Holistic Wellness Blog

The Power of a Wellness Journal

chronic illness support coping with chronic illness goal setting holistic health life with lyme mental health radha's journey spoonie tips May 20, 2019

I created this wellness journal over a decade ago and just revised it last month to give it a few upgrades. I find this an incredible way to keep track of what is going on in my body, and my medical team really appreciates me bringing it with me to keep them fully informed. I first created it when I was having a health crisis and there were so many different things going on from day to day that I would forget to tell my acupuncturist certain symptoms and would only remember later in the day after the session was over. I realized I needed to start keeping better track and recording what was happening in order to have more productive doctors and acupuncture appointments.

I kept the design simple so if you are printing this out at home you won't use up all your ink! If you want it to be a little prettier, I would just recommend picking a color paper that makes you happy and print it out on that. There are ten main components the Wellness Journal...

Watch Your Mouth! Body Shaming the Ill

babesia chronic illness support coping with chronic illness radha's journey Feb 11, 2019

I officially feel like my weight has been all over the spectrum. I have been pretty overweight, I have been toned and lean, and now I am underweight. From my own personal experience, I have never received as much criticism about my body as I do now! It is actually a little unbelievable to me. Nobody ever fat shamed me or teased me for being overweight.

On the other hand, my butt has always been a hot topic of comments since I was a teenager and although I mostly get compliments, they always just make me self conscious that everyone is paying so much attention to my rear end. One boyfriend in my early 20’s told me my thighs were beefy and I will forever think I look like a cow. It's funny how words can stick with you!

But overall, most people have never walked up to me and instantly criticized my body as their opening greeting. Now, that is no longer the case. Most people in my life see me and immediately tell me to eat something.

I...

Monthly Reflection Journal Prompts

goal setting Feb 01, 2019

One month of 2019 is completely gone, did you make it count?

I thought this may be the perfect opportunity to reflect on how fast time flies by. If you are working towards any type of goal, it is important to check in with yourself and see how you are progressing. Taking the time to reflect on what you have accomplished and what obstacles have popped up can help guide your future planning and decisions. Try thinking these questions over at the end of each month or even each week:

What have you accomplished?

What changed for you?

Did you establish any new habits?

Did you take steps towards any goals?

Time flies and without assessing things it is much more challenging to make progress. I generally try to use Sunday evenings as a time for reflection on the past week and what I want to accomplish in the upcoming week. I also think it is helpful to assess at the beginning of each month. It can bring a sense of gratitude for what you have accomplished...

It's ALL About Perspective

mental health stress relief tip Jan 28, 2019

I had one of those "aha moments" last night after sending someone a text. One of my friends sends a few text messages a day to make sure I'm still alive and kicking, and quite honestly I think he is checking to make sure he doesn't need to come pick me up off the floor. It happens more often than I share so I deeply appreciate him checking up on me.

Anyways, when he checked in on how my night was going my exact words were "It's ok, dreaming of a shower for the past hour but I'm pretty weak so still contemplating... I think I've decided it is a great dream to make come true in the morning."

It was at that moment when I realized my perspective is one of my biggest blessings.

I didn't focus on how frustrating it is that I can't take a shower when I want.

I didn't focus on my lack of independence.

I didn't focus on how weak I am.

I didn't focus on how my body would not get any "hot shower" pain relief all evening.

...

Transitioning Home from the Hospital

chronic illness support coping with chronic illness radha's journey spoonie tips Nov 26, 2018

The transition from hospital to home is always an interesting learning experience. I know the longer I am in the hospital the more my mind becomes consumed with how much I want to leave and get home to rest and have my freedom. Then I get home and realize just how weak and incompetent I am, and the true healing journey begins. I guess I know my own learning curve and how challenged I am when I return home, so it is no surprise that most people think leaving the hospital means you are essentially healthy again. I thought I would write this to help people understand what coming home from the hospital can look like and how they could help. They say for every day you are in the hospital, you should expect to need at least one week of recovery. That means a five day stay can cost you at least five weeks of recovery.

I took this photo to remind myself of the struggles and journey I have been on but I will be a little vulnerable and share it...

