 Hey there purple butterflies!
Do your feet dance to a different beat? Can you properly take care of your toes? Are you wearing the proper shoes? The topic of the day is shoes. Can you imagine having chronic pain but not having any shoes? A lot of times we take the simple things we own for granted. In addition to my Fibro, I suffer from plantar fasciitis in both of my feet. What is National Shoe the World Day? In the United States, on March 15th, it’s National Shoe the World Day. “According to various principles, clothes come under the list of five things required to exist. But in a world where poverty and homelessness are one of the biggest problems having proper dresses seems like a far-fetched dream to some. Humans all over the world live in a world that would sound impossible or unimaginable to us. From walking barefoot on hard, warm rocks to walking barefoot in jungles, all of this leaves people in considerable pain, not to mention the health risk that it follows. Walking without covering your feet can lead to a lifetime of problems, including injury, cuts, infections, parasites, etc. Therefore, in these interests, a person with the name of Donald Zsemonadi and a company based in Fontana, California United Indigenous People, inspired National Shoe the World Day in March of 2014. However, the Registrar at National Day Calendar declared the observance to be March 15th, annually.” (National Shoe the World Day). I like to support causes to pay it forward. Just like I would love for another person to support Fibromyalgia awareness. My story: I started having foot problems when I worked at Walt Disney World and ignored them. I stood all day long. On top of that, I would go into the parks to play before my shift, after, and especially on my days off. This meant I was doing an incredible amount of walking. I was losing weight like crazy, but it wasn’t doing wonders for my feet. I recall that I did try to soak my feet, as well as take Advil to help eliminate the pain. When I wasn’t getting any better, I went to find a Podiatrist. Only to find out a couple of years later that the doctor I had chosen was not a good practicing doctor. In fact, I blame myself because I did not do the proper research beforehand. I was just in so much pain, and I wanted it to stop. Now after permanent damage in my left foot from a botched surgery, the medical boards are coming out and saying surgery isn’t the best way to help plantar fasciitis pain. I was very angry for a long time. As they say, if I’d had known now what I knew then I would have made a lot of changes. Once again, it’s being able to blog about my experience that enables me to move on. Years ago, I couldn’t do that. I hope that someone reading my story can learn from my mistakes. Rachel recommends:
One of the ways you can raise awareness for National Shoe the World Day is to donate your old shoes! Another way is to go on social media and start a discussion on how not wearing shoes can lead to injuries or infections. Remember to use the hashtags #souls4shoes or #Nationalshowtheworldday on your social media pages. Let me know if you do or get some shoes! Please let me know in the comments down below! Just like every week, I’d love to hear back from y’all! Please continue to stay safe purple butterflies! Thank you for taking the time to read my blog today! If you’re enjoying my blogs, why not subscribe to my website? My blogs will go straight to your email. It’s free to sign up! Tell your friends! Tell your friends to tell their friends! Be well! ~ Rachel #Nationalshoetheworldday2022 #keepingyourfeetsweet #souls4shoes Other References: https://www.footcaremd.org/conditions-treatments/chronic-conditions https://www.orthofeet.com
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 Hey purple butterflies!
