The road to being an expert by way of experience in any particular health issue is a long one.
I have plenty of experience and still I forget to do all the things which I KNOW will help me. So last week when I had the tiny beginnnings of a flare up in pain levels... did I do what I knew would help: rest, look after myself, say NO... or did I plod onwards hoping that it would all be okay.
Yes, you guessed, because I didn't want to let people down, I carried on without stopping to remember that increased pain is my body trying to tell me something! It is a small cry, a gentle reminder that if I carry on doing what I'm doing then my life will become very unpleasant indeed.
Now that I am feeling the full force of a major pain flare up, it's easy in hindsight to say "if only I had listened out for the warning signs, if only I had taken notice when I first felt the twinges". But looking back with regret won't change the fact that today, I have to look after myself, that today, I have to choose to be selfish, that today I will have a duvet day and let my poor hurting body recover.
So next time my body tries to tell me to slow down, I will listen and I will be committed to taking appropriate action, whatever that might be at the time and I won't forget how it feels to be hurting like this... a bit like those drinking sessions I had in my youth when I said... never again... and then a few weeks later...
Stay well and happy!
Thanks Bridie for sharing such a personal experience and I hope you feel better soon. One thing I say about a situation like this, is that we learn from the decisions we take and hopefully this will remind us again in the future, so we don't do it again!
ReplyDeleteI hope you feel better Birdie.
ReplyDeleteWhen I listen to my body and my intuition, I feel great. When I ignore it I tend to suffer by making things harder on myself.
Silent counsel always awaits for those whose want it.
You are both so kind to comment and wish me well, I will remember to be vigilant, to listen out for the quiet cry and to learn from yet another flare up experience.
ReplyDelete