My chronic life was in need of a good purge and revamping! Lucky for me, those were two of Sheryl’s prompts for January’s A Chronic Voice linkup! Read on to discover what changes I am making to make my life with fibromyalgia and psoriatic arthritis easier to manage, less painful, and more fun!
Purging my chronic life
I have always hated it when people referred to those who are 50+ as over the hill. As someone who is 51 years of age, I do not feel like I am sliding or falling down a hill to my grave. With that said, I am feeling a perspective shift that I didn’t expect. I still feel like I have many years ahead of me, but there is something different about them.
Don’t get me wrong, I do realize that there are a lot less than what used to be ahead of me. But with the improvements, I have experienced in regard to my chronic illnesses in the past six years, it’s not unrealistic to believe that I couldn’t live another 30, 40, or even 50 years!
The difference is in how I want and plan to live them. I feel like I lived my first 50 in a rushed state. Always in a hurry to do this, go there, or accomplish that. After turning 50, my desire to rush through life triggered two severe costochondritis flares, one of which was so severe it actually broke several of my ribs! The second flare occurred right before my 51st birthday. That was my wake-up call.
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Out with the old
I am purging my old ways. No more rushing! I want to enjoy every moment of the rest of my life! I want to take time to see every little detail, breathe in every delicious aroma, feel every texture, and lose myself in moments of bliss. My 30’s were spent being crushed by chronic pain and rushing to survive one flare after another. I then spent my 40’s learning all I could about my body and chronic illnesses and finding ways to living with them easier, less painful, and more fun. What I am learning in my 50’s is that if I am not careful, I will undo all the
Even with the battles that fibromyalgia and psoriatic arthritis continue to throw my way, I am able to enjoy life. That is when I don’t get caught up in my old ways. So gone is the gal who hurried through life!
I began embracing a slower-paced life a few months ago. It felt foreign and strange at first, but as the weeks passed, it became very clear that this is how my life is should be.
Other things I have or am in the process of purging are:
- Stressing out over things that I have no control over
- Worrying about keeping up with others who like a faster-paced life
- Toxic people who thrive on abusive disfunction
- Activities and things that no longer bring me joy
Opening my eyes, heart, mind, and arms to new opportunities
I plan to try many new things in the coming year. As for what they are, you’ll have to follow my blog to find out! Ha Ha!
Seriously though, personal and professional opportunities have been presenting themselves one after another. I look forward to seeing which are a fit and which end up being opportunities I am glad I tried at least once.
Trying new things is nothing new to me. I have lived in four states and more cities than I can recall. In 2012 I came to the realization that I needed to make radical changes to how I was treating chronic pain if I wanted to have any quality of life. I took time to research, think about what was best for me, and soon after took action.
I will share one thing that I am opening myself up to this year, it’s gardening! Anyone who knows me is probably falling down with laughter because the only houseplants I don’t kill are artificial and they don’t always survive either!
Revamping my chronic life
As I stated earlier in this post, I have been letting go of things that no longer bring joy or value to my life. One of those things is the time I spend on social media.
I took a social media break in November. It wasn’t to prove anything or to avoid anyone, but instead, it was a means to protect my mental health. Social media can be a great tool and a wonderful way to connect with others, but it can also be a black hole that sucks you in and fills your head with the thoughts and emotions of everyone online. Scrolling through news and nonsense also distracted me from what I really needed to be focused on.
In the past two months, I have fallen in love with not being distracted. Part of my revamped chronic life is to significantly limit my social media use. I want to go back to the days when catching up with someone didn’t involve scrolling through their social media feed. I want real conversations with my friends and family, not “I saw you did this or ate that”.
My new normal
Another way that I am revamping my chronic life is by letting go of my preconceived notion of a “normal” schedule. I am a blogger and freelance writer, I can work whenever and wherever I please. Gone is the guilt of staying up writing all night because the ideas won’t stop flowing and
These are not New Year’s resolutions. They are lifestyle changes that work for my life and that I began putting into practice last year. With that said, have you given any thought to what you may need to purge from your life?
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I can see what you mean – we both have had very similar revelations about the future. I’m only just starting to implement mine, and it’s easier said than done, isn’t it? Slowing down and letting go of things is not really part of my nature – but I know it’s what my body needs in this current season.
Good news! It gets easier as time goes on. LOL. Seriously, it was so tough in the beginning. I felt guilty for taking my time and not forcing myself to follow a rigid schedule. I have recently noticed that I have been using my time more wisely and actually accomplishing more than I was before. Enjoy this season!
I love the positivity of this post and your outlook. Also I loved that you mentioned that one thing you are opening yourself up to this year is gardening. That is something I am opening myself up to in 2020 as well and I’m excited about it.
Thank you Carolina! Gardening has always intimitated me. But over the holidays I began thinking about all the things that used to intimidate me and that I now do well. My plan is to start small and allow for mistakes. Wishing you a bountiful garden!!
I really connected to your lifestyle design for 2020. Slowing down to smell the roses (if you plant some 🙂 It’s so important to connect with people in real life sometimes our chronic illnesses can make us isolated, so much so, we lose touch with normal life. I feel really content after reading your blog as my thirties is almost over most of it taken by chronic illness I hope my forties bring as much clarity and joy as you are cultivating.
I am so glad to hear how you connected with this post. My 40’s were a major wake-up call. After realizing how much of my life I lost to my illnesses and most importantly my own attitude towards them, it was time to find ways to enjoy life despite them. Wishing you a year filled with clarity and joy! Hugs!
Great to see you participating in this month’s link-up Cynthia. I do hope your Christmas and New Year went well and you are enjoying the first couple of weeks of a new year, and new decade. I loved your take on the prompts and how small little changes can make some vast improvements for someone living with a chronic illness. Best of luck in putting it all into practice and looking forward to hearing the results!
Thank you! I love these linkups! Getting to know you and others has been such a blessing!
Loved your take from an older (compared to me at least!), wiser perspective. Enjoying life in the moment can be tough for what it’s worth! Sending you lots of good thoughts and happy days in the new year! x
🤣❤ Thank you! I hope you enjoy every moment of your travels.
I love that you’re embracing a slower pace and enjoying being in the moment more Cynthia. I hope you enjoy gardening. I hope it will give you some hope to know that I don’t do great with houseplants either, but my garden usually does great. The garden is my “happy place” and it does double duty – it allows me to be out in nature AND helps me get in some movement for the day. Best of luck with the purging and revamping!
That does give me more hope!! I am looking forward to having a reason to get outside every day. It’s too easy to stay inside.
I now see why you like the idea of my narrow boat life! It means that rather than rushing around in my 30s, I’m slowing down. We’re currently deciding whether to purge our only land vehicle. It’s hard to know whether keeping or selling it would be healthier at the moment… healthier for the bank balance to sell it for sure! I hope you manage a nice slowness in 2020 🙂
Right!? Lol.. seriously though enjoy and embrace the slower pace. ❤ Letting go of a land vehicle would be a tough decision for me too. I love knowing I can just hop in the car and go where I want and when. Take your time, you’ll eventually figure out if it’s worth hanging onto or not.