Is a Day of Fun Worth a Few Days of Pain?

Yesterday my brother took me on an adventure! I woke up in one of those moods where I just had this need deep inside of me to go out and do something. So he and a friend took me rappelling for the first time.

I was a little nervous about going as I had never done it before. Both because walking down the side of a cliff seemed a little scary and because I didn’t know how my body would react.

 

I decided the risk would be worth the reward and I went anyways. I think an increase in pain is sometimes worth it to still be able to go out and have fun. I don’t want to let the fear of pain control my life.

So I went rappelling and it was a blast. I was so glad I went and even now, at 3:00 a.m., awake because of pain, I do not regret going. It was worth it. I did take care of myself while I was there and I only went down twice because the hike back up was really rough on my hips and knees, but I still got to go down twice and that was good enough for me. The rest of the time I was able to sit and look at the beautiful view from the top.

Although I don’t regret going at all, I don’t know if what I chose to do was “right.” It did cause a lot of pain which I’m now dealing with and will probably deal with tomorrow as well, maybe the next day. I almost passed out at one point because my heart rate went too high. Don’t worry, my feet were firmly on the ground at this point and my eyes only went a little dark. I also might have used all of the next day’s spoons because of all the energy it took. My thoughts were that it’s worth it, but one of the biggest questions I have about the chronic illness life is whether I should be listening to my body and not pushing it too hard or whether I should not let the symptoms control me and “do anything I set my mind to.”

I don’t have an answer to this. I don’t know if I ever will. Most of the time I try and play it safe and take care of myself, but sometimes I have to get out and have an adventure to keep it together. I’m 19 years old. Life is unpredictable. I want to have some fun sometimes. I think that’s OK.

How do you strike a balance in your life?

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Thinkstock photo via IPGGutenbergUKLtd.