Welcome to The Chronic Illness Diary. This is a new weekly post that I’m starting at Chronic Mom Life where I write about all the little things that are happening (or not!) in my day to day life. Things like my self care routines, what I’m reading or listening to, what I’m doing in the kitchen and more. As a blogger I’ve found myself getting caught up in the blogging should and to-dos and I’ve forgotten the joy of writing for its own sake!
My Chronic Life
I never imagined the day would come when I could say that I don’t think about the dystonia constantly. It’s still there of course – when I get stressed out the tremor comes back and my trapezius likes to “talk” to me at times but I’m no where near as incapacitated as I was when this started in 2010. My other conditions – ulcerative colitis and chronic fatigue – are reasonably stable. I’m not going for words like cure or even remission here, just quality of life so I can be here for my family for as long as I can. I have asthma too but tend to forget I have it now. I always have the inhaler in my backpack, just in case!
The SCD Diet
I didn’t mark the date when I switched over to the SCD diet after trying GAPS and Keto, but I think it’s been about six months now. As I mentioned above, my ulcerative colitis symptoms are pretty stable. I am taking the Apriso, because I need it. I’ve actually gained some of the weight I lost back and I need to watch the medjool dates and other SCD treats that I’ve grown to love.
Self Care
I’ve been doing some hard thinking about the amount of time I spend on social media – specifically scrolling my feed! As someone who had some degree of ADD to begin with, this habit of constant scrolling has been destroying my concentration, my already limited organizational skills and increasing my stress levels. But I’m a blogger and virtual assistant – I do have to be on it! So one small habit that I’ve started this week is to eliminate the morning feed scroll. Just a few days into eliminating that habit I already feel more centered and less stressed. This can only help my writing, I hope! I was waiting around at an appointment yesterday and instead of scrolling my feed as I usually do, I read about half a chapter of a book that was on my Kindle. I felt more productive and less agitated.
What I’m Reading
Talking about reading, I have countless contemplative books on my Kindle that I never seem to have to time to read. Right now, I’m reading Flee, Be Silent, Pray by Ed Cyzewski. I’m really loving it because it affirms what I’ve privately been thinking about what he calls “anxious Christians” for years now as I look for a winsome and quiet way to share and practice my faith. In my never ending quest to calm down my hyper nervous system, monkey mind and anxiety, I’ve become a student of contemplative living which for my includes daily yoga, centering prayer and praying the divine offices every day.
My Journaling Practice
This is another habit that went by the wayside because of my social media addiction and it’s one of the most important things that I should be doing! I pulled out a blank journal that was on my shelf and I simply started writing after breakfast. On the days when brain fog is a problem (really, when isn’t brain fog a problem!) I read some scripture or some prose. I just ordered one of Mary Oliver’s books for this purpose. I’m embarrassed to say that I never heard of her until her recent passing, and I noticed that a lot of recovery accounts that I follow were sharing her works.
In the Kitchen
I’m rethinking the way I cook and meal prep now. With two of my adult children out of the house, I don’t need to cook in quantity as I did before. My family does not follow the SCD so sometimes keeping everyone happy is a struggle. I try to focus on meat and vegetables which I can eat and give them rice or potatoes on the side. I do have to keep things prepped so that I have a quick protein or snack that I can grab when I need to. That’s it for this week!
Recommended Books
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