Monday Motivation: What’s your life slogan? Explain what words or mantra keep you going and why.
I’ve spoken about quotes that help me through, but there is one mantra that I will start to chant when things get particularly tough.
Just keep swimming.
When I saw Finding Nemo and heard Dory say, “Just Keep Swimming”, to get her through all of her challenges, I started saying it to remind me to keep going even through the hard times. It started out as a joke, but it stuck around because it made me feel better. If I can “just keep swimming” I’ll be okay.
I admit when this prompt came up I had no idea what to write about, I’ve already told most of what I live by, my favorite mindfulness quotes that mean so much to me and the chant I use when I have vertigo, but those things just didn’t seem to fit in here. I turned and asked my hubby what he thought and he immediately said, “Just Keep Swimming”. I guess it’s a pretty good mantra, and I guess he knows me pretty well.
“Wear gratitude like a cloak and it will feed every corner of your life.”
~Rumi
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.
It turns what we have into enough, and more.
It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion to clarity.
It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.”
~Melody Beattie
*all artwork on Picnic with Ants created and owned by Wendy Holcombe unless otherwise noted.
What has been the highlight of your health activist journey? We want to hear all about it, perhaps a conference, a podcast or meeting a fellow HA. What made this experience so special?
There are three things I can think of that I’ve been particularly proud of during my health activist journey.
And I was featured in an article by Sanjay Gupta. You can check out that article here: How Vertigo Changed My Life.
These two events are very special to me because I felt that I was making a difference. I knew I had been contributing something worthwhile and people noticed. I don’t have to be noticed to continue to do the things I do, but it is nice. Sometimes I’m not able to do much, it’s things like this that push me to do a bit more than I think I can.
The third thing is by far the most important to me, it is the people that I meet and the friends I’ve made on this journey. The people I meet in the doctor’s offices, the people I meet on line….all the people I meet who care about health advocacy touch me. I’m so lucky to have met such wonderful people and to have made some amazing friends.
Everyone has tough days, but how do you pull yourself out of the rut? Maybe you blog, repeat affirmations or listen to a favorite playlist. Write about what tools, tips or practices you use to lift your spirits after a rough patch.
When I read this prompt I was reminded of a post I wrote a few years ago, I thought I’d link back to it now for your reading pleasure. Living In The Moment In this post you will find one of the main ways I deal with the rough days.
A little list of things I do to deal with a rough patch:
I do things that get me involved with others. I reach out. I text, email, blog, talk….
I do things that relax me. I take a bath, a nap, read, watch movies and mindless TV…
I do mindfulness exercises. I focus on staying in this moment. I remember that the past is over and the future is not written (when I’m having tough days I can get caught up in “how good things use to be” and “how bad things will always be”, neither of these things are true, focusing simply on the present can make it not as overwhelming). I meditate and do deep breathing exercises.
I remember to be grateful. I write in my gratitude journal, I am sure remember I have many things to be grateful for.
During particularly rough times, such as a very bad vertigo attack, I chant. I have a special chant I learned in a yoga class years ago that my husband and I chant together when I’m extremely sick with vertigo, this helps to calm me down. “Om bhur bhuvah svah tat savitur varenyam”
One of the biggest things I need to do during a rough patch is to remember, it’s not my fault. I’m often hardest on myself during a rough patch, so I try to practice self compassion during this time most of all.
During particularly rough patches I reach out to my therapist, remember, that’s what they are there for.
How do you get through a rough patch? Any suggestions?
What’s a health cliché that really bugs you? What are you tired of people asking you or saying to you again and again? Write it down. Then reclaim it! Take it back and turn it around so you make it something you could be comfortable hearing.
There are a number of clichés that really get on my nerves: “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”, “Instead of having a bad day, be thankful you have the day”, “Where there’s a will there’s a way”, are just a few.
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” – If this were true I’d be Superman by now! NO, what doesn’t kill you, doesn’t kill you. Period. You might learn something from it, but it didn’t make you physically stronger. Some people might be mentally “stronger”, others might break down completely. When something doesn’t kill you, well thank goodness it didn’t kill you. Instead of saying this, tell me how strong you think I am.
“Instead of having a bad day, be thankful for the day” – Why can’t I have a bad day and still be thankful? Everyone has a bad day and that’s okay. There is no way that someone can have a good day every day, and no one should make someone feel bad when they are having a bad day. I don’t believe my illnesses make my life miserable, but I do have bad days. I’m still thankful for my days, if they are good or bad. If you feel I’m having a lot of bad days and you want me to pay attention to what I’m grateful for, then just say something like, “What are you grateful for today?” and start a conversation, perhaps you can share something you were grateful for that day.
“Where there’s a will there’s a way” – In who’s world is this true? I have the will to do many things that I will never be able to do. Before I was sick there were many things I had the will to do that in no way could I do, for any number of reasons. This is just a falsehood, yet I hear variations on this all the time. I don’t know how to put a spin on this one. Let’s just not say anything like it, Okay?
Did I touch on anything that people say to you? What else do people say that bugs you?
Throwback Thursday! Grab a post from your archives and repost it! Add a few sentences at the beginning to frame it. Why you chose it. Why you liked it. And why it should be shared again.
The post I want to share with you again came from another Health Activist Writers Challenge on April 11, 2012. The prompt was “Theme Song”, I was to imagine my health focus or blog is getting its own theme song. At the writing of this post I was losing my hearing, but I hadn’t lost it completely yet. I did not have a cochlear implant yet.
