A Week of Self-Care – Day 1 – The Call to Self-Soothe

Three weeks ago I woke up, went to get out of bed and veered violently to the right. With FND, my body can make some interesting moves, but this was a new one. I was unable to sit up or even transfer into my wheelchair. I had completely lost my sense of balance, my head hurt, I felt sick and I was utterly exhausted. My GP came out and diagnosed viral labyrinthitis, an inner ear infection. She prescribed medication to help with the acute phase and warned me that the illness was unlikely to mix well with my FND.Read More

Self-Soothe

I was becoming invisible, my body paling to the white sheets. As I lay on the hospital trolley, unable to move or speak, all I had was my mind. The strength of my thoughts and the images they created could take me anywhere. As I felt my heart sinking and tears pooling at my eyes I knew I needed to change direction. I focused on my breath. It gave me perspective. What was I feeling and where was it coming from? I felt utterly worthless. The actions, or lack of actions, by others during a time of acute illness in A&E had triggered an inner story; a deep seated belief that I knew to be untrue, yet at that moment I was compelled to believe.Read More