-in-hand with mental health. I can’t achieve one without the other, and when I’m spiraling the chronic pain drain, my mental health is never far behind.

I needed a way out. Florida presented itself, and I took it. There’s still some residual guilt about leaving work at a critical time (COVID-19). Add in some guilt about leaving family behind (mostly just Mum). Plus a bit of guilt for spending money on a trip for just (GASP) myself. And sure, the doubt creeps in.

But for now, I’m where I need to be both mentally and physically, and that’s all I can ever really hope for. So, I’m going to enjoy the next two weeks. I’m going to read and write. Sit in the sun, talk to strangers, and shop at Target. When Jodie gets here, I’m going to do more of the same, except with more beer.

So, tell me Sharing is Caring Tribe, what do you do when you reach your emotional, physical, mental health limits? How do you escape? Do you grab a book? Binge a new Netflix series? Drink a couple of glasses of wine? Tell me what your go-to strategies are for coping with long bouts of weather-related pain, cause lord knows there will still be snow on the ground when I get back!

Wishing everyone a Happy Leap Year Day!

Oooo, and don’t forget the sharing is caring draw is happening soon! Stay tuned if you’re in it to win!

Until the next blog, peace out pain sufferers.

Current pain level 5/10.

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Winter – Love It or Leave It

8 Comments / Living With Chronic Pain / /

I have a love/hate relationship with winter.

From December 1st to January 1st – I see winter through a Thomas Kinkade lens.

It looks something like this:

Fluffy flakes of pure white drift peacefully to settle on the bank of a pristine slow-moving creek meandering by a cobblestone cottage. A snow-covered roof with smoke purling from the chimney hints at the roaring fire within. Soft yellow light spills from frosted windows promising warmth and welcome. The front door, decorated with an evergreen wreath, greets friends and family arriving in horse-drawn sleighs, chased by children and dogs alike.

From the kitchen, the smell of warm pie wafts through the house, rooms perfectly decorated with twinkling lights and glittery ornaments. (In Roy’s world, there’s always pie. In my world, picture a ruby red glass of Chianti with Ludovico Einaudi playing quietly in the background.)

Ahh, the holiday season! Seen through my rose-colored glasses, it is beautifully idyllic.

And with the re-boxing of the Christmas decorations and the arrival of the New Year in Canada, completely unfuckingrealistic.

The stark reality:

Frozen landscapes fraught with slip and fall dangers (just ask Suzanne).

Minus forty wind-chills intent on freezing your ass to the leather seat of your car.

Snowdrifts covering driveways and sidewalks cleared less than six miserable hours ago.

Now pile on the physical pain.

If you’re like me, you don’t do well in winter. My bones ache, my muscles hurt more than usual, and as a result, I move less. Add in brain fog, mood swings, and a crap diet, and by the end of February, I could probably commit murder using my press-on nails as a weapon and have a solid argument for acquittal.

“But your Honor, in my defense, he WAS breathing loudly.”

“Yes, of course, Ms. Lalonde. A completely reasonable justification for disemboweling someone with an impeccable French manicure.” Gravel hits wooden circle thingy you see on TV with a loud bang. “NOT GUILTY by reason of temporary weather insanity.”

*Cue cheers from the gallery.

It's a proven fact:

Weather can (and in my case does) affect chronic pain levels in the body.

Barometric pressure changes can cause joints to swell, increasing pain signals to the brain.

Cold snaps can constrict blood vessels and reduce blood flow, causing muscles, tendons, and ligaments to tighten.

When you live in the north, severe weather and barometric pressure changes are a given.

So, yeah. It shouldn’t come as a surprise when your body becomes your prison, and the sentence lasts until well past spring.

Not gonna sugar-coat it:

It’s nearing the end of February, and I have reached the nails as weapons threshold on my sanity.

Seriously, I have to get myself out of this chronic pain prison before someone gets hurt.

So, yeah. I’m tapping out, packing my flip-flops, and heading south.

