New Year's AS-olutions
It’s that time of year again when something as minor as a number at the end of the date changing makes us believe we can make drastic changes to our lives.
I’m not going to kid myself and pretend I am going to completely reinvent myself, but there are a few things I’ve learnt from the past year that I hope to improve on in 2023.
Experiment more
When I was first diagnosed, I spent a lot of time experimenting with different methods of managing my symptoms. I researched health foods, diet plans, stretches and alternative medicines to see if any of them might be of use to me. Of course, some of them were not compatible with my body but I don’t regard them as failures. I prefer to see them as important lessons about what isn’t a good fit for me.
However, there were several things that I benefitted from hugely and that I was able to incorporate into my life. However, if I’m honest, once I’d found a few things that helped, I got a bit lazy and stopped searching for more.
I know that there are so many things to try out there that I’m missing out on, so in 2023 I’d like to spend more time trying new things. For example, Tai Chi has been something that I have been really meaning to get into. I lived in China for 2 and a half years and used to walk past people performing it daily and never did more than look on in awe at the uncles and aunties busting out their moves in public.
When AS came calling, I found out that a lot of people benefit from it and was very annoyed at myself for not giving it a crack then. So with the help of some YouTube tutorials, I am going to try and make up for lost time and see what effect it has on my AS.
A TENS machine is definitely on my shopping list for the new year sales and I am looking forward to spending more time researching other ways AS warriors have found joy managing their condition and trying them out myself. I feel that we can never have enough knowledge when it comes to pain management and I want an arsenal of weapons to unleash on my condition when it inevitably gives me trouble in the future.
Get back into stretching
I have so much to thank stretching for. When I was first diagnosed, I was in such an intense flare up that I was completely unable to walk unassisted. I knew that I had to wait a while before I could get my hands on medication and needed to find alternative ways of getting my mobility back in the meantime.
I met with a physiotherapist who put together a routine tailored to my needs which reduced my pain and stiffness enormously and allowed me to literally get back on my feet.
I kept this daily routine up throughout the pandemic but when I was finally permitted to go back into the outside world, the excitement of having a life again led to me becoming complacent with my stretching.
It took a flare up to make me realize that I had messed up. But in a weird way it was the wake up call I needed to motivate me to get back into stretching again. I am aiming to start every day in 2023 with some stretching to try and keep those flares at bay.
Self care injection days
There have been a few periods in the past year that my mental health has slumped. It wasn’t always the fault of my condition, but the majority of these factors could probably be traced back to my AS.
I have realized that I have been slacking on my self-care a lot and this needs to change. AS is a mental battle as much as it is a physical one, so keeping a good state of mind is so crucial.
So, I have decided to dedicate one day a week to myself and my mental wellbeing. The days after my Enbrel injection are usually the most brutal so it seems fitting to do it then.
I don’t have a particular plan for this as I never know how intense my biologic hangover is going to be. But I am going to make sure the entire day is spent doing things that bring me happiness. I will leave it to my energy levels to decide whether that means it will be a duvet day, watching my favorite shows or treating myself to an adventure in the outside world.
Final thoughts
Despite the title of this article, I’m actually not looking at these changes as resolutions. Let’s be honest, they rarely last past a couple weeks. I am still waiting on the six pack I promised myself I would acquire back in January 2016!
I am looking more to introduce these new ‘habits’ into my life long term and using the ‘magic’ of the new year as an extra kick up the backside to get going.
Have you got any AS related new years resolutions? Let me know in the comments.
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