Sorry for ridiculous delay posting comment. It has been out of control around here. I’m split too many ways trying to do too much at once.

Yes, I know we share a middle name. Hopefully, we’ll be able to modify the names soon.

Since you posted this comment here, you did do an II Week post (which I commented on). I’m sorry it was hard to get done during that week. (I know that feeling).

YOU ARE DOING A LOT AT ONCE AND IT MAKES SENSE YOU’RE FEELING OVERWHELMED!

I’m sorry it’s so challenging. I am thinking of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sending positive energy your way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jeanne

Yes, that is the plan. I truly do want to chill out this weekend because my body has been asking for it. Thank you for your kind words and I’m glad you are enjoying the new blog. It’s hard to believe I launched it all the way back on June 1st! It still feels “new” to me too. (At least on some level)…

I don’t think any of us feel we deal with being overwhelmed as well as we should. I think we all wish we could do more on this concept but that this can be easier said than done in this hectic world. I like your ideas! I used to go for massage therapy years ago and just loved it. Then I started acupuncture. The problem was that I couldn’t afford both. So, I had to make a choice. I chose acupuncture over massage therapy almost 9 years ago and I’ve been going ever since. Acupuncture has changed my life immensely (for the better)!!! While I miss massage therapy, I am grateful (so grateful!) for acupuncture. I also like the simple but effective idea of quiet/alone time. Not only is this very helpful but it’s free of cost. Yes, gratitude is amazingly important. Great ideas!!!

Thanks, Allison! I hope you are starting to feel better. REST!

Jeanne

Thank you for your kind words. I can only imagine how exhausted you are! I hope that you will be able to rest and recuperate after all of the excitement and hard work you’ve had. It was my pleasure to help get the word out about II week.

As far as the vulnerability factor, I have found that people are quite often relieved and refreshed to hear others express feelings similar to their own… in this case the whole concept of feeling overwhelmed and determining when to pull back and rest. Thanks for taking the time to stop by during your whirlwind week!

Jeanne

You are sweet! I had a nice, relaxing dinner with my family and we even did some brief star-gazing tonight after dinner. It’s such a beautiful, crisp, clear night! I appreciate your concern. I was online earlier today when I posted this and got caught up (temporarily) on comments moderation but I really wasn’t stressing by that point. I was actually “in the zone” and feeling nicely productive after I got home from seeing my primary care doctor today. I talked to her about last week’s cardiology appointment and basically explained why I want to “fire” my cardiologist. She totally understood and we now have a plan for that. She also came up with a new approach to my problem with the CPAP headgear for my sleep apnea. So, I feel much better now than pretty much any other day this week.

You are too funny. You are so busy… I’m not surprised that Invisible Illness Week swooshed by when you weren’t looking. Look at it this way… you blog about invisible illnesses year-round! So, don’t even stress about it. Yes, we all get busy.

Jeanne

P.S. Yes, I know I still owe you blog comments. I have been struggling with comments moderation on my own blog all week and sometimes I’m too tired for all things “blog” and I just go on twitter instead. I didn’t forget you, though.

This post came very naturally to me as I drove home from my primary care doctor’s office (nearly an hour drive). I was stressing out about all of the things I wanted to get done this week but didn’t. All week long, I have remarked repeatedly to friends and family about how overwhelmed I have been feeling. All day, every day this week… that word just kept popping into my head: overwhelmed.

Last night (around midnight) when I sent out those twitter messages regarding FollowFriday on twitter and how I’m not going to do it anymore, I felt LIBERATED! This post here, What’s Happening to #FollowFriday?, was what helped me finally make peace with what I needed to do… In my case, that meant giving up FollowFriday. (The author of that post himself talked about his intention to just cut way back on it but I have decided to stop doing it and I know from your tweets that you’ve come to the same conclusion.

Anyway, dropping FollowFriday might not sound like a big deal to many people but it had reached the point where I was spending way too much time and energy on it. (My lengthy comments on the issue are on that blog post linked above. Apparently, it’s a hot topic because that post shows it has been retweeted 132 times).

