Month: January 2022

MENTAL ILLNESS IS INVISIBLE

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Hello my Zebras and Spoonies! Thanks for coming and visiting with me today. I’m glad that you’re here.

Today I’m going to be talking about the idea that mental illness is an invisible illness. This is something that I both agree and don’t agree with. And here is a trigger warning: I will be talking about suicide in this post. So if that is a topic that you have a difficult time with then you should probably pass on this one.

I get the idea that you can’t look at someone and know that they have mental illness. The same way that you can’t look at someone and know that they have high blood pressure. In this way, mental illnesses are invisible.

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My Diagnosis

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Hello my Zebras and Spoonies! Thanks for coming and visiting with me today. I am glad that you are here.

I have decided that my next series will be about my various diagnoses. I am going to be sharing my personal experiences with these diagnoses rather then discussing what the diagnosis is in all its possibilities. I feel that it is important for those of us who are living with chronic illnesses to share their lived experiences. This has value because many of our illnesses are invisible, rare, hold stigma and are misunderstood. Talking about our lived experiences can help shed light on what it is actually like to live with chronic illness. The internet has given us a platform that we historically have never had before. By using it, we can help change the way that people with chronic illnesses and those with disabilities are being treated both medically and socially.

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Update 012322

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Hello my Zebras and Spoonies! Thanks for coming and visiting with me today. I’m glad that you’re here.

Just wanted to check in today and talk about how things have been going with my life. I am recovering from an upper respiratory infection and am in the middle of an interstitial cystitis (IC) flare. So, I have been feeling less than awesome as of late with the expectation that my bladder will continue to feel angry for a while yet. Because I have not been feeling well, my sleep has been more unstable which just makes things more difficult for me. This has also greatly effected my diet which also has a major impact on how I am feeling.

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What does hope mean to you?

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“Hope” is the thing with feathers –

That perches in the soul –

And sings the tune without the words –

And never stops – at all –

And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard –

And sore must be the storm –

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm –

I’ve heard it in the chillest land –

And on the strangest Sea –

Yet – never – in Extremity,

It asked a crumb – of me.

BY EMILY DICKINSON
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Update 011822

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Hello my zebras and spoonies! Thanks for coming and visiting me today. I am glad that you’re here.

Well, I skipped on recording yesterday and didn’t do any posting yesterday because I had no spoons. I went and crashed out for like 14 hours and I’m feeling a little bit better today. It’s amazing how much sleep can make a difference for me sometimes. And then other times it’s like I can sleep all I want and I still feel exhausted. Yeah. It’s like playing Russian roulette when I go to sleep. Sometimes I’ll sleep 10 minutes and feel great. Sometimes I sleep 10 hours feel great. Sometimes I sleep those same amounts of times and feel like crap. You just never know.

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2 Years of Masking

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Hello my Zebras and Spoonies! Thanks for coming and hanging out with me today, I’m glad that you’re here.

Let’s talk about some of the weirdness that comes with wearing masks all the time. Some of the things were expected, but there have been things that have surprised me. First, let me start by explaining that I wear a mask for 12 hour shifts for the entire shift unless I am in a little room all by myself for lunch or a quick snack break. I am one of the people that wear a mask whenever I leave the house or am around people that I don’t live with. So, I’ve spent a lot of time wearing masks over the last 2 years.

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Chloride

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When you have chronic illness, it isn’t uncommon to have problems with electrolyte imbalances. Because of that, I’ve decided to do a series that talks about what they are, how the body uses them and things that we can do to manage our electrolytes. For the next seven weeks, I will make a post on Wednesday about one of the electrolytes.

Today we are talking about Chloride. While this is one of the electrolytes generally not discussed, it is highly important in our bodies. Chloride is, after sodium, the most abundant electrolyte in serum, with a key role in the regulation of body fluids, electrolyte balance, the preservation of electrical neutrality, acid-base status and it is an essential component for the assessment of many pathological conditions. The normal adult value for chloride is 97-107 mEq/L. 

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House Plant Appreciation Day!

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Hello my Zebras and Spoonies! Thanks for coming and hanging out with me today, I’m glad that you’re here.

Happy House Plant Appreciation Day! If you have house plants, today is a great day to be thoughtful about why you have them and the benefits that having them offers you. Research has demonstrated that we are relaxed by the presence of house plants. So, go thank your plant for helping to reduce your stress levels! Go on!

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