This little word has the potential to cause many mental & physical health issues. When I started experiencing severe symptoms of Endometriosis, managing my stress levels was the least of my concerns. I was more worried how I was going to make it through another day
Photography: Ishu Kler Creative
We know the impact stress has on the body; I used to lecture my patients about keeping their stress levels down while they were recovering with positive thinking & blah blah…& it all became blah blah to me because how do you manage stress when you are having the worst pain ever & experiencing a complete lifestyle change?? When you’re in pain & living your worst life, you don’t need that positivity bs in your face. I get it. But within yourself, take that time to think about what you do have in your life & are grateful for It took me years & it’s still a work in progress but I am getting better at managing the daily stresses. I am learning boundaries, to surround myself with people that I wanted to be around, how to say no, & how to take care of myself, which I had never really done Changing my views, my mentality & accepting what my life is how I get through each day. I am a realist so I like to look at the positive & negative. Sometimes I tend to focus on the negative & that’s when I have to take a step back & look at where I am & what I have
I believe your views & perceptions shape your reality. If we think negatively, we become negative. Sometimes it’s hard not to be negative when the symptoms of this disease are taking over your life
Thinking of Endo & what the rest of my life might be like used to overwhelm me because I didn’t see an end in sight. I still don’t see an end in sight but I choose not to focus on that. I focus on the here & now
The mind is such a powerful tool; you can make it believe whatever you want to believe & I am working on making it think that one day I will get better, stronger & healthier not just because I want my mind to believe that but I want that. Look at where you are & how far you come; it can be hard to see all the great qualities you have within you when hard times fall
I thought I was becoming a stronger person but the sudden & horrific death of my dog really affected me mentally and physically. I couldn’t sleep, eat, and became completely unmotivated to do anything
I was putting timelines on how long it had been & how I was still feeling but with the help of Dr. Lorne Brown, I learned to accept this situation & my feelings and know it was ok for me to be sad. So what that it had been a month & I was still crying? He was an important part of my life for almost 12 years I accept that I am sad & it’s ok to be sad; knowing this & saying it to myself has been part of what has allowed me to start healing. The more I denied or tried to conform to how I should be feeling, I caused myself stress We all have different levels & kinds of stress so there will be different ways to manage it but just know there is way, it’s just a matter of finding it My biggest stress reliever was Tyson & he got me through some rough times; second to him I would say is music….how do you relieve your stress? 💛
Roop Bassra, RN
BSc Psychology, BSc Nursing
@endointhe604