Don't Be Consumed by Your Disease.

I'll be honest about my secret love of cheesy TV. Anything on TLC is usually A-Okay in my book. Feel good shows, with people being people and accomplishing things, large or small, or just being themselves. A lot of these shows have a hidden theme in them that seems to emulate through each week's featured character - no matter who we are, we are human, we have struggles both apparent and hidden. We have struggles we might not even know we are having.

Take "What Not to Wear" for example. Sure, Stacey and Clinton rip people apart for their lack of fashion, but mainly for their lack of appreciation for themselves. Somehow there is always an inner issue unleashed through the simple process of what you choose to wear. Many times it ends up that the lesson learned is taking time for yourself, and when you can do that, you can be a better person, the person you're trying to be for everyone else in your life.

Thanks one of my best friends, today I had a "What Not to Wear" moment. Her mom owns a massage salon (See tag below, if you're from NH), but is trying to incorporate a brand of makeup, custom fitted to your skin by this chemist of a woman. Honestly, it was over my head; I've always had a sense of girly in me and embraced it, but never got into the fancy terms of makeup of hair care products, etc. I wasn't even going to have the foundation made for me, but my friend's mom insisted, handing me a towel and some face wash to take away my $5 Walmart paint job. Then I sat in the chair and had my personal skin tone concoction whipped up for me: one tablespoon ivory, a dash of red, a dash of yellow-orange, a pinch of bronze, etc. Once the perfect mixture was made she applied it to my face and started the same process with the powder. After looking in the mirror, it was like when they spin that chair on "What Not to Wear" during the makeup session. I'll be the cheesy spokes person, I'm fine with that - I've never had makeup look so natural. It felt... dare I say this about myself... pretty.

Most importantly, for a small window in time, I was doing an activity that made me feel good, that unleashed a stress I hadn't fully realized I was having. Turns out focusing on your stomach all day - what to eat, when to eat, how much to eat, mixed with the anxieties and anticipations of the body's response to whatever it is you choose, weighs down on you a bit. And when you let everything weigh down on you, the stress causes more problems for your bowels, and a viscous cycle begins.

So let's all promise ourselves to be cliche. To be selfish at times. To dare to do things that take our mind away from the cramping, the pain, the worry, and the fear.  You'll thank yourself.