Thursday's Thoughts

[DonnaBoll]

In what way is your life more positive since your diagnosis?

For me it surely has made me aware of my physical surroundings. I take the time to look at flowers, notice those sunsets, and truly treasure my friendships.

Slowing down to really 'see the beauty' may be something beforehand I might have taken for granted. I have been given 19+ years since my transplant. Even before that being diagnosed for almost 20 years, I really knew what was important to me. I knew where to spend my energy. Are you familiar with the Spoon Theory?

With the fatigue being so consuming for me, I knew where to spend my 'spoons' before I ran out. Making priorities was important for me then. I had to sort out what I was wasting my time on - including some people in my life - boundaries became important to surround myself with positive people who contributed to my life - and I to theirs.

[Turquoise2075]

Hi Donna, I relate to your post, especially appreciating everything and developing boundaries. I am familiar with the spoons theory. I’ve started making very conscious decisions to spend time with the people most dear to me, while letting go of some friendships and associations with people that really weren’t healthy for me. I’m increasingly aware now of people who leave me feeling uneasy and who take my energy, and people who are a beautiful, kind presence in my life where there is a warm, reciprocal and supportive relationship. By letting go of unhealthy situations I’m able to have more good experiences in my life and time for what’s important to me. I’ve learned to listen to my body which tells me what feels right and what doesn’t. I can feel my body contract in stress around certain people and expand into peace and warmth around others. I feel this intuition is critical in supporting my body as best as possible in relation to PBC.

[DonnaBoll Administrator in reply to Turquoise2075]

Thank you for such a heartfelt response. I love the phrase you used - keeping people in our lives 'who are a beautiful, kind presence'. There are surely those we know who just make us want to be better and make us feel better about ourselves. Boundaries can be hard to make especially when it's family or someone who you thought was a friend. All of us need to keep ourselves surrounded by those who are positive and who we can be a friend to as well. Taking care of our bodies physically is a great responsibility, but even more important at times is taking care of ourselves mentally. Thank you again for what you shared with us.

[Deemum]

I’ve just replied to a different post of yours Donna and I couldn’t believe it when I scroll down and read this post… how ironic that I was just saying how being off work during summer months, I feel totally overwhelmed and expect a lot of myself - and others expect too - so your explanation of spoon theory relates so much. So very very true.