Advice is easier said than done. Things like “listen to your body,” “be patient with yourself,” and “accept where you are” are simple, but living them is something else entirely. In recovery, I navigate chronic pain, fatigue, and the constant negotiation between what I want to do and what my body will allow. And it’s all day long every day that the battle occurs.

I’m writing a book—I don’t know if I’ve mentioned that. Well, it has proved to push me over my pain threshold, and now I have to pull back from devices entirely other than my podcast. My loving husband and I are working on a solution that will allow me to dictate the book, so I can still work on it every day but not have to sleep for hours every afternoon to recover.

So, I do listen to my body, but only when it’s screaming so loud at me that I can’t ignore it anymore. I’ll keep practicing. 😉

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I remember walking past some bushes in detox on the way to the cafeteria, scared a bottle of wine could be hiding there, waiting for me. What scared me was me. I didn’t trust that I could stop myself. I thought my recovery was just physical, and I just needed to control my hand from picking up a drink. But in that short walk, I saw that the problem was more about my mind reaching for the drink instead of my hand. My thoughts were just as out of control as my drinking. I looped through fears, obsession, and imagined scenarios that hadn’t even happened. I spent so much energy trying to control the world outside of me, but the work was learning how to live with a reality that I didn’t choose.

That realization followed me into stroke recovery. I can’t control that my brain broke, as much as I can’t control where alcohol shows up in the world. I can, however control my response: how I show up, speak to myself, and pause vs react. Recovery starts with surrendering the control that I never actually had in the first place, and accepting who I am in this moment. Somewhere between surrender and acceptance, I begin to find peace, by focusing only on what’s within the limit of my fingertips and not beyond.

Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and YouTube.

Rather listen on Apple Podcasts? https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/recovery-daily-podcast/id1693924779

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Living life on life’s terms in stroke recovery means learning how to live peacefully in a reality I didn’t choose. I still get angry, scared, frustrated, and sad, but I allow those feelings to run their course without dictating my behavior. Since my stroke I abandoned the illusion that I can control my life by just working harder, planning better, and pushing my body further. Neither life nor my body cooperate with that personal expectation.

I can’t control when I hurt, feel dizzy, or struggle to talk. But I can control is how I respond and whether my peace grows or diminishes. Emotional recovery from stroke requires me to pause in my discomfort, acknowledge I don’t feel good, accept instead of resist, and to practice gratitude even when life feels unfair. Pain is not optional for me, but misery is.

Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and YouTube.

Rather listen on Apple Podcasts? https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/recovery-daily-podcast/id1693924779

Visit my Etsy shop, and join my creative journey at Recovery Upcycling. https://www.etsy.com/shop/RecoveryUpcycling

#strokerecovery #stroke #vestibularrecovery #recovery #vestibular #disability #soberlife #recoverypodcast