Day 23 - Dystonia and Changing Seasons

Happy Fall, ya'll!! Fall is one of my favorite seasons (the other being summer!), especially living here in East Tennessee. God lets His paintbrush loose. His presence is seen all around and especially in the spectacular beauty of the mountains. It's truly a site to behold. I'm talking about fall because of course it's the first full day of it, but also because it got me thinking about how the weather and the seasons changing have a great effect on my dystonia symptoms.

I'm not sure if what I'm going to say is scientific in the least bit, but it is how my body reacts. The colder the weather, the worse I walk. The warmer the weather, the more relaxed my muscles are. I get stiffer in colder weather and moving in general is harder for me in the winter months as opposed to the warmer summer months. I trip more often and have more accidents. This isn't to say that I don't still have great days in the winter and horrible, no good days in the summer, but I do see a pattern. :)

I know some of it may be psychosomatic too. If it's raining and leaves are all over the ground, I think to myself, "I'm probably going to slip". Or if the ground is iced over, "I'm probably going to fall". I see how I psych myself out sometimes! But on the other hand, I really do have a harder time controlling spasms and keeping myself from tripping and falling when the weather turns cold. I don't know why that is - it's a mystery to me. But, I do love summer and fall. They are my most favorite seasons! So, I'm relishing in them while I can. :)

I'm southern in my soul and I find it kind of charming that my body also seems to think the same way! My body and soul like warm weather. On that front, I'm sad to see summer go, but fall is just as wonderful and living in East Tennessee it's still warm enough too! So again, I say, Happy Fall, Ya'll and here's to NO falls for me (or anyone else!) this season!!

 

To usher Fall in, I took this picture today of the lake at work: