I am a 37 year old female who is an identical twin, an Aunt to Melissa, a surrogate “Aunt Donni” to Tyler, a fitness and exercise enthusiast, a strong and optimistic person searching desperately for a way to deal with severe fibromyalgia, narcolepsy, a difficult case of peroneal tendonitis and related podiatric issues, a beautiful woman recovered from anorexia, a young lady who is triumphing over depression, ocd, bipolar I usually mania , post traumatic stress disorder and dissociative identity disorder. I am someone who loves llamas and groundhogs and says hello and greets each person with a smile not only from my lips but from my eyes. It is the silent chuckle returned or the upturned frown that touches my heart. It’s better medicine than any calcium channel or beta blocker.
Please note my language… I am not a label, I am a strong and optimistic person, a beautiful woman, a young lady who is triumphing despite the odds stacked against her. I am willing to try any healthy and reputable alternative towards meeting my health, financial, emotional, and spiritual goals.
I currently am trying to implement biofeedback into my repertoire of skills box. In September of 2009, I completed an intense 26+ week course of DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) and truly believe I got out of it what I put in and much more. I think I made more progress in these twenty-six weeks than I did in the previous fourteen years combined. For those of you not familiar with it, the program contains four modules – Core Mindfulness, Distress Tolerance, Emotion Regulation, and Interpersonal Effectiveness.
I am coloring mandalas as a way to clear my mind and be totally absorbed in the present. Adjunctive therapy has helped me immensely. I enjoy using hobbies and activities to help me express myself in other medias where sometimes there are no words to express the extreme emotions of pain, pride, and persistence. Also in my toolbox is guided imagery which I have used extremely frequently and benefited from an incredible amount. I had the pleasure of meeting Belleruth Naparstek at Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY for a three day workshop on guided imagery. I have used her CD’s on Stress Relieve, Ease Pain, Ease Grief, Healthful Sleep and many others including the one for fibromyalgia and weight loss.
I am working on an article entitled “So Much More Than a Number”. In each of my magazines, “Shape”, “Self”, “Health”, “Fitness”, etc they have makeovers, columns or entire journeys of people who have transformed themselves. Each starts off with age, height, previous weight, current weight (and for how long), measurements of hips, body fat percentage, aerobic capacity, etc. I am so much more than a number. And while I am extremely proud of my triumph over anorexia, I usually do not even mention the name “eating disorder” nonetheless the type “anorexia” because I introduce myself as someone who is working on the underlying issues like perfectionism, my hatred and intolerance for being late, being extremely self judgmental and now trying to achieve a delicate balance like the scents of flora. It takes time, patience, aspiration, appreciation of small accomplishments and lots of support (both internal and external). With my physical ailments and my mental disorders, life is all about a BALANCING ACT. Neither extreme, not flat or stagnant but with ebbs and flows, peaks and troughs that add character, challenges, and a changing landscape to my surroundings for life. Enjoy, write back and please feel free to take what works and leave the rest. Your opinions, comments, suggestions and “tools” are always welcome.
