Today, I woke up and felt incredibly anxious or ‘skitty’ as I call it! Primarily, I was in pain and tired and didn’t want to go to my powerlifting session but I was conflicted. I don’t like to let people down by saying no but on the other hand I knew I needed to rest.
Powerlifting
Twice a week, I go to a Women’s Only Strength Training Gym called Darkside Lincoln.
I started at this gym not long after my little boy, Charlie, was born. It is a fantastic postnatal project that I can take my little boy to and they have a play area for children with toys, games, books and DVDS. Above all, It is also a chance for me to meet other mums and to get together with people who have similar conditions to me; be that anxiety, depression or any other condition. They teach you how to powerlift including deadlift, bench press, overhead press and squats. Each week, I see myself developing more and more not only physically but mentally too.
Impact on Fibromyalgia
Some may ask whether powerlifting doesn’t exacerbate my fibromyalgia symptoms more but, if anything, it actually supports it. It helps to strengthen my body and there is a lot of scientific research out there that suggests resistance training is great for those with fibromyalgia. Now, I am not here to tell you to do strength training if you have fibromyalgia as I am in no way qualified to tell you that, but this chronic illness blog is here to tell you things I do that helps me be a fibro warrior.
Saying No
I have had to learn the hard way that it is important saying no and listening to when my body needs a rest. However, I am not good at this at all. So I was in major deliberation mode this morning. Do I go? Shall I stay home? Will it make my symptoms worse? How tired will I feel? Will it make me not able to go to a party this afternoon? Will it help? Will it make me less tired? and so the tide of anxious thoughts went on.
Eventually, I sat by myself for a few minutes and thought no, I had a busy day yesterday, I worked hard at the gym on Friday, I am in pain, I am tired, I have a party to attend with my family this afternoon and I need a break. I have to learn to conserve my energy by saying no!
This my friends is the reality of having a chronic illness. This is the day to do decisions of being chronically ill. Learning to say no gives me back the control over my chronic illness and makes me a better fibro warrior!
The impact of saying no
Now that isn’t to say I haven’t been exhausted today or in pain but it means I managed to conserve energy to spend with my family this afternoon. It helped me when dealing with a night time owl who didn’t want to go to sleep! It helped me to have energy to mix with other people and make friends. It helped me to calm my body down and manage before a flare hit.
Mummy the Fibro Warrior Top Tip:
- Learn to say no to protect your energy, your body and your pain levels.
If there is one takeaway I would like you all to remember today is that learning to say no is not a weakness. It is a sign of strength. It is a sign of braveness. It is being a Fibro Warrior. I need you to know you are doing the best that you can, your child/children love you just as you are and you are Mummy the Fibro Warrior.
*p.s. Why not pamper yourself some more with a Hug In a Box from Amazon! If you click on my link, at no cost to you, I do earn a small commission.
Until next time,
x
p.s. Do you find it difficult to say no? How do you protect your energy? What do you wish you could say no to more often? What impact would this have on your condition? Are there any other powerlifters out there? I would love to hear from you in the comments below!