My next blog post will be coming at you from Florida. Cause I can’t take it anymore.

Right now, I’m a toxic combination of several Wizard of Oz characters. I have the Tin Man’s joints, the Scarecrow’s brain, and the Wicked Witch of the West’s evil disposition.

Trust me. The woman is a bitch, and she can’t be killed with hot water. I know. I’ve tried.

Beyond long soaks in the hot tub, bath, or shower, there are things we can do to combat weather-related chronic pain episodes.

Unfortunately, they are remarkably similar to the everyday things we do to combat our everyday chronic pain episodes.

Top 5 Ways to Reduce Chronic Pain in Winter:

  1. Keep moving – Apparently, now is not the time to neglect your exercise routine in favor of Netflix.
  2. Maintain healthy eating habits – A stable diet of comfort Quarter Pounder’s will not help you avoid winter weight gain or food related inflammation.
  3. Stay hydrated – Drinking water is vital in winter as dry air can make you feel extra tired and achy.
  4. Continue to take your medication and supplements on time – Don’t be me! Don’t let brain fog interfere with routines. Set reminders to take your pills!
  5. Dress for the weather – Layer, layer, layer. Mittens and those cute pom-pom hats that destroy any hope of a good hair day are your chronic pain friends. Indoors, furry blankets are a lifesaver. 

*Reminder – one of the items in the Sharing is Caring – Fuck Chronic Pain care packages is a furry blanket. YAY! Give away happening March 1, 2020.

Other recommendations:

I know not everyone can up and leave when the urge to maim strikes a deep chord. So, I also recommend the following:

Employ relaxation technics – Read, sleep, breathe deep, light a candle, sit under a heat lamp, pull the furry blanket over your head, buy yourself some tulips, look at pictures of puppies.

*WARNING: Do NOT go out and adopt a puppy on impulse. Take many, many weeks to consider if this is a rash decision based on weather insanity. If you still want a dog in April/May when the weather finally turns, consider if this urge is due to spring euphoria. If not, and you still want a dog – go get yourself a dog.

Stay in contact – send messages to friends, swap recipes with fellow food lovers, share funny anecdotes, attend aquafit classes. Try to connect with the people you don’t have a desire to remove from the planet on a deeper level than posting a meme on Facebook can provide.

Or don’t do any of these things.

If you need to be Miss Havisham, shut away in your house with all the clocks stopped, be Miss Havisham. Just keep your wedding dress away from any open flames.

On that note…time to wrap up this blog, cause I gotta go dig out some shorts that still fit.

How about you? Winter? Love it or leave it?

I think we’ve established, I’m a leave it kinda girl, but if you have any winter survival suggestions or even winter love stories (if such a thing is possible), please share. 

Pretty sure, I’m not the only one in the tribe who can use a little distraction from the weather!

Until the next blog – peace out pain sufferers.

Current pain level 8/10.

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The Benefits of Blogging About Chronic Pain – You’re All In The Sharing is Caring Club Now

16 Comments / Living With Chronic Pain / /

Happy Valentine’s Day, my Lovelies!

As a chronic pain blogger, I have no idea what I’m doing. All of this, the blogging world, is new territory for me. I want to be good at it, and seeing how I’m an all in kinda girl, I wanted to see immediate results without actually having done any advance research on what makes a blog successful.

I had an itch to write, and I thought I had something worth saying about chronic pain and my wellness journey. So, I jumped in, clueless about what I was getting into.

In less than a week, I built a new website and posted my first blog.

Job well done. Pats on the back, self high-five, and all that.

Now what? Post two. Post three. Post four.

*Looks at stats. Has two subscribers, myself and one other. (Shout out to subscriber number two – thanks, Gabby B!)

Man! Creating a blog is hard work. Add in some chronic pain challenges and cognitive difficulties, and growing a blog becomes even harder freaking work.

