Chronic illness is draining.
We had freezing rain yesterday and whoooooooooooooa baby did that suck energy out of my nerves and ramped up the pain.
I used to keep track of the weather… but I stopped. I learned long ago that anything deviating from “balmy” + high humidity = me rolling on the floor in pain.
Cimmy said– either it was yesterday, or today, that the humidity was like 98-99%. And of course the snarky part of me was thinking, “Well, no sheeeet.” But I just simply told her what I just said above. If I’m in pain, oh, I generally know why.
We live in a semi-arid climate, thanks to a rain shadow of the Cascade Mountains. Agriculture does fairly well due to lots of circular irrigation. Heat here is dry. I used to hate it, as it seemed I was always dried out and thirsty. But I don’t tolerate humidity well now. Doesn’t matter where it’s hot and sticky, or freezing and damp. I’m sensitive enough to hurt year ’round.
I was reading 16 Habits Of Highly Sensitive People the other day. It’s an interesting article. Although Amanda Chan calls them “habits”, I’d prefer to say “observations”.
- They feel more deeply.
- They’re more emotionally reactive.
- They’re probably used to hearing, “Don’t take things so personally” and “Why are you so sensitive?”
- They prefer to exercise solo.
- It takes longer for them to make decisions.
- And on that note, they are more upset if they make a “bad” or “wrong” decision.
- They’re extremely detail-oriented.
- Not all highly sensitive people are introverts.
- They work well in team environments.
- They’re more prone to anxiety or depression (but only if they’ve had a lot of past negative experiences).
- That annoying sound is probably significantly more annoying to a highly sensitive person.
- Violent movies are the worst.
- They cry more easily.
- They have above-average manners.
- The effects of criticism are especially amplified in highly sensitive people.
- Cubicles = good. Open-office plans = bad.
Honest, I kept thinking “ugh, ugh, yep, yep, oh ugh, yep, heard that a dozen times without exaggeration”, etc.
I can’t find it anymore, but before I left The Icarus Project website and forums in shame and disgust (as some participants were TOXIC), I saved some text of a post called “Compassion for the sensitive.” I wish I could find it, although she tended to ramble. The general idea was good– it is difficult to be highly sensitive when many people just don’t understand that.
It’s very frustrating to be sensitive in today’s modern Western society, I think. I am introverted– although it’s only been recently that people have begun to explain that introversion and extroversion simply refers to whether you recharge your energy being alone (which I do) or being around people. I was painfully shy growing up, though. But Western definitions of shy and such are so restrictive. You’ve got to be a shrinking violet to be shy. Put out protective thorns and people just deem you an asshole. Fine, I say, to all those who think that. Next time they say, “Don’t take it so personally,” I’m going to say, “Hey, how’s that mouthwash enema workin’ out for ya? Not too well, I’d say, because your shit still STINKS!”
Pardon, dear readers. I wasn’t too happy about being told that the last time… by a WordPress blogger, no less. You win some, you lose some, I suppose. I am glad that for the most part, people here are pretty supportive.
Oh-ho-ho-ho, whattya know, Zemanta is telling me lots and lots of WordPress bloggers have referenced this article. Yeah, I’ll link up to a lot of them.
Once last thing– it was a real treat to be followed by Chris Donner the other day, because checking out her blog, 61 Musings, was a pleasant surprise. The “Club Introvert” page really caught my eye. Why yes, introverted bloggers need a space, too… seriously, trying to keep up with some of you more extroverted bloggers is positively exhausting! No, I don’t want 85-500+ comments, but, well… sigh sometimes I get the impression so few really care at all what I have to say. 10 years of 4-5 comments at best… I’m totally serious.
Well, that was a sucky note to end on. Hence the title, though. I wish this blog post was fabulous.
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the tao of jaklumen 
March 4, 2014 at 14:03
Sounds like fibromyalgia. People with fibro have a rough time of it.
Also, cubicles suck. If it doesn’t have a lockable door and at least one window, it sucks.
I volunteered for awhile in the local BLM office, which had been recently rebuilt into cubicles with bad fluorescents and only a few people had private offices with their own windows. I had no idea how anybody got anything done, with all that chattering distraction. And to think they actually had something different and spent a bunch of money to build this monstrosity?
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March 4, 2014 at 17:50
It’s sciatica, actually, but one of the meds I take is for nerve pain and is very often marketed to people with fibromyalgia (Lyrica).
The tonic spasms I experience were documented in multiple sclerosis (MS) research and my father told me about it, although he doesn’t have fibromyalgia or MS either. He deals with transverse myelitis (TM) and mononeuritis multiplex (his immune system began attacking his nerves).
But I do correspond with a lot of bloggers that have fibromyalgia, so yeah, I can understand how you make the connection. It’s nice to be able to keep in touch with people that truly empathize.
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March 4, 2014 at 17:57
Fibro is just so weather-sensitive. I didn’t know sciatica was. That stuff is nasty, too.
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March 4, 2014 at 17:59
It’s more than just a pain in the butt, as the saying goes.
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March 4, 2014 at 17:54
I was very fortunate the last time I volunteered in an office– it was for city hall and was in a fairly quiet space downstairs. My desk was in an open space in the Public Information Office– I often had to grab someone else when a citizen came in with questions. It was literally the front desk, really. The space also lacked for sunshine, but, everyone I worked with was really, really cool. One of the women I worked for I still have a very friendly professional relationship with. I would say she is a good friend, too, to both my wife and I… Cimmy used to be her newspaper carrier after she got remarried, and her husband was a really sweet guy, too, and would come out to talk to us sometimes.
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March 4, 2014 at 15:14
Reblogged this on dliwcanis.
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