Stress is the tension between reality and what we imagine reality should be. If you want to make stress really intense I’ve got some suggestions: Complain to all of your friends. Completely obsess over every detail. Replay the crappy stuff over and over again. Get hundreds of opinions about what…
There are lots of things to do when you’re coping with an illness: rest, drink green juice, find a good doctor, get support, reduce stress,… The list could go on for days. As important, if not more, are the things you should not do when you’re sick. These are the…
I’m not a book highlighting kind of gal. I know that I probably won’t remember to go back and look up what stuck out to me, so I stay in the moment with reading and enjoy insights as they come….and go. Of course when something does stick with me, I…
I have been planning for a while to post some chronic resilience videos that talk about all sorts of things. I’ve setup the camera and filmed in my living room, on my deck and in the office. I’ve fiddled with the lighting and stopped and started more times that I…
I just watched this insightful TED talk about perspective. The speaker, Rory Sutherland, asserts that circumstances mater much less than how we interpret them. Specifically, Sutherland says that the more control we feel over our circumstances the more satisfied we are. I completely agree. This one idea is the bedrock…
Our owl made a grand appearance again last Friday. I call him “ours” because he’s a great “horned” owl, and we are the Horns. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. Each time he visits it feels like it’s just for us, and I am granting myself this one delusion. We…
There are an infinite number of ways to meditate, and just about infinite benefits that come from consistent meditation. The most important benefit, as it relates to coping with illness, is that meditation turns off our stress response system. This allows our body’s energy to be directed to repair and…
Elizabeth Gilbert sat on Oprah’s couch and revealed a question she asks herself. I grabbed my phone and typed it into the notes app. I’ve journaled on it a few times since. What do I really, really, really want? I distinctly remember Elizabeth saying that the 3 “really’s” were important.…
I recently read Bossypants by Tina Fay. It is a really funny book. Toward the end of the book she has two chapters titled: Remembrances of Being Very Very Skinny Remembrances of Being a Little Bit Fat Both are less than two full pages. Mainly a list of things she…
Stress causes a physiological reaction similar to what would happen if we were under attack. Our blood pressure increases, our heart rate becomes more rapid and our focus narrows. The body is concentrating on survival. Fight or flight. In practical terms, this stress reaction limits your options. It is hard…