Tag: mental health

10 Things Chronic Illness Has Taught Me

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Hello Dazzle! Thanks for coming and hanging out with me today, I’m glad that you are here. Today I want to talk about some of the lessons that chronic illness has taught me.

1. I cannot rely upon my body.

We are all born into a meat boat that we must sail through our lives within. Everything that we experience in this life is through this vessel. And it will constantly change as we travel. Normally, these changes happen over years. Coming so slowly that we struggle to tell when those changes really began. But chronic illness changes your body dramatically and quickly. Sometimes, the body that you woke up with just isn’t the body that you go to sleep with at the end of the day. Being aware of the way that our bodies betray us has made me have a greater empathy for the elderly who share in the experience of the betrayal of the flesh.

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Laziness is a Lie

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Hello Dazzle! Thanks for coming and hanging out with me today, I’m glad that you are here. Today I want to talk about the idea of being lazy. I personally believe that no one is lazy. I think that the word lazy is nothing more then a tool for shame and I strongly wish that we would stop using it. There is a more helpful way of looking at our behavior if we are interested in creating change.

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I’m Still Struggling

~ Zebra Pig ~ 1 Comment

Hello Dazzle! Thanks for coming and hanging out with me today, I’m glad that you are here. Back in March, I posted a blog titled “I’ve Been Struggling.” I shared that with you because I feel that it is important to talk about the rain and clouds in our lives. It is all too easy to filter our social media to include only the sunshine and rainbows, but I feel like this is a disservice to everyone. It creates this illusion that those who are having mental health struggles are alone in those struggles when that just isn’t the case. “It is estimated that more than one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness (57.8 million in 2021).” [1] Which means that having mental health struggles is a common human experience.

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Worthy Nonprofit: IOCDF

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Hello Dazzle! Thanks for coming and hanging out with me today, I’m glad that you are here. Today I want to tell you about a nonprofit organization that I believe is worthy of being supported: The International Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Foundation (IOCDF). This organization is doing great things to educate, advocate and relate for those who have OCD. The IOCDF is funded solely by the donations of its members.

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Having Thoughts is like Riding the Bus

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Hello my Zebras and Spoonies! Thanks for coming and hanging out with me, I’m glad that you are here. Today I want to share a metaphor with you: having thoughts is like riding the bus.

When you are riding on the bus, there are numerous other people who ride the bus with you. Some ride the whole trip with you while others will get on or get off part way through your journey. Each passenger on the bus is unique and full of character. Some are quiet and so unimposing that they might go unnoticed. Others are angry, loud and raging. But most are just like yourself. They are straightforward and trying to get things done.

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Therapy for Chronic Illness

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Hello my Zebras and Spoonies! Thanks for coming and hanging out with me today, I’m glad that you are here. Today I want to talk about psychotherapy for pain management. This is an often hot topic in the support groups that I’m a part of. For reasons that I am all too familiar with, the knee jerk response to getting a referral to a therapist is that we are being dismissed. However, that might not be the case and there is research to support the use of therapy for those with chronic illness. So, let’s get it into!

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