CONFESSION – before I hit the publish button on my first post on January 1st, 2020, I set a target of one hundred subscribers by March 1st. Two months seemed like a reasonable amount of time considering I have 700+ Instagram followers, 1700+ Twitter followers, 101 Facebook friends, and 30 Pinterest followers.

Therefore, one hundred blog subscribers in two months – should be a piece of cake, right?

Wrong.

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. On so many levels – wrong!

Let’s just say…I’m not going to reach my goal.

My current number?

Twenty-five subscribers in six weeks.

Who knows? Twenty-five subscribers could be a reasonable growth rate. Maybe I’ll Google it? And for the record, I’m still one of those subscribers. So, if you’re in to win one of the Fuck Chronic Pain Sharing is Caring prize packages, your odds are pretty damn good!

But, yeah, zero to sixty with my hair on fire. That’s me.

Unrealistic expectations. Meet reality.

Yep, I’ve got some decent numbers in terms of social media followers, but what I’ve come to realize is having followers is not the same thing as having active engagers. Hearts and likes don’t amount to much in terms of personal value or connection.

And what I want…what I really REALLY want…is to connect. To share stories, hardships, successes, and experiences. Herein lies the true value of starting a chronic pain blog – finding your people.

YOU. Yes, all of YOU are my people. My fellow spoonies and pain sufferers (or not). You – who like to comment and share. You – who want to read and quietly observe. You – who see me in person and let me know you’re reading, you’re laughing, and you’re connecting with my words.

That’s my reward, my reason to keep going, to keep writing, and to keep sharing.

Plus, you guys are helping me along my wellness journey more than you know.

Katrina, through her comment on the Reverse Stereotypes and Cautious Optimism post, reminded me the rheumatologist talked with me about diet to reduce chronic pain. I needed the reminder, and it came from someone I haven’t met, but who is, never-the-less, still part of the sharing is caring tribe.

Alice, Sharron, Lyse, Suzi – so many of you have shared your chronic pain experiences. As members of the tribe, you’ve helped me realize, I’m not alone in my chronic pain woes or my use of the F-bomb as a coping mechanism.

Thanks to this blog, I’m reconnecting with family and friends – in a deeper, more meaningful way, and bonus, I’m reaping the benefits of meeting new people.

I’m learning things, both about myself and the autoimmune diseases I have. 

With your help, I’ve rekindled my passion for writing, and I’m learning new technological tricks, like how to build a website. 

I’m also learning what I don’t like about the blogging world, such as non-stop ads and pop-ups trying to sell me shit I don’t need. And blogs that promise to deliver you from your pain. Seriously, I won’t do that to you guys.

Regardless of whether or not twenty-five subscribers is a big gain or small, I’m calling connecting with all of you a huge win.

So, to my twenty-four subscribers – thank you! 

To those of you non-subscribers reading this – thank you! 

To those of you who share on the blog, on Facebook and Pinterest, on Twitter and Instagram – thank you!

As a member of the sharing is caring Club, you get a say in what goes up on the blog. I have a three-page list of topics I want to write about, but I’m interested in hearing about what you’d like to read.

Want a post about gardening with chronic pain? Let me know. Want some tips on starting a keto diet to reduce inflamation? Drop the suggestion. Don’t like something you read or want to offer some advice for ways to improve my website? Please email me via the contact page.

I’m open to positive suggestions and constructive criticism. I’m not down for any negativity or unnecessary drama, and I’m guessing, since you’re here, you aren’t either!

For now, wishing you all a low pain week, and if you feel up to it, leave a comment and tell us how you’re doing. As for me, winter is playing havoc on my joints, which makes me think next week’s post might have something to do with surviving the cold months when you’re living with chronic pain.

Until the next blog – peace out pain sufferers.

Current pain level 7/10.

