The importance of slowing down
I have recently learned the hard way the importance of slowing down. We live in a world where productivity is key, the busier the better! As a wife and mother of two teenagers, two dogs and three cats, busy is my middle name. I have home schooled my kids for the past 7 years (yay for summer vacation!!!) and have multiple side hustles. Slowing down is therefore not my forte! Even my fibromyalgia has not been able to keep me grounded after finding a way to remove the pain through diet and exercise. At least that was until last Wednesday…
The accident that forced me to slow down
Last Wednesday was my son’s birthday, so it was full of activity as we made a cake and got his special dinner ready. We have a very small kitchen, so as my daughter worked on the cake, I was removing appliances and items we no longer needed. While bringing down the Instapot from the top shelf, the lid slipped off and hit me on the forehead above my right eyebrow. I knew instantly that I was not going to get off easily from this one. I didn’t lose consciousness, but I did give myself a nasty concussion.
The aftermath
My family was quick to action, and put the frozen gel cap we keep in the freezer on my head. They plunked me in front of the TV and told me not to move. Thank goodness for Shark Week, as there was little else I wanted to spend my time watching. The gel cap kept the bump from swelling too much, but the sensitivity when touched was overwhelming. The rest of the concussion symptoms came quickly; nausea, headache, blurred vision, balance and memory issues, and even slowed speech. I followed the recommendations given to me of no driving for 24 hours (oops there goes a couple of shifts). It was tough sitting there doing nothing, but that’s what happens when you ignore the signs.
Oops I did it again
The next day, as I was putting the decorating supplies away, I slipped down the stairs!!! This left me with a purple, elongated baseball sized bruise on my left thigh from where I landed on the stairs. For the multitasking wizard that I am, this was the last straw! Between the fall I took on a family walk a week and a half before this, the bump on the head, and now slipping down the stairs, my body was in full revolt! My fibromyalgia was now in full bloom, and along with the concussion effects I was a mess! Even writing this 7 days later is a huge challenge. Reading anything is very taxing, so I’ve only been able to keep up with a coupe of my jobs. Sleeping is a challenge with the bruise and other sore spots on my body as well.
The results of slowing down
Everything has literally slowed down for me. Going up and down stairs is now very deliberate. I watch the sidewalk now when we go for walks. Taking rest breaks are now part of my day. I don’t necessarily sleep, but I do listen to audio books with my eyes closed. We had continued to go on our family walks, (so grateful for sunglasses) but I only returned to my exercise routine today. It was tough with the nausea, but with decreased reps I did get through it. I will now be strictly following my FM diet in order to get this flare up under control.
What I’ve realized
I’m glad it’s summer so I don’t have as much on my schedule, but that doesn’t make slowing down any easier. I’ve come to realize that it’s ok to slow down. Slowing down is something we all need to do. Even on vacation we try to pack so much in, that it’s not really a vacation at all. We often need a few days to rest from our vacation!
I’m looking forward to being able to see the screen clearly again, to be able to wake up without headaches, and exercise without nausea. They say it could be another couple of weeks before I’m there, but I know it will come. I’ve learned that I need to step back from what I think I have to do, and focus on what I actually can do. I’m learning to delegate more, and take breaks when I need too. My friend told me today that this experience will make me a better health coach, because of what I’ve learned in the process. I completely agree, and can’t wait for what is yet to come!
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