one of my chronic/critical illness clients fell off a roof and hurt himself BAD. he has been battling it out with his recuperative process for way over a year and, god only knows all what he has been through with his life getting thrown up in the air like that. he just sent THIS to me:
One thing I’ve done, too, is I’ve made a list of “The Things That Make Me Feel Better” because when I feel bad I can’t remember what they are. One thing that isn’t on the list is more medication.
how smart is THAT for a pain-management, coping technique!
i remember totally losing touch with my creative, self-promotional mind when i got to a certain point of hanging out in terrible pain. the last person who could help me was me; it was like i got swallowed by a whale. i would ‘lose it’ and get totally overcome with dissatisfaction and complaining – eaten alive by this down-ward spiraling, super-poweful, all-consuming, negative force
at one point, one of my caregivers helped me create a stack of colored index cards that were held together on the side by a key ring
she typed out labels for me and we attached them to the different cards, so that when i felt i was falling down into the well, i would go find my cards and flip through them, finding SOMETHING that i COULD DO, to catch me, distract me – re-route the energy
things like:
-do a breathing exercise
-have i eaten?
-watch Oprah
-remember, your doctor said, “tapering prednisone is HARD!”
-IT’S NOT ME, IT’S THE DRUGS
-“You have the strength to overcome this challenge.”
-take your Rescue Remedy (Bach Flower)
-do art
-sing
-read a prayer
-go out and walk
…more to come
