The Difficulty of Taking Care of Self
One of the hardest things I’ve had to deal with living with a chronic illness is taking care of myself and making sure I get what I need. Like some other people I’ve met I tend to put the needs of others before myself. Unfortunately when I do that I end up with a flare-up with my fibromyalgia resulting in the inability to take care of myself or do for others.
It’s a reality I deal with and this week I tried to take care of business before going off to SOBCon, a conference featuring bloggers from all over the U.S. I thought I was taking care of myself but the truth was I wasn’t listening to my body when it started aching more, I just pushed harder. The result was a flare-up of the fibromyalgia that I was unprepared for and I had to cancel going to Chicago for the event.Â
It was a hard decision to make and while I feel a bit better today, flying to Chicago would have been difficult at best and my worry was that I would have spent Saturday in bed rather than down at the conference listening to all the wonderful speakers (although I could have done like Ellen DeGeneres did last week and have my bed down in the conference room 
).   It wasn’t easy to accept not going to Chicago. I hate when I can’t do something I had planned. The reality in life is that we don’t always get to do what we had planned, chronic illness or not.
One of the ways I do take care of myself is through meditation and connecting with my inner voice. I meditated a couple of times asking if it was best for me to go to the conference or not. The answer that came was that there will be another conference, another trip to make.Â
So, to Liz at Successful Blog, Ben at the Instigator Blog, Wendy at eMoms at Home, Phil at Make It Great and Adam at Monk at Work, I look forward to conversing with you through our blogs, email and phone chats and hopefully meeting you all at future conferences.
To those who read my blogs, this one and Confessions of an Infomaniac,  sometimes the fibromyalgia interferes with blogging on a regular schedule. I blog when I can. This blog is actually being written from bed where other posts have been written from before. A laptop computer and wireless Internet helps me to blog from anywhere in my home. I do love modern technology!Â
I am home this weekend taking care of myself with rest, good food and whatever stretching and exercise my body can take and I’d love to hear from others how they take care of themselves, especially during times of adversity or stress. Do you tend to put other people’s needs before your own? Do you follow a specific diet or exercise program, reach out to friends or meditate or look for spiritual guidance?
Ellen – sorry you couldn’t make it to Chicago, but I’m glad you’re taking care of yourself.
For me, I try to unplug completely when I need the break, and just enjoy the little things: hot coffee, a warm blanket, and a good book.
See you soon, and definitely will be sharing with you around the blogosphere!
Thanks Phil. I made the right decision by not going but I really missed meeting everyone. I did come across another blogging conference in Chicago at the end of July called Blogher. I can use my airline ticket with no penalty. Things fall into place without me having to sweat over it.
My book reading is done by the pool and in a few short weeks the pool will be open!
Catch you around the blogosphere
Blogher should be awesome. Please hug Jory desJardins for me. She’s wonderful and VERY inspiring!
Perhaps you can come to Fargo for the Bigger Small Talk Conference at the end of June?
Enjoy the pool!
Blogher does sound great and it’s right on Lake Michagan and all. It’ll be a little warm in July but we get that kind of heat hear in MA. As long as it doesn’t snow
Maybe I can do Fargo another time… So many blog conferences, so little time…
I understand the reasons, Ellen — but you were missed.
I searched the faces of the bunch, and didn’t see yours. I guessed that something like this had come up.
I doubt I’ll be at BlogHer (hmm, wonder why?
), but maybe another will come along, if not SOBCon 08!
Thanks for searching for me Adam. It’s the first time I’ve had to cancel a trip because of my fibromyalgia and that was tough. The good news is I am feeling much better and taking things a day at a time.
You can still go to BlogHer. They say about 20% of the attendees are male. You would definitely stand out there
I’m sure we will meet someday.