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Sharing is Caring – Fuck Chronic Pain Giveaway

7 Comments / Living With Chronic Pain / /

Here it is, the Sharing is Caring – Fuck Chronic Pain giveaway video! I finally figured out how to upload media files to the blog. Will probably crash the internet as soon as I post, but hey, maybe one or two of you will get to see it first!

Entering to win one of two prize packages worth approximately $150.00 each is easy. Just subscribe to my blog. That’s it! One random winner will be selected.

The second prize package goes to the subscriber who shares the most Living with Chronic Pain blog posts on social media between now and the end of February. Be sure to tag me in your posts to make sure I don’t miss any.

Facebook. Pinterest. Instagram. Twitter. Leaving comments on the blog. It all counts!

Some great items included to ease the spoonie lifestyle.

If you have any questions, send me an email via the contact page.

Winners will be contacted on or about March 1st, 2020. Prize packages to be sent by mid-March.

Good luck, everybody.

Apologies in advance for the nasally voice and terrible camera work! Still working on honing my blogging/vlogging skills.

For now, peace out pain sufferers.

Edith

Clearly I need help making videos! Gah, my voice...do I really sound this nasally in real life?Anyhoo.Here it is, the final Sharing is Caring prize package!Super easy to win one of two prizes worth approximately $150 ea.1 - Subscribe to my blog - one random winner will be selected to receive a prize package.2 - Subscribe to my blog - and share the heck out of my posts on Social Media including Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram if you can figure out how...Tag me so I know you shared and don't miss any! Most prolific sharer/engager will receive the second prize package. (Comments and engagement on the blog will go in your favor as well.) Blog link: edithlalonde.com/blog/Like I said! Super Easy. And Lots of great items here to ease you or someone you love through some of your chronic pain woes!Winners will be announced on or about March 1, 2020. Prize packages to be shipped to winners by mid-March.That's it!Good luck to all.Peace out pain sufferers.Edith#chronicpain #ankylosingspondylitis #fibromyalgia #arthritis #backpain #spoonielife #spoonie #sharingiscaring #chronicillness

Posted by Edith Lalonde on Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Current pain level 7/10.

March 1, 2020

** CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO SUBSCRIBED TO ENTER TO WIN!

Chronic Pain Prize Package
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Brain Drain – A Blogger’s Nightmare

14 Comments / Living With Chronic Pain / /

I’m all over the place this week, and mentally, I’m having a hard time getting my brain to settle. For whatever reason, the Fibro fog has been thick the last couple of days, and trying to express a coherent thought is like trying to communicate through a big ass cotton ball covering my head.

The worst part is…I’m a writer. I write for a living. I write for pleasure. I write when I’m happy. I write when I’m sad. I write when I have something to say, and I write just for the sake of putting ideas on paper.

I write.

And to write means, you need to remember some basic words. Losing words is like cutting off an arm for me, and I’m not talking big words. These are not the supercalifragilisticexpialidocious of words I’m struggling with.

Nope.

It’s your everyday words like File. Bacon. Gloves. Truck.

Sounds impossible, right? An exaggeration?

Well, it’s not. Just this week, I was telling Roy, “I had to go to… ahhh… to… ahhh…”

“Walmart,” he supplied.

Yep. I couldn’t produce the word for the store I went to three times. And why did I have to hit up Walmart three times? Because every time I went, I forgot to get multiple items on my grocery list for the couples’ snowmobile weekend.

THREE. FREAKING. TIMES. IN THREE FREAKING DAYS!

Not only did I forget to purchase items on my list, I forgot I had a list, and to add insult to injury, I was unable to express my frustration in simple words.

Of all the symptoms associated with Fibromyalgia, cognitive dysfunction is the hardest pill for me to swallow.

  • Memory loss.
  • Inability to concentrate.
  • Becoming easily distracted.
  • Confusion.
  • Forgetfulness.
  • Misplacing objects.
  • Difficulty carrying on a conversation.
  • Inability to retain new information.
  • Struggling with tasks done a thousand times.

