WHEN I READ GOOD ADVICE BUT KNOW IT'LL NEVER WORK WITH HYPERHIDROSIS
I had a rousing Friday night staying in doing laundry, catching up on Daily Show, and a wee bit of terrible white wine. I also dived into my new dating "handbook." Oh boy, who have I become? I don't do self help books. I know what works for me and surely no one can give someone with HH advice. Unless you have HH I don't want to hear it. As I grow older I realize this is fatally flawed thinking.
This passage really struck me:
I want to live with integrity and truth. I'm not going to hide the jewel of who I am, nor will I mask my imperfections. No bargains, no avoiding reality, no conning myself, no lies. The more we commit to knowing and accepting ourselves, the more we are able to surrender to loving another person because we have nothing to hide and nothing to feel ashamed of... This is immensely important in the dating process because new love can resurrect our most primitive feelings of fear, hope, dependency, and emptiness. If we know how to soothe our pain and relax into our emptiness, we won't be afraid to be open and honest, regardless of the outcome.
-Charlotte Kasl, Ph.D., If the Buddha Dated
The jewel of who I am?! It's cheesy but try to look beyond that. I always use sweating as a cop out. No one knows what it's like, it's disgusting and surely no one will ever accept me for it. Or I at least need time to introduce it to someone as we build our relationship. But how much time?
Starting this blog is a huge step for me in being open about HH. Reading that passage further confirmed I need to continue this journey. It will be a process becoming completely comfortable talking about it. I have more stories to share about hiding... many more. Stay tuned and tell me about your process.
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Dear Sarah,
ReplyDeleteYour blog is very inspiring. You should be proud of taking that first step in putting your thoughts and emotions concerning hyperhidrosis out there for all of the interwebz to see. I myself did the same with my own blog thesweatyguys.tumblr.com but I found it difficult to continue updating it with complaints about excessive sweating -- after all, who wants to read "this condition fucking sucks" over and over again. Then I found that incorporating humor into my posts was something more relatable for whomever stumbled across the blog. You obviously seem like an intelligent and witty person who's had to soldier through her entire life suffering from this *debilitating* condition. You're not alone! Which you already should know, but I thought I'd reiterate it as well. I'm in college right now, and am envisioning my future lives - business, personal, romantic - having to deal with and conquer this terrible disorder. And you know what? I think I can do it. There are worse things in life, anyways… sort of. :P Lest I sound too hyperbolic, let me stop there. But I think we can all thank God - or whomever (perhaps Mother Nature?) - that fall is coming up because cooler temperatures means less sweat… for the most part.
Keep rocking on,
Brett C.
Brett! Thanks for reading and your words of encouragement. There is life beyond sweating. I often day dream of going back to college. There were certainly their challenges but I have many many great memories for college. I also miss being able to take a nap in between classes.
DeleteThree cheers to cooler temps!
-Sara
Always good to remember that everyone has their insecurities, and while they might not be able to relate to yours, they are probably dealing with all kinds of their own shit right along side you..
ReplyDelete