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Alternative Methods for Recovery

 When I was first visited by my Occupational Therapist she gave me a list of activities and exercises I could do to improve the strength in my affected hand. She gave me some resistance bands and some 'Theraputty' and a page of instructions and left me to it. 

I got bored of these incredibly quickly and started searching for ways I could incorporate these exercises into different activities that would hold my interest for longer. 

It was Lee who noticed an advert on Facebook for diamond art pictures, he thought that the level of concentration and fine motor skills it required would help with my spasticity on my affected side. He was right, I was instantly hooked. For weeks I sat in bed with a tray on my lap putting thousands of tiny gem stones on pictures and creating beautiful (if a little wonky) works of art... I mean I'm not about to frame them and put them on the walls in my front room any time soon but they were fun to do. 

I also took an interest in colouring in, I'm a Mental Health Advocate both in work and out, so mindfulness was something I encouraged all of the children in my care to practise. I decided to take some of my own advice and give it a bash, I am so glad I did because not only did it help me physically it gave me a creative outlet for the way I was feeling in that moment. I'm also a proper stationery addict, so anything that gave me the green light to order pens is a winner all round!! 

My Mom has always been an avid Gardener and has had some absolutely stunning gardens in the many many houses we lived in throughout my childhood. I'm not so green fingered, but I usually buy a few pansies every summer and water them maybe two or three times before they die off. Last year, like the rest of the country, we've spent more time at home and Lee and I have actually got into gardening, well we've got lots of plants in pots, we haven't got any dirt, or even grass actually, in either of our gardens. But those pots are bloody beautiful!! I even found myself researching tiny greenhouses and seeds for next year. I obviously can't get on the floor and get all Charlie Dimmock about it but I really love pottering around and admiring the thriving greenery that we have managed to keep alive for 18months now. 

I spent many nights lying awake and fending off panic attacks and other symptoms of anxiety and desperately needed a distraction. I found Sleep Cove on Spotify. It gives you access to tonnes of podcasts for guided meditation. You can choose from 15 minute sleep hypnosis, sleep stories or healing colour meditation. When you are in chronic pain 24 hours a day 7 days a week it is incredibly difficult to focus on anything other than that pain, couple that with crippling anxiety and you've got a recipe for long sleepless nights. Meditation helped me see past that pain and almost override it so that I could untense parts of my body I didn't even realise were tense which helped me relax and unwind. I would recommend anyone who hasn't already tried guided meditation to give it a go, be open minded, and persevere until you find the kind of meditation that works for you. 

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