When someone believes in you: What does that do for you?
Helps you believe in yourself
Fosters confidence building
Builds self-respect
Offers you hope
Spurs you to seek out opportunities of self-fulfillment
Gives you energy
Maybe you feel different, angry, nervous, or insecure. Can you imagine what someone's belief in you would do for you? Wow! It could be life-changing.
But also, dig deep to find belief in yourself.
You have to believe in yourself in order for your dreams to come true and your life to be fulfilling.
Nobody can give that to you. They can believe in you, but if that belief doesn't transfer to you, it won't do you any good.
And you need to be ready to receive that belief and run with it and use it for good.
Do you have someone in your life who believes in you? What has that done for your confidence, your self-respect, your productivity?
Who has believed in you? A teacher, a parent, a spouse? Maybe a friend, a member of the clergy, a boss? Could be a doctor, nurse, therapist, a coach. Who was it in your case? I'd love to hear about them.
Hey there! I'm back after taking Fourth of July week off from vlogging. Hope everyone celebrating it had a great time. I've heard lots of people with spina bifida and other chronic health issues say they can't work, don't work because of their health. This is surprising and discouraging. I realize that your ability to work depends on the severity of your health problems, but in many cases, as long as you check with your doctor about what you can and cannot do, you should be able to work at some type of job. Where can you work? Home
I've tutored English as a second language
I had a typing and design business
I wrote articles for Spina Bifida Association of America's magazine
Fitness coach
Life coach
All from home!
Office in town
Temp agency
I spent about two years working at various businesses as a temp employee
In a coffee shop
Take your laptop along and work from there.
In the park
At the library
Take your laptop or Ipad along. Maybe even reserve conference or meeting room there.
At a community center
You can reserve a meeting room there to hold a workshop or other type of work-related event
At the kitchen table
I tutor ESL students at my kitchen table!
On the phone
Telemarketing
Scheduling
Life coaching
Conducting polls and surveys
Customer service
Tech support
What can you do? (Hint: Pretty much anything!)
Writing
Blogging
Billing
Appointment scheduling
Customer service
Making crafts to sell on Etsy
Coaching
Bookkeeping
Conducting surveys
Mystery shopping
Search engine evaluator
Researching
Photo editing
Copy editing
Tutoring
Mentoring
See if your current boss will allow you to telecommute instead of traveling to the office every day.
Virtual assistant
Personal training/fitness coaching
Tech support
Quality control
Social media manager
For more information, contact the following:
Your state's vocational rehab agency for help
Your local job service or check out their website for job leads
LinkedIn
Monster.com
National Telecommuting Institute (www.ntiathome.org/work-at-home-jobs-disabled.shtm
LandaJob.org
My Employment Options (https://www.myemploymentoptions.com
FlexJobs.com: https://www.FlexJobs.com/?sub=1037
Freelancer.com
Hubpages.com/eHow.com
A cautionary note:
Look out for scams: Avoid anything that seems fishy, have your lawyer look over contracts.
Go with your gut when deciding which organizations you want to work for and jobs you want to do
Get references before committing to anything
Be careful when meeting prospective employers, contractors, clients in person. Choose a public place. Bring along a trusted friend or colleague to sit nearby in the park, restaurant or another meeting place of your choice just in case there is trouble and you need help. At least tell someone close to you where you will be meeting this prospective client and when you plan to return.
Are you working? Are you not? What are your thoughts on working/not working with chronic health issues?
Hi! I'm back to bring you the second part of my vlog on imagination. In the first part, I talked about how I have used imagination to relieve stress throughout my life. In today's vlog, I talk about how imagination can help you and how to actually tap into your imagination. Here we go. How can imagination help you? Stress relief: Some stress is good. It challenges you to get things done, meet deadlines, grow/change for good, and so on. But getting too stressed out can be harmful to your health. Stress can cause:
physical symptoms
missed work due to illness
psychological symptoms
relationship issues and more. It can touch all areas of your life.
Using imagination for good: While imagination can cause disease, it also can heal. You may worry yourself sick (literally) about money, tests, surgery, relationships--even about getting sick! How about using it for good instead to:
see the big picture
relieve stress
work out problems/find solutions
practice conversations with doctors, bosses, friends, teachers, family, lawyers, insurance agents--anyone
get relief from the negativity that's bogging you down either in your head or from others
improve your emotional and mental well being
So, how do you do this?
How do you practice imagining to reap the benefits of it?
