That time I got stuck.
Seriously stuck. I’ve been stuck before, it’s so scary when I get stuck. I was enjoying a great weekend. We were over on the Maryland Eastern shore for an Art event that my husband had going on in Berlin, MD recently. We had a great time, it was awesome. We met so many nice people. It’s so great to see him in his artist element. Spending time talking about our dreams of one day living near the beach, and just feeling relaxed and connected.
We made it a family trip, we found a last minute place to stay in Rehoboth Beach. You know when you’re at the beach for two nights and you have children, you sometimes want to cram in all that you can. We are a family that really loves the beach. We attended the art event, we were able to attend the Rehoboth Veg Fest, we walked in the sand and get our feet wet by the ocean. Time in the arcade is a must when at the beach with the boys, and my little guy got some time at the pool. The boys went fishing, we touched on a little bit of everything.
It was great times! Ok, so what’s all this stuck stuff that I’m talking about you ask? Well, here we go. Sunday morning around 3:00am I woke up to an intense, strange, almost electric type vibration feel in my neck. It was uncomfortable, it was painful, it was restrictive and it was scary. I quickly knew what was happening. I was getting stuck again. I’ve been stuck before so I knew the pain. There I was, I had a difficult time getting out of the bed. I got up and went into fix it fast mode. I did some stretches on the floor, I did some deep breathing, I took a hot bath. I was still stuck, and it hurt.
I was trying to keep the muscles surrounding the area as relaxed and unengaged as possible. I couldn’t believe this!!! I’m not suppose to get stuck any more. I’m healthier, I’m more aware, I’m more preventative, I’m a health coach. I shouldn’t be getting stuck. Well, well, guess what? It doesn’t matter what or who you are, you can get stuck too. Here’s the thing, what matters is what you do after you get stuck.
My first reaction was one of fear. Oh no, is this my Lupus? Is this the stenosis in my spine that they said I have? It the the herniated or bulging disc in my spine they said I have? Will I stay stuck? How am I suppose to function like this? What did I do to trigger this? How long will this last. Then came in the “okay Lydia, you got this” voice. Breathe. What do you tell people to do, breathe.” So I started my deep breathing. I kept it going. I used whatever movements and stretches I’ve learned over the years from physical therapy.
My family woke up, and my kids were very concerned about why I looked so stiff. Think tin-man with no oil. Seriously. I needed to get to the land of OZ. The thing was, we were on our way back home from the beach. We had to check out of the hotel room by 11:00am. Yikes! It sucked because I wasn’t able to help the family carry anything out. I wanted an immediate fix. I needed to be better like yesterday. Do you know how much pressure and anxiety that mindset can bring? Yep, I had to snap out of that ASAP. An inner calm would wave over me, guiding me to relax and come up with a plan.
I started to research natural anti-inflammatory products on the internet, started looking up reviews. I found a homeopathic topical cream that had great reviews. I looked up where it was sold and that was our first stop after check-out.
I tried it, and tried it again. I found that it did help. I also took a OTC pain reliever. I figured, the more pain I was in, the more the surrounding muscles would be triggered. I wanted to minimize any complications. I also increased my turmeric tea. After a good night sleep and the additional hot showers, I was starting to feel the turn around. I called my Physical therapist the next day, he is amazing. He works his magic with me. He knows exactly how to manipulate my body to get things un-stuck and back into alignment. So grateful for him! I’m a big advocate for physical therapy, especially if you have the right therapist. Others may go to a chiropractor, I haven’t been to one yet.
The point is, don’t freak out!! Use your resources, use your natural ability to help yourself even if you take something OTC or prescribed. It really is a holistic approach that is most helpful with healing. Just taking a medication and sitting waiting to get better wasn’t going to get me un-stuck.
You have to learn how to help yourself get unstuck. This is where patience, deep breathing, positive and hopeful mindset are so important. This is where going to see your physical therapist can be helpful. This is where you avoid saying, I’ll just deal with it. As in, I’ll just do nothing but stay in pain. I have too many things to do, sitting and staying in pain does not work for me, if there is anything within my power that I can do to help the situation. I’m so over that time in my life.
There are many times in live when we will feel stuck or may actually be physically stuck in a painful position. Our mindset is critical to getting un-stuck. The way in which we breath matters, the way in which we talk about our healing matters, the way in which we move matters. The body is very resilient! I believe that we have the ability to help ourselves heal. Love your body through it’s pain. Give it the TLC it needs. Allow it time and space to heal. Advocate for it, talk to it and about it in a loving way.
Your body really is the only place you have to live! Be patient with it, be kind to it, love it up.
Get unstuck,
Lydia
The freedom. This is from the Maryland Eastern Shore. Not sure if I took this pic, or our son Jayce.