There are times the cognitive difficulties – or brain drain – I suffer, impacts my day-to-day life more than the physical pain associated with my conditions.

Walking into my boss’s office and forgetting why I’m there. Stopping mid-conversation because I can’t remember what point I was trying to make. Thinking of a creative idea or a great line and losing it before I can write it down. Reminding myself, I have an appointment scheduled and forgetting it five minutes later.

None of these seem like a big deal on their own, but add one brain fail on top of the other, day-after-day, and it feels like you’re constantly swimming upstream in a river of molasses with floaties tied to your ankles.

So I did some research. What I learned is not good news. While “fibro fog” or “brain fog” is a common complaint among people with Fibromyalgia, the cause is not fully understood. Furthermore, it’s not a symptom that gets much attention from the medical and research community.

Fucking great.

What I did find were a lot of suggestions, most of them common sense, that can be applied to combat brain fog.

  • Avoid caffeine (causes sleep disturbances).
  • Use a planner (great when you can remember to use it).
  • Organize your space (cuts down on squirrel distractions).
  • Eat healthy foods (well duh).
  • Take your medication on time (super important to avoid brain buzz when taking SSRIs).
  • Reduce your stress (easier said than done).
  • Exercise regularly (no surprise there).
  • Establish routines (impossible to do on a couples weekend).
  • Avoid multi-tasking (HA! Can someone tell Roy I can’t cook and clean at the same time).
  • Breathe deeply (sure, when it doesn’t hurt your chest).
  • Get better sleep (uhh, people with Fibro rarely get sleep, never mind better sleep).

My Simple Strategy for Combating Brain Fog

STOP what you’re doing.

  • Trying to sew a dress and can’t figure out how to thread the needle? Put it aside and walk away.
  • Burnt the cookies because you forgot to put the oven timer on? Throw them in the garbage and walk away.
  • Reading the same paragraph over and over? Shut the sexy romance book and walk away.
  • Basically, go for a walk. Or a bath. Or a nap. Anything that requires little to no brain cell usage.
  • Repeat as often as required.

Giving advice is so much easier than taking it, but I’m going to take my own now. This blog was a bitch to write, it’s taken me six days, so I’m walking away. I’m going to hop in the hot tub and then take a nap.

Hopefully, a few of these rambling words resonate with others, and if not…well, I tried!

Until the next blog – peace out pain sufferers.

Chronic Pain and Brain Fog

Current pain level 5/10.

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Giving Up Perfection to Find My Balance

11 Comments / Living With Chronic Pain / /

Perfection is killing me.

Okay. Sure. I’m being dramatic. I’m not perfect. Not even close. My family knows it. My friends know it. My colleagues at work know it.

Doesn’t mean I don’t jam myself into tight corners with impossible to achieve perfection situations.

Yep. I’m an all-in kinda girl. Have been forever.

If I’m exercising, you can be sure I’m going too hard, too fast. If I’m cutting out Diet Coke, I’m going cold turkey and suffering through a major caffeine withdrawal. If I’m trying to lose weight, I’m trying to do it overnight, which means I’ve probably cut my calorie intake to less than a thousand calories per day.

Same is true when I get stuck in reverse mode.

If I’m eating Quarter Pounders with Cheese – I’m probably eating one a day. If I fall off the Diet Coke wagon, I’m cracking open a can at breakfast. If I’m working on a novel, I’m spending a ton of extra hours, butt in a chair, trying to get words on paper – meaning exercise – yeah, not gonna happen.

Problem is – good habits or bad – none of these over the top patterns of behavior are sustainable. Basically, I’m setting myself up for failure. I know it. There’s no shock and awe here. No big revelation.

So, why do it? Why am I still trying to reach a state of personal perfection when it comes to diet, fitness, relationships, writing, working, home decorating, etc.?

Well, if only you could hear what goes on in my head, you’d understand.

Be perfect. You can do it. If only you tried harder. If only you did better. If only you…

Ad nauseam, and to infinity and beyond.

