Welcome to AIPooja!
My name is Pooja, and I am trying to keep my head above water while balancing disease, wellness, and graduate school. Continually learning and growing, with no end in sight. I hope you find something you can relate to here!
Tag Archives: health
Unlocking & Reliving Trauma
Warning: this post has graphic descriptions and imagery of surgical procedures and wounds. Eight years ago, I had one of the most traumatic experiences of my life and my health journey. One of the surgeries I desperately needed at the … Continue reading
Posted in Anecdotes, Hidradenitis Suppurativa, mental health
Tagged autoimmune disease, autoimmune experiences, depression, emotional healing, emotional wounds, healing, health, health trauma, hidradenitis, hidradenitis experience, hidradenitis suppurativa, infection, mental health, posttraumatic stress disorder, scars, seek therapy, surgery, surgical procedures, surgical wound, therapist, therapy, trauma, traumatic, traumatic experience, wound vac
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Dear Mom, You Don’t Have to Hide the Pills Anymore
A year ago this month, my psychiatric provider asked me whether I was experiencing thoughts of suicide, and I said yes. In the months prior, I had been diagnosed with PTSD for the trauma I had experienced regarding health and … Continue reading
Posted in AIP, Anecdotes, Autoimmune Protocol, Healthy, Hidradenitis Suppurativa, mental health, Paleo, Uncategorized
Tagged AIP, anxiety, autoimmuneprotocol, chronic illness, depression, education, family, friends, health, hidradenitis, hidradenitis suppurativa, life, mental health, mental health education, mental illness, people, posttraumatic stress disorder, ptsd, suicidal, suicidal feelings, suicidal ideation, suicidal thoughts, suicide awareness, suicide prevention, support, trauma, truth
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Fighting for Your Life Physically vs. Fighting Mentally/Emotionally
It just so happens that fighting for your life physically and fighting for your life mentally and emotionally are completely different. Continue reading
Posted in Healthy, Hidradenitis Suppurativa, mental health, Uncategorized
Tagged depression, family, friends, health, life, mental health, pain, share, suicidal ideation, truth
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Chicken Fried Cauliflower “Rice”
Remember when I posted at the beginning of the semester, terrified about whether I would be able to finish off the semester and actually graduate? Well graduation is 5 weeks away. Can you believe that? FIVE WEEKS. This semester has … Continue reading
Posted in Food, Healthy, Paleo, Recipes, Uncategorized
Tagged cauliflower, cauliflower fried rice, cauliflower rice, chicken, chicken fried rice, dinner, easy, fried rice, garlic, ginger, grain free rice, health, healthy, healthy dinner, nightshade free, recipe, recipes, soy sauce, statistics, vegetables
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Living in Fear
Here’s a not-so-secret: Classes start today. Here’s a secret: I’m terrified. I’m not terrified of school, of course. I love learning, being actively engaged in class (I’m the annoying student who always sits near the front row and asks a … Continue reading
Posted in Anecdotes, Hidradenitis Suppurativa, Marathon Mondays, Misc
Tagged afraid, being sick, class, classes, college, disease, emotional, fear, future children, graduate, health, hidradenitis, hidradenitis suppurativa, honesty, marathon, psychology, scared, school, semester, sickness, start, story, terrified, undergrad, undergraduate
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10 Questions to Never Ask a Marathon Runner
Happy Marathon Monday!! My friend Monica and I sat down to dinner last fall and had a good laugh over the various questions we’ve received as marathon runners, either while training or post-race. We compiled some of our favorites and … Continue reading
Posted in Fitness, Marathon Mondays, Running
Tagged advice, distance running, fitness, friend, health, healthy, marathon, marathon monday, marathon runner, marathon running, motivation, perseverance, question, questions, run, runner, running
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Easy Chicken and Vegetable Skewers
Hope you had a splendid Fourth of July! Mine was fantastic. My brother is in town for the long weekend and we are all ecstatic to spend some quality family time together for the first time since the winter holidays! … Continue reading
Posted in Food, Healthy, Paleo, Recipes
Tagged chicken, chicken skewers, delicious, diet, dinner, easy, food, fourth of