I 'Just Do It' Dizzy

The other day I saw this Nike swoosh symbol made out of Lego. Well Nike - I hope you don't mind, but I've kinda adopted it as my own. This swoosh looks like it's dizzy!

Deep down, I've probably always been a Nike girl at heart. It's not that I particularly susbscribe to big brand loyalty. It's not that I was even sold on their overpriced merchandise. What got me, were the three little words in their slogan. Those three words completely changed me. 

"Just Do It" not only had a profound effect on me, but it also revolutionalized a generation. It made average people try to be a little above average and it made ordinary people believe they could do extraordinary things.

It was partly this slogan, that got a couch potato like me, up and off my couch to start running on the day of my 40th birthday. It was partly this slogan that was behind my decision to run the Nike Women's Marathon, years later in San Francisco. And if you don't believe that this is a big deal, just think about how many hills there are in San Francisco!

Nike Women's Marathon with friends.

A shorter, less hilly race.

And it was partly this slogan that helped me overcome my fear of heights and attempt tree top trekking with my family.

"Just Do It" Scared!!!

"Just Do It" is a great slogan...until of course - you can't!

What happens when you can no longer "Just Do It"? What happens when an accident, an injury, or an illness prevents you from doing what you want to do? What then?

Well, that's when you have to make some changes and modifications. That's when you have to adapt the slogan to fit your particular situation. That's when you learn that you can still do some of the things you used to enjoy, just differently.  That's when - You 'Just Do It' Dizzy!

When I was first hit with Vestibular Neuritis, I avoided anything and everything that made me dizzy. For the first few months I literally curled up into a ball, stopped moving and stopped living. I didn't do anything and I didn't go anywhere. I was so depressed and I couldn't see a way out of it. I just couldn't visualize living the rest of my life with dizziness. But slowly, with time and VRT, I began to realize that movement, although it made me dizzy, was actually helping to improve my dizziness and imbalance. 

I recently read a post by Lauren Wootten, The Vertigo Therapist, who describes this process perfectly.

Lauren says "In *many* (but not all) vestibular conditions, the most effective way to decrease your dizziness symptoms is to actually make yourself dizzy. It seems counter-intuitive, and is often the opposite of what you have been doing. You come up with all kinds of strategies to avoid the movements and things that will make you dizzy".

She goes on to say "As soon as you start exposing yourself on a regular basis (in proper dosage and situation) to the things that make you dizzy, your brain does an amazing thing called 'HABITUATION'. Your brain starts to rewire itself to ignore that dizzy message, as it's no longer a useful signal. You are effectively desensitizing yourself from the dizzying movement or activity, allowing you to once again move more normally and get back to doing the things you want to do".

Lauren also states clearly that "Habituation is best suited to people who get dizzy with movement and activity and is not suited to people who have spontaneous or constant dizziness or room spinning vertigo".

What makes you dizzy, can be good for you, in incremental doses!

So now I'm trying to expose myself a little more to the things that make me dizzy.

My husband is a pilot we have a small plane. We used fly together a lot, but my vestibular disorder changed all that. I tried flying with him once before but pretty much kept my eyes closed the entire time. 

Yesterday, I took my new Nike slogan and decided to go flying with him, knowing that in all likelihood, I would get dizzy doing it. 

I took some anti nausea medication and a travel sickness bag (just in case) and we took off, And this time, I kept my eyes open.

Ready for take-off!

The view from here...propeller and all.

Almost touching the clouds.

Downtown Toronto.

Eyes on the propeller during the landing.

                                                            

Dizziness is my life now. So it would seem that I have two choices:- I can either stop living altogether, or I try to live the best I possibly can with this dizziness.

Now, please don't think for a minute that I'm encouraging anyone to take risks while dizzy. You cannot, nor should you ever - drive, operate machinery, climb a ladder or do any potentially dangerous activities such as down-hill skiing, while you are dizzy. But you can try to adapt some of the activities you once enjoyed or find some new ones. 

I can no longer run a marathon, but I can do a slow 5km run/walk. I can't do a full Zumba class, but I can do most of the moves if I omit the quick turns in the faster routines and just march on the spot.

I didn't choose to be dizzy, but here I am. So I might as well make the best of it. There are days when my symptoms prevent me from doing anything much at all. But when I am able - whatever I have to do, I 'Just Do It' Dizzy!