Creating With an Illness.

I referred in a recent post to not wanting to get overly personal on this blog, and I recall asking how much is too much.  It's been my goal to give you a glimpse of my personal life, but not overwhelm my readers with drama.  Today, I feel like sharing a bit.  Who knows?  Maybe what I have to say will help others.

Part of the reason I don't update as often as I should (for SEO and engagement purposes) is I have an illness.  It is an undiagnosed illness, and I am not a doctor, but I lean toward calling it chronic mono.  Back in the early Zeroes (that's what I like to call that decade,) I had mononucleosis for the first time.  Yes.  I got it as an adult.  The illness itself only lasted a couple of weeks, and I was out  of work with it for only three days, and those were non-consecutive.  I guess I got kind of lucky--or so I thought.

Starting within just a few months of having had mono, I started to have these episodes (what I now refer to as my flare ups) of extreme fatigue and lots and lots of body pain.  It's rarely bad enough for me to miss work at my day job, but that does happen once in a while.  Sometimes, it comes with stomach upset, body temperature weirdness (sensation, not my actual temperature,) and appetite issues.  I sleep a lot harder (more deeply) than I normally do, and longer.   It's usually triggered by overexertion, stress, or if the temperature goes from warm to cold.  In short, it acts a lot like mono.

I have had many people I know suggest that I may have fibromyalgia, and I've been to one rheumatologist who has ruled it out.  I have been checked for other issues, like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, Lyme disease, etc.  I will be going to get tested again.  I have also had my thyroid checked.

My point is that, if I do too much, I have a flare up, and I'm often unable to accomplish much in the studio, because by the time I get home from work (or get my housework or errands done, if it's a weekend,) I'm usually too tired to do much. If I am in pain, forget it!   When I am at my best, I can finish projects quickly, often turning out 2-3 new pieces (art or handcrafts) a week, even after work. When I am at my best. 

Unfortunately, I have not been at my best since about mid-May.  Luckily, these flare ups have never stopped me from following through on a paid photo shoot (or a volunteer one--I often donate my time and services.)  Hopefully, that will never happen.  Even now--I recently finished editing a book for a friend.  That came on the tail of the photo shoot I did in Thurmont, MD--I am flaring and recovering, and it just sucks!  I have so many unfinished pieces that are not listed yet, because I've been too sick to work on them.  It's a really tough way to run a business, and that is part of the reason I am trying to grow it slowly.

So, if you don't see me posting or listing for a while and I haven't mentioned that I'm up to my neck, it means I am recovering, taking much needed down time, so that I can rebuild my energy and get back to being the art machine that I know I really am.  (I kind of get tired of posting to my fan page just to say "Hi.  I'm too sick to work right now.  I'll post later."  Kind of silly, right?)

So what can an artisan with this type of issue do?  My take on this, having gone through it for about five years or so now, is "Nothing.  Wait it out."  Be gentle with yourself.  If you need silent time with no work, no housework, no activity, then take it.  That's your body's way of saying "We need to rest."  If you are like me, and your mind doesn't agree with your body's take on the situation, spend the down time journaling, designing, sketching, maybe doing online promoting--Keep it low-impact and know that your projects and your ability to finish them aren't going anywhere.

Thanks for listening.