I wanted to let people know that this process can make a difference, or at least I believe it has made a difference for me. Not overnight by any means, and nothing is ever perfect, but I feel much more positive and more capable, even though life continues to have its challenges.
For example, three months ago I was visiting my family out of town and I had a pretty bad injury. I've had to deal with a lot of pain, confusing diagnosis, a lot of doctors, medical bills, messed up work schedule, you can imagine. I am still struggling to get life back on track. I really feared this would all tip me back into some horrible place. (Try planning "nice things" when you can't move!)
But here's the amazing thing. It didn't happen. Sure the pain happened, the frustrations and worry happened, but they're all pretty normal for what I went through. What didn't happen was the spiral out of control.
I don't claim any great insight or talent about why it didn't. I suppose it can stop as randomly as it starts. I certainly had great support from my family, but I also didn't fight the help I got, which obviously helps.
There is definitely a parallel between what we do on this site and physiotherapy. It starts with small movement, just what you can realistically manage, but it can build up significantly if you keep at it, day after day. You keep moving the goalposts, but as you do, you can handle a few more stumbles, regain your balance, and work on a few more moves.
I really am grateful for the help this site provided, and I will keep every lesson I've learned here. But I also wanted to let others know that it's not impossible to get to a place of (better) balance, no matter where you start out.
My best wishes to all
Ava
