Looking Good is Feeling Good

Blogtember 5th
"Pass on some useful advice or information you learned and always remembered."

When I was a little girl, I would get sick like little kids do. A cold, or the flu, or “swollen throat, “ or strep, or a stomach bug or whatever. My mom would nurse me to health, allowing me to stay in my pajamas while resting in bed. She would bring me apple juice or ginger ale and crackers (my choice).  After a few days, she would give me a bath, put my hair in pigtails, and dress me in something nice. She told me “when you feel sick, cleaning yourself up and dressing nice will make you start to feel better.”

Fast forward to the person I am today; a chronic pain sufferer and a snazzy dresser.

The two go hand in hand in my world.

There really is some truth to the advice.

I suppose I could shuffle around in yoga pants and a t-shirt because I am in pain and those clothes appear to be “comfortable.”  But I’ll tell you what, when you have bone pressing on your nerves, bone rubbing on bone, muscles being so tense they feel like rocks and pain is shooting through your body like bolts of lightning dipped in acid, YOGA PANTS WON’T HELP YOU. They will just remind you that you could not manage to put on a nice dress or a pair of jeans and a cute blouse because you have the hurts.

My thing is, If all that pain is going on and you catch yourself in the mirror and you are wearing a lovely outfit, the pain will still be there but you will feel a little bit better about yourself because you look good. You will think, “Well, it feels like I am carrying an elephant on my head and my spine is being crushed but damn, I look good!” And then you will laugh and laughter is the best medicine.

Here I am in some of my favorite forms of medicine from this summer: