It's interesting what you find on Hive - so many interesting posts! We've been friends with @galenkp for some time now, and his recent post in this community regarding work-life balance was eye opening, to say the least...
It's been a hard 18 months for so many people on this planet, and it's bizarre to think that we will one day look back and be able to say that we lived through a pandemic, making us the lucky ones...
When lockdown kicked in, so many of us wanted to use the time to make improvements whilst keeping themselves - and the rest of the country - safe. Goals for health and fitness, healthy eating and drinking, new and improved daily routines were the goal for many of us. Apart from Adele and Rebel Wilson, I cannot think of many who managed to do so successfully over the last 18 months...
The thing is, it's been a tough old time for so many of us even before lockdown, as there are things that a lot of us deal with daily that no-one knows about.
I'm not here to be vague - I'm here to talk about the daily, sometime hourly, struggles that quite often stop me from fully engaging in car reviews for our YouTube Channel Planetauto.
(If you are interested in what we do, check out this video as it gives you some highlights!)
Being an automotive journalist means that Ben and I get to drive some fantastic vehicles, attend some amazing events, and experience things that are unforgettable (Hot Lap in the BMW i8 safety car at Donington Park Racing Circuit? Yes please!)
What gets in the way of us doing more of these things is something that so many of have to live with everyday - disability.
Being long term disabled means I have challenges that make normal life quite hard. It wasn't always this way, as unlike some, I wasn't born disabled. For me, it was a result of an injury that was life changing, and not in a good way.
In 2010, I suffered an electrocution injury, and survived! It really did change things though, as it caused permanent nerve and brain damage.
This took quite a while to be properly diagnosed, meaning unending, incredibly intense constant pain, loss of range of motion, swelling, burning, hyper sensitivity, the list goes on...
The question became - how can I still manage to live and work when I have no idea if the pain will stop?
At points - especially during college and Uni and after, I've lived to work rather than the other way around, and anyone who owns and runs their own small business can attest, there are no days off when it's yours. So how can I continue to do what I want and what I need to do when my body seems to be completely going down the tubes?
Trying to find a healthy balance in all things is key - a sensible work/life balance, a healthy mental state, where you can weather the bad days, and enjoy the good. What do you do when you cannot even figure out how to get the pain to stop? How do you function when your limbs don't work anymore? This - and more, was what Ben and I were now facing, and it was only going to get worse (although we didn't know it at the time)
This was one of my extreme lows - having to attend Goodwood Festival of Speed in a scooter, as I was unable to walk at this point. To add insult to injury (see what I did there? pun intended) my mobility challenges had resulted in torn cartilage in my knee, making my already difficult challenges even worse.
It did balance out a bit, as some home remodelling and lots and lots of physio meant we found a new way to get around. No less painful - just different.
So the long term? When the lockdown was announced, I had plans to take the extra time to see if I could rebalance. My aim was to see if me and my challenges could find some common ground, and improve things. Ben - as always - was a complete star. He looked at ways to make the environment at home safer in a bid to make it easier (and a little less painful) for me to film reviews for the cars once we started being able to do so again.
The thing I didn't forsee was the mental and emotional toll that this pandemic has had on all of us - but that (as they say) is a different story.
How do you manage to keep on an even keel? Did you manage any self improvement during lockdown? Please share your stories with me.
Thank you all, and enjoy.
Annabelle 😊