Insight By Jael

 I am 3 weeks post open myomectomy surgery and almost a month since I was admitted for severe anemia. March has been a bittersweet month for me. I got hospitalised/admitted for the first time in my life and had a major surgery which is crazy. Life has taught me that things could change any minute and death is not as far as we think. Life can literally end at any minute. March has been bitter because I've had to endure peak pain and discomfort from my struggle with heavy and painful menses, to the many injections and blood transfusion in the hospital to the quiet and cold room moments before theatre, the epidural injection and the anaesthetist that i hated so much, the discomfort during surgery, another cold waiting room moment after theatre, the journey back to the ward after surgery, the pain minutes before every next dose of pain killers, the first night after surgery, the removal of the catheter, the first trip to the toilet, first pee, first long call, the pain of sleeping on o...

  “In those days, people will no longer say, ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes,  and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’” — Jeremiah 31:29 I came across this verse in both books that I read in February. Initially, my goal was to finish four books by the end of the month. But the first one I picked up,  Bittersweet by Susan Cain, was so rich and layered that I found myself slowing down. Every page carried so many ideas and insights that I needed time to sit with them. That book, together with the next one I read, unexpectedly made me fall in love with the topic of trauma. For a long time, I had avoided anything related to trauma because I saw it as overwhelming, too complex, too wide, too mentally demanding. I assumed it required a kind of intellectual capacity I wasn’t sure I had. But instead of feeling intimidated, I found myself drawn in, curious, reflective, and wanting to understand more. Now I think I want to be a grief and trauma therapist.  These two bo...