LET YOUR MEMORIES BE YOUR GUIDE....

 

     When you live a life with a chronic illness that also fills you with chronic pain there will be days when no amount of pain medication will seem to help because even your skin hurts and you wish that you could live in a nudist colony for the blind. There will be days when the stress of not being able to do even the simplest things for your self ……… like when the electric can opener won’t work and you can’t get that cheap tuna can open with the manual can opener because of your decreased fine motor skills and joint pain in your hands….so you say screw the tuna and go for the peanut butter……..  and then can’t open the jar! You start to wonder if the pissed off gout fairy thinks you are the one who messed with her mornings strawberries and couscous since you end up having to eat puffed wheat {glorified cardboard} and milk…….  for dinner. You can’t focus enough to even follow the rules for “Wheel of Fortune” and sleep……..  well you don’t know it well enough for a relationship…..  more like a one night stand.

     So what do you do? I wish I could say I know the answer to make these problems disappear forever but I don’t.  Although I have found something that helps.  Just let your memories be your guide.  I’m sure most of you have heard of progressive relaxation and guided visual imagery……  I’ve taken mine a little further.  For me I don’t need anyone to guide me through the progression of muscle relaxation and breathing or to guide me through the imagery of my choosing. If you need help with that part you can check out most book stores in the self-help area or have a friend with a smooth steady voice to record the steps of relaxing your muscles from head to toe or toe to head which ever you prefer and to slow and relax your breathing. Pick one of your most pleasant memories and flesh it out with details that you can picture in your mind. Now this is where I go a step further.

     If I want to use some of my memories centered around a river or stream I use everything I have on hand to make this as real as possible.  I’ll have a CD playing sounds of the stream and woodlands {not the ones with music} and use a plug-in air freshener with pine or flower scent {what ever fits the setting and NO candles as you may fall asleep} then a small fan to help move the fragrance and replicate a slight breeze. Now you can even set things up for the beach and with an oscillating fan and a mister and ocean sounds CD make it feel like the ocean spray and breeze…….  of course don’t forget to set up a fragrance too! I have an adjustable bed with a built-in massage {you can also use one of the electric massage mats with adjustable speeds} and can set up night-time on a sail boat.  Use my ocean CD, fan and mist.  Bed set on low massage and I have put glow in the dark stars over my bed {yes with the big and little dipper!} and my bed is a four-poster and has some netting over part of the head of the bed.  All of this with the room darkened really works well to make me feel like I’m on a boat looking up at the stars! There is the thunder storms with tin roof CD and so many others that can really cover all the senses that can step up your relaxation.

     Then all you have to do is walk your way through that most pleasant time by the cool river with the sun just starting to burn off the morning mist….  watch the bugs skim across the edge of the river and the big rainbow trout suddenly breaks the surface and swallows two of the unlucky bugs. Hope he is around later when I’m fishing but now just want to lay back on the smooth flat cool rock beside the river and look up at the beautiful trees……  it’s hard to tell were the trees stop and their reflection in the river begins…..  off in the distance is the rapid tapping of a Hairy Woodpecker and the sweet calls of the Yellow-Rumped Warbler……  the air is crisp with a faint touch of redwoods and cedar……  I know soon some of the sunshine will make its way through the dense trees and it will be time to fish but until then I’ll just close my eyes and listen the birds and river……  and so on!

     OK, if nature isn’t your thing that relaxes you and say some of your best memories are of maxing out the plastic at the mall .  Then by all means record the sounds of your favorite mall, the smells of the food court and the scent of Italian leather shoes works .  Go for it! 

     If you are not able to walk your way through a scenario and don’t know anyone who could record your guided imagery for you, then there are some good ones that you can buy at most book stores or online and can then pull together the other items to cover as many senses as you can. It helps me. It’s not a cure or fix all but it might be worth trying.

     As for me…….  I think I hear my name being whispered on the soft morning air…….  hmm wait….. no….. oh yes it is cedar I smell…… yeah…..  Know where I’m going.  Maybe tomorrow I’ll go to the beach…..  maybe there will be a storm coming in off the ocean.  That can be nice too. I hope you don’t need to try this but try it out for a mini mental vacation and enjoy your self until our paths cross again………. Lila

 

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