Illness Etiquette

babesia chronic illness support coping with chronic illness guillain barre syndrome life with lyme mental health radha's journey Nov 18, 2018

What not to say to people with chronic illness! (Part Three)

This post is going to come from an emotionally charged head space because I am currently in the hospital and fighting my hardest just to get through the day. I am trying my best to stay positive and hopeful but I am also feeling as weak and depleted as can be. I have to say that my spirit is beginning to suffer in addition to my physical body. I am also severely frustrated with doctors not listening and the disconnects that happen. Simple things like it taking five hours to receive migraine medicine which means my migraine is going to go from a 3/10 to a 9/10 on the pain scale. Now that you know a little about what is going on, here is the text that got under my skin.

I was truly exhausted so when I got this text from my best friend I simply called her out on it. Like many people, she struggles with knowing what to do or say when I am in pain so I tend to have a filter with what I share. Also,...

Suck It Up Buttercup!

chronic illness support coping with chronic illness guillain barre syndrome life with lyme mental health radha's journey Nov 12, 2018

Part Two of what not to say to people with chronic health problems!

I asked one of my clients with multiple health issues if she had anything contribute on this topic and she instantly responded: "Suck it up."

I am grateful I haven't heard this one myself! This one is pretty rude and inconsiderate. I mean our only option while in a health crisis is to suck it up so do we really need to hear it from others? I clearly remember one day last month I was in so much pain and had such a terrible week that I was begging my doctor to put me in a coma and just wake me up when I was better. The last thing I would have wanted my doctor to say is "suck it up" and I definitely wouldn't want to hear it from loved ones either.

Let's see, what would be a better choice of three words. I would go with "I love you" or if that is too strong, "I care about you." Have some compassion. Speak from your heart. Listen with the intention of understanding not responding. Communicate your concerns or...

Handling A New Diagnosis

babesia coping with chronic illness functional medicine guillain barre syndrome holistic health life with lyme radha's journey Nov 09, 2018

I thought I would share my journey a little more and explain my personal process for getting a brand new health diagnosis. This week I found out that I have chronic babesiosis and a pretty severe case of it. Babesia is a parasite that infects the red blood cells much like malaria but it moves at a slower pace. It is spread by ticks here in the Cape so I didn't get it on any of my exotic travels but right here at home. Here was my mental breakdown of the week!

Monday: Today I was informed of my test results and was feeling super excited to finally have a diagnosis. I felt confident that now that we are aware of the specific problem that I will be feeling better soon. I went in for my vitamin C IV and was feeling pretty buzzed and hopeful. A woman in the IV room educated me on her three year journey with babesia and what has and hasn't worked for her. I took some notes and it definitely planted a seed on how long this new journey may be, but I was...

What not to say to people with chronic health problems!

chronic illness support coping with chronic illness guillain barre syndrome life with lyme mental health radha's journey Oct 29, 2018

Part One of Four

I know the world can feel hard to navigate these days without offending one person or another so I don't want to add to the list of people you need to take into consideration BUT I think when you love and care for someone going through a health crisis, you want to be there for them in the best way possible.

Not everyone knows what to say or do in these situations so I thought I would share what I have experienced on the receiving end and you can at least see the inner workings of my mind. I think there are already quite a few lists out there on the topic but I am going to do this one slightly different. This will be a weekly series of two things not to say and what you could say instead because I know people want to be supportive and once I tell you all the things you probably shouldn't say, you are going to wonder what the heck you CAN say!

"Well, you look great!" I hear this all the time and I do honestly try to take it as a compliment so it doesn't...

F*ck Fatigue!

chronic illness support coping with chronic illness gratitude guillain barre syndrome life with lyme mental health radha's journey spoonie tips Oct 22, 2018

This is my least favorite part about being sick. People that have never experienced fatigue can't even comprehend what it feels like. Most healthy people confuse fatigue with being tired. Let me tell you, I am not tired. Tired to me means sleepy like I want to go to bed. Fatigue means every cell in my body is traveling in slow motion at a rate that feels painful, moving my body feels like air has turned to peanut butter hence every step I take feels like a huge effort, and I am not sleepy - my brain is going to be wide awake as I lay in bed suffering and uncomfortable. Some days I feel like a prisoner trapped inside my pain/fatigue body.

I have no solution for fatigue. I can drink a quadruple shot of espresso with absolute zero change so caffeine is useless. I haven't found a food, a supplement, a routine, or any natural remedy that helps with it but I have found three things I take comfort in on my fatigue days.

One: Resting in bed with some upbeat...