Living life with a chronic illness is definitely not easy. But I do my best to push through all the barriers this illness puts in front of me! In my heart and mind, I believe maintaining a positive outlook on all situations in life will carry us through to much better times! I hope you find the information that I provide both helpful and inspirational!
Hello Sunday! How do you prefer to spend your Sunday, knowing that this is the last day before the work week begins again? Many people think that Sunday is a day for rest, but I prefer to rest on Saturday and get things done on Sunday because it prepares my mind for the work week ahead. Of course, my mind appears to be on a set schedule that never changes because I get up at the same time everyday, even though I want to sleep in more than I could ever explain. Since the time change, my internal clock seems broken because I still wake up an hour early, which is so frustrating!
Life is filled with various challenges that sometimes we may not feel prepared for, but we find a way to manage and carry on! None of us asked for what we encounter in life and often we may wish we did not have to deal with the struggles we face. I think it is important to remember that we are all stronger than we know and we must learn how to believe in ourselves much more than we do. The reason I am sharing the quote I am today is because I think it is extremely powerful and a nice reminder!
How was your weekend? Did you go out in the insanity of “Black Friday”? Thankfully, I worked and did not have to fight through the massive amounts of people searching for a deal that was not worth the craziness. It always baffles me how many people think it is necessary to become aggressive and rude just to obtain something they think is a requirement in life and they think the “deals” were worth it. I am just not into all the consumerism that happens because I think there are many more important things in life. I think of all the people in the world that are suffering and in need, which breaks my heart. I wish everyone around the world could live a comfortable and safe life, which would include a roof over their head, food on the table, and warmth when the temperatures get cold.
Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you enjoyed the quotes that I have shared and they resonate with you. As today is the final day of the weekend, I hope you have been able to enjoy it and do the little things that bring you the most joy before the demanding week begins. I look forward to reading your comments and I will respond as quickly as I can. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!
As everyone reading this now and who has read some of my previous posts knows, I have had Multiple Sclerosis for over 20 years. This has been something I have lived with for almost half of my life, and I still find it extremely frustrating. Even after all these years, there are still things I do not understand or know about this disease. The one obvious thing is how unpredictable it can be. I do find it amazing how much we can adapt to and tolerate life when we have no other choice but to keep moving forward.
There are many things about Multiple Sclerosis and days living with this disease that can feel like things will never improve, which can make you feel hopeless. Even though I have days when I feel like this, I also believe that we are not forced to deal with anything we cannot handle! Of course, it takes a strength we never knew we had, but it is possible to keep moving forward.
I wish I knew the name of the person who thought they were being clever and humorous by naming something the “MS Hug” because this is the worst kind of hug I have ever heard of. It completely ignored the advice from the experts about social distancing and never considered getting approval before hugging someone. I have always thought that MS Hug was very disrespectful and invasive.
Even though I still do not know who came up with the name, I do know that MS Hug is very uncomfortable, but it is not life-threatening even though it feels like it is at times. The MS Hug is an uncomfortable, sometimes painful tightness or pressure around the abdomen or chest. This can last for seconds or minutes, which is the best-case scenario but can also last hours or longer.
There are two effects of Multiple Sclerosis that can trigger the MS hug to happen. One is muscle spasms in the small muscles between the ribs, known as the intercostal muscles. The second is changes in sensations known as dysesthesia, which while they can be, are not always painful.
Just like everything else regarding Multiple Sclerosis, everyone experiences the MS Hug differently. The ways that help one person may not help another in the same way. Various things can help or even eliminate the MS Hug sensation including the following:
Discover your triggers:
This could include fatigue, temperature changes, eating a large meal, feeling unwell, or being stressed. It may not always be easy to discover what triggers the MS hug, but once you do it may be a good plan to avoid or at least reduce the issues you know are your triggers. Keeping a journal with what the temperature was each day, stress level, feelings of fatigued, and what you eat each day may help to determine what your triggers are.
Loose vs Tight Clothing:
For many people tight clothing triggers, them to experience the MS hug and even makes the sensation worse. This may mean not wearing an underwired bra or removing it as soon as your situation allows. It will just seem logical to wear loose clothing if you know tight clothing causes problems. As with everything else, tight clothing helps some people to deal with the MS hug. For reasons not always understood, the grip of tighter clothing can distract the brain, making the MS hug sensation less noticeable.
Moving and or Stretching:
For some people staying mobile and stretching relieves the pain from the MS hug, but for some people laying down is the only thing that offers them any relief. This is all a matter of personal choice and what helps you the most!