Ask yourself what imagination would do for you that's positive
Make room for imagination in your life
Use active imagination, which was created by Carl Jung, to connect the conscious and sub-conscious. Examples are dream interpretation, visualization, and daydreaming. You can imagine an army representing the immune system fighting the disease, or enemy. Or you can imagine a meadow of wildflowers or the seashore that is calming. You can also use meditation to bring yourself to a safe place in which to work out problems that cause fear. And how about viewing your health issue as a movie? What do you see? How do you feel? How did you get this health issue? What can you do to ease the symptoms or recover?
Commit to taking action based on what you learned from your imagination
Do more of what you love (sing, exercise, eat your favorite foods, place fresh flowers throughout the house), in order to attract positive energy. This positive energy sharpens your critical thinking and decision-making skills, which you need in order to solve problems and reduce stress.
Keep a lookout for signs, symbols, and synchronicity. For example, when I'm feeling down and I see a cloud in the shape of a feather, I take it as a sign that my guardian angel has my back since the feather is a sign that your guardian angel is nearby.
Make sure to review what you're doing to see what works and what doesn't. Make adjustments as needed.
It is very important to become aware of what you need in order to facilitate change. Go within yourself, using your imagination, to help you find out.
PNI
Robert Ader, a psychologist, and Nicholas Cohen, an immunologist, came up with the term psychoneuroimmunology. What's that all about? Let's take a look:
The idea behind the big name is that the mind can activate specific neurological processes which in turn can stimulate the immune system to suppress illness and improve health. Yay, I love it!
And, as I mentioned earlier, while the mind's reaction to stress can stunt immunity and promote illness, visualization, imagination, and such can stimulate the immune system to better fight disease. Who-hoo!
Okay, here are more ways to tap into this awesome thing called imagination:
relax
get a clear image of your immune system fighting your disease--whatever health issue you're dealing with. This could be an army fighting an enemy, a bunch of big fish representing your immune system devouring a bunch of other fish representing your disease or another stressor, or a stream of light that surrounds you and fills you with healing energy.
Here's the but, and a counter but
All this isn't backed by copious amounts of research, but it can be used safely as a part of your healthcare plan in conjunction with your traditional medical treatments and therapies. It can't hurt you to use your imagination for good. The only way it could hurt you is if you decided to live in your imaginary world and never deal with reality. Try it to ease your mind and stress lwhen you most need it and see how you feel. See if it helps. And, if it does, which has been true in my case, wow! Imagine, with more solid research data, what a wonderful feeling it would be to have your doctor actually prescribe imagination as a potential treatment for what's ailing you!
Hi all! I'm back from vacation. We had a good time in California celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary and visiting a friend. This vlog is a summary of how I used imagination to relieve stress throughout my life, especially during my early years.
I invented an imaginary world in my bedroom from as far back as I can remember where I was healthy, strong, talented, popular, married, a mom, working at a job I loved, and so on.
I worked out problems
Practiced conversations that I would have with doctors, teachers, family members, friends, and job interviewers
I was creative: drawing, painting, singing, dancing, writing for hours on end.
It freed me from the stress, provided an escape, at least temporarily
It helped me build confidence
I did overdo it a bit as I got into my teens, spending as much time as possible in my sanctuary. That probably wasn't as healthy as tempered imagination would have been, but I say it still benefited me and may have saved my life. I was very insecure, lost, depressed throughout my childhood as a result of dealing with my chronic health issues, surgeries, pain, doctor's appointments, therapies, and so on. And I hated using a wheelchair. I felt like it made me stick out rather than giving me freedom and mobility. The imaginary world I created gave me a much-needed break from the stress.
In Part 2, I'll talk about how imagination can ease stress and promote healing as well as how to actually tap into your imagination and use it for good rather than negative means.
Do you use your imagination for stress relief? Or do you use it to worry, imagining the worst? What type of results have you seen?
You take time to make your doctor appointments and go to them
You follow doctor's orders
You put up with surgeries, recovery, therapies
You take your medication
You do what you are supposed to do
You work your life in around your medical stuff/ health maintenance
You ask your family what you can do for them. You do it and they don't seem to appreciate it.
They don't seem to latch onto concepts or tool that you share with them, even though they were open to discussion.
Okay, true, everyone has a right to their own opinion. Not everyone is going to agree with you. They don't have to. I'm talking about hitting a brick wall with them over and over again.
You spend energy and time you really don't have on others.
You have lots to do for your health maintenance, you may not have a lot of energy to spare to do the things you're doing for others, but you do them. You somehow fit it all in. And, they never take notice!
You exhaust yourself by giving yourself and your energy and your time to others yet they don't have time for you.
