FEAR, has got me in its gnarly teeth! But, I’ve been trying my best to wiggle myself out of its clutches. Shockingly, at least to me, I recognized I wasn’t going to be able to handle this monster on my own.
I’m no idiot, and I sure as hell don’t have time to piss around with an invisible intruder in my mind, so, when I reached my “I think I’m gonna need some help” conclusion, it took but a hot minute to make the call to a therapist. Something I’ve NEVER done before.
In the latest episode of The MS Gym Podcast, I lay it all out on the table…
Where I’ve been the last few months, what I’ve had to endure, and how I’m finding my way out of the deep dark pond of fear I was dipping my toes in. Here are the episode notes:
-Flu, shingles and a trigeminal neuralgia (TN) attack
-How pain can make your life very small
-Surgery, surgery and more surgery over the years
-My next move
-Weighing options
-My choice to have gamma knife (radiation) treatment
-The patience required for recovery
-The disappointment of attacks after surgery
-Being offered pain meds as a stopgap
-Waiting for the healing to happen
-A long history of medical mishaps
-A stroke at age 35
-An unexpected autoimmune clotting disorder
-Finally, an MS diagnosis
-A pile of failed MS drugs
-Suck it up buttercup mentality
-Constantly revisiting painful medical trauma
-Getting stuck in a loop
-Reliving past traumas
-The difference in past trauma and trauma now
-The unpredictability of TN
-The fear that led me to counseling
-Having your fear validated
-Simple tools to reprogram your thoughts
-Shutting down the stigma
-Seeking counseling does not mean you’re weak. It means you’re wise.
Here’s the link to the episode, titled, WHY SEEKING COUNSELING IS WISE, NOT WEAK: My Struggle with Trigeminal Neuralgia & Fear.
Also available on Spotify, Stitcher & Podbean.
If you have a minute, take a listen.❤️
Photo Credit: Amy Hedges Photography