lifestyle

Under pressure: the EDS anxiety link

~ Helen White ~ 3 Comments

Hard science has uncovered a mechanism whereby the same collagen abnormalities in EDS that make joints especially flexible seem to affect blood vessels, making those with it prone to accumulation of blood in the veins of the legs, an effect that may lead to exaggerated cardiovascular responses to maintain the output of blood from the heart. This and other foibles, which I feel are versions of the same response, put those of us with this issue under immense pressure and strain, all the time, as our version of "normal" so just imagine how much we then react to any additional triggers, to which we tend to be hypersensitive (I share my about theory about that too...), setting off our nervous system at regular intervals in a way that has nothing inherently to do with mental health...although, no surprise, it can start to manifest as anxiety over time. Joining some dots and celebrating just how much people with hypermobility type EDS deal with as their daily benchmark...plus some practical ways of making it better.

Power time for introverts

~ Helen White ~ 4 Comments

Are you an introvert, a sensitive, have you come to equate this with being alone? Then let me tell you, this is your time...and I have a story to share, from my own introversion, that will explain just why this is about to become the best gift of your life...if you let it.

The Princess and the Pea, that’s me

~ Helen White ~ 1 Comment

When we open our minds to the fact we have access to experiences we can't always explain with logic, we realise we are the early warning system to ourselves. Above all, when we allow ourselves, we just know what we know...with every instinct in our body and soul and this is our gift; albeit it a typically double-edged one...(read on).

Knowing everything…and nothing at all

~ Helen White ~ Leave a comment

A magical thing happens when we get even close to wholeness; we feel an updraft, as it were, lifting us up to a new level of experience and we become the spiral that breaks us out of the tedium of circles. Suddenly, we are viewing things from a more advantageous perspective than before and everything seems clearer, crisper and more vibrant, somehow. Without having to "solve" anything, we make better sense of some of the chaos that once bewildered us and we love ourselves more completely, less conditionally, than ever before. We can tell when we are getting there as we feel the joy build in our heart and the excitement in our gut; life starts to feel appealing again, even with all its difficulties. Its as though nothing has changed yet everything has. Its fascinating how better health almost always comes in this feeling's wake; as soon as we surrender to the not-knowing part of how we got there, since this is not to do with "figuring anything out"...(cont. reading).

Christmas wierdness

~ Helen White ~ 5 Comments

"There are many things I love about christmas and yet, I never understood why I could ALSO feel so alone at times on Christmas Day. It didn’t make sense, but it would happen to me, year after year. I have a loving, fun family and 7 brilliant nieces and nephews, so we are a large … Continue reading Christmas wierdness

Owning your introversion

~ Helen White ~ 1 Comment

Introversion is a topic very close to my own heart, as I've written about before, especially at the end of a year in which I have finally owned my very own version of it, with more than a small sigh of whole-body relief. In fact, its been one of my crowning glories of 2017 to achieve this degree of self-acceptance and, yes, appreciation, understanding and respect, at last; which comes with huge health benefits. Having just realised that I have now spent twelve continuous years being home-based with almost no regular people-contact outside of immediate family members and, prior to the two years in an office that led to that, a further nine years running a small business from home, I am forced to admit that twenty-one years of near solitude marks a defining trait more so than an accident. Yet it is incredibly hard to explain such a preference or, rather, need to others; especially when you can be as sociable and, yes, fun-loving and conversational as the next person on the rare times that you go anywhere. So as I start to visualise a year of "getting out there" somewhat more than I have for a while, in 2018 (on my own terms), I feel it is just as important to extoll the positives of introversion and to help others understand that it is a valid and powerful way to be, not an illness or problem to be solved.

Do what you can, from where you are

~ Helen White ~ Leave a comment

When we focus on doing exactly what we are capable of doing, right here and right now, we let go of the self-torture of "oughts" and "have to"s and we become more compassionate towards everyone else, too. Its the ultimate couldron of creation to act out of what is available to you right here and now...not some projection that has you over-reaching yourself until you topple over. On so many levels, its the ultimate self-loving act.

Don’t be alarmed

~ Helen White ~ 2 Comments

"Stress" has been made like a see-saw in our world (if we choose to engage in its ride...); the more our culture has forced this need to work harder, faster, closer to the edge, the more a desperate need for the drug of adrenalin-fuelled pastimes has risen and become quite the industry for those who benefit from both. When we extricate ourselves from such a lifestyle, we are often left with just one adrenalin source in our lives...and its the need to maintain enough money to keep a roof over our head. No wonder it claims centre stage of our early morning wake-time; the time when we should be spinning and spiraling our greatest desires and aspirations. But is there another way; one that gets us off the see-saw ride? I believe there is, though it may sound way too simple to any naysayers...