Are Sadness and Anger Bad?

The holiday season often evokes strong feelings.  I used to think positive emotions like joy and love are good while negative emotions like sadness and anger are bad.  Now I believe that how I react to my emotions is what is good or bad.  When I let moments of joy fly past me unnoticed because I am pre-occupied by internal mental chatter it is bad.  When I stop what I am doing and take a few seconds to appreciate when I am happy it is good.  When I rerun upsetting episodes in my head it is bad.  When I use anger to propel me towards a solution it is good.

When I was young I had the tremendous energy it takes to sustain emotional drama.  A stroke took away the energy I need to stay upset for a long time.  Being snubbed recently reminded me of how intense emotions can be.  I was upset the day I was snubbed.  By the next day -- not so much.        By the third day I remembered letting this person upset me gives her power.  By the fourth day I remembered I was upset for decades when I was young but can not remember most of what upset me.  Hence the irritating platitude -- this too shall pass.  

How I react to my emotions is a conscious choice, but I forget this again and again.  Fortunately, as I get older I remember this insight sooner and suffer less.  homeafterstroke.blogspot.com

Walking in Snow with a Cane

Warning: I do NOT use my cane to walk through snow.  I wait until a neighbor I pay shovels my walkway and digs out my car.  I must be able to see the ground to tell if there is an icy patch that could make the spikes of my Briggs Ice Cane/Crutch Attachment slip.  Checking the ground for ice slows me down, but it gets me to my car safely so I can drive.

The photo shows the attachment in the up position to keep it out of my way.  I bought it at a medical supply store near my home.  The advantage of buying it in a store instead of on-line was the saleswoman got out a screwdriver and fastened the device to my cane.  














To lower the prongs, I place the cane in my affected hand and my sound hand pushes the device down until I hear it snap into position.

The device makes my cane slightly heavier which slows me down which is not as bad thing.

I use a different cane during warm weather rather than take this device off and try to put it back in the same place each winter.  homeafterstroke.blogspot.com

Glad I was a Therapist Before I was a Professor

I am glad I worked as a therapist before I became a professor.  School creates a false sense of security.  If you do not know the answer, you can ask teachers what they think the right answer is.  Book learning is a good place to start, but it does not tell you what to do when some clients do not respond to treatment that works well for many clients.  Therapists are humbled when they have to say "I don't know" when information taught in school does not work.  Therapists have to generate their own solution and watch carefully to see if it helps.

In school you learn information in one unit and then move on to the next unit.  However, the right thing to do in the clinic is a moving target that keeps changing as the client improves.  I was reminded of this when my in-patient PT said I was getting better.  I complained that walking was not getting any easier.  She said she was helping me less.  I never thought to tell my clients this either.  homeafterstroke.blogspot.com

Keeping My Christmas Spirit

This is a photo of the artificial Christmas tree my friend John put together every year since my stroke.  Placing a small folding chair next to this big tree meant I could sit close and lean forward instead of leaning down to decorate the bottom half.  However, decorating this six foot tree is tiring.  Since fatigue is one of my triggers for falling I ordered a small table top tree.

I enjoy seeing the 3 kings, shepherd, and sheep visiting the Christ child.  I made these figures years ago when my hobby was needlecraft.  I also love the tiny pink and blue Christmas tree balls.  I am amazed by how happy small things make me.

After two years I gave my big tree and normal-sized decorations to my church for their annual sale that raises money for local charities.    homeafterstroke.blogspot.com