Aside form taking daily medications, it's important to me to be well wholly. It's important to balance yourself physically, mentally, and spiritually. For me that is what works. I pray a lot. It helps me both spiritually and mentally to pray.When I'm stressed or upset or even feeling good I pray. I pray and give thanks to God for everything I have, any worries, all of it. I spill ti all out to him and Jesus.
Since I cannot watch TV, I've learned to live without all the new TV shows, but I do listen to TV or I'll put in a DVD and listen to it. I have a TV in my bedroom and what I've done is turned all the back lighting and brightness down as low as possible and I've DIY's a screen to put in front of it so it blocks any remaining light. I still don't "watch" much TV even with the screen, but if it is something I've seen before I can picture the scenes in my head, and it's a nice alternative to the radio. Here's a picture of my DIY screen.
I listen to a lot of music; either the radio or CDs. My music is quite an eclectic collection. I range form Christian to Country to Jazz to Today's Pop. I like almost all music. I even have some Classical. It's all therapeutic for me, and I change it up depending on my mood.
I'm also an avid reader. I read as much as the light allows me too. I read by candle light or lamp light. On a very cloudy day I can open the curtains slightly and use daylight to read by, but in any light levels I have to be careful to monitor myself and my surroundings. Our local library has quite a few books on CD so I may have to look into that.
I also read my Bible. I usually read it daily, occasionally I will miss a day especially if it's a bad light day. Fortunately I do have an app on my cell phone that will read it to me if I need. And often I do since the print in the Bible is so small.
Spiritually speaking, I work on that part of the balance daily. I pray, read my Bible, and listen to Living Stones Church services through podcasts. I talk to Jesus all the time and try to practice being a good Christian and walk the path of goodness, daily. I believe int he power of prayer and healing. Coupling with modern medicine, and my faith, it helps me remain positive and healthy. I'm hoping that my next medical endeavor will make me well enough to actually go to church again.
The physical part of the balance is the hard part especially right now with the cold weather. Since I'm limited due to the light I have to get creative, and right now the weather isn't helping. When weather is nice I walk the dogs after dark and really enjoy it during the spring when I can smell all the blooming lilacs int he neighborhood. I sometimes try stair stepping on the bottom two basement steps. With fact that before I got sick in September I used to be quite active. I used to go to the gym 3-4 days a week. So this is quite an adjustment for me.
My diet was also quite healthy, but with stress I've been slacking and with the holidays too. So I've got to get back on track. I'm also researching diets right now that help control auto immune diseases. That equals more fruits and veggies and less breads and meats, and more all natural organic foods.
When everything fails and I have a total melt down, I have my "Damn It Doll." My mom and aunt recently purchased it for me on one of their outings. They are wonderful. I yell and scream and cry all while beating the heck out of the doll. It's made to take it. I throw it, beat the bed of kitchen counter with it. It lets me get our all my frustrations and anger with out hurting anyone or breaking anything.
I limit my screen time to my smart phone and will comment here or there on Facebook or share a photo. It helps me keep in touch with friends and family and I don't feel so closed off from the outside world. But my time even with that is limited because even the light from my cell phone sets me off.
In terms of lighting my home I truly use oil lamps, night lights, and candles. Right now Christmas lights are working well. In my kitchen I have some under the cabinet lighting that is LED and I can handle that while cooking dinner, but that is the maximum light level that I can tolerate. Sometimes it drives my husband and mom crazy. So, I stick to my bedroom and kitchen mostly so they can lice a normal as possible.
I hope this helps anyone who is living with photo-sensitivity and if you have any thoughts feel free to comment. It's great to share ideas. Until next time, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Blessings to you.
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