(18) Running Myself Ragged and Dealing with the Medical Establishment (Part 1)

After a grueling, multi-year effort to meet our goal of moving halfway across the country to be closer to our daughter, I hoped to put all of that stress behind me. At first, this seemed to be the case…you wouldn’t believe the sense of relief I felt over finally being in our new home! But unfortunately my “reckoning” was on its way. It would come in the form of getting sick and then having to spend MANY months navigating a complex medical establishment in order to restore my health. (more…)

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Photo by Martin Brosy

(19) Running Myself Ragged and Dealing with the Medical Establishment (Part 2)

Dealing with the healthcare system can be a real headache, especially for highly sensitive people! In order to get quality and timely care, you have to be assertive…and sometimes downright aggressive! While most of us aren’t fond of conflict, it’s sometimes more important to fight for yourself than to feel comfortable in a situation. The wise advice my late mother once gave me comes to mind, “Speak up…or be left behind!”

In my last post, I wrote about how I ran myself ragged when I didn’t manage my stress during a grueling, multi-year effort to meet our goal of moving halfway across the country. I pushed myself way too hard…a terrible mistake that cost me my health for nearly two years! I would spend MANY months navigating a complex medical establishment in order to recover my health.

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(20) The Mental Gymnastics of Coping with Physical Illness

Some people cope with “not feeling well” better than others. Unfortunately, as a highly sensitive person, I tend to fare poorly on this spectrum. It was beyond distressing to feel lousy for almost two years! During this time, I suffered from high blood pressure and extreme fatigue. I felt like I was in a fog and had trouble concentrating.

I went to several different doctors and specialists, but nobody could pinpoint the source of the problem. I constantly worried about the consequences of having uncontrolled hypertension. I was in dire need of a strategy to keep me from losing my mind! (more…)

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(21) Cliff’s “Big Move” Lessons Learned (Part 1)

Making changes, especially major ones, can be extremely difficult for highly sensitive people. It’s tempting to stick with what’s comfortable and familiar, even when we may not be completely satisfied. Change is hard, but it can be accomplished!

Below is Part One of a list of Lessons Learned from my “Big Move” series, where I chronicle a major move that my wife and I made to live closer to our daughter. It was a multi-year journey that encompassed a series of significant life changes, including the loss of my mother, settling her estate, selling my home of 33 years, selling my business of 35 years, and moving from New Jersey to Missouri.

It is my hope that this series of blog posts can help motivate you, as a highly sensitive person, to take on something that’s truly important to you. (more…)

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