In this mindfulness practice, we reflect on goals and how to goal set mindfully so that they are realistic and achievable for us, regardless of our physical and mental health status. When we practice values-based behaviours, we tend to feel better. Doing all of this mindfully can improve our overall well-being.
I hope you can make the most of it with your mindful goals!
I love quick, low prep meals. They are great on days that I feel good but might be busy in other areas of my life (like with work), and they are great on days that I might not feel as great, because they don’t require too many spoons. I know meal time is challenging for many chronic pain/illness warriors. Too much prep equals too many spoons and many of us struggle with pacing (I know I’ve often had that problem in general, not just meal time related). And of course, those of you with families likely struggle more. Eating healthy can have a huge positive impact on pain (meaning we’ll have less of it) and I’ve done posts on my own dietary changes before. So rather than talk about that more, here are my suggestions for quick and healthy meal ideas that I enjoy.
And there you have it. Quick, easy, only as much prep as you want, meal ideas that can make living with chronic pain just a little bit easier. Just another idea to help us all make the most of it!
In this 25 minute mini yoga class, I take you through a sequence of hip openers, which have helped me with my hip pain (and anxiety) over the past several years.
I hope this helps you to keep making the most of it!
For this post I really wanted to draw upon my personal experience. From October 2016 to August 2022 I was single. Yep, six years. A lot of dating, some friends with benefits (though there was a 2+ year period starting before the pandemic and lasting until last year that I did not have sex outside of masturbation). Wow, this topic got personal fast, I hope you’re all in for the ride. In August of 2022 I met my current partner and we have an amazing relationship that continues to grow. Something I struggled with while dating many people over the past several years was when and how to tell them about my pain and diagnoses and what that would mean for the relationship.
I’ve had conflicting opinions about this. I have done everything from reveal it on a first date so that if it was an issue at least we didn’t have to go on subsequent dates, to not revealing it at all over 4 or so dates and then never having the relationship develop anyway. Plus whatever is in between. I’ve also read other peoples’ opinions and even found a study on the subject of chronic pain/illness and dating and disclosure. From what I’ve figured out is that the timing and your particular reasons for it may not matter. We know ourselves and what we’re looking for, best. In this relationship I mentioned it maybe 4 or 5 dates in. We were starting to create a bit of emotional intimacy so I let myself have the first of many moment of vulnerability, and honestly I think it helped deepen the relationship, allowing both of us to take opportunities to continue to be vulnerable with each other. This kind of vulnerability is a requirement for emotional intimacy.
How did I do it? You might be wondering. The first time I mentioned it, I did so fairly casually. I can’t remember the exact conversation we were having, but I mentioned that I had chronic pain. In a conversation on a subsequent date I revealed a bit more about the pain and my illness diagnoses. Again, more in conversation, not in some kind of grandiose we need to have a big discussion kind of way. However, what I did that I think was particularly important and helpful was open it up to being more of a conversation by asking her if she had any questions and letting her know if she does she can always ask. She has asked questions along the way and I’ve always been open with answering them. And I’ve been open with communicating how I’m doing (physically and emotionally) as well. My hip hurts during a walk, I mentioned we need to walk slower because it hurts (we are typically both very fast walkers so it’s also kind of obvious when I’m in pain).
My tips:
It takes a lot of trust, emotional intimacy, and vulnerability to have this type of conversation. If you want to deepen the relationship, and create more intimacy, I believe this is a necessary step for anyone with a chronic illness or chronic pain. Though we may have beliefs that there is no one out there for us (I had a previous partner put that belief into my head for quite awhile), if we are open to some of the uncomfortableness that may come with dating, we can also find a partner who is the right fit for us.
I hope this helps you to keep making the most of it in your dating and relationships.
We all use “bandaids” in the forms of distraction and avoidance of our difficult thoughts and feelings (emotional and physical) and we often wonder why it only works as a short-term solution and never fixes anything. Then we get frustrated and keep using them, using all that precious warrior energy… is there a better way?
I hope this helps you to keep making the most of it!
Whether you’re stuck inside because of terrible winter weather (I’m looking at you rainy Vancouver), or because of your illness/pain, having some indoor activities that bring enjoyment are essential. There are literally hundreds of activities that you or I could name. Lists can come up on the internet. Rather than just randomly pull from a thousand sources I thought I’d share some of my favourite indoor activities – some for when I’m feeling great but am literally stuck inside because of the weather, and others that I do when my physical (or mental) health isn’t as great.
