MY ANOSMATIC LIFE

Last week marked three months since I’ve been able to smell again. Will it stay? I hope so. Although I can smell it right now, I can’t ignore the fact that I lived with anosmia for over 12 years. There are a lot of things that I dislike about anosmia, but I’ve grown so much over the years that the experience of being an anosmic has taught me a few things. Here are eight lessons:

1. To be vulnerable

It’s been a struggle. Anosmia definitely taught me to be more open about my condition. I talked about my loss of sense of smell often but aspired for years to write about it so I’d stop talking folks’ heads off. It took a while. But as I write each blog post from the heart, I’m exposing myself and stomping on my fear of judgment and criticism.

I’ve lived this life with anosmia for 11 too long years and could not hold it inside anymore. I’m glad I took the courage to finally create My Anosmatic Life. It’s a great feeling to finally get out of what I’ve been experiencing.

By being more open to the positive and painful sides of anosmia, I’m releasing my thoughts and emotions. I’ve come a long way from when it all started.

2. Not to let people get to me

When I’ve told people that I can’t smell, I never knew what the response would be. It really varies.  One time I spoke to someone about dogs and how I wanted a service dog or just a dog with a strong sense of smell to “sniff out danger” because of my condition (plus my dog was no help with the gas leak). This person laughed when I mentioned I couldn’t smell. Were my feelings hurt? Yes. But rather than entertain the ignorance and let it get to me, I changed the subject. I did not have the time.

My experience with anosmia is not something to discuss with everyone, that is a fact. Some people just don’t have an empathetic bone in their body. But I’m not going to stop sharing my story because of ridiculous responses and/or reactions.

3. To educate others and myself on anosmia

If you asked me in 2007, what the word for loss of sense of smell was. My response would have been “I don’t know.” I think I got tired of not knowing. We always hear about deafness and blindness. But how often do we hear about anosmia? Barely. I for sure didn’t know what anosmia was until years later when I googled the heck out of what I was experiencing and asked my ENT doctor.

The more I educate myself, the better I understand what anosmia is and can explain it. Plus, the more people I tell about it, the more it becomes known.

4. It’s okay to ask people to do things for me

I rarely ask people to do favors for me. That’s just who I am. But I have definitely grown to ask people to borrow their noses and not feel bad about it. I have needed help to pick out smell-good products, check if something was rotten, and even armpit and shoe odor checks. These are all things that I’ve had to guesstimate or depend on Google (fragrance products) when I’m alone. But any chance I had to ask someone I never hesitated and appreciated it all.

5. I am not my condition

It’s so easy to let anosmia run, ruin, suck (the joy out) your life. It really sucks to lose something you’ve had since birth. Anosmia is a condition that I happened to have, not what I am. It’s been a long journey to figure that out. I refused to let it define who I am and affect how I lived my life anymore. All I can do is pray, keep trying methods, be cautious, and keep it moving.

6. I can’t control everything

Getting rid of anosmia is no easy task, if possible at all for some. It’s so easy to overthink the things you miss, the things you actually do miss out on, and experiences you could possibly miss out on. That’s on top of the anxiety of not being able to smell. Depression is so real. Yoga and breathing exercises really helped out with the stress of anosmia and taught me to become more mindful of my thoughts.

I take it one day at a time and spend less time worrying about what I can’t control (my anosmia and whether it’ll stay or not) and focusing more on what I can (allergy management and what goes in my body).

7. To take better care of my body

I previously shared how I was diagnosed with high blood pressure (HBD) and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), gained over 25 lbs., and had my gallbladder removed due to gallstones all within five years. I connect all these problems to my anosmia because I was stressed and depressed over it and had seriously bad eating habits. I pretty much ate to eat cause I surely barely tasted anything.

My gallbladder removal was a wake-up call. With the assistance of a holistic practitioner, I lost weight and learned to manage stress better. I no longer have GERD or HBD. But that whole experience brought my salt intake and other habits to life.

8. To try new foods

I used to be the pickiest eater ever and ate the same things over and over again. If you asked me to try something pre-anosmia, my answer was “no” 98% of the time. I disliked spicy food, didn’t really care for seafood, hated most vegetables, etc. I was close-minded when it came to food. But when I became anosmic, surprisingly, I started trying new stuff and restaurants.

Eventually, I budged and fell in love with spicy foods, seafood, vegetables, Thai, Indian and so many other foods that I still like to eat.

Life with anosmia is a roller coaster, but I’m thankful for the lessons from my personal experiences, good and bad.