Everyone is different but here are the things that really encouraged me and worked well for me in dealing with this complicated disease.
1. People that prayed for me and repeatedly told me they were praying for me.
2. Being around positive people. I’ve always been this way but even more so now. Anything negative lingers with me and can bring me down long after the giver or that negativity has moved on. I just don’t need to be around it.
3. Talking to other people that had Lyme Disease and learning from them and realizing that you’re not alone.
4. Focusing on getting better and not what was hurting on any particular day.
5. Allowing myself to make one complaint a day. Just one! It’s hard but it takes the focus off the pain and shifts it onto getting better.
6. Having a special person to encourage you. Mine was my cousin that lives in Vancouver and even though I live in Toronto she was able to phone, send cards and thoughts that encouraged me. Often her cards contained a little metal angel. I placed one in my purse and one in my medicine carrier.
7. Making a chart for my medications. It is far too hard to remember when to take what. The chart and meds go with me when I travel or visit friends.
8. Listening to my Lyme Literate Doctor (LLD) and following her instructions.
9. Sticking to my diet: no sugar, yeast, flour, vinegar,….etc. This takes lots of will power.
10. Carpe Diem – Seize the day if it is a good one and just kick a bad day in its sorry old butt.
11. Being grateful for friends and family that were supportive. They understood that on a bad day there was little I could do but on a good day I could go out for lunch or have a short visit.
12. Reward yourself everyday. My guilty pleasure was a Granny Smith apple dipped in unsweetened chocolate with a touch of Stevia. I went to “my happy place” and forgot all about Lyme Disease. Even a few minutes vacation from Lyme Disease it a much needed break.
13. Adopting an attitude of “I have Lyme Disease but it does NOT have me”
14. Going to a Lyme Literate Doctor (LLD) in the US for treatment guidelines and having a very knowledgeable doctor in Toronto who can follow my progress.
15. Accepting that not everyone can be treated with natural/herbal treatments and some people like myself need heavy doses of antibiotics.
16. Imagining that my antibiotics were like Pac Men eating up all the bad bacteria.
17. Trying not to get caught up in my own issues and remember to think of others. They have their own things to contend with.
18. On a good day doing something that made me feel normal such as a pedicure or manicure or out for lunch with friends.
19. On a bad day giving myself permission to take up residence on the couch and watch B&W movies all day.
20. If I’ve misplaced something or lost one of my long notes (so I don’t forget things) then I would try to let it go. It probably wasn’t that important anyways.
21. But never, never feel sorry for myself because there are so many people that are worse off.