Solo Activities
Watching TV – standard I know but I actually enjoy watching some streaming – be it television or movies – alone. This can also be a good partner/group activity (I even have one friend I do it with over Skype every week). I thought I’d put it on the list and get it out of the way. Finding something I love to watch (new or old) can always put a smile on my face.
Playing an instrument (or listening to music) – I play the piano. I have since I was a kid and I absolutely love just sitting down to play for no one but me. It brings me great joy, and if I want, a challenge. It’s an indoor activity all about the me and the music. If you don’t play and instrument then listening to music (maybe even dancing along or singing along) is a great alternative.
Color or do some art – I’m not a good artist in that I can’t draw or paint or sculpt (but if you do then those are amazing indoor activities). I do enjoy colouring though. I tend to buy horror-themed colouring books because that’s my jam, and colouring in general has been shown to help with relaxation.
Read (and take a bath) – I personally prefer to read in the bathtub. I can read anywhere and I will read anywhere but my absolute favourite spot is when I’m in the bath. The bath itself helps with my physical body and is relaxing. Reading is fun and/or stimulating (depending on what I’m reading) and just another indoor activity that I look forward to doing.
Group Activities
Board Games (or card games) – this is the one that has been introduced to me the most in the past few months (mostly because my partner loves board games). I grew up playing Crib and it’s my go-to game (in general) but playing any game in a group or with a partner is a great way to spend some time indoors.
Cooking (or baking) – this is just so much more fun with another person (hopefully someone you get along well with). I’d much rather do it as a group activity than a solo activity any day and seeing how our creations turn out is just another fun part of the experience. We also tend to throw on some music and have a kitchen dance party in the middle of it all.
So these are just a few of my favourite indoor activities. I would love to hear what yours are as well. Keep making the most of it!
One way to create distance between us and our thoughts is to help move them along (which in turn changes the way we perceive our thoughts) so that we don’t get hooked by them. This is done through a visualization, imagining you are looking up at the clouds drifting by and you can just place your thoughts onto them.
Keep making the most of it everyone!
This post was back from February of 2018. I was recently looking at some stats for this blog over time and I was actually a bit surprised this was the top post as I knew there were several others that I’ve noticed get a lot of hits. That being said, maybe it’s not surprising because many of us with chronic illness – diagnosed or undiagnosed, and regardless of our current health status – often deal with new symptoms. So here’s a repost of that post. No, extra commentary added (as it’s also interesting to just see where I was at physically and mentally at that time).
I’ll admit that I’ve been pretty lucky in the sense that my symptoms have remained the same over the past few years. Chronic, widespread pain (joints, muscles, nerves) and fatigue (yes I like to be in bed by 9:30 at the latest, though I do try to get up early). The catch-22 is that it’s hard for any official diagnosis to be made when new symptoms aren’t popping up… that leaves the question, is it better when they do?
I’m a sun bunny. Which is not good if I really do have lupus. AVOID THE SUN! Is what is preached as it exacerbates symptoms and can lead to rashes. I spent all of last summer, and the summer before out in the sun, just here in Toronto, but still. Too much sun and yes my joints maybe hurt a bit, but literally only if I was lying on the beach. If it was combined with some sort of exercise, then not so much. Fast forward to last week, which I spent in Arizona. Above average temperatures all week lead me to hiking, swimming, the hot tub, and patio lounging. All of my favourite things. Oh yeah, and it lead me to these little tiny white bumps on both my hands – a sun rash.
And while the optimistic part of me took a picture so I could show my rheumatologist (my next appointment isn’t until May). Maybe they can officially say it’s this or that! The realistic part of me says “oh fuck, now I can’t go out in the sun.” Segue grumpy face. I don’t want to wear long sleeves, as was suggested to me on Instagram when I posted a picture of my hands (also not sure how I’m supposed to cover my hands in the summer anyway). So, I’ve decided to take my psychotherapist’s advice for now and be grumpy about it. It’s impossible to be happy and positive all the time (even though that’s my preferred mood). I’m going to be grumpy and frustrated and sit in that emotion for awhile, until it’s time to not do that anymore.
If anyone has any advice for sun-lovers, stories, or anything else they’d like to share, feel free to comment or email me.
So that was that. And now it’s 2023, almost five years later, where I can give so much more of what I’ve learned and try to share that with all of you.
Keep making the most of it everyone!
This year, let’s focus on living by our values instead of setting goals. Connecting with our values is one way to improve our lives with chronic pain and illness. Check out the video below for more on the difference between values and goals:
I hope this helps us all to make the most of it in the new year!
Chronically Living 