Celebrating the Victories, While Overcoming the Challenges

Day # 27: 5 Challenges. 5 Small Victories. Make a list of the 5 most difficult parts of your health focus. Make another top 5 list for the little, good things (small victories) that keep you going


My health is complex in nature. It's the one thing in my life that never seems to be quiet. I have gone through phases of acceptances, and I can finally say I am OK with the hole gluten-intolerance diagnosis.


The Complex Regional Pain syndrome is another story. Unlike when I was diagnosed with gluten-sensitivity, I have done very little research on CRPS. The Internet can be useful, but then it could be harmful. Everything you read about CRPS is so extreme, and the recovery doesn't have the best outcome (my dad has done some research). I'm not ready to accept that my life may never be absent of pain.


With both conditions there are good days and there are days that are terrible. A few years ago (heck, a few months ago) I use to get so crushed when I had bad day.  The pain in a sense was powering over me. 


I realized, I needed find the strengthen deep within me to say, "regardless of the pain, you need to truly start living." Like the quote from Titanic goes, "Life's a gift, and I don't plan on wasting it" {regardless of if I have a chronic pain condition}"


There are days when the pain does power over me. On those days, I need to allow myself to acknowledge the frustration that I feel, but then celebrate and hold onto those oh so small victories. This is why I love this post so much.


In my classes we are often asked, how we view our counseling theories. One way I like to approach counseling is by taking a strength-based approach, so today I am going to start with my victories. Just as our strength-based approach helps us in areas of difficulty, it is those victories, whether big or small, that help pull us through the challenges.


Five Victories
1.  The first time I was able to determining that all the ingredients on a food label was GF.
2. Being able to adapt a family recipe to be GF/DF 
3. Running for a full 6 minutes on the treadmill 
4. Completing my workout during the most painful moments of my flare up
5.Being able to navigate through life; no longer afraid, and ready to conquer all life's obstacles and joys, while on a strict gluten-free diet


Five Challenges 
1. Dealing with the occasional glutenizing incidents 
2. Having some days where I just don't feel good 
3. Missing out on "traditional" college activities because of pain 
4.Working through the oh so painful flair ups
5. Dealing with people's lack of understanding


 So what gets me through the challenges? 
1. Holding onto the victories 
2.The support of my family and friends 
3. The gluten-free community 
4.Writing
5. Working towards goals 


Side note: I reached  my birthday goal of hitting 300 fans on Embrace G-free's facebook page. Thanks for all the support, and please continue to spread the word about Embrace G-free!