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Showing posts from April, 2019

Fibromyalgia: My Health Journey

Recently I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, a multi system chronic condition that is characterised by chronic widespread pain, extreme fatigue, brain fog, digestive complaints and depression. For a sufferer of Fibromyalgia, stress is a major driving force in exasperating symptoms. It is a lifelong condition (there is no cure) but with a range of therapeutic care, symptoms can be managed and even improved. It sounds like a lot, and it is. It has felt like I’d stumbled into a dimly lit tunnel filled with physical and psychological challenges coupled with medical puzzles that needed a large brains trust to solve. I’ve been in this tunnel a long time, but have now stepped into some sunlight. Rather than being completely devastated by this diagnosis, I felt a huge sense of relief, validation and overwhelming gratitude. For my persistent struggle with extreme fatigue, insomnia, digestive complaints, low moods and pain have for the past 7 years made me question my sanity, and doubt my capabil

Is there a Giant in your life?

 I had a day recently where my youngest came home from school very upset and adamant he never wanted to go back; never wanting to see a particular person again. A previous painful memory of being reprimanded at school bought back strong emotions and when he was accused once more of doing something wrong (this time unfairly) his response was quite natural: flee as quickly as possible. The shame and worry that others thought bad of him seemed too much to bear. Even worse: the thought of seeing the person again. For him, facing a situation he feared was deemed impossible to do. Until, I shared with him I too have had to face giants - I still do as an adult.  This incident reminded me once again, that modelling humility and courage to our children is so helpful, especially when they experience challenges of their own. I wrote recently about being a good role model to your kids; speaking about how sometimes we fail to model helpful behaviours, or hope our weaknesses aren’t observed or recog