Avoiding lupus triggers, especially the ones that are oh-so-tempting when you're stuck at home!
Per Friday's post, you know what activities I tried to focus on, so that I wasn't dwelling on the fact that my rise in symptom activity was keeping me home. While it was vital that I find things to do that were compelling enough to keep my mind occupied, it was equally as important that I NOT do things that would compromise my body. At all costs, I couldn't engage in activities that would exasperate my symptoms. So as much as I wanted to, here's what I didn't allow myself to do:
Clean: When my disease is active, ask me to vacuum a couple rooms of my house, or scrub a bathroom, and you'll see a few swollen digits within a couple of hours. That kind of physical output wreaks havoc on my body when I'm already in a vulnerable state. So during lock down - I just had to look past the crumbs, and settle for less than spotless. Johnny pitched in, of course, but I forced myself to be okay with a little mess.
Rearranging furniture, hanging pictures, mounting drapes, etc.: As you can imagine, we have PLENTY of things to hang and arrange in our new house. But because of my joint pain, I had to invoke a "no tools" policy to ensure that I didn't hammer my joints into oblivion. Hanging a picture here or fussing with some shelves there would have started a series of "must finish" projects that I just had to avoid. This isn't the first time this has happened, so I was prepared. (See my posts about my previous tool box trials and who had to step in to rescue me. Thanks, Kevin!)
Heavy duty organizing: When I start an organizing project, watch out! I usually prefer to remove everything from the space and start from scratch, and I tend to get a little obsessive about the whole thing about an hour in. So while I allowed myself to "sort" a few odds and ends, I pretty much stayed away from large space/project organizing. I even passed on sorting a ton of kids clothes the girls have outgrown. I'm sure there were some pieces that would have been great for Ebay or consignment, but in this case, I just had to choose where to put my energy. I opted to pass everything on to another family member sight unseen - saving valuable time, and my joints.
Now that I'm feeling better, I've been able to ease back into these, and many more activities. But I still have to be careful. In fact, sometimes, I do best when I avoid an undertaking altogether (like organizing), because I just won't be able to help myself. But once I'm 100% percent, you better believe I'm going to tackle my new closets!
Clean: When my disease is active, ask me to vacuum a couple rooms of my house, or scrub a bathroom, and you'll see a few swollen digits within a couple of hours. That kind of physical output wreaks havoc on my body when I'm already in a vulnerable state. So during lock down - I just had to look past the crumbs, and settle for less than spotless. Johnny pitched in, of course, but I forced myself to be okay with a little mess.
Rearranging furniture, hanging pictures, mounting drapes, etc.: As you can imagine, we have PLENTY of things to hang and arrange in our new house. But because of my joint pain, I had to invoke a "no tools" policy to ensure that I didn't hammer my joints into oblivion. Hanging a picture here or fussing with some shelves there would have started a series of "must finish" projects that I just had to avoid. This isn't the first time this has happened, so I was prepared. (See my posts about my previous tool box trials and who had to step in to rescue me. Thanks, Kevin!)
Heavy duty organizing: When I start an organizing project, watch out! I usually prefer to remove everything from the space and start from scratch, and I tend to get a little obsessive about the whole thing about an hour in. So while I allowed myself to "sort" a few odds and ends, I pretty much stayed away from large space/project organizing. I even passed on sorting a ton of kids clothes the girls have outgrown. I'm sure there were some pieces that would have been great for Ebay or consignment, but in this case, I just had to choose where to put my energy. I opted to pass everything on to another family member sight unseen - saving valuable time, and my joints.
Now that I'm feeling better, I've been able to ease back into these, and many more activities. But I still have to be careful. In fact, sometimes, I do best when I avoid an undertaking altogether (like organizing), because I just won't be able to help myself. But once I'm 100% percent, you better believe I'm going to tackle my new closets!
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