We all need love and appreciation to coexist in this upside-down world. Valentine’s Day is celebrated on February 14th which means it’s next Monday! Are the plans with your loved one up in the air due to limited places to go? Maybe you’re flying solo? Either way, this day is the perfect excuse to pamper yourself. Don’t forget, there is always the option of a virtual hang out with friends for the day! My husband and I are both romantics at heart! What’s Valentine’s Day without music? My place to find tunes are on my iTunes Store or Spotify. Whatever your plans are, I hope you fill one of your spoons with love for yourself! 22 Heart Beats:
Till next time! Be well! ~ Rachel #spoonievalentinesday #valentinesday2022 #fibropositivity  Dear purple butterflies,
February has officially arrived! It’s beyond chilly outside today because we had a bit of inclement weather yesterday. I certainly felt it with my arthritis acting up. Valentine’s Day will be coming around very soon. My blog this week is an interview with my sweet, very talented and compassionate friend, Lynne Said. I hope you will enjoy reading the interview as much as I did coming up the questions for her to answer. Once again, I want to thank Lynne for her precious time that she took to do this interview. 1. What incident occurred that started your Fibro? How long did it take you to discover this pain was not going away? I think that the onset of fibro for me was a build up over years. I suffered emotional trauma, and very poor nutrition as a child living in a dysfunctional family. I then went on to have a marriage that certainly wasn’t made in heaven, divorced, and remarried a few years later to a man that did make my first marriage look as if it had been made in heaven. It was an abusive, violent marriage that I was terrified to leave. When I did pluck up the courage to get a divorce it was when I moved, and life was calmer to a degree that I noticed random symptoms especially fatigue. This would have been around 2010. 2. Were you diagnosed with Fibro right away? Did you get a second opinion? No definitely not straight away, it took four years to be diagnosed but the last of the four years was the worst. The symptoms had become continuous and debilitating and I was terrified the doctors were missing something serious. I am sure my fear and anxiety were fueling the symptoms I was experiencing. It was my G.P. that first suggested it and did one more blood test to see if there was anything they had missed. The test came back showing I was suffering with Hypothyroidism the symptoms of which overlap with fibro and so my diagnosis was put on hold until I had started taking levothyroxine to balance my thyroid. I had hoped that this would solve the problem but unfortunately it didn’t, and I was referred to Guys Hospital in London to be diagnosed. I didn’t question the diagnosis as by this time I had done enough research to understand that I did had fibromyalgia. 3. Upon your diagnoses, were you relieved? Was your family supportive? I was relieved to know I wasn’t going crazy, and the doctors weren’t missing something more serious. However, that being said, it wasn’t long before devastation replaced relief. It suddenly hit home that there were no real answers and no cure to fibromyalgia so I might be feeling this unwell forever, and that was a terrifying thought. 4. Have you ever suffered from depression? If so, how did you deal with it? Yes, I did suffer from depression and severe anxiety, mainly down to my second marriage. It did get so bad that I was unable to leave my home which was unimaginable for me. I’d always been very sociable and enjoyed spending time outside. I was referred to counselling for anxiety but when I arrived, I realized it was group counselling and my anxiety went through the roof. I managed to find my way home, climb in to bed, and cry under the covers. It was a terrifying experience. I was also prescribed sleeping tablets and did take a few because unbeknown to me, I was suffering with PTSD and having the worst, vivid nightmares imaginable, the sleeping tablets prevented this and actually allowed me to sleep without fear for a short time. It wasn’t very long before I was trialing my own strategies for anxiety, depression, and PTSD. 5. What made you want to start a blog? What gets you motivated? My main reason for starting my blog was because the one thing that I had pushed away for a few years was how much lifestyle changes could help me to feel better with fibro. I used to feel angry if anyone suggested it because it felt like blame, and that the way I felt was all my fault. This couldn’t have been further from the truth. There is no blame just learning. When I got my quality of life back through ’whole’ lifestyle changes, I trained to become an NLP Master Practitioner and Integrative Nutrition Health Coach so that I could share my experience and hope for a better life with fibro with others. 6. When did you start getting your Coaching certifications? What made you decide to do the coaching? Helping yourself to recover is one thing, but helping others is something totally different. I wanted to make sure that I was trained in order to know how to help others in the best possible way. I started my NLP training in 2018 and my Coach training in 2019. 7. If you could write a book about your experiences, (life, with Fibro, working with your blog and the certifications) what would you call it? Why? I am writing a book at the moment and it’s so ironic you ask me these questions because the one thing I have no idea on yet is the title. If I were to give a quote about living with fibromyalgia it would have to be, ‘Be curious not judgmental’ because I suffered for more than I needed to, just because I pushed something aside that was the one thing that helped me the most. You never know what will help you so curiosity is so important. Please continue to stay safe purple butterflies! Thank you for taking the time to read my blog today! If you’re enjoying my blogs, why not subscribe to my website? My blogs will go straight to your email. It’s free to sign up! Tell your friends! Tell your friends to tell their friends! Till next time! Rachel  Happy Monday y’all! You wouldn’t happen to have any honey, would you? If you do, you might want to hide it! Especially when a small, brown bear “all stuffed with fluff” comes sniffing around your neighborhood! Who could I be talking about? Pooh of course! Winnie, the Pooh that is! Out of all of the Hundred Acre Wood characters, who is your favorite? I was always partial to Pooh bear. I believe it’s because of his childlike wonder that attracts me to him. He’s also cute a button! Towards the beginning of this month, I stumbled upon thesoccermomblog.com. Most of last year, I followed several awareness sites. While those websites are great and informative, Stacey’s site is so inspiring! I wish I had some up with this idea! By taking ordinary days, she turns them into unique family-oriented celebrations. These celebrations help reinforce important life lessons and (in this case) teach about a famous author. Jan. 18this A.A. Milne’s birthday! In honor of Mr. Milne’s birthday, Jan. 18th has officially become National Winnie The Pooh Day. How much cool is that? Did You Know?
