My body has waged a full war against me and I don’t know why since I feel like I’ve treated it as the temple it is. Yes, I eat right, drink water all the time to the point that my boss teases me that I drink water more than I eat food, exercise almost everyday and run to the spa to be pampered at the slightest inconvenience. Imagine how betrayed I felt when I fell sick for the first time in my 27 years of existence and was admitted three times in the span of two weeks. Side note, fainting is not as cool as they make it look in the movies.
You may ask who ever thought fainting was cool? Well I did! As a child, fed false information that applying pressure on my temples would make me faint, I spent a considerable amount of time trying to make that happen. But my knees stayed put and my head never swayed. I had been bamboozled. I guess my head decided it was time to pay back for all that unnecessary pressure because guess who’s dealing with migraines that keep hospitalizing her? This chica. At some point, I was taking eleven tablets in a day. ELEVEN. If you know me and even if you don’t, you should know that this was a test to my level of discipline. Yes people, I was the child who would take her medication to her room and throw them under her bed or flush them down the toilet. They once teased me that under my bed looked like a pharmacy. Now faced with no choice but to take them to feel better, I had to face my second worst enemy. The first; doctors and hospitals; which have become my most frequently visited place.
While the triggers of my migraines are yet to be discovered, I’m learning to listen to my body more. I’ve had to start a migraine journal and document events that led to that day’s migraine and it only puzzles me further as there is no common factor. Sometimes I sit too long and stand up and get a warning sign in my head. I’ve gotten a warning sign while I was in a moving vehicle and wound down the window to a gush of breeze. I get warning signs when I bend my head. Sometimes when my heart rate gets high, I get a warning sign. I might be mid step walking and get a warning sign. Even just sitting minding my business and gbam, the throbbing knocks on my right temple *Sigh*
So I’ve gotten in a habit of engaging my body in a conversation “What do you want?” “do you want us to stop?” “Is that pace too much for you?” etc. I’m learning to readjust my routines especially my workout routines to know what works for my body and what doesn’t. By the way, did you know that chocolate is a trigger for some people? I told my sister who’s a sweet tooth this and her response was
Stop this devil talk
LOL. Anyways, I’m also paying attention to what I’m eating and the products I’m using. Because I am a woman, the three neurologists I’ve seen have also pointed out that my hormones could be a factor, so there’s that. Listen, I gotta ask, is anyone else’s body revolting against them as they get older? No, just me?
Okay then.
However, after being down for over three weeks, I decided that I was going to take back my life from this migraine brouhaha. So this one day I had just finished yoga when my head decided to be unfortunate and come down with a migraine, on a day when I had my beauty appointments scheduled in preparations for my 28th birthday. Yes, I am also this extra and vain. I took my drugs and temporarily passed out on my yoga mat; not that I fainted. No, my body got so heavy and I was really weak and couldn’t move so I just laid there waiting for the drugs to kick in and the pain to stop. I said to myself “Not today. I have my full body wax and scrub planned and my eyelash appointment”. You’re probably wondering who thinks about their appearance at a time like that. Sigh. I just didn’t want to let the migraine win and give me another bad day. I decided I was going to have a full day of pampering regardless of whatever was going on on the right side of my head and I did. And guess who’s skin is glowing and popping? You guessed right.
Y’all, that is how I came about my theme for 28. Intentionality. If life isn’t about what happens to you but how you choose to respond to it then I am going to be intentional about my responses this year. So 28 in 10 days, pretty excited!!!
