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...
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....
Are you turning your gizmo into a gremlin? Understanding and managing anxiety
When I think of anxiety, I think of the movie, Gremlins (1984). For those of you who have seen this movie, you know that feeding a gremlin after midnight...
After the diagnosis/Self harming thoughts
After being diagnosed with dystonia, or any other chronic health condition, and learning it is not a temporary problem (or if you have lived with it for years and...
Dealing with uncertainty in life and health: Sometimes trees fall on cars
Even when we think we are fully prepared for something, life can throw us a surprise. If you have followed my blogs over the years, this one may sound...
Do you live in protection mode because of your pain?
Most of us have heard of the fight-or-flight stress response. It becomes activated when we believe there is a chance we can outfight or outrun real or perceived danger...
What do you do when you feel out of control?
How many of you feel as though you are in control of your life? I would guess probably not too many. However, I bet a great majority of us...
Learning to be okay with what we view as not okay
When I developed dystonia in 2001 at the age of 30, my world completely changed. I went from a private business owner, athlete, a graduate student pursing a master’s...
Nature’s Resilience After a Hurricane: A Metaphor for Life Challenges
I live in North Carolina in the United States where we were recently hit with a very powerful hurricane that caused a lot of damage. Many trees fell on...
Adapting to Adversity
How one deals with adversity is very unique to the situation and the individual. I have faced great adversity at different times in my life, some of which I...
Post Traumatic Growth
We often hear the term Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a mental health condition triggered by a traumatic event. PTSD is commonly used in context of military personnel returning...
Overcoming fear for a better life
Fear is probably the single most damaging, debilitating, detrimental energy we have. It interferes with our well-being in every area of our life. We cannot thrive when we are...