Why? Why does my brain hate me?

And why does perfection matter anyway?

Because maybe – just maybe – if I reach that perfect state, the place where I’m finally all the things I want to be, and doing all the things I want to do, then maybe I won’t be in pain anymore.

  • Become a (well-liked) published Author. ✔
  • Be an awesome wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend, employee. ✔
  • Do yoga 3 times a week. Walk 60 minutes daily. Take a 2-hour hike every Saturday. ✔
  • Eat only (non-nightshade) vegetables and protein. ✔
  • Fit into my size 8 skinny jeans. ✔
  • Have perfect hair and glowing skin. ✔
  • Be the life of the party and a fountain of wisdom. ✔
  • Drink 8 – 10 glasses of water daily. ✔
  • Keep a spotless kitchen. ✔
  • Ride my horse through the Montana wilderness to rescue lost calves; my Stetson pulled low, my cowboy boots perfectly (there’s that p-word again) distressed. (I don’t even know how to ride a horse…but whatever.) ✔

The point is, my brain (not even on drugs) is telling me on repeat, that unless I’m all of the above, and then some, the pain I suffer from is my own damn fault.

How crazy is that?

Because I ate bread – it’s my fault my lower back hurts. Because I didn’t force myself to run an eight-minute mile after working all day – it’s my fault my hip joints are painfully locking and popping. Because there are crumbs on my kitchen floor – it’s my fault my brain fog is so bad I showed up for a 6:00 yoga class at 7:30 (true story).

Last night, I was talking about this blog with my doctor seester, Diane LaChapelle, who is an actual chronic pain expert with all the fancy letters after her name to prove it. She shared with me an explanation for some of my brain’s excessively critical ramblings.

It’s called the just-world hypothesis. Parsed down to non-scientify lingo, the just-world hypothesis is a general belief that life is fair, and people get what they deserve.

Good begets good. And if you’re bad…well, you’re fucked.

Therefore, if life is fair, and I am good (or in my case substitute good for perfect), then I deserve a pain-free existence. Right? And since I’m not pain-free, and haven’t been for years, it must mean I’m imperfect or a bad person.

A very, VERY bad person, going by my pain levels.

Seriously, life can be mentally hard when you blame yourself for things you have no control over. I have Fibromyalgia. The having of the disease is not my fault. Also true for Ankylosing Spondylitis. These conditions are a combination of the genetics I inherited from my parents.

GENETICS – that’s a whole other blog, right there!

The widespread chronic pain produced by these diseases? Not something I earned through bad behavior or my failure to reach my perfect state.

Fundamentally, I already knew this, but hellooooo, crazy bitch brain talkin’.

So here’s the deal. As I bumble along my wellness journey, I’m working towards changing my inner monologue. The goal? Finding my personal balance. That sweet spot between good and bad. Perfect and perfectly imperfect.

It exists. I just gotta find it for myself. And you gotta find it for yourself. Cause we’re not the same. My perfectly imperfect won’t be, and shouldn’t be, your perfectly imperfect.

Doesn’t mean we can’t share notes and experiences along the way. Doesn’t mean we can’t laugh and cry and curse together over spilled wine and dropped eggs. Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t hold each other up when our pain levels try to drag us down.

I’m a work in progress. Always have been. And, I hope to God, always will be. I’m still learning how to live with my chronic pain. I’m still changing my views on what’s the best way to achieve my personal goals. I’m still striving to find my balance.

It takes time. A lifetime, really. But I’m hopeful that with a little extra self-awareness and acceptance of things I have no control over, keeping an even keel won’t be so damn hard.

Although, if I open a bottle of beer, you can safely bet money, I’m having more than a single.

If you have any tips and tricks for finding your balance, drop them in the comments. I’d love to know more about your challenges and successes.

Until the next blog – peace out pain sufferers.

Perfection Versus Chronic Pain
Cheers!

Current pain level 6/10.

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