You do what others want you to do. You go where they want to you to go. Yet, when you want them to do something, you hit that wall, over and over again.
You also try to help but are ignored, dismissed, or even ridiculed, maybe.
Particularly about medical stuff, perhaps. You've got all this experience with chronic health issues, managing your health care, doing what needs to be done, yet when you try to give advice or even are asked for advice on a health matter, you are ignored. Your friend or loved one doesn't listen. They do the exact opposite of what they should, in fact.
Is it worth it? Is it worth it to care if they don't seem to?
Only you can answer that. Only you know you're individual situations. Only you know that particular person you're dealing with.
I have mentioned "The Four Tendencies," by Gretchen Rubin before. The four tendencies are Obliger, Questioner, Rebel, and Upholder. I am an obliger. I have trouble meeting my inner expectations yet I meet outer expectations more easily. I'm a helper, so that's not surprising. But when I help, help, help, oblige, oblige, oblige, and get nowhere, get stonewalled, then I turn into a Rebel. Rebels don't meet either inner or outer expectations. I just stop obliging those who stonewall me in my personal life.
In my work as a coach, I also oblige, gladly. I love helping others. But I also have to be honest with the client who isn't showing up for sessions, isn't involved, isn't trying to help themselves. I have to ask them what's holding them back. I have to ask them if they feel that I'm not the right coach for them. And I have to ask them if maybe they would work better with another coach, or even a counselor or psychologist. It would be irresponsible of me to keep coaching someone who is clearly not getting anything out of the sessions.
So, do you have people in your life who don't listen to you? Do you struggle to oblige them without getting anything in return?
Hello! Happy Monday! I hope you had a great weekend. Jim had four days off but I had to work some of those days, so we didn't go out of town. We had fun on Sunday. We took a drive into the countryside. I'd wanted to do that for awhile. Sunday was the day. We came across free-range cattle, visited a local reservoir, got to stretch our legs a bit, and enjoyed some great scenery. I even tested my new balance skills. Usually, I have to lean against the car or Jim to steady myself to take a photo, but not anymore! Wheee! It was a nice way to clear our heads and relax a bit. Now, onto today's topic: Prescription costs. Do you take medication? Do you take it on a regular basis? Do you have insurance? Is your medication covered by insurance? What if it's not? Then what? Does the pharmacy you use have a discount program to help you out with the cost? Do you go without necessities such as food and heat in order to pay for your medication? Or, do you go without your medication to pay for other necessities? I remember seeing a guy, probably 80 years old, at a pharmacy years ago paying for his prescriptions with his extensive coin collection. I don't think that should have to happen. A healthy society is a productive one. To me, it only makes sense to keep health care costs affordable so people can actually get the help they need to be healthier and more productive. But health care costs are through the roof. Prescription costs are through the roof. It makes no sense.
Here's an example from my own life: About 15 years ago I was diagnosed with rosacea, a skin condition that, if left untreated, could lead to blindness. It took a while to get diagnosed. I noticed that I had a red face, especially in photos, and couldn't figure out why. Finally, I went to the doctor and they tried all sorts of things on me. They thought I had allergies. Well, then I asked for a referral to a dermatologist. It was then that I was diagnosed with rosacea. The gene for rosacea is dormant until something, such as stress, triggers it. It is most often found in northern Europeans. That's me. My mother's family came from Sweden. Okay, so I was diagnosed. Then came the long process of finding a medication that worked to treat it. Metrogel made me break out. Another medication that was in pill form dried me out from head to toe and made me itch. That was out. Finally, after a lot of trial and error, we tried Finacea. It was more naturally based--and worked well. Yay! But, it costs hundreds of dollars out of pocket for each tube. Luckily, one tube lasts me a year. Still, it's a steep price to pay. Insurance pays little or none, and the pharmacy helps out with their discount, but it's still hundred's of dollars per tube. That's crazy! What experiences have you had with prescription and health care costs in general? Are you handling it okay, or do you find yourself stressed out over it? Are you going without other necessities in order to pay for your medications? Here's a link to an article from Harvard Health Publishing, Harvard Medical School with examples of ways you can save on prescription medication. I hope it's helpful to you.
Hi all. I'm sorry I'm late with this post. I got to watching Christmas movies and lost track of time. I'm a kid at heart. In this post, I talk about our weekend away and how the pain in my foot and knee influenced the trip. The message is, take care of yourself first. Cancel trips and other plans if you need to in order to heal. Have you had plans changed or negatively influenced by your health issues? How did you handle it? I'd love for you to share your experiences. Thanks.
