What if I die tomorrow, in three, five or ten years from cancer, or I get hit by a bus. We don’t know what’s round the corner, just like I didn’t know cancer was.
I used to think living life was based around a social life and when I’d have my third wine, I’d say stuff like “oh f#ck it, live your life, you only get one”.
I now realise it’s about way more than that, last night I told Sam, “I’m the happiest I’ve ever been”. I have worked so hard on the following right from the beginning of my diagnosis and it’s paid off.
Breath Work to help with anxiety around a cancer diagnosis, stuck emotions that have cropped up along the way. To stop unwanted thoughts
Meditation to believe in and love myself, to help go to sleep, to provide inner calm in times of worry.
Yoga to increase body strength and calm the nervous system
Limit alcohol (no more than 3 a week) to help with auto immune inflammation, decrease menopause symptoms, sleep better at night, feel emotions and deal with them using different methods, more present with my kids, increased energy, better skin.
Continuously working on my mental health, boundaries, relationships with friends and family, seeing a councillor
Accupuncture to help restore balance in the body.
Before my diagnosis I had no interest in doing any of the above, its become apparent that I used socialising and alcohol to deal with life admin + we had been lucky not to have been dealt any of the big stuff..….I didn’t see myself as an alcoholic, I didn’t sneak wines out the back of the pantry, hide empty bottles in the garden, drink every night - nope, I was what I thought an average drinker who enjoyed a good night out. However if something good happened I had a drink, if something bad, have a drink, something was worrying me, have a drink, go out for a night, have 10 drinks.
Cancer has taught me to live a life without the feeling of alcohol controlling my thoughts and to some degree my life, that I can still have fun and achieve so much more with the help of all the things listed above. I honestly thought before all of this and for a good 5 months into stopping alcohol that I wasn’t going to have the fun I used to - I can tell you now, someone couldn’t pay me enough to go back to the other side!
I wish I had learnt this earlier and it didn’t take such a massive upheaval to get here, my autoimmune stuff might not have plagued me for so much of my life. No regrets though, that part of my life was fun and part of who and where I have got to today. However, somewhere along the line alcohol crept in, to become a bigger part of my life than I actually realised, only now having stepped back from it can I see that. I was naive to think my lifestyle wouldn’t be taking a toll, but I’m here now and very happy to be given this second chance at a slightly different life to the one I’m used to, cancer has taught me that.
Piece of advice: start teaching kids meditation, breath work, yoga etc - these are the things that are going to help them get through life admin, small or BIG.
Never thought I’d here myself say those words but hey, life throws you all sorts of things for a reason and I’ve found mine! Mindfulness is where it’s at!
#tnbc #triplenegative #youngergeneration #yoga #cancer #meditation #breathwork #teachourkids #reevaluate #mindfulness
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