Friday, April 1, 2011

HAWMC Prompt 1: Acrostic

I've decided to participate in WEGO Health's Health Activist Writer's Month Challenge (HAWMC). I've been out of the writing/blogging world for a little while, so I hope I'm able to keep up. Luckily, they're providing a daily blog prompt. I'm looking forward to seeing what prompts there are and challenging myself to write in ways that are out of my comfort zone.

Today's challenge is to write an acrostic using the letters in the word HEALTH or for my condition (MIGRAINE), so I've decided to do one for each. An acrostic is a "form of writing in which the first letter, syllable, or word of each line, paragraph, or other recurring feature in the text spells out a word or a message."

HEALTH

History - It's important to know your medical history. And, especially if you're experiencing chronic pain, you should consider keeping a pain diary/journal.
Endurance - Being chronically ill often results in your mind and body enduring a lot. It can be very exhausting and discouraging, but it can also be a chance to learn and grow.
Assistance - Needing assistance (from other people, as well as from various tools and resources) can be very embarassing and humbling. It can be hard to ask for help... it's definitely a learning process.
Limitations - Learning to function around the limitations imposed by one's health issues can be incredibly difficult, but it's an important step toward acceptance.
Tested - Relationships, identity, emotions, faith, financial security, etc... can all be tested during times of illness. These tests can be very difficult, but they're opportunities for growth.
Hope - There is always reason to have hope for a better tomorrow... working toward an increased acceptance of one's health issues and situation.

MIGRAINE

Medication - Migraine is often treated with medication. Preventive medications are often used (in addition to abortive medications) in the treatment of chronic migraines.
Invisible Illness - Migraine is an invisible illness. This often leads to mis-conceptions and mis-understandings.
Genetic - Migraine is a genetically-based illness.
Routine - It's important to have and keep to a routine. Changes in eating and sleeping habits, for example, can be a trigger migraines.
Aura - Some people with migraine experience an aura, which is usually a visual (though it can be sensory, motor, or verbal) disturbances, prior to a migraine attack.
Incapacitating - Migraines can be debilitating, leaving the individual incapacitated for varying stretches of time.
Nausea - Many people with migraine experience nausea (to some degree) with their migraines.
Empathy - Experiencing migraines can lead to a stronger empathy and understanding for others. "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle" ~ Plato

1 comment:

Disclaimer: Nothing on this blog is intended as medical or legal advice.

What I write on this site is my own, and if it is someone else's, I take special care to attribute it to the original author. So, please don't use any of my material without proper attribution or permission. Thanks.