Way back in 2018, I did a post about Breaking up with Keto. A recent comment led me to revisit the post and give an update of where my journey has gone since then. Spoiler alert - keto and I got back together, with conditions. (more…)
Visualize 1. First, you will want to visualize what it is you want out of your life. Remember to take time to consider the 7 areas of life, finances, career, recreation, health, relationships, personal life, and community. You can use this audio to guide you. (more…)
On Sunday, I was on a Facebook live chat with Project Sleep to share how I live with narcolepsy. First I read an article I wrote as part of the Rising Voices of Narcolepsy program. Then, Julie Flygare asked me some questions about how I manage narcolepsy and what my experience has been like. You can watch that here. Our conversation helped me realize that I have done a whole lot more than I ever realized to live with narcolepsy. Things that I just see as part of my habits and daily life now are actual strategies for treating Narcolepsy. I know there are plenty of things that I didn’t think of mentioning in the hour we had Live. So I’ve tried to list them out simply below. This has…
A journey of self-understanding I was at a point where I would do anything to reduce migraine symptoms. I had tried everything from continuous birth control to the ketogenic diet and they had come back yet again. That's why I turned to some alternative methods that I had never considered for physical symptoms. It turns out, even my physical symptoms often have emotional roots. Before you read further, I will clarify I am not a medical doctor. I'm not trying to claim that it is anyone's fault that they have a medical disorder. Usually, I talk about narcolepsy, but today I'm going to share a bit about migraine. I had been trying to answer the question, "Why me?" when it came to my physical pain and suffering. But after years…
Photo by Austin Chan on Unsplash You know that thing that has been on your mind, you thought about doing it, and then something told you it wasn’t the right time. Yeah, that one. It’s time now. I know you thought it was far out in the future, you thought maybe in a few months, or a year, you would be ready. Or that you would see a sign to let you know when its time. This is your sign. Photo by Clark Tibbs on Unsplash If you feel like I’m speaking directly to you, that’s because I am. I know YOU have something that you want to do. Whatever has been holding you back can be overcome. I know it, and you know it. But you are passionate about it, and doing it is going to…
Image from Redbubble Reminding myself that I am enough is a lifelong process. I write it on my mirror, put it on the background of my phone, and set reminders to keep reinforcing this belief. Recently I even wrote a poem about it on a day when I was having doubts. If you need help remembering that you are enough, keep repeating it. The brain needs repetition. Say it in the mirror, create mantras to repeat when you are struggling. Write your own poem. Here is my poetic reminder to you that you are enough. I am enough I am enougheven on the days when exhaustion keeps me in bed until noonand I don’t have the energy to take a shower I am enoughwith a migraine raging fury in my…
I am consistently hearing people talk about being fuckwithable. Sure, they don't use that word, but they say things like, "You make me so mad! " or "This makes me feel sad. or "I know he is just a guy from Tinder, but I still obsess over why he hasn't texted me in 3 hours!" In many cases, people are handing over control of their emotions to other human beings. When you say, "you make me feel.." you are giving power to someone else, whether you realize it or not. That means you have the option to take back the control. In the case of someone not calling us back, we know rationally that the reaction is silly. But maybe we don't feel in control of changing it. There are…
I used to have trouble deciphering what "negative self-talk" meant and how to determine what was constructive and what was not. In the beginning, I only pulled out the really major negative messages with words like stupid, lazy, worthless, etc. I had no idea that there was more to negative self-talk than these obvious problems. Why Does Negative Self-Talk Matter? This whole idea stems from the principle that we all spend most of our time with ourselves. Therefore, a lot of time we are talking to ourselves even if it's not verbal, it is inside our heads. So it's important to pay attention to what we are saying to ourselves. On one hand, we have to tell ourselves what we need to work on to stay motivated and to grow.…
My heart is beating in my gut, the breakfast I just finished feels heavy and I feel like I am going to be sick. I was just informed that it's likely the US is entering into war again. I really have to take time to process to cope with world events like this. Cope with world events in the moment As an empath, while things like this may seem far away to other people, I can be deeply emotionally affected by what is going on in the world. I feel a lot, but even if you are not an empath, there comes a point where what is happening can all seem like too much. What can we do with these emotions? Be aware The first thing I have to do…
Learning to empower instead of enabling The phone rings, and I feel obligated to answer. Cindy, a new acquaintance, is hysterical on the other end. I drop everything I’m doing to rush to her apartment. I need to make sure the assignment she was working on is still somewhere on her computer. The deadline is tomorrow, and she doesn’t know what happened to it. Luckily, I’m a computer whiz and must have bragged about it while making small talk the first time I met Cindy. After rushing out of my house to put out the fire, I return home exhausted. Her nervous energy and panic were all it took to drain my reserves, and even though I had my own paper to write, I curl up on the couch for a recharge nap.…
And what does it mean? “Who are you?” I was asked that question in an interview on Monday. I fumbled a lot because I have this definition of WHO I am, but I didn’t feel like it was the answer my interviewer was looking for. What did I say? I answered that I was a life coach, an American living in Myanmar, a former ESL teacher, and a person with narcolepsy and chronic migraine. Why? The interview was for a volunteer position with the Migraine World Summit, so that’s what seemed relevant. We’ve been trained to show the sides of us that make us most qualified for a position in life, to get the job. Even though I know better, my training kicked in, and I said what I had…
And being okay if others don't Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash Kisses scatter across my long, pale, leg as I hurriedly tell my friend I will have to call her back at another time. His dark hair tickles my thigh as he moves lower, kissing me next to my knee. I feel so ticklish and giggly and 100% completely in love with this man. But there are things I miss about my identity when I was dating a woman. Being LGBTQ I miss my individuality. I miss being recognized as an LGBTQ person by outsiders, even if I never felt accepted by the community. It may be shallow but know its true because every chance I get, I slip it into conversations. “You know, before I met my current partner, I was…
No one can reject you without your permission We all want to be more connected; genetically we are programmed to seek connection because in our more primitive forms we needed our tribe or group for survival. But when someone rejects you, you need to know how to respond to rude comments in order to keep your self-esteem in tact. Long ago, rejection meant being shunned, banned, or excommunicated. This type of punishment was worse than death. Our bodies are still programmed to respond to rejection negatively, even though we don’t require our peers’ help with basic needs like food, water, or shelter and security anymore. That explains why we feel our adrenaline spiking when we face rejection. Our hearts beat faster, and we feel our pulse quickening. In those moments,…
Some tips for how to get started I blink back tears and swallow the words that want to come spilling out of my mouth. My partner is looking at me, encouraging me to go on speaking my mind but I know it's not useful. I need to stop reacting to my emotions and take a moment. If I give my energy to these emotions, they will continue. I know they don’t deserve my voice. If I can acknowledge where they are coming from, recognize that I am no longer in that place, and bring myself back to the present moment, I can move past them. What Happened I let myself travel back into the past for a short time to write an article about a painful time in my life and how…
This week I met with some wonderful people to talk about mindfulness and how we can be more mindful throughout the day. The first technique we talked about was to remove the words "no" and "not" from what we tell our brain to do. For example, instead of saying, "Don't forget your sunglasses, you can say, Remember your sunglasses." The brain receives the message better that way and you are more likely to actually remember them. We also discussed observing the barrage of thoughts in our heads like a train. You can either be aware and watch the train go by or you can get on the train and visit all the emotional states the train takes off to. Everyone was encouraged to choose a trigger point, something you do…
