I will just start off by saying that this blog post is not a ''my situation is a thousand times worse than yours" type of post. It's more about the need to acknowledge our feelings as humans. Several weeks ago I started experiencing what would later be diagnosed as a UTI. This is the first UTI I've ever had. Yes, really! And the antibiotics I'm taking (I'm on my second round, the first round didn't help) are the first antibiotics I've taken in over 25 years!! I've rarely been in a hospital except for a surgery I had to lengthen my muscles when I was 13, to help my body stay upright, loosening the jaws of life as it were... that left my legs in a perpetual "downward" momentum. Then came the diagnosis and endless doctors' visits of celiac disease. This was one of the hardest diagnosis to handle, because I didn't even know how to approach this battle...my body was fighting against itself and depleting me of important vitamins and nutrients, while plotting to kill me slowly, I'm sure! Over the years, I've realized just how important it is to be well informed. I try to be smart about the food I put in my mouth (I've become quite the nutrition label reader, I must say) and being sure to take the right supplements as well, because celiac disease has wreaked havoc on the inside of my body. My ongoing battle with panic attacks and anxiety has also forced me to take a slower more calculated examination of what my body and emotions need. Everything is connected and in order to take care of your WHOLE self you must invest in things that take care of YOU. Every person has very different ways of fulfilling the need of self care, and that's how it should be... we are not robots and not all things are "one size fits all" but, the one thing that is always needed is keeping a fresh perspective on SELF CARE! Please never make a mistake by thinking that, "well, I will take my supplements tomorrow, or I'll sit and read tomorrow, or I'll get together with friends soon". I've said the same things many times before and it does little good to put things off because each time you do, you put taking care of yourself to the back burner. There's no need to do that. Life is about "Blooming where you are Planted" and to do that to the fullest.. you must take care of your WHOLE beautiful wonderful MAGNIFICENT self today! No questions or apologizing about it! Because, guys and gals, we must remember, Life is a Beautiful Ride!
Michelle Fischer is host of A View from My Window, a podcast produced by The Arc of Indiana