The use of hot or cold compress:
Again, different things work better for each person, so you just need to play around with heat and cold compresses until you know what works best for you. Hot water bottles, warm towels, or a heating pad when applied to the affected area may offer relief. If this does not work, you can try a cold compress or an ice pack to the affected area. Please understand and be careful of both hot and cold as it is easy to cause further damage to the skin.
Physiotherapy or other physical treatments:
his can include TENS which is transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. I honestly do not know a lot about this because something about electrical nerve stimulation scares me, but I have heard it can be helpful!
Relaxation, Mindfulness, and CBT:
Relaxation and mindfulness exercises can be helpful for anyone, not just those dealing with MS and the MS hug. Things like self-hypnosis and hypnotherapy have been successful for many people around the world. Controlled breathing techniques can be found with a quick Google search and are inexpensive.
Multiple Sclerosis has come along way with treatment since I was diagnosed, but for some reason there still is not a cure. I wish there was a magical medication that could make all the pain and issues I deal with daily go away, but until there is I will just continue to fight and not allow this unpredictable, frustrating, and ugly disease steal the light and fire I have inside me. As I am sure you can assume, I am dealing with the MS hug right now and it has been a struggle. I am SO thankful that I work from home because with the way I was feeling today, there is no way I could have driven to an office and dealt with being this uncomfortable for 8 very long hours.
Anyone that is reading this and has Multiple Sclerosis, have you dealt with this issue before and if so what helps you? The funny thing is, normally heat is my enemy, but for this issue and other types of pain, my heating pad is my best friend. The only way I can be comfortable is wearing loose clothing because I find that to be the most comfortable. The weather has been changing each week, so I can only assume that might be the reason the evil hug is back!
Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope the information that I have shared was useful and interesting to you. I am looking forward to reading your comments because I am sure what you have to say will be helpful. I hope you had a good week and you have an amazing weekend! Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!
Twas the day before Thanksgiving and many are excited to visit with family with COVID numbers decreasing. This time last year many were isolated due to fears of COVID, which caused most to feel sad about not being able to spend a holiday with their families. Unfortunately, last year we were seeing high numbers of COVID, and no one wanted to get sick or cause their loved ones to get sick. Yes, this year the numbers have decreased, and many have been vaccinated so all we can do now is hope for the best😊! I know that I am not the only one that is tired of hearing about COVID, as we dealt with it for far too many years!
Thanksgiving is a time to remember the things that we are thankful for. Of course, we should show how thankful we are daily, but with tomorrow being Thanksgiving this post is going to be about being thankful! What are a few things you are thankful for? Unfortunately, many of us have lost loved ones and we wish they were with us to celebrate, but we can still honor those we have lost by cherishing their memory. Our lost loved ones would want us all to keep living our lives and be happy while still remembering them😊!
Years ago, my husband and I would try to spend Thanksgiving with my mother. It was a nice time to get together and catch up. This year, my mother is living in another state, and it will be a little different. I am beyond thankful that my mother has found love and happiness and is living her best life. We were talking about having her and her husband come to visit us around Christmas, but I am logical about money and thought it would be a less expensive flight to wait until after Christmas for them to come!
I am very thankful that my husband and I are safe and healthy (besides my having Multiple Sclerosis). We have a wonderful life with our three amazing cats that bring us so much joy. We do terribly miss our cat Chloe whom we had for almost 16 years, but the two little cats we adopted are wonderful and all three cats get along so well. We both find it incredible to watch the three cats interact with one another, the bond they have formed, and the unconditional love they have for each other and us.
Another thing that I am thankful for is my husband’s side of the family. They have all been so welcoming since the day he and I met, and they continue to be the best in-laws any girl could ask for. Family can be unusual and unique, but love is consistent and unconditional.
In a very strange way, I am thankful for my job and my work family. I have not met any of my co-workers in person but have built strong relationships with several of them. The few that I have made a strong connection with are my supervisor and a few of my other co-workers that share the same title as I do. One of the girls loves her cats as much as I love mine, and sadly lost two of hers back-to-back a few months ago. We spend more time at work than we do not at work, so it is nice to be able to work with good people!
Too many people in this world forget how to be thankful for what they have in their lives and then take things for granted. I think that is sad because there are so many people, especially in the United States that do not have a roof over their heads, food on the table, or love in their hearts and are unable to have compassion or understanding for anyone else. We all share the world we are living in and it does not matter the color of someone’s skin, who they love, where they are from or anything else, this world is for us to live and grow in!
Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you enjoyed this post and I look forward to reading your comments and what you are thankful for. I was going to make beef stew for dinner tomorrow, but we are now going to order a turkey dinner to have for Thanksgiving. My husband was looking forward to turkey, so this saves me from cooking! I am still hopeful that everyone around the world can remember what love means and start being kind to everyone! Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!
Saying hello to Tuesday means we made it through the most difficult day of the week, which is a great success😊! How was your day yesterday? My day was pretty good and not too busy. I had my monthly one-on-one meeting with my supervisor, which went great because she is the best supervisor and so understanding! I let my supervisor know that I have been helping my co-worker with insane political views, which she informed me that I did not have to do anymore because she was “supposed” to be communicating with someone else that was delegated to be her mentor. I do not mind helping others because it is just in my nature, but I have too many people coming to be sometimes and it gets a little overwhelming.
Many of us only have to work four days this week because of Thanksgiving, but it is still important to remember to stay calm and at peace at work. Unfortunately, we do not live in a positive world because there are still SO many negative people that are full of hatred. Instead of allow the negative to control our lives and destroy our sense of good, we need to surround ourselves with kind, understanding, compassionate, and optimistic people. The more we surround ourselves with people with a positive mind, the more we can influence others to feel that same way!
Do you have any plans for Thanksgiving? I believe we are going to be celebrating with our three cats in the warmth and comfort of our home, which will be nice. It has been so cold where we live and I prefer to stay home and not go out in the chilly weather. I am thinking that I am going to make my husband something he likes to eat for dinner, which might be challenging because I have never made beef stew before, but I found an easy recipe to follow with a crockpot! I know most people would want turkey because it is Thanksgiving, but we normally do things a little differently than everyone else! Heck, I used to make lasagna because it is something I know how to make and am good at!
Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you found the quote helpful and it makes you feel at peace! I am looking forward to reading your comments and promise to respond as quickly as I can. I hope your week has been good up until this point and it keeps getting better! Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!
Hello again, Monday! It does not matter if we are ready or not, here we are once again at the beginning of a new week! I think that Monday morning must be the most dreaded day of the week, but we have the choice to tackle it with strength and determination, which is exactly what we always do because there is no other way to deal with Monday. It is not like we can ignore it and it will go away, so let us make this a good week! I know the weekend was short and we could always use just one more day, but I hope you did enjoy your weekend as much as you could. I did not do much this weekend, but I was able to sit back and relax much more than I do during the week!
I feel it is important to start our week with a good, positive, and motivated mindset. Mondays can set the tone for the way our week will go, so it is best to be as optimistic as we can be. I hope you will find the quote I am sharing motivating and that it helps your week is the best way it can. I have always felt strongly that the way we behave daily and how we treat others tells a lot about who we are on the inside. So many people think they are better than others and therefore treat them poorly. I do not think any one single person is better than another because we are all simply human beings trying to survive in a chaotic world together!
Is there anything you are looking forward to or dreading this week? Yes, I understand we are all looking forward to the weekend returning, but we should be able to find something during the week that keeps us moving forward. Each week offers us all new experiences and opportunities, which can be a means to success. No matter what anyone ever tells you, never forget that you can accomplish anything that you set your mind to! It is crucial to believe in yourself and your abilities and never allow anyone to discourage you!
Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you enjoyed what I have shared and that this post provided you with the motivation needed for the week. I am looking forward to reading your comments and I will respond as quickly as I can. I hope you have a wonderful day and your week gets better with each day that passes. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!
Life is a journey that is filled with wonderful experiences that we will always treasure and enjoy the memories. Life is not meant to be picture-perfect because we live in the real world. The hard part of facing reality is we are forced to encounter various challenges and struggles. The negative situations we endure and may wish never occurred or desire to alter the outcomes can create a learning experience we should not ignore. These situations do not have to be a permanent roadblock and can provide us with a strength we never knew was possible.
One of the many crucial things to understand is hatred and resentment only hinder us from living a happy and fulfilling life. Of course, there will always be others that cause us pain, sadness, disappointments, frustration, and even anger, but allowing those feelings to control us does not affect the other person as much as it does us. These feelings are poisonous and painfully infectious and are extremely unhealthy and dangerous way.
Many of the things that cause us the most anger and frustration are things we have no control over. If you think about the things that have caused you the most pain or aggravation, are you truly able to change anything besides the way you react? Even if one of the issues that cause you the most anger revolves around politics, we are told if we vote we can correct the issues we are witnessing. Logically, how true is this? Politicians are going to do as they please and have a way to convince voters they have their best interests at heart, but they have their own interests above anything else.
