Helpful Hints
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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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How to Establish Priorities
If you’re anything like me, your priorities are everything. Your goals and ambitions are your guiding light. So when it comes to making difficult choices, you evaluate your priorities. How does this align with the values in my life? That makes difficult decisions a little easier. As someone who is extremely indecisive, I like making choices easier. If you don’t know what your priorities are, that’s okay! Not all of us were taught how to prioritize. So let me give you a tutorial on how to establish priorities: Look at Your Behavior When we look at our behavior, we can identify what emotions or experiences led to our decision. If…
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How to Stay Creative in 2021
It’s a new year! Whoop Whoop! Although it’s a new year, I think we’re all still burnt out from 2020. I realize this week how significant creativity releases tension for me. This led me to the thought, “How do I stay creative in 2021?” After feeling so emotionally exhausted from 2020, how do I keep energy to be creative? Here’s what I am going to do: Utilize Coloring Books I have a few coloring books and I ABSOLUTELY love them. They are great for when I need to be creative but my brain is in overdrive. For me, once I get some of that energy out, I can start writing…
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How To Get Back Into Your Routine
If you read my article on Monday, you know I’m out of my routine. I thought for a while I was doing myself a favor by being loose with my schedule. Now, I see once again why I deserve my schedule. I deserve to sleep well. I deserve to eat well. I deserve to feel ready for my day. My schedule provides me with all of those things. It allows me to be the greatest version of myself. So here’s how I am getting back into my routine: Start Slow We’re running a marathon here, not a sprint. We have to start slow. I started by going to bed an…
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Ways to Celebrate The Holidays in Quarantine
I have been really struggling with how to make Christmas feel special in quarantine. Thanksgiving was difficult. I was alone and didn’t have anything to do. I ended up decorating the house for Christmas. I was grateful I could do that at the very least. Looking at Christmas, I wanted to write out a list for how I could make this truly feel like a holiday. Even if it won’t look like any of the years previous. Holiday Music When I think about the best way to get in the holiday spirit, music is the first thing that comes to mind. Whether you’re in the mood for it or not,…
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Why I Don't Set My Goals According To My Chronic Illness
I made an article last week talking about why I don’t make goals based on my OCD. Today, I want to talk about why I don’t make goals based on my chronic illness. Now, these two things differ quite a bit. That’s why I’m writing two separate articles. Chronic illness poses a lot more physical challenges and isn’t about what I believe I can do. It’s more about finding a way to work within the circumstances I’m in. I have several different chronic illnesses. This changes the way I interact with the world on a daily basis. I have a service dog and often need to accommodate my disability in…
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Dealing With Decision Fatigue
Lately, I’ve gotten a lot of slack for being indecisive about small things. I will be the first to admit that this is not my favorite quality about myself. I am incredibly driven and know what I want out of the next twenty years. However, when it comes to what I want for dinner, it takes me almost twenty years to decide. There’s a reason for this. It’s driven by decision fatigue. In the world of anxiety, decision fatigue is quite common. I used to struggle with this a lot during high school. The more I got my anxiety under control, the more decisive I became. Now, covid has driven…
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Practical Ways To Improve Body Image
Chronic illness significantly impacts the relationship you have with your body. It’s hard enough for people to feel confident without the added complication of being sick. I want this article to be for everyone though, not just those who are sick. Every body is valid. Everyone deserves to love themselves fully and that includes loving how you look. It’s much easier said than done. I have gone through significant struggles. From disordered eating to working out so hard that I couldn’t function for days. The goal is self love and that looks different for everyone. Here are some practical ways to improve body image. Power Pose I love a good…
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Why I Don't Set Goals According To My OCD
Something I learned very early on having anxiety was to not set goals based on OCD. This lesson was extremely important for me to learn. I used to make decisions based on what I believed I could do within the limits of my anxiety. I shifted my focus to believe I could do anything. Suddenly, I felt much more confident when confronting challenges that gave me anxiety. I want to say that I’m speaking out of my own experience. Anxiety is very real but this is how I’ve overcome a lot of my fears and been able to live outside of the boundaries my OCD set. Shifting your mindset is…
