Chronic pain changes you. I know that as a doctor who has treated it, and as a patient who lives with it. Chronic pain isn’t only a feeling in the body or an issue of physical health. It shifts your thoughts, your mood, and how you move through the day. It also pushes on your…
Read moreCategory: Compassionate Voices Articles and Blog
Compassionatevoices Articles and Blog
The Art of Saying No When Your Body Already Said Yes
The Art of Saying No (When Your Body Already Said Yes) For years, I took pride in being the person who shows up. I said yes to almost every invitation. I was the friend people called when they needed help, the family member who stepped in whenever I could. Then my body started speaking in…
Read moreAre You Living Your Life or Just Watching It Pass By?
Are You Living Your Life or Just Watching It Pass By? I stood at my kitchen window last Tuesday morning, coffee in hand, staring at nothing in particular. My wife asked me something, I can’t even remember what, and I realized I’d been somewhere else entirely. Not thinking deep thoughts. Not planning. Just absent. How…
Read moreEnergy budgeting without the guilt or stress
I woke up with four good hours in me, not four hours to waste, four hours to be me. How to Spend Your Good Hours (Now You Can Count Them) On Tuesday, I woke up with only four hours of good energy in me. Not four hours of sitting on the couch and scrolling, four…
Read moreWhen Chronic Pain Shows Up as an Unwanted Teacher
Chronic pain changes you. I know that as a doctor who has treated it, and as a patient who lives with it. Chronic pain isn’t only a feeling in the body or an issue of physical health. It shifts your thoughts, your mood, and how you move through the day. It also pushes on your…
Read more