Volatile situations we encounter in our daily lives can create a sense of powerlessness and helplessness. We need to be able to determine the things that we do have control over and focus on those things and move past what we cannot control because they will suffocate us in the long run. Wasting time trying to change something we never had any control over is wasting precious time as life is short.
Once we understand what we can control, we might be able to make a difference in our lives and those around us. Things take time, patience, and pure determination. It is important to not give up if we fail on the first try but stand back up, dust ourselves off, try again, and learn from past experiences. The only true failure is giving up on what we can accomplish. We are powerful and can accomplish anything we set our minds to!
Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you enjoyed this post, and it made you understand what you are capable of! I hope you are having a nice relaxing weekend. I am looking forward to reading your comments and I will respond as quickly as possible. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!
Today is Saturday, which I have been waiting for since Monday. How was your week? My week was rather long, and I am still adjusting to the cooler temperatures. Last week, I was unable to do a post on Monday due to the leftover migraine issues from Sunday and I also did not do a post yesterday, which was due to my lack of energy. I have had several ideas in mind of things I want to write about, and I am hoping to be able to do so this weekend as I do not have anything else pressing that I need to do besides laundry😊!
How do you enjoy spending your weekend after a long week? I would have preferred to sleep in longer this morning, but our older cat, Sundance had a different plan. Sundance did not think it was a good plan to let me fall asleep last night and kept walking on me and from what I guess trying to play. He drove me crazy for over an hour last night when I was trying to sleep, which almost caused me to just get up at 2:00 AM☹. He started again at 6:30 AM with the same shenanigans. I think overall, last night I think I was able to sleep for about five hours! It is a good thing I love our cats 😊as much as I do, or I would have been much more frustrated.
Next week is Thanksgiving (which I will talk about in another post), so I will only have to work four days, instead of five. I always say this and stand by it, but the shorter weeks always seem much longer. Honestly, last week things were a little slower at work so it is possible next week will be the same. I tried last week to help a newer person understand the work more clearly, which was honestly a little frustrating because I do not understand her miscomprehension. There are things about this person that I do not like, which is mostly due to her political views and something she said to me about it, but I was trying to ignore all of that. I know how unprofessional it is to discuss politics at work and tried to change the subject when she brought it up.
Over the years, I have realized how much common sense is lacking at least in the United States. It seems many do not know what common sense is anymore and it is not something that can be taught. I do not understand where it went or if people ever had common sense, to begin with, but it is easy to understand if people could just try! Common sense is simply just a practical judgment concerning everyday matters, or a basic ability to perceive, understand, and judge in a manner that is shared by most people. Sounds easy, right? I think politics has made people lose their ability to think for themselves and have even a smaller amount of common sense!
Are there certain things that you hold onto because you believe strongly in them? Do you find that people that disagree with you will try to change the way you feel? The most important thing that I hold dear is treating people fairly. I do not care about unimportant things, such as the color of someone’s skin, who they love, where a person is from, or anything else that is superficial and does not matter. I think that a person shows their true colors in their treatment of other living human beings! I think that letting go of anger and resentment over things you never had any control over is very important in life because when we hate, it only diminishes the light in our lives. Why let another person have that much hold over you in your life when you cannot change anything that has happened? I have a lot more to say about this, but it will be in another post as this one is getting a little too long.
Thank you for visiting my site today and reading this post. I hope you are enjoying your weekend and doing things that bring you joy! I know there are things in this post that many will disagree with, and that is completely understandable, and your personal right. Regardless of if you agree or disagree with things I have said in this post, I would love to read your comments and I will respond as quickly as possible. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!
I know I said this is “Pick-Me-Up” Thursday, but let’s not think of today as just another Thursday and instead view today as Friday Eve! Seriously, this week has been long enough and Friday eve makes it seem so much better because it has the word “Friday” in it😊! How has this week been for you and how happy are you the weekend is so close😊? Even though the week has felt long, the only terrible day was Monday because of the left over migraine that refused to let me alone!
We have survived the majority of the week and we just have one last day to get through until we are home free and can enjoy the weekend! I feel we could use just a little pick-me-up to help us through the end of this week and I hope you will find the quote I am sharing helpful! I have always felt that music was powerful and magical. Yes, we can listen to the music and enjoy the way it sounds, but it does not take much to feel the music. I do find the way musicians put together the instruments and the lyrics to create something incredible. Many times just listening to a song, you can understand how the writer of the song was feeling and what they were going through in life! Music is what gets me through the long days of work!
