Greetings my wonderful friends!!
It is so wonderful to come back here and see that so many people are continuing to follow my page and my journey to being Happy and Healthy.
I have to admit that it has been a very long several weeks and I am struggling more than usual with my Fibromyalgia. As I look over the past several posts I made, I can see that I have been struggling for longer than I originally thought. In light of my increasing frequency and severity of migraines in addition to constant Fibro flairs, I had a conference with several of my most trusted friends and family members about my job and how I felt that it was integral to my steady decline in health.
A common theme among Fibro Fighters is how they find that it is very hard to function in the work world largely due to the pain and constant fatigue caused by the disease. Now I am huge proponent of having a job for two reasons - first, it gives a sense of purpose and that can be hugely bolstering when you feel that you have little or no control in your life and second, it builds a consistency for you and that consistency can help significantly in learning to pace yourself while dealing with the pain. The key to being happy with your job is to have a job doing something you love; something that makes you truly happy.
I love accounting and I am good at it which for some time now has been the only reason that I have continued at my job despite being less and less civil with the owner of the company. Accounting makes me happy but I realized that I truly dreaded going to work and that once I got there I would almost instantly feel aggressive, agitated, and aloof - none of which is conducive to a productive work environment.
In light of all of this, I made the determination that my toxic work environment is hurting me more than it is helping the bank account and I gave my boss notice that I would be leaving. I gave him enough time to hire someone to replace me and additional time for me to train them. Even though I know there is an end in site, I don't find much comfort in that knowledge.
I know that many of us need to have a job to make ends meet, take care of our families, and pay for our medical bills, but it is my strong council that if you are completely miserable with your job then there is no amount of medication, meditation, or massage that is going to bring your pain levels down or your emotional state up. I encourage you, if you are struggling with working with Fibromyalgia, to sit down with you managers and see if there are things that you can work out that might minimize your pain or stress levels. If they cannot accommodate your disabilities and you are thinking of looking for a new job, sit down, be honest with yourself, and outline what it is about your job that makes your Fibro flair. Do you have a rotating schedule? This often creates physical strain on the body. Are you a manager? This level of responsibility increases stress levels which can burden the immune system. Do you spend all day on your feet or sitting in front of a computer? Knowing if the ergonomic environment could be increasing your discomfort levels could help you to decide what suggestions you could make to management or in looking for a new job.
Find something that you love and you will never work a day in your life.
Building a healthy lifestyle is not just about what we eat, its about how we think and how we spend our time. Its a hard decision to leave my job because it does create a certain level of uncertainty but I will take a little time to allow my body to heal and in that time look for a position that allows me to do what I love but preferably without the massive amount of responsibility that being a manager requires.
When you feel overwhelmed, close your eyes, breathe deeply, and picture a place where you could feel relaxed. Trick your mind and body into letting go of some of that negative energy and bring in healing light. And above all - Be Happy, Be Healthy!
Lots of Love!
Rachel
