Why I Took A Break From Blogging

After NY Fashion Week in September I took a break that was not planned from blogging, writing and most of social media. I specify not planned because I had more blog posts planned that couldn’t get published. I’m a workaholic and if it were up to me I’d be working and writing non-stop. Although your body without you realizing or wanting to pay attention to it, really does need breaks. Mine came in the form of a self-sustained injury, that affected the one thing bloggers, editors and pretty much everyone needs, your hands and arms.

My injury, strained ligaments has not allowed me to do much as the way to heal is by doing exactly that, not much. You can imagine I have been going a bit stir crazy not being able to write, answer emails without assistance, and not doing my daily social media posts. As bloggers, that is part of the course, we put out content, receive feedback and interact with our readers and followers. It starts all over again as soon as we create new content, but due to the injury none of this was getting done. What I did enjoy from this break was just relaxing and not caring about comments or feedback.

Because of my injury I was also forced to turn down a few jobs, which was frustrating to say the least. To pass the time I was able to read the book When Through Deep Waters, it was one of the few things I could do that didn’t need much movement. If you’re looking for a good book to read, I highly recommend it!

The pain of strained ligaments is a very sharp and shooting pain which for me runs from my hands up to my arms. It’s hard to open, pull, write and pretty much do anything without hurting the injury. Everything I did had to be done gently or not get done at all. Even as I write this blog post I have to take breaks because of the pain. Although I feel 90% better, the pain still flares up when I write for too long. I managed to heal by switching between hot and cold applications, wrapping my arms in ACE bandages and a lot of rest.

Although I’m pretty stubborn and I HATE not being able to do anything. I have an A type personality, I’m a get it done and get it done now type of person when it comes to business. So I will admit by trying to do certain things before I was really ready, I probably made the healing process longer.

This is not the first time an injury or pain has hindered my ability to work or go to school in the past. When I was in the later years of high school I began to have severe stomach problems. I was always in pain, nauseous or not able to eat. I was also stressed, which is something that makes matters worse. My mother took me to many doctors and specialist who diagnosed me with the wrong aliments. Which in turn put me on wrong medications, just to see what would work. This process repeated itself and included trips to the E.R., therapists and more specialists for a year. Until we finally found a good Gastroenterologist who would see me.

Convincing my new Gastro that it wasn’t all in my head was a hurdle at first as well. After more tests, my doctor finally gave me the official diagnosis of IBS. Although it was hard for even doctors to admit that I had it, due to the fact that at the time it was diagnosis normally given to the elderly. Which is not the case any longer, IBS has now been proven to occur in teens and there are specific medications available now, something I did not have.

I went through my first year of college in pain, taking breaks in between classes to hide and take naps in the car. Thanks to a trip to a nutritionist who taught me the proper diet, and the correct pain meds from my Gasto, I was able to learn how to control my IBS. This diagnosis took a year or two out of my life, but because it did and I was able to bounce back I knew my hand and arm injury was just a drop in the bucket. Although patient, I am not.

My entry back into writing came in a great form and I couldn’t wait to share it. I was asked to write an article for the well-known Latinx website, Mitu.com and I’m very happy with the outcome. Not just because of the article itself, but because the job had time constraints and strict guidelines I had to follow. It was also a collaborative piece as I had to work with the editor. To come back to writing not just with my blog but with something that had to be judged and approved by someone I don’t know, was a huge accomplishment for me.

It reassured me once again on why I love to write and how easy it comes to me. Here is the link to the article! Sadly my byline was not added, as it is up to the website, but I’m excited about it just the same! The cash was a bonus as well!

Have you ever gone through pain, physical or otherwise that hindered your work or something you love to do? How did you get past it? What did it teach you?-T.S.