Turning suffering upside down
Having lived for over 20 years with chronic pain and persistent involuntary muscle contractions from dystonia, a neurological movement disorder, I have experienced a lot of suffering. If you...
Trying to put pain into perspective
This year marks the 21st anniversary when devastating chronic pain from dystonia took over my life. Within months after my first symptoms, I went from a very active, social,...
Tips for becoming more self-empowered when living with a chronic health condition
When we are faced with a limiting health issue where performing “simple” everyday activities becomes a challenge, our self-confidence and self-worth can dwindle. This can happen with any health...
Listening to our body to help reduce pain and anguish
Having lived over 20 years with chronic pain from dystonia (a neurological movement disorder) in order to best manage my condition, I have to be very mindful of the...
Striving to find balance when in pain and everything feels off balance
I am always striving to find balance in my life, as I know most people are. Because my neck is off-center from a neurological movement disorder called dystonia, it...
How to choose better for ourselves when we are suffering
If you have dystonia and chronic pain like I do, or one of many other thousands of health conditions, or just dealing with some tough life situations, you are...
Releasing past pain and starting the new year differently
Being that it is a new year, which for many people is a time to say goodbye to the previous year with plans and goals for a fresh start,...
Coming to terms with painful challenges is hard!
Life is filled with endless ups and downs. The first 5 of my ongoing 20 years living with dystonia were pretty much nothing but down times. I experienced the...
Try as we may, we can’t hide from our pain forever
Human beings are wired to run away from things that are painful and difficult. I sure as heck did the first 5 years of my dystonia diagnosis. It often...
The truth about stress…in my opinion
Believe it or not, it wasn’t until final exams my freshman year in college that I heard the term “stressed out.” It just wasn’t used that often back then....
What a spider (and all of nature) taught me about resilience and adapting to adversity and pain
I have lived with chronic pain from dystonia, a neurological movement disorder, for 20 years. When it first began in 2001, it completely changed my life. I had to...
Embrace the suck of life
Most of us are familiar with the Latin term, carpe diem, which means “seize the day.” This phrase became especially popular in the movie Dead Poets Society with the...
Don’t let your obnoxious pain get under your skin
If you live with pain, you know how debilitating and life changing it can be, and how it can dictate your entire days’ activities, as well as your moods....