I wanted to repost this because often people have no idea what it means to have tinnitus. Please note that my tinnitus will not sound like anyone else’s tinnitus, everyone is different. Even my tinnitus is different on different days. It sounds much different now than it did at the time of this recording. I want people to know that just because I’m deaf it doesn’t mean I just hear silence when I take off my cochlear implants. Here is that post, I hope you enjoy it:
I happen to be losing my hearing due to Meniere’s Disease. So music is very hard for me. I can’t really hear it even with my hearing aid, it sounds very tinny. However, I have tinnitus all the time, so I hear noise all the time. At this time I’m deaf in one ear, and have fluctuating loss in the other ear, the other day I was having a particularly low hearing day. Deciding my hearing aid really wasn’t doing any good, I decided to just leave it out. That was the day, I read this prompt. I thought, I couldn’t have a song. Then I thought, even when I’m deaf, due to the tinnitus, I will hear sounds all the time. NO, they won’t be sounds I want to hear, but I will hear sounds.
I talked with a friend of mine, Vincent Morrison, who is a sound engineer. He agreed to help me record something similar to what I hear every day. Please know, my tinnitus changes A LOT. It varies constantly. But these sounds always seem to be around. We did put in some of the startling sounds that just come out of no where that scare me. We didn’t make it as loud as it can be. (I did want people to be able to listen to it.) I wanted to represent that my tinnitus can be softer, a medium tone, and I would say deafening…but that would be silly wouldn’t it?
So on a better hearing day, my dear friend came over and he tried his best. I must admit I’m not the best person at describing sounds. I am so touched to have this recording. Trying so long and so hard to explain just a little of what I hear has been so hard, now…this is my song.
“My Songs of Silence” – sound recording by Vincent Morrison
Wisdom Wednesday: What advice do you have for health activists just starting out? Share your words of wisdom for all the health activist rookies out there!
I guess my biggest piece of advice would be to just get started. Just jump in and start. I’ve been blogging for years, yet I feel like I’m just getting started. I always feel like I’m just getting started, perhaps because I do little more than blog. Recently I started my facebook page, and I’ve started being active on Twitter. I’ve searched out others who posts about Meneire’s Disease, migraines, bipolar, chronic illness and pain in general. I’m learning so much!
I can’t do a lot of the things I’d like to do as a health activist. I’d love to be able to be a voice in person, to speak, to go to conferences, to be more involved. But alas, I can’t. I may try more in the future, but I’ll admit at this point in time I’m too afraid to try much more than I’ve been doing. It has been very rewarding though to get to know so many people who not only understand what it’s like to go thorough the same things I do, but are able to put a voice to it.
My recommendation for starting out to be a good activist. Start slow. Don’t bite off more than you can chew all at once, you will get burned out way too fast. Focus on one thing at first then move on to the next. If you blog, make sure to blog on a regular basis. No mater what form of social media you like, be sure to stick with it. Post often. Make contacts. Believe in what you are doing. Care. I guess that’s the biggest thing, that’s what will keep you going, you must care.
Time to spread the love. Shout out all your favorite Health Advocates! Make sure to share a few sentences explaining just how grateful you are for them.
Listing all of my favorite Health Advocates would take up a book. There is no way I can give a shout out to all of them in this tiny amount of space. When I first read this prompt I thought it read that I was to give a shout out to my favorite health advocate, and I thought that was impossible, but I thought of a way to do it, kind of. Listing all, really is impossible. Please see my post from Friday, Friday Follow, for a list of many of my favorites; there are still more, but that will give you a good start. Today I’ll just list a three blogs I’ve been following the longest that I feel are still doing an exceptional job.
Denise is an advocate for Meniere’s Disease, hearing loss and service dogs. She tells her story with wit and flare in a weekly post on her blog Hearing Elmo. There you will hear about her life with Meniere’s Disease, working and studying in academia, her family, life with a service dog, and her Faith. I’m proud to call her friend.
Madelyn writes at ADD…and so much more, as you can tell by the title she is an advocate for ADD…and so much more! Madelyn’s blog is a place for her to “let you know about new ADD opportunities and to post all kinds of seemingly disconnected content.” This blog is intended to help: anyone with an Executive Functioning Disorder. I don’t have ADD and I get so much from her blog. She is an ADD coach, has won a number of awards, and I think she’s just the bomb.
Kara from Polishing Dookie does an exceptional job making people feel comfortable with her illnesses with a sense of humor and intelligence that keeps you reading. Her tag line “Making the most of the sh*t I’ve got left” shows her sense of humor about her IBD (Irritable Bowel Disease). Kara takes you on a ride that is her life, and you will be happy to join her.
Case of the Mondays. Write about something that gets you down, burns you out, or makes you sad. Purge it in a blog post. Turn it around at the end and tell Tuesday why you’re ready for it.
I don’t want to get all caught up in the self pitting part of Blue Monday. I had a pretty rough week last week, this week I’m determined to turn it around. Let me tell you about it.
Last week I had severe migraines almost every day. This week I plan to take medication as soon as the headaches start. I will not worry so much about running out of meds, or rebound headaches. I will work to stop this cycle of severe headaches before it gets too strong of a grip. (hopefully)
Last week I was very off balance and was having mini attacks of vertigo. Last week I was not prepared for this. I’m too used to having my husband here to help me. This week I will be prepared to help myself as much as possible.
Last week I couldn’t walk without holding on tight to my walker. This week I will bring my good walker in the house from out of the car, I have a seat on it and a better way to carry things.
Last week I had a hard time getting myself food because of my balance, this week I will be prepared and will have food ready that I can just grab and go. Food that I can balance on my walker.
Last week my anxiety was very high. This week I will get back to meditating and taking breaks for deep breathing exercises.
Last week I beat myself up because I felt so needy and dependent. This week I will practice self compassion.
Last week I cried a lot. This week I will focus on the positive.
Picnic with Ants 