I’ve been doing journaling based on the book The Art of Extreme Self-Care by Cheryl Richardson with a group of friends.  Each month we read a chapter, do the exercises and then talk about our experience.

The first chapter focused on where you feel deprived.
At first I tried conventional journal writing but it just didn’t express what I was experiencing.
I randomly cut out pictures, pasted them on a page, smeared paint around and wrote spontaneously.

As always what emerged both surprises and fascinates me.

Having been diagnosed in 1996 I’ve grown used to the bodily discomfort.  It surprised me that I’ve not grown used to the human yearning to be touched.  (With fibro, for those of you who don’t know, the brain registers normal pressure as discomfort at the best and pain at the worst.)

And again the specter of invisibility, loss and feeling alone.  It’s sad to realize I take it all for granted.