Give Life! Give Blood!

...Thus read the ridiculously oversized banner that welcomed me to work on Friday. Taunting me, tormenting me in all its loudness and irony. Because in the past five months I have had my blood drawn three times - twice in the last week. And each time, I totally panic, cry hysterically and come close to fainting. I am not just needle-phobic, but also deathly and uncontrollably horrified by the sight of my own veins in my arms. I can barely glance at my wrists without feeling queasy - something I have struggled with and been teased about by a tormenting family my entire life. And until recently something I have been able to pretty much ignore and not worry about, having given blood a total of maybe three times
since toddler-hood.

But now I am 33, which in some parts of the world is considered old. Medically speaking, it certainly isn't young. My insurance steadily rises every year for a reason. I am a potential health hazard. My body is shifting and changing inside, and now the only way to know what's really happening on the inside is to give a little blood. And I just have to deal with it.

I eat healthy, exercise daily and practice yoga religiously. These are things I can control and commit to but clearly they aren't enbough, because lately I have been getting sick an awful lot. I need to start taking care of myself in every way. That's what responsible adults do, right?

New rule: Accept that growing up means becoming responsible for your health, mind body and soul... from the inside out. You can eat healthy and exercise all you want, but unless you check yourself on the inside now and then, you will never be 100% in control of your health. So give a little blood now and then. And give YOURSELF a life.

- EJ