We all have had that week. That week when nothing seems to be going right. I'm convinced that we all take turns having it, and mine just happened to be this past one. Why, you ask?
10 page paper. History presentation. Poetry assignments for my portfolio. 1,000 pages of reading (okay, maybe just 100, but it was written in Middle English which makes it feel like 1,000). 30 hour work week. Incompetent people. Sleepless nights. You get the point.
Stress isn't healthy for anyone, and I don't need a medical degree to tell you that. It takes a bigger toll on our bodies than we think. Before getting diagnosed, I ignored my body's warning signs all the time. I would just keep going and going and going until eventually I needed to spend an entire Saturday sleeping to recuperate, or until I got so sick that I was forced to stay in bed. I needed to be Superwoman. I can't do that anymore for a variety of reasons. For one, any type of stress will trigger a painful flareup. It's harder to get stuff done under pressure when you're finding it difficult to move comfortably. But then there's the fatigue, the chest pains, the swollen ankles, and a variety of other not so healthy symptoms. When I'm stressed I also tend to reach for sugar and carbs, both of which trigger inflammation (and weight gain).
Take my advice. Whether you have an autoimmune disease or not, slow down. Don't feel guilty about sitting in front of the TV watching the Home Shopping Network for 3 hours. Or for giving yourself an entire homework-free weekend just to catch up on some crafting (I confess to doing both, with the exception of this blog post).
If having RA has taught me anything, it's that I need to take advantage of "me" time, build my strength up, and just enjoy doing the things I love with the people I love. Life is too short to be stressed out all of the time, and we all absolutely take life for granted. There's always that chance that 20 years from now I won't have use of my hands, or I'll be in a wheelchair. It sucks, but that's my reality. So if I feel like going for a walk or taking an online crafting class instead of going the extra mile with my school work, you can bet I'm going to ignore the homework.
Alyssa, your work load this semester is pretty heavy. I can relate to it. This semester I'm taking all science and math classes and of course this one writing class. You just have to hang in there…the best thing to do is possibly set up yourself a schedule to follow because time management plays an essential role in keeping on track for school and things that go on in our everyday lives.
ReplyDeleteThanks Nadeen, I've done just that. I love making schedules.
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