Fake it until you make it. This is a mantra I find myself repeating over and over. Especially when I wake up feeling less than fabulous.
There are mornings when I wake-up or rather get up and know that I have had little sleep, am so stiff and awkward that I walk like a puppet. I stumble downstairs to get painkillers and put on the kettle so I can ease myself into the day. This is what it is like for me coping with fibromyalgia.
I am a very positive person so feeling less than great is hard for me. I try to focus on the good things in life and not on fibromyalgia, arthritis and the other things that are my shadow.
It would be so easy to simply stay in my lovely fluffy gown and binge watch Netflix. You really can 3 or 4 episodes without realising the passing of time.
Don’t wallow!
I am determined to not wallow (although there are days that I do). My lipstick is my companion, it reminds me that you can fake it until you make it.
I recently read something that I really related to. It was a list of things only people with chronic conditions would understand. One of these was sitting on the bed and wondering if you really needed to shower and wash your hair. Yes, this is a real thing. It takes energy to do this and it causes more pain.
Fake it until you make it
I keep trying and so I wanted to share how I fake it until I make it. How I push myself to get going and ultimately how I normally enjoy myself once I do make it to an event.
Realistically each time I do this it does make me very tired the next day, but the joy of getting up and getting glamorous is worth it.
Off to a Fashion Show – Faking it all the way!
A little while ago I was invited to a fashion show at Bellissimo in Galway as an ITWBN blogger. The show featured fashion from the fabulous Olivia Danielle boutique. It was one of those days when I really had to push myself.
I got dressed in my new dress from The Curvy Gurl, accessorised and put on my make-up. Just before leaving I got my photo taken for the obligatory Instagram/Facebook post.
Details of my outfit as requested:
Dress – The Curvy Gurl – Newry (I bought my dress at the Ireland’s got Curves show but they have a fab online shop)
Cardigan: Matalan – old as the hills but a firm favourite as it is my favourite colour
Shoes: Ballet flats from Debenhams
Necklace: A gift from my sister!
I was also extremely overwhelmed and humbled by the response to a simple social media post. Hundreds of likes, loves and comments all which made me feel better about myself. I am struggling with weight gain at the moment due to medications and other factors and being told I look good certainly spurs me on to try even harder.
This is how I know that Faking it until you make it works for me. Looking the best I could already put me in a brighter mood and going out distracted me from pain and tiredness.
I know that there are many people out there, and possibly reading this that are in a position where faking it isn’t always possible. So this is my call to ask people to understand when your friend with a chronic condition like fibromyalgia says sorry she can’t make it. I bet she tried really hard. She is coping with Fibromyalgia.
Thank you so much for reading.
Kerry xx
