Day: June 1, 2011

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Guest Post by Richard

Chronic pain

Image via Wikipedia

Guest Post by Richard, who was kind enough to send me his recap on last night’s Self-Care Workshop:

Salient points:

  1.        We are not special by our pain, we are special by who we are.
  2.        I use what I have (am).
  3.        The natural laws stay constant. There are small differences between each person. The divisions are flat.
  4.        Benefit of medical evaluation first to rule out physical causes, then look at outside of medical.
  5.        We inflict the pain not the biology.
  6.        We are in the present, trying to reach goals that will never be completely reached.
  7.        The agenda within, (such as your job.)
  8.        Unwrap and fight for your freedom, illustrated by our national history.
  9.        Stigma is biological.
  10.       Guilt is not always a choice.
  11.       Relinquish opinions of others. Cannot  change how others consider or view us as related to those who knew who we were at a different point in “our story.”  …I guess stigma is in the eye of the beholder?
  12.       The initiation of self-care is a difficult first step.

Question: how do you get loved ones to take the first step or do you?

-Richard

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The Growing Process Shifts From Shame and Fear to Friendship

Hello Friends.  Tonight ends our pilot run of the self-care workshop series.  Whoop!  Thank you for your support.  Very much.  The growing process, when in the company that we have here, shifts the experience form one of fear and shame to one of …well this:  friendship, with you and with our own selves.

One of our participants was kind enough to send me his recap,

Some of the points that were most important to me were:

  1. Going toward our temperament/the languages we use,
  2. Invest in your bank,
  3. Going against your intuition,
  4. The energy balance as illustrated by the triangle diagram,
  5. It doesn’t always feel good to perform self-care.
  6. categories in the bio…model and how they interrelate, i.e. biopsychosocial model.  (Smile.)

Pretty good! Huh?

This was written after our second week.  After tonight, we can add,

  1. Accountability for our flawed self doesn’t mean blame or fault.
  2. Our flaws become part of our opportunity for growth and personal presence.
  3. Self-awareness is a tool for,
  1. Understanding our agendas,
  2. Bettering our sense of presence,
  3. Freedom that is ours independent of our effort, morals, or any human quality
  4. A freedom that we want to fight for with everything we’ve got to preserve.  I.e., a freedom we can lose.
  • Using the biospychosocial model as a tool for,
    1. Understanding where our emotions and behaviors are coming from
    2. Understanding where emotions and behaviors of others are coming from – such as STIGMA

    I wish I had another summary from one of our participants rather than my own.  I can make this so much more complicated than it is!  I am learning.  I am flawed.  I am accountable.  I am not blamed.  I am in the company of friends, including myself!  Whoop!

    If I get another summary though from “someone,” I’ll pass it on for your perusal and comments.

    Again, thank you and until tomorrow…!  Keep on.

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