Improved Outlook, What Does it For You

Just wanted to share the fact I am having a super day today. As I have mention a couple of times in threads I was diagnosed with ostroarthritis about 6 years ago in both of my knees. The last few weeks since the first of Sept they have been in flare up and really giving me a hard time.

I am pretty philosophical about them, I know they are going to bother me off and on and I try to be positive telling myself that they will get better in a couple of days or they could be worse. However when they are bothering me for an extended period of time like this past couple of weeks it gets a little depressing.

Today they have definitely improved and are feeling 100% better. That makes me really happy. Which brings me to the whole point of this thread, isn't it amazing how the smallest thing can make such a difference in your outlook.

What does this for you?

oh definitely!! it really is the small things that make the most difference I can't think of any examples right now but I know I've had this experience in the past.

So glad your knees are doing better, Susan!

My back has been in spasm since July 31st, when I held abdominal retractors on a heavy patient (nearly 400 lbs.) for 5 hours straight. I've been in physical therapy since the middle of August, and in just the last week or so, I think we have finally broken the spasm cycle!!! Between my physical therapy exercises, massages and my muscle stimulator, I finally am nearly pain free. It's incredible how bright your world seems when the pain is gone! You never really realize how depressed you've been until it's gone.

I'm right there with you! Let's do a happy dance!!! (Hmmm...probably wouldn't be too good for your knees or my back...)
Let's just have a virtual toast to being pain free!

GREAT POST, TierreO! And I can definitely relate to it. I have some health and pain issues myself, lifelong ones, and I, like you, am "philosophical" about them. When the pain abates, it's wonderful, and it allows me to accomplish things I want to do. When it's a bad day -- or week -- well, I know it won't be that way forever, and that gives me something good to look forward to! On Wednesday morning, I woke up knowing my back was going to be trouble (I have a tipped vertebra that pinches the spinal nerve chronically, but sometimes it's worse -- a lot worse! -- than others) and dang if I didn't clean the whole house anyway (well, who else was gonna do it? And with nine cats and one human, it NEEDS it!) which probably didn't help. No workouts since then, and I've been taking it very easy, which enabled me to go see my dad today...a GOOD thing! and because I've been taking it easy, the back is easing up some. A friend has "the knees", too; and various other friends have various pain issues. Yeah, we may think we're machines, but we're not -- we're flesh and blood! -- so it's nice also to share our stories and know we're not alone.

What does it for me, you ask? MY BELOVED CATS, of course!

I know what you mean. I don't have any serious "physical" problems, but I have had a lot of problems with anxiety.

I read a book not long ago where the author pointed out how important it was to enjoy the present moment and be aware not only of our problems, but of things that are going well. For example, if you don't have a toothache at the moment, enjoy the non-toothache.

For me it is anything good in general. Like coming home and my husband has cooked dinner, or when Layla snuggles up to me, when I get a good work out in, when I have a good time with some friends, a good movie, a good meal, something nice and unexpected, a good grade, a compliment, there are lots of things that do it for me. I'm about to take a long bubble bath and I hope it does it for me too!

My big one for the year is having my eyesight! Some of you may remember that this summer I had very blurry vision in one eye. I went through some neurological testing and it all came back good. I spent days at the eye doctors it seemed. After about 3 weeks I could see mostly normal and now I'm back to normal!

I'm a contact wearer (though a lot less lately because of all of that) so sometimes it seems normal for my vision to blur for a second if my contact shifts or if I have sleepy eyes. And believe me, I am now 100% aware of it when it happens and I have to calm myself down and remind myself, I'm healed!

Going through the testing they had me under (for things that could have, but did not cause my vision change) really was an experience. It really helped me understand better what people facing serious medical conditions are going through. And it really made me appreciate my life. To just look across the living room and see my husband clearly (whether through glasses or contacts!) is just more wonderful than words can say. While I didn't have that vision it hurt to look at things too long. I couldn't look at my own husband! I can't imagine not being able to see his face ever again or to have a medical condition change all our hopes and dreams. I'm just so thankful that my vision was restored. That I do not have a serious medical condition. That I have my husband to hope and dream with.

Lately for me its waking up and finding Luna curled up sharing my pillow. For some reason I sleep better.

I don't suffer from physical ailments and my anxiety is calm at the moment (no panic attacks -YET), but I am appreciating the present and know that I'm living in an area where I won't be up against 500+ people for one job.