By Samantha Stambaugh, Guest Blogger
Emotional overload is a big problem for me because my energy drains fairly fast, and I intentionally ignore it when I am doing things for others. I am in a cycle of burnout that I don’t seem to be getting myself out of.
I am working more on my self-care now than I have in years. The pain pushes me down into a chair on most days, but there are now better days where I listen for that first big tweak of pain and sit down before it gets intolerable.
For daily self-care help, I am using the Finch app, where I can make goals for myself, do breathing or meditation, and break down big goals into doable tasks. As I complete them, my little character gets time taken off her exploration for the day, and I can find out what she discovered on her outing. It’s a fun app, especially since I got my daughter doing it as well.
Coming back to emotional overload, there are days when the exhaustion hits like a cement wall out of nowhere. I try my hardest to white-knuckle through what I’m doing, but I find it drains me to the point of having no emotion at all. It’s a scary state. I don’t like watching myself be so dismissive and cold to the people I care about most.
When I hit my wall, I tend to sit quietly or escape the place I am in, if possible. A different view seems to replenish my emotion a bit, especially if it’s around water or mountains. Spending time amongst the trees also grounds me quickly. Nature lifts all the heaviness from within me, allowing me to finally take a cleansing deep breath.
If I can’t get there physically, I can meditate to my favourite spot I created—a log cabin surrounded by wintry mountains, fresh air, trickling river sounds, and I placed my Dad there so we can visit any time I need to. This spiritual place of solitude grounds me immediately and fills me with the love and pride I know my Dad has for me.
Samantha Stambaugh was a competitive figure skater from ages 5 to 17. Sam was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Migraines when regular tendonitis just wasn’t healing properly and extreme headaches became a daily occurrence. Once the Fibro pain took over the rest of her body the summer
before Grade 12, Sam’s competitive skating career came to a close. She has now lived with FM for 38 years.
Sam has been a writer for most of her life. She found it to be a source of freedom, not unlike the freedom gliding across the ice gave her. From fiction to poetry, band biographies to editorials, Sam has loved the written word as a vehicle of expression for her heart and soul. Sam is currently in the process
of getting her Proofreading and Social Media Strategist certificates, soon to be followed by the SFU Editing Program, and maybe writing a book or two along the way.
Sam is thankful for the Fibromyalgia Support Network and all the great people she has met along the way. Sam resides in Abbotsford, BC.