Inspiration of the Day

Even though I already posted today, after watching The Ellen Show at lunch today, I had to post again. One of her guests was JR Martinez who is an Iraqi war vet turned soap star turned Dancing with the Stars contestant. JR was in a military vehicle that hit a landmine and he was trapped inside and suffered third degree burns over 40 percent of his body.

His positive outlook on life is what I aspire to be like. He believes that things happen for a reason and if we say positive one day we'll find the reason. He aso admitted that there are some days that ae very hard but you can get past them. Every day is a new day and there are reasons to enjoy each and every day. If you haven't seen the clip, you should watch it on Ellen's website. What an inspiration!

Good Days and Bad Days

As with any illness, when struggling with anxiety and depression, you have your good days and your bad days. Lately I've been having a lot of good days. Yesterday however was a bad day. I didn't like the way my hair looked and have been dealing with a massive shedding period over the last month. Some days it is a struggle to stay positive and yesterday was one of those days. The way I try and stay positive is to look for the little things in life that make you happy.

This morning while watching Sportscentre, as is the morning tradition in our household, there was a story about Indy 500 racecar driver Dan Wheldon who died in a crash this weekend. I started to appreciate my situation alittle more. Later on in the morning I read an article about how by the end of October, Earth's population will reach 7 billion people! That is a scary thought, especially for those living in sub-Saharan Africa which has the highest birth rate and the highest rate of poverty in the world. After reading that, it seems a little naïve to be so affected by my hair. I'm lucky that I can wake up every day, have food on the table and a roof over my head.

On the good days, I don't worry so much about my hair. However, on the bad days, when I can feel the depression starting to creep up on me, it helps to take a moment and reflect on my life situation compared to others. Sometimes all we need is a little perspective.

Welcome!

My first post was intended to be a breakdown of everything that has been going on with me but both my and my fiance's computers decided to go on strike simultaneously so I'm writing this on my Blackberry. So bear with me and forgive any grammar or spelling mistakes (I'm looking at you Lindsay!)

So, a quick breakdown... my hair, which has always been thick and full, has been falling out for the last three years. I've gotten multiple reasons from doctors on why this may be happening, the latest being adrogenetic alopecia. Being faced with the possibility that my hair might never grow back, I had a breakdown (obviously!) and have since decided that I will not let this dictate how I live my life or how happy I will be. I haven't come to this easily or by myself (special thanks to Adam, Wade, my naturopath Saeid Mushtagh and Dr. Sniderman at Stanton). Its been a real struggle this year as I have been dealing with depression and anxiety disorder. I know many of you will be shocked or surprised as I have hid it from most of you. Others will be less shocked as I am sure I have not been myself lately. I apologize but am moving forward!

After a month of tragedies in Yellowknife, I realized that there are worse things to happen to a person than losing their hair. However, I know how difficult this has been for me and I don't take lightly anyone else's struggles. For a woman, her hair is often a sign of her beauty and femininity. Losing it can be devastating. I know that for myself, people have told me all my life how beautiful my hair was. While I appreciate the compliments, it just made it that much harder when it started falling out. Speaking out about it the best way for me to deal with it because hiding it from people has not served me well so far (just ask my fiance Adam who, by the way, has the patience of a saint and has been nothing but loving and supportive). So, I am grabbing life by the balls and accepting my situation. I hope that everyone will be helpful and supportive. I would love to hear from you with advice, stories, messages of hope and love, anecdotes, etc...

I know I am not the only woman out there suffering from this and if I can help one other person have a positive outlook, I will be ecstatic.

Much love,

Kristen (aka The Balding Blogger)