Avoiding Avoidance

I apologize for the avoidance of my writing. My mother had brain surgery
and I have been tied up with the emotions and visits there.

Today is Motivational Monday again so I would like to share something
that was shared with me at the AHMA conference a couple of weeks
ago. One of the speakers, who is both a migraine sufferer and a
prominent migraine doctor shared about the isolation we who suffer can
succumb to. He told us about a concert he really wanted to go to but
knew the noise and lights would likely trigger a migraine. He told us
that he pre-medicated and took the chance because life would become
dormant and idle if we gave in to our fears and avoided all potentially
triggering situations.

Last night I took his advice and went to a concert I have been wanting to go to for years and have been afraid to. Some of you may be familiar with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and their incredible electrophonic music complete with pyrotechnics and laser lights. I love their Christmas music and I knew this show stood to be incredible. At first my husband offered the ticket to a friend because we both figured it would be a bad idea for me to go. When the friend was unable to attend, and I had the encouragement of the migraine doctor, I loaded up with my meds and we went. It. was. fantastic! And though I wore earplugs and sunglasses, got a little nauseous a couple of times, I am very thankful I overcame my fear and decided to go.

I thought about this and how it relates to recovering from sexual abuse and the many triggers we encounter on a near daily basis. If I lived in hyper-vigilance, trying to protect myself from every potential trigger, I would have to sit at home, alone, no phones, no TV, no music, no internet. I would become a very bored recluse…and my perpetrators would win. This is not what I desire. I want to thrive in this life as I pass on my healing and hope to others. I encourage you today to remember:

Courage is not the absence of fear, but the capacity to act in the presence of fear. ~Rev. Mary Harvey

And for fun, here is a sample of TSO’s Christmas music.

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1 Response to Avoiding Avoidance

  1. Jean Marie says:

    Thank you for writing about the choice to go out and live a full life in spite of trigger concerns!

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