Entries For: December 2009
12-20-2009
Creativity as a Portal for Pain Management and Joy
When living with chronic pain or illness it is easy to think of all the things you cannot do, which only makes you feel worse. A powerful shift for me was looking at what I can do rather than what I cannot. This change of perspective and focus led to two incredible gifts: that of discovering the artist within me and the realization that while I am knee-deep in creativity my pain takes a back seat.
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Action Performed by Date and Time Comment Make visible Corrie Woods 12-20-2009 11:15 AM No comments. Make private Corrie Woods 11-26-2009 01:33 PM No comments.
During one of my most frustrated times while navigating chronic hip pain, I kept falling into the trap of thinking about all the things I loved to do but could not. I love to play tennis but could not. I loved every minute I could get out on a hiking trail, but could not handle the pain that came with that.
When I began looking only to what I could do, the invitation to learn new things began popping up everywhere. Tops on the list was a lifelong desire to be able to draw and paint. Though I could not hike the trails, I discovered I could paint the great doors. I took a few classes and as an enthusiastic beginner I am now playing with all sorts of mediums and loving every minute of it. Hand in hand with the joy comes relief from pain each time I get into the creative flow. Now that is an immeasurable gift!
Here I am on the Green River while taking a fabulous workshop from acclaimed artist, William Jameson.
I am a big believer in looking for the gifts that come in every difficult situation I face. This healing journey for me has been, and continues to be, very big. The gifts have been big as well!
What gifts can you discover in your current challenges?
Updates from the Field and New Free Resources!
What began in November 2006 as the monthly communication, Tips for Living a Live You Love, sent to visitors of www.womansfieldguide.com or readers of my book, along with all blog post
s and web updates, came to an halt in August of 2009 given health challenges. A common thread woven throughout my life in the past few years has been around health challenges. A couple hip surgeries and a lot of chronic pain, a surprising diagnosis of chronic Lyme Disease, a lot of disagreeable meds, a recent discovery of severe gluten-intolerance all simply caught up with me this year and knocked me off my feet. There have regrettably been phone calls unanswered, self-care retreats wiped from my books and plenty of less-than-graceful moments while I have spent countless hours tending to my commitment to be in vibrant health regardless of the obstacles that present themselves.
Of course, with the health challenges come the opportunities for me to walk my self-care talk each and every day. Without getting into all the details, the good news is that the gifts have been, and continue to be, incredible. I am currently in great health! Now, with several months of extreme self-care behind me and an incredible array of health care professionals on my team to be thankful for (including my medical team at Sanoviv!), it's time to pop my head back up and to share some holiday cheer with my readers. Hey, and what says "cheers" better than free gifts.
Free Mini-Guides to Improve Your Life
Supporting others in both living a self-care lifestyle and in living a full life with chronic pain continue to be passions of mine. Expressions of those passions are four new mini-guides that I hope you will find these helpful and share them with others.
Chronic pain is pain that persists past the time
usually required to heal from an illness or injury. When you live with chronic pain, it is as if you live through a veil that cloaks much of who you are and how you may want to interact with others. People of all sizes, ages, colors and health conditions experience chronic pain. You might be a breast cancer survivor in recovery, a person whose low back pain will not respond to treatment, a sufferer of postherpetic neuralgia as a result of the complications of shingles, or someone unexpectedly dealing with a Lyme Disease or Chronic Fatigue diagnosis. If you and your family know the face of pain, this guide
may be of help to you.
"There are only four kinds of people in the world - those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers and those who will need caregivers." Rosalyn Carter
It may seem obvious that taking care of yourself
is a great thing to do, yet for many women it remains an elusive goal. Self-care is for the future, a dream far off in the distance which some of us just never get around to turning into a reality. The fact is that stress, a sense of being overwhelmed, and depression are epidemic with American women ...
In a 2002 article in The New York Times, author JOSEPH
EPSTEIN stated: "According to a recent survey, 81 percent of Americans feel they have a book in them and that they should write it now." That means that millions of people are moving through their lives thinking, "Gee, I'd like to write a book." And here is the light-of-day truth: most people don't. We'll take liberties here and go on to assume that all those unwritten stories cause big regrets in countless people's lives.
We can't have that now, can we? What about you? If the thought of writing a book has been nudging you, this may be your ticket to get started.
