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Our Flight to Nowhere
Recently Crush and I went on an expedition. Okay, that might be an exaggeration. In reality, we went through more training. This training was particularly exciting. It was preparation for being able to travel together. I think most people get overwhelmed when flying. I typically fly alone and have adapted to that well. Now I have Crush and we have to learn how to travel together. I am so grateful to Can Do Canines for the opportunity to go through this “class.” So how do you prepare to travel with a service dog? We went to the airport and did a dry run. Hence the “flight to nowhere.” Can Do…
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Ways To Practice Self Compassion
Self compassion is a journey. I would say I’ve come quite a long way from where I used to be. Sometimes, I need a reminder though. There are great ways to start practicing self compassion in daily life. These are ones that I practice daily, let me know if they help you! Saying No If someone is exhausting you, set boundaries! This is a great way to practice compassion. Often, we feel like we need to be constantly available to people 24/7. We can set our boundaries and respect what our body and mind needs. This is a way to show love, respect, and kindness to yourself. Affirmations Affirmations are…
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An Update on My Day Without Crush
A couple weeks ago, I talked about how I was going to go out without Crush. I had to get an MRI. I go to my appointments alone, I didn’t want to leave the technicians in charge of watching him while I was in the machine. The scans take at least an hour. This is already stressful for me because I’m very claustrophobic. Having to worry about Crush on top of that was not an option. So I went out alone. When I left, I felt extremely nervous. I had anticipation anxiety through the roof. When I finally got to Mayo Clinic, I took a deep breath and gave myself…
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Reconnecting With Your Space
I have been completely overwhelmed lately. My classes started. I have had multiple mini allergy attacks, and medical appointments that were challenging. When I feel overwhelmed, my OCD starts to become more intense. I feel lucky and grateful that I have the awareness that these thoughts and feelings are a result of OCD. That being said, it’s still challenging. How do I deal with this? In the short term, I use grounding techniques. In the long term, I find things that I can control. Often, what I can control is the space that I live in. With the pandemic, I have spent an excessive amount of time at home. Not…
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How to Set the Tone for Relaxation
I’ve been working really hard on relaxing lately. After getting out of my pattern, I’ve felt an excess of tension. In order to combat this, I started doing these things to help me relax at the end of the night. This is what works for me. Let me know if you have any tips of your own! Tea I love settling down with a cup of tea at the end of the night. It helps me hit the reset button really quickly. It also helps me to slow down. When I drink something hot, it’s almost impossible to drink it with any type of speed. Therefore, I’m much more aware…
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Preparing for More Surgery
Here we go again. I’m preparing for another surgery. I’m excited at the prospect of getting this done and over with. I’m grateful that I have the opportunity to receive great medical care. This surgery is going to be more complicated to prep for though. I need to have my left hip fixed. If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know that almost a year ago I had a labral repair on my right hip. Along with sewing my labrum back together, they pulled apart my tendon and shaved down my bone. I’m waiting to find out the extent of the surgery I need on the right…
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Links To Help You Understand OCD
There are large misconceptions out there about what OCD is. It’s often associated with cleaning, neatness, and organization. That can be true and accurate for some people with OCD. However, there’s a large variance in types of OCD. Here are some links to help you understand OCD and what someone is going through. It’s often best to listen and ask questions. Be patient but most of all don’t pry. If someone doesn’t want to share, that’s their right. If they want help, they’ll ask for it. If you’re going to watch any video, watch this one. Most people with OCD that I know struggle with intrusive thoughts. Even if they…
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Eye Therapy?
Recently, I went to the ophthalmologist to get contacts. It was supposed to be a relatively easy process. With my glasses constantly fogging due to my mask, I figured it was time. I would try out contacts to see how they went. I got more than I bargained for. The ophthalmologist was concerned to find out that I’ve never seen 20/20. This isn’t rare for me. I often struggle on the refraction test because letters change. Years before I discovered my neurological problems, I was told to see a neurologist. I shrugged it off and joked about how ridiculous that was. I didn’t have any real problems. The joke was…
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Five Things I Do Because of POTS
There are some things I do in my daily life that people give me weird looks for. What a lot of people don’t know is most of these things are because of my chronic illness. Most of the time, if I’m doing something out of the ordinary it’s because of Dysautonomia or POTS. Now, I leave some room for error. I am somewhat weird sometimes. I can’t blame all of my odd habits on POTs but I will blame most things on chronic illness. So here’s a list of five things I do because of POTs: Pick Stuff Up With My Feet This is probably the weirdest. People make fun…
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Going Out Without Crush
Today is a scary day for me. There are a lot of factors that make it intimidating. By far the most bothersome is leaving Crush at home. Today I have my MRI. Now, I dislike MRI’s. I’m very claustrophobic. Tight spaces and I don’t get along. That would be enough to put me on edge and make me anxious. On top of this, I have to leave Crush at home. Unfortunately, since my mom moved, I go to all of my appointments alone. I don’t mind this, I love that I have the ability to go to appointments alone. However, I haven’t been without a companion and completely on my…
