A Different Kind of Blog Today
A few months ago, I was diagnosed with a degenerative, chronic disease. I'm struggling with my new reality. I keep thinking, there has got to be something to help me continue with my sewing. Right now I am sewing very little and getting very little done. All of that just makes me feel worse.
My brain tells me, JUST push through. That is turning out to not actually work. I am looking for any realistic tips on how to keep going when you feel defeated AND exhausted all the time. Please, I will take all suggestions.
I think I will start writing from here on out from my 'real' lens. Someone struggling through something new and hard.
So far, I have finished very little in the past few months. Here is a photo of a pretty flannel dress. I feel like everything can be made from flannel. :)
Music today - The Bridge City Sinners
Comments
I have been struggling with pain issues for so long. Sometimes in the morning I can barely get out of bed. I was once told that through all the changes you have in life your body needs to reprogram to the things you are doing. With the pain we have it is a little harder but it can be done.
First is know your limitations. For me it was go on a hike and see how far I could get without pain and one you started to feel that twinge you turn around and go back and see how horrible it is. The next hike or walk is shorter. I did this until I could go out and walk and get home with little to no pain. It took me a while but I am getting. I think about it like training for a race. In my case a short walk. So start your tasks and see where you are getting down and then stop to go recharge. This may not be feasable while at your job. When I was working, I talked to my manager. I wasn't able to sit long periods of time and needed to stand. She allotted tasks for me I could do standing and then go back to my desk when the pain eases. This way I was still contributing to the office in some way instead of having to take a break all the time.
Second, and I love this one. My day, I pick one day a week that we are not doing anything and make it my day. I get a coffee another book and cozy up for a while. It doesn't have to be a whole day but it is great for me mentally. Again it falls into that reprogram stage. Now you and I are completely different so what works for me won't for you but the one things that is the same is that me time. It really helps mentally, emotionally and spritiually.
Third, You talked about pushing on.I think you need to mentally pace yourself. Think of anything you have to do. If you rush through and push it, it may get done but you're miserable. Unless you have something is urgent.Think of long distance runners. In order for any runner to finish they need to pace themself. Same can be said for anything. Seperate your tasks into managable sizes. We have a family calendar on Google that we use to let others know what everyone is doing. We specifically add me time days and things on days we know we are all around. I am sure there is a task calendar or something of the like out there. I put projects on and due dates even for regular things. Monday is clean the bathroom, Tuesday vaccume. Things like that. It helps me tremendously. It also lets the other people in my house know what needs to be done. So I don't get behind on it. For me the smaller tasks work well.
I don't know your diagnosis but I hope I helped in some way. I am hanging in there with you. Have a good pain free day. :)
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment. My biggest struggles are fatigue and brain fog. Hopefully through the blog, I can come to some sort plan for sorting through how to function better. Your advice gives me a great starting point with figuring out my own issues.
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