Sickness, Aliens, Romance Novels

09May07

My life has been quite odd lately. I feel a bit as though I’ve slipped into an alternate dimension where all elements are decidedly different — light, sound, time, speech, matter. Everything has been too bright or too shadowy, time has been thick and slow or breathtakingly quick. Sometimes I don’t recognize [...]

Filed under: Health, books, dysautonomia, fibromyalgia, jewelry, literature, pain   |  12 Comments

College program for Chronic Illness

04Apr07

DePaul University in Chicago is, I believe, the only university or college in the country to have a specific program designed to help students with chronic illnesses finish their degrees. I think this is a very exciting, necessary program! I only wish there were more programs like this one, and that universities were [...]

Filed under: Health, dysautonomia, etc., fibromyalgia, pain, sleep   |  2 Comments

Spaghetti Squash, Cupcakes, Ultram

31Mar07

To balance out the seriousness of the previous post, I’d like to share with you two food-related excitments in my life recently.

It is often really difficult to prepare easy, quick, appetizing, and nutritious food when my energy level is exceptionally low or my pain level is high (or other myriad FM and dysautonomia [...]

Filed under: Health, cooking, dysautonomia, fibromyalgia, food, pain   |  6 Comments

Illness as Metaphor, or Befriending the Enemy

31Mar07

Without the imposed structure of work or school,

there are times when I forget everything I love about my life and buy into the societal belief that a lack of structure equals incompetence, laziness, and worthlessness. I’ve worked very hard to move away from this negative belief, and to realize that whatever I am [...]

Filed under: Health, art, books, dysautonomia, fibromyalgia, literature, pain, sleep   |  3 Comments

Dwarf sunflowers, seitan, bad days

24Mar07

I just wrote a post, complete with illustrations, and through a series of absurdly frustrating events it has been lost.

However! Instead of throwing myself to the floor and forsaking my computer, I am going to re-create the post for you. Let’s hope that the parts I forget needed to be edited anyway. [...]

Filed under: Health, art, cooking, dogs, dysautonomia, fibromyalgia, food, gardening, pain, sleep   |  1 Comment

snippet

15Mar07

There are many things I’ve made a note to discuss with you, sweet, faceless readers, and I can imagine writing an engaging, colorful post about them. Alas, imagining it is all you will be able to do, because I cannot summon the mental or physical energy today to write fully or well. Part [...]

Filed under: Health, art, dysautonomia, fibromyalgia, film, friends, gardening, movies, sleep   |  4 Comments

New Art Page!

09Mar07

With the daily pain, exhaustion, and myriad other distressing, often inexplicable symptoms I experience with FM, dysautonomia, etc, it is easy at times to become disheartened and bitter (not sweet or salty, but occasionally sour).

Sometimes I forget what it’s like to feel excited about something, to feel hopeful, to lose myself while focusing on something [...]

Filed under: Health, art, dysautonomia, fibromyalgia, pain   |  0 Comments

Spoon Story

08Mar07

I came across this story, and while it is a bit lengthy I wanted to send you to it because it presents a great metaphor for what it’s like to have a chronic, invisible illness. For those of us who experience this, it’s validating and comforting to read about an experience similar to ours, [...]

Filed under: Health, art, dysautonomia, fibromyalgia, pain, sleep   |  2 Comments

Penpal visit, Pacing

07Mar07

So, I’ve met my penpal Sam since I last posted! More on the actual meeting in a bit, but first let me backtrack.
I spent a few days occilating between anxiety and excitement before he arrived, and while I thought I was pacing myself with my pre-guest preparations, apparently I was not being [...]

Filed under: Health, books, dysautonomia, fibromyalgia, film, friends, gardening, literature, movies, pain   |  2 Comments

reaching out, a pen-pal, and cleaning

01Mar07

I don’t have many friends, partly because I am a tad shy, but mostly because I don’t have a job, I’m not currently in school, and I don’t always have the ability to leave my house. It’s slightly embarrassing to admit that, but it’s my reality. It can be surprising how much of [...]

Filed under: Health, dogs, dysautonomia, fibromyalgia, friends, pain, sleep   |  5 Comments