Of all the characters in the hundred-acre wood, Winnie is the one who is always forgetting things. Thinking about Pooh bear helps cheer me up and gets me through my fogs a little easier. Quite often I like to refer to them as my “Pooh days.” There’s also something about Winnie that makes you want to snuggle with him forever. Did you know that January 21st is National Hugging Day? Personally, I could not think of any toy better than a fluffy ol’ bear to cuddle with. As I conclude my last Mindful Monday, I wanted to send a big warm, gentle hug to everyone! I have loved getting to know y’all know through Fibro Connect. Did you grow up with Winnie the Pooh, too? What comforts you during Fibro fog moments? Let me know your thoughts in the comments down below! Please continue to stay safe purple butterflies! Thank you for taking the time to read my blog today! If you’re enjoying my blogs, why not subscribe to my website? My blogs will go straight to your email. It’s free to sign up! Tell your friends! Tell your friends to tell their friends! Till next time! Be well! ~ Rachel  Happy Monday ya’ll!
Today I’m sharing Pet Therapy, an oldie but goodie post, back when I was first making YouTube videos. Do you have a pet? I’ve always grown up with both dogs and cats. Truth be told, I’m more of a cat person. I found an article from 2020 titled Living with Chronic Pain: How a Service Dog Can Lend a Paw stating that the types of dogs that offer Complex regional pain syndrome support are, emotional support dog, therapeutic dog, and a service dog. On behalf of cats everywhere, our babies love to cuddle us. However, true to form, when they are done, they will let you know and typically leave the room. Whereas a dog may continue to hang out with you all day. They are not like any cats I’ve ever had. Just like humans, I believe it depends on the cat. I hope you’ll enjoy my video. Let me know what you thought by leaving a comment below. Please continue to stay safe purple butterflies! Thank you for taking the time to read my blog today! If you’re enjoying my blogs, why not subscribe to my website? My blogs will go straight to your email. It’s free to sign up! Tell your friends! Tell your friends to tell their friends! Till next time! Be well! ~ Rachel  Dear purple butterflies, Can you believe it? We have exactly four more days left in 2021 and then it will be 2022! Do any of you have any fun traditional plans? We used to go out, but we’ve found that we enjoy staying in just as much. Since we live in the south, one tradition on New Year’s Day is to have a big bowl of black-eyed peas and corn bread. However, I thought it might be fun to start a new tradition this year. I’m talking about watching the twelve best F.R.I.E.N.D.S. episodes to ring in the New Year. 2021 was the year of F.R.I.E.N.D.S for me. I happen to be referring to the television show F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Besides my birthday, F.R.I.E.N.D.S kept popping up throughout the year. I have mentioned this many times before that I love comedies. My attraction to the show is that even though it was made in the mid-nineties, the episodes are timeless. No matter how many times I watch them, they keep me laughing, and they’re so relatable to my own life. Of all the shows I watch, I’ll pick F.R.I.E.N.D.S every time when I am feeling low or laid up in the bed. Life alone can be stressful enough. Stopping to check our mental health regularly is a good practice. It’s one of my goals this coming year. I figure, why not let your friends (even on t.v.) make you laugh? All that being said, here is my personal pick of the twelve best F.R.I.E.N.D.S episodes:
Episode references: What episodes did you like the best? Did you agree with the episodes that I chose. What show, if any would you choose? What Let me know in the comments down below. I’d love to hear back from you! Please continue to stay safe purple butterflies! Thank you for taking the time to read my blog today! If you’re enjoying my blogs, why not subscribe to my website? My blogs will go straight to your email. It’s free to sign up! Tell your friends! Tell your friends to tell their friends! Till next time! Be well! ~ Rachel |
About the author:Rachel Barclift, has been suffering from Fibromyalgia for many years. She went to the doctor, never finding any answers for years. She went to one doctor who told her the pain was all in her head. In 2011, she finally found a doctor that believed her! She was officially diagnosed by her rheumatologist and she was so relieved! She writes blogs in hopes to help others find positivity. |