Diabetic Cyborg Life: Blogging & Failure = Creativity
My digital friend and supporter
wrote a post to me “The Truth About Dwarfism.” Clay covers his whole story of his life as a little person and how his stature impacts his life. My response was:“Thank you Clay for this post on your life! I love you for writing it for me man! That means so much to me. We are just people trying to live a fulfilling life that we want. We have issues to deal with as all people do and they make us kinder better people.
We just have to realize that no one person has all the answers and we as people can embrace and help each other find our own ways in life.”
He tells that his “disability” and size reflect humanity in us all and our innate humanness is all just part of being a member of the human race. The dedication Clay shows in his own humanity shines through so glowingly in his piece. I thank him for thinking of mein his show of his humanity. This shows me that indeed his dedication to include my story and me are worth living on in itself.
This blog by Clay really helps my mental health in unimaginable ways. All doubt and depressive feelings I had or ever might be forever mum. The awareness that my words reachpeople in profound ways gives me hope and drive to want to live as long as possible. His dedication of his life story to me makes me want to live and keeping going for him and everyone else on Medium that my words reach.
All this really defines the meaning of this blog and all my efforts that I make in sharing my story. People with mental and chronic illnesses need to know that we are out there and we can keep going and make our lives what we want them to be. Often the diseases and disorders take us over and make us believe that they define us.
However, we control our own lives and daily actions. We can use medication and tactics to take our lives back from our conditions and disorders. This blog intends to showhow one person can overcome both mental and chronic illness to live a somewhat manageable life where I try to define my “new normal.”
A post by
posted the blog, Creativity Feeds on Curiosity. Kitty covers how she sees that our curiosity nourishes our creative force. This made me respond:“Thank you Kitty for talking about creativity when so many feel they lack it. Honestly, my sense of it comes from my life and rebuilding after failures. So many times I’ve run into walls and recovering from those in different ways. This advice or hard work and dedication and luck I swear are my life’s story.
Failures in journalism turned into a history BS, and then failures in having a job turned into grad school. The failures in trying for a Ph.D. turned into teaching in high school, and then failures in health turned into this writing thing I am doing now. So, I guess it is only thanks to failure that I even have a Medium account!”
This post from Kitty made me instantly recall all the failures that lead me here. It was only from those that I am where I am. Her post was not on this predominantly and only mentioned that we could recover from a failure.
Creativity is a way to cope with failure and that is where my mind went. This current life I live of blogging and vlogging to survive mentally was the result of a series of failures, so that was where my view of the piece went. Yes, multiple sclerosis, or MS, was not a failure, but it is something that creativity and curiosity to cope with and recover.
The diagnosis and repercussions of MS are the stuff of nightmares. Approaches to coping can range from denial to acceptance and doing all you can to deal with it. Rebuffing the results will end poorly in many ways. The willing to survive MS is clearly my line of dealing with it.
An additional finding that I also am type 1 diabetic adds another tier of difficulty to controlling of my health. The results of having both chronic diseases can make the handling of my daily life a battle. Often the obstacles of MS can make the problems of my diabetes.
For example: the ER visit for a high fever and dehydration that I assumed was because of my MS lesions when it was more likely caused by diabetes.
Both Clay and Kitty give me an understanding that this blog and my purpose of enduring MS is one that everyone can benefit from and aid. The ways of handling my diseases can show everyone how they can deal with almost anything. Mental health issue can arise when dealing with the issues of both.
That brings even more difficulty of how to deal with and bear my life. Depression can result, as I know from the finding I got of a major depressive disorder this year. Honestly, managing all these conditions are enough to give further barriers and anxiety in life.
Results of the ways I manage are just my own methods. Some better ways are outthere I am sure, but this is how I manage. Results may vary if any attempt to try any ways I try, I promise.
Any thought that readers of this blog can get help from my words alone can ward off any depressive ideas I might get in the future. Optimism is infectious if we are ready to receive it. Positive thinking got me this far and with good management of my issues, some luck, and the care of my family and digital family.
Like this blog? Check out the vlog coming Wednesday, July 24!
