Staying Positive While Living With a Chronic Illness - Comedy & Humor

Journal Entry from earlier this morning:

"Rough start so far, but determined to turn things around. Emo and in pain from ovulation. Didn't sleep as long/deeply as needed and am exhausted and ready to go back to bed even though I just got up. Also stiff, sore, nauseous. Woke up sad/angry about my life circumstances - about feeling rejected/misunderstood by both sides of my family, about money, independence, my health and stamina and sun sensitivity, disability. My brain started going down fast. Started crying, feeling overwhelmed, wanted to break down and start destroying furniture and shit. But this energy does nothing positive or constructive for me at all, and I know everything I'm feeling is valid, but I must channel the river of my emotions accordingly so as not to get swept away in a path of irreversible destruction. 

This day is mine, I claim it, to do with it as I please. I will focus on my blessings, all that I do have, and I will work my ass off to the best of my ability to get as much done as I can, and whatever my best is today, that's okay. It's okay to feel what I feel. It's not okay to wallow, to waste this precious gift of a day by crying and feeling sorry for myself, by focusing on what I lack. This days is mine, I claim and own it, here and now. I can make it into whatever I want it to be, whatever I choose to focus on. 

And I choose love and light and magick and art and creativity and laughter and adventure and service. 

This I choose. And so it shall be. 

Praise Jah!"

Living with Fibromyalgia means that I wake up pretty much every day already struggling before I even get out of bed. With either physical pain and other symptoms like nausea, vertigo, and arthritis, or mental/emotional pain due to chronic illness and disability, like anxiety and depression. Waking up feeling awful makes not only turning your day (and anyone's who happens to wake up next to you) around incredibly difficult, being overwhelmed by emotion can sap one of energy and deplete your immune system, which is already quite taxed for us "spoonies" of the world.

So, how do I turn shitty mornings, or anytime of day, around into something positive and productive, despite the fact that I live with a debilitating, life altering and life long illness?
In my previous post in this series, I discussed the benefits I receive from daily studies of psychology and philosophy. Today I'll be discussing the next cornerstones in my drug-free symptom management tool kit - Comedy and Humor. As I was writing the previously quoted journal entry earlier today, I put my favorite comedy bits on and you can see how it helped turn my mood from dark, stormy, destruction into one of determination and positive focus.

Simply Google "the benefits of laughter" and countless medical resources come up with articles detailing how laughter, like creativity, aids blood pressure and vascular flow, reduces stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, helps the pituitary gland produce endogenous opiates thus naturally reducing pain, increase memory and learning, bond partners/groups and the two halves of the brain, and workout the diaphragm, abdominal, respiratory, leg, and back muscles. Working out while laughing? What a fun extra side effect! I'll take all the extra exercise I can, since my stamina is still pretty low and I'm not able to be as active as I'd like. And as for the strengthening bonds thing, I can tell you firsthand that humor is one of the biggest saviors of my long-term relationship, which started shortly before the onset of my illness and has seen some serious tests over the 4 plus years we've been together now.

Check out this quote from Dr. William Fry of Stanford University on http://www.care2.com:

"Humor and creativity work in similar ways – by creating relationships between two disconnected items, you engage the whole brain. Humor works quickly. Less than a half-second after exposure to something funny, and electrical wave moves through the higher brain functions of the cerebral cortex. The left hemisphere analyzes the words and structures of the joke; the right hemisphere “gets” the joke; the visual sensory area of the occipital lobe creates images; the limbic (emotional) system makes you happier; and the motor sections make you smile or laugh.

So let’s laugh."

Word, homie! Let's laugh indeed, even in the face of seemingly overwhelming circumstances. 
One of my favorite ways to get my daily dose of comedy is through podcasts. Podcasts have become one of my favorite media sources because they are usually free, instantly accessible, and have very little advertising - which not only means less commercials to skip through, but more freedom to the podcasters to express themselves without censoring their beliefs or language.

Some of my favorite podcasts for comedy are: The Joe Rogan Experience (he also has very interesting guests on there, so you learn while you laugh), Bill Burr's Monday Morning Podcast, and The Duncan Trussell Family Hour (he also has interesting guests in addition to being very funny, and a few years ago overcame cancer in one of his balls and the loss of his mother - whom he had on as a guest not longer before she passed and it was one of the most beautiful things I've ever witnessed).

Here's some of my favorite comedy bits (all of which I've watched this morning). 
Hope you enjoy them as much as I do! 

I love this bit and have watched it probably dozens of times. This is my go-to when I feel especially down and have no interest in anything goofy or silly. But it perks me up everytime! 


The Stages of Grief by Robot Chicken. I find it to be a perfect metaphor for chronic illness/disability especially. Fucking hilarious!


Maybe you have to be sorta fucked up or have crazy family to truly appreciate "Billiam", but I love this man. He is probably one of my favorite comedians. 


Haha yes, at 30 years old, this is my life right now!


Fucked up thoughts, we all have 'em. Bill's just happens to be really funny. Maybe partly why I love this man so much is he makes me feel sane ;) 


One last Bill Burr bit. For recovering Christians like myself. I laughed so hard the first time I saw this one I teared up :)

More Robot Chicken, some of their Star Wars Parodies (some of my faves, go Seth Green!)

I could list dozens more of my favorite comedy bits, but I think I've given you enough to mull over here for now. 

What are some of your favorite ways to laugh, or do you have any favorite comedians or podcasts?

Thanks for reading!
*Love & Light*
Renata Carmen

Please, if you find any value from this blog, please consider making a donation to the PayPal link at the top right of the page. I don't create these posts expecting anything but to help/entertain others, but I am a disabled mechanic/artist who is not currently receiving SSI/SSDI and when I'm flared up it's hard if not impossible for me to get my hustle on. I'm also working on adding Bitcoin here! :) 

Staying Positive While Living With A Chronic Illness - How I Use Philosophy & Psychology to Manage My Perspective

Oh so very flared up today and the last several days. Have been battling vertigo and brain fog pretty bad. Please pardon any typos or poorly constructed sentences as a result :)

Spring is rough on my Fibromyalgia due to fluctuations in barometric pressure. Just gotta ride out a few more weeks. Then the weather should stop fluctuating from Winter to Summer, and finally settle into the warm glories of Summer in Vermont. Besides the ticks, mosquitoes, and poison oak, this place is heaven during the warmer months. Heaven all year really, if you're into the four seasons thing. Which I totally am. But I digress.

I'm not here to talk to you about nature or the seasons or Vermont. Not today, anyhow.
Today I want to share something very important to me, and maybe it will help someone else too.

Living with a disabling chronic illness can be a total mindfuck. There's a reason medical professionals tend to automatically dole out anti-depressants when a patient is diagnosed with something like Fibro. Your entire quality of life is altered in ways you can't comprehend unless you've been through something similar yourself. The difference between gnosis and simple book knowledge, I suppose. The entire experience could break a person's will and mind if not managed properly.

I'll save the discussion of my favorite plants and chemicals for managing my Fibro and the stresses of living with it for a time when I don't feel like I'm stuck on the Disneyland "Teacups" ride for several days straight.

Not so fun when you're unable to get off the ride

For now I'd like to focus on drug-free ways of feeling good even when living with something as challenging as chronic pain and illness. Drug-free methods are awesome because you don't have to worry about safety or tolerance, they're legal everywhere, and they give empowerment to the patient. Either used alone or in combination with your favorite chemical cocktail, these methods have and continue to prove to be invaluable to me in my day to day life.

I know what it's like to wake up feeling like death, either due to an illness, or depression, or some other life circumstance. Waking up exhausted, in unimaginable pain, and struggling to get out of bed. I woke up like that yesterday, and today, and probably will tomorrow. The joys of illness.

How do you keep from going mad when faced with such a grim Groundhog's day existence?

Finding humor within the madness

For me, it's all about perspective. Our perspective molds our realities, fuels our creativity, drives our immune systems. Instead of starting my days off with the news or social media, I start off listening to something that will fuel me rather than bog me down. As a "spoonie" with limited energy, this is pertinent to being able to maximize my use of each day.

The beauty of living in the Information Age is we have access to pretty much any piece of data ever recorded, for free or very close to that. You can learn about anything you want. You can choose which forms of media you will consume, which communities you'll interact with. You can filter your online reality into the ultimate educational/inspirational machine. Or you can turn it into a nightmarish collage of death and destruction and despair. You decide. It's your reality, after all.

My favorite topics are Personal Development, Comedy, and Philosophy/Psychology, specifically Eastern Philosophy. I'd tried studying Zen and integrating meditation into my life in the past, but as a Westerner and recovering Lutheran I found the concepts so foreign I wasn't able to properly grasp them, got frustrated, and gave them up.

Then I discovered the work of Alan Watts. He was a brilliant Comparative Philosopher who helped popularize mainstream interest in Eastern Religions during the 50's and  60's. By lecturing in an entertaining way on the similarities and differences between the West and East, he helped the United States to understand both cultures and their religions/philosophies with greater clarity and insight.



I find his words to be very helpful in my day to day struggles. They continually help me to keep my perspective positive, by reminding me how little we understand, and how beautiful the mystery is. A mystery of which you and are also apart.

It helps that his voice is so soothing you don't care what he's discussing, like listening to a waterfall.

I also love the work of Psychologists Carl Jung and Robert Anton Wilson. Studying the mind helps me to understand and manage my mental battles with more skill and strategy.



Honorable mention goes out to Ann Shulgin, who has worked as a Lay-Psychotherapist, and shared her experiences in the brilliant and taboo shattering books she co-wrote with her husband - the late, great Chemist, Alex "Shasha" Shulgin (RIP Sasha. Thank you for your tireless and fearless dedication to studying consciousness!). Even if you have no interest in chemistry or pharmacology, there's a damned good tale of love, hope, and adventure interwoven in those pages.

Some of the greatest explorers you've probably never heard of

I hope by sharing with you here that you too may find peace and serenity from the many works of these great souls, or if not, the inspiration to seek out your own favorite "mind fuel" to help give you the strength and inspiration to overcome whatever mountain you're struggling to climb.

Next post I'll discuss my favorite comedians and how laughter effects our health, immune system, and pain levels.

What are your favorite drug-free methods to manage stress, anxiety, and/or depression?  

Thanks for reading! 
*Love & Light*
Renata Carmen

*Please, if you find any value from this blog, please consider making a donation to the PayPal link at the top right of the page. I don't create these posts expecting anything but to help/entertain others, but I am a disabled mechanic/artist who is not currently receiving SSI/SSDI and when I'm flared up it's hard if not impossible for me to get my hustle on. I'm also working on adding Bitcoin here! :)