Sometimes letting some of the smaller things go really helps because all of those small things add up. So I was happy to have FollowFriday off my plate for good.

I am sorry you’ve had such a trying week and day. While guilt is very common with chronic illness (and while I know you already know this), I just want to remind you that beating yourself up about things that are not in your control is self-defeating. So, try not to feel guilty because you’ve done nothing wrong. Easier said than done, I know! Again, guilt is quite common for chronically ill patients… especially in our society where anyone who doesn’t “keep up” with everyone around him/her is viewed by some as “lacking in ambition”, “anti-social”, or even the dreaded “lazy”.

Obviously, anytime we can’t participate in activities with our loved ones it’s going to hurt (them and us). The fact is, though, that feeling guilty about it doesn’t do anything positive. It just compounds the negative feelings. So try to give yourself a break because it is not your fault you’re sick and the negative/guilt feelings will just stress you out even more which won’t help you feel any better. (It’s such a vicious circle).

Yes, you are lucky that you have a large family that, from what you said, is helpful in these times of need. That’s awesome!

As far as work is concerned, I’m very sorry things are going the way they are. I know you’ve been struggling with them over these issues and it’s disappointing that they are not keeping their word. (It may even be a legal issue but I’m not sure). I don’t know enough about the ADA (Americans with Disabilities) Act to know if they have followed the law or not (what accommodations they are required to make for you) but I feel very badly for you because I know how hard you have tried to get things to work out. I am not a litigious person. At the same time, I know you have bent over backwards to work with your employer and it hardly seems fair for them to treat you this way. I’m so sorry!

If it has been all you could do to get out of bed up until now, I am concerned about what a “battle” with your employer might do to your health. I say this not to upset you in any way but because I am concerned about how this situation could escalate, based on what you’ve told me to date. You may reach a point where you need to make the tough decision of whether your current job is even worth fighting for. I realize may sound like a radical concept and that you are the primary breadwinner. The thing is that if you fight tooth and nail with the company (even if you “win”!) over this job, you could lose so much health-wise that it wouldn’t be worth anything in the end anyway.

YES! It is OK to slow down. Your body is trying to tell you something. I learned the hard way that waiting too long to listen to one’s body can be a very grave error indeed. Hindsight is 20/20. I try to share my experiences with others in the hope that maybe I can prevent someone from making some of the mistakes I did. I didn’t listen to my body soon enough. I am now paying the steep price for that and so is my family. I did the best I could with what I knew at the time. I just wish I had listened to my body better and sooner. Had I done that, I might not be as sick as I am now… I might not have had my career go up in smoke… etc.

Like you worded it, “if you don’t slow down, then there won’t be any of you left to do anything”. That is true. Eventually, you could lose the ability to even force yourself to do certain things (such as go to work). That is what happened to me. I pushed myself so hard for so long that eventually I just kept landing in the hospital because my body was incapable of meeting the demands I was placing on it. I learned the hard way that it’s not worth it. It’s just not worth it. The amount of stress that my family and I have gone through is greater because I pushed too hard. I couldn’t see it at the time the way I can see it plain as day now.

Anyway, I’m not trying to get all serious and heavy on you. I am just concerned and I know you are suffering with lots of pain and struggling with the work situation.

Thank you so much! You are in my thoughts and prayers too and I hope that you figure out the way which works best for you regarding the work part.

Jeanne

How do I deal with being overwhelmed? Not as well as I should! Try a massage or some nice, quiet, alone time if you can. Nothing like reflecting on the things that you are thankful for-there is always something!

Posting about invisible illness – here it’s the end of the week and I hadn’t even thought to do that on my own blog! UGH! I’ve been swamped in revision land while I have a host of my own invisible illnesses also that I could have been posting about. silly me. We all get busy, I guess.
.-= Endochick´s last blog ..The post where things aren’t going well… =-.

However, as the primary bread winner of the family – and the chronically ill one, it’s a difficult path to navigate taking care of myself vs my family.

But, as you have helped me understand, if I don’t slow down, then there won’t be any me left to do anything.

Thanks – and take care of yourself. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

Elizabeth
.-= Elizabeth´s last blog ..30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know =-.