Are you someone that enjoys music and if so, what kind of music do you prefer? There have been days I wake up with a song in my head and even some nights there is music playing in my mind! This might sound slightly insane, but I promise it is not that I am hearing voices😊I think music might be part of my soul! I have my favorite songs I listen to when I am feeling down or even when I am extremely happy, but there are millions of amazing songs out there of all genres.
Thank you for visiting my site today! I hope you enjoyed what I have shared and I look forward to reading your comments and learning what kind of music you enjoy the most! I hope you have a wonderful and stress-free day, and your plans for the weekend keep your spirits lifted. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!
Happy Midweek day! I prefer to not use the actual name of the days because it makes it seem like the week is never going to end! Just saying midweek makes me think the week will be ending soon! I think it is mostly due to the weather, but this has felt like an extremely LONG week, and I am looking forward to the weekend more than normal! I do hope your week has been great and you are feeling well!
How do you feel about rainy and chilly days? The past few days have been much chillier than it has been and yesterday was rainy and chilly! I think the rain and cooler temperatures have something to do with the miserable headache I had on Sunday night, into Monday morning. The cooler temperatures are much better than the alternative of insanely HOT weather I dealt with for too many months, but it does cause my muscles to tense, which does increase pain. Do you notice any differences in how you feel when it is rainy and/or chilly? This is the kind of weather that makes my cats want to cuddle much more!
One thing I will say is, I do prefer the temperatures to be cooler instead of too hot. When the temperatures are in the upper 90’s, I feel miserable because that level of heat causes more exhaustion and irritation. It is awful when you are unable to walk from your front door to your car without being drenched, almost like you just got out of the shower, again! When it is cooler, you can add more clothing to warm up. Of course, when it is extremely hot, you cannot take enough off clothing to cool down.
What would your perfect temperature be? In a perfect place, I would view things as not getting warmer than the upper 80’s and then not colder than the 40’s. Maybe people who live with Multiple Sclerosis experience temperatures differently because no two cases are exactly the same. It seems so strange to me that I cannot handle the extreme heat, but a heating pad in the winter helps my leg and back pain tremendously.
Now that we have almost made it through this week and there are fewer days before the weekend returns, I think we could all use a little inspiration! I hope you will find the quote I am sharing with y’all today inspiring, and that it helps you survive the last part of this week! The good news is that the weekend will be here soon, and we do not have much longer. I think the rest of this week is supposed to be cooler, but there should not be any more rain😊!
Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you are having a good week and you are keeping your stress levels as low as possible. I am very interested to read your comments and I promise to respond as quickly as possible. Thankfully, we are always through this week, so we are much closer to the weekend than we were yesterday😊! This is the only way I can get through these weeks as they feel so LONG! Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!
I honestly do not know how I managed to get through Monday because I started having this massive and miserable migraine on Sunday night, which never let up until late yesterday. Even though it did let up some last night, it was still extremely uncomfortable. I was not even able to do my normal “Motivational Monday” post because I could not think or see clearly. I hope your week started better than mine did. Somehow, I managed to work a full day yesterday. Mondays are typically busy, but thankfully, it was a pretty slow and easy day! If it had been busy, I highly doubt I would have made it through the entire day.
We all did make it through the first day of the week, which I know most of us dread. I do hope today will be another easy day, but I do not think I am that lucky of a person! Regardless, we all need something that offers us a sense of peace and calmness. I hope the quote I am sharing today provides you with a calm and peaceful feeling because even though we made it through Monday, we do have a few days of the week left. I am the type of person that tries to avoid confrontation as much as possible and would prefer to walk away from disagreements. I think arguments and or disagreements cause us too much unnecessary stress and I know what it can do to the body. Stress is the “silent” killer and makes my illness (Multiple Sclerosis) much worst!
Considering I was unable to do a post yesterday, I was not able to say that I hope you had a nice weekend! Did you do anything exciting? I did not do anything too exciting and Sunday was an evil migraine day. One of the most amazing things that happened on Sunday was our cat that NEVER gets up on the bed, did get on the bed and snuggled with me. I think she was trying to help my headache with her gentle purr. This is a picture of our cat, Willow on the day I was out of work sick with pain. She remained on my lap most of the day in a similar position! She is a sweet and precious little girl with a loving heart!
Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you enjoyed what I have shared and you loved the quote as much as I do. I would love to read your comments and I will respond as quickly as I possibly can. I hope you have a nice and calm day, and you remember there is not amount of stress you can experience that is going to fix the situation and it will only make things worst. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!
Fightmsdaily 