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What is a Disability?
Disability is an interesting word. It’s thrown around in a lot. When someone first used disability to describe what I was going through, I was a bit shocked. I couldn’t believe someone would label me that way. I got angry and frustrated. Then I started to think, do I have a disability? What does it mean to have a disability? When I look at my life, I try to focus on the positive. There are so many things that my body does right. On the flip side, my body tends to struggle on a day to day basis. Just today, while biking my heart went to 200 beats per minute.…
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Compression Gear That Will Save Summer!
I am ecstatic that summer is almost here. Covid may change the activities we all partake in, being outside in the warm sun will never fail to make me smile. Last year, the biggest struggle I had was finding compression wear. It has to be comfortable and stop blood pooling. I couldn’t wear shorts. I was pretty much stuck with pants all the time and it was exhausting. Not only are pants too hot during the summer, wearing compression stockings under them is such a pain. I found some solutions and I thought I would share them here with you! I found a company called Shapermint. They have a huge…
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How to Keep Your Service Dog Occupied in Quarantine
If your service dog is anything like Crush, they have a lot of energy. I’m lucky to be in close contact with the organization that gave me Crush. They have been proactive about coming up with helpful solutions to doggy boredom. They’re not all perfect but I’ll take what I can get. So here are some ways to keep your dog occupied and trained during quarantine. Keep Training Crush knows a lot but there’s always more to be learned. I want him to be able to know objects by name. When I say get “XYZ” he’ll know what I’m talking about instead of having to point and direct him to…
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Making Life Changing Choices
Making choices is not my strong suit. When faced with a decision, I usually have to consider all my options. I talk about it a lot and lay out all the pros and cons. Right now, I’m in the midst of deciding on whether to get a surgery that has the possibility to change the course of my life. I’m not ready to divulge the topic or changes it would make. Once I finalize decisions, I’ll let you in on my choices. I find making choices somewhat difficult. The chance of making the wrong choice often feels too close to me. People in the chronic illness community have to make…
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Learning to be Mindful
Mindfulness is a term that has become well known. It’s good for everything. Mental, physical and emotional health can all be improved by being mindful. What is mindfulness? Living in the moment is a great theory but in practice it can be quite difficult. I’ve talked before about radical acceptance and how it can improve your life. Mindfulness can come with radical acceptance. It often comes hand and hand with many different mental health strategies. In pain prevention or response, mindfulness can be utilized to endure. It’s possibilities are endless, so where do we start? Right here…. Take a deep breath When anxious or in pain, we often start to…
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Ways You Can Grow
We all have different ways we want to grow. It may be academic, physically, mentally, or emotionally. I can’t think of one person that couldn’t benefit from growing a bit. Too often, we look at others and make judgements about their shortcomings. Instead, I say we all take a bit of time to reflect and grow a bit ourselves. Where do we start? Right here! Reflect This is simple. Yet, we overlook it because to do the actual work is difficult. Reflecting at the end of the day is a great place to start. Ask yourself, what did you do well? It’s like a compliment sandwich. You want to acknowledge…
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One Day At A Time
Let’s be honest, we’re all going a bit stir crazy. I am not immune. Being in the house so much, although productive, is boring. I’m not anxious about Covid. It’s not something that makes me panic. When I get bored, I often like to reflect or get lost in thought. This is between binge watching shows of course. Truth be told, I don’t have a ton of time to watch TV. The Spring semester is coming to a close right before my eyes. It feels like yesterday that I was registering for class a week late. I was terrified. I thought I would be behind. Who would’ve ever thought that…
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How to Spread Positivity
I think in these last few weeks, we could all use a bit more positivity. For most of us, we’ve been stuck indoors for weeks and it’s scheduled to last about a month longer. So how do we spread positivity? Back in times before quarantine, I would have brought a friend or family member a small gift. I might have even dropped by just to say hello. Now, things are different but there’s still positivity and love all around us. Here are five ways to spread positivity that don’t involve going anywhere. Send a Message Too often we think of someone, ask ourselves what they’re up to and miss the…
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My Top Ten Motivational Songs (that aren’t in the top 100 charts)
Finding motivational songs is important, especially in a tough time like a pandemic. Over the years, I’ve compiled songs that have gotten me through difficult moments. These songs have the ability to completely change my mood. I wanted to share them here with you. When I search for motivational songs, they’re often off of the top one hundred charts. I’m not a fan of overplayed music. It’s difficult to give a song power when you hear it on the radio five times in fifteen minutes. These are on my “You Got This” playlist. I use it after surgery, when I’m having a tough workout, or when I need a boost.…
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A Setback
About two weeks ago, I wrote about the progress I was making with my hip. I was thrilled at the prospect of biking thirty minutes each day. I could take long walks without pain or issue. I was elated. Now, I’ve had a setback. It’s not major but any setback can feel like a blow, not only in my progress but to my confidence. I want to trust my hip and allow it to succeed but the more I worked, the more pain came along with it. I discussed this with my physical therapist and even my surgeon. A setback is to be expected here and there but I wasn’t…
