1% Thursday: Stop being so disabled.

I know, I know – most people don’t realize how disabled you really are.  And hey, that’s why I spend a lot of time trying to get that message across.

This post is not going to tell you to ignore how disabled you are, or pretend you’re fine, or click your heels together three times and feel better.  Don’t panic.

But I do want to give you one small thing to think about.

We all know that we can make some difference in our lives by changing an attitude, learning a skill, discovering a new tool.

And a part of your disability is simply this: how much time you spend thinking about your disability.

Well, if you never thought about it, you wouldn’t really think of yourself as disabled, would you?  All right, that much is obvious.

You can’t avoid thinking about it.  For example, symptoms are pretty – well, they force you to think about them.  No, that headache is not all in your head.  And, as we’ve said before, you’re probably thinking about it other times too.  How can I schedule?  If I have a migraine during that meeting, what’s my backup plan?  Will he understand if I have to cancel?  How can I eat differently?  What if I stay up late – will I regret it?

And so on.

It can’t be avoided, and a lot of the time it shouldn’t be avoided.  Thinking about it can help you overcome challenges, for example.

Now that we’re done with all the disclaimers, are there times when you’re thinking about it – when you shouldn’t be?  Are you constantly worrying about things you can’t change?  Have you gone from hiding your challenges to bringing them up a little too often?

This week, think about something else – just a little more.  Think about someone else.  Think about a hobby.  A dream.  Have fun.  Do something challenging.

In other words, demand that your brain not be controlled 100% of the time by your symptoms.  Demand that it stretch itself, just a little, beyond disability.  Take back just a few minutes of this week from the migraine/headache/cluster monster.

It’s time to fight back.

What is 1% Thursday?

Every Thursday at Headache and Migraine News (weather permitting) we’ll talk about one measurable, practical thing we can do to make our lives just 1% better.  Usually it will be something very easy, sometimes it will be a challenge.  Let us know if you try it, or share an idea of your own – and maybe a year from now we’ll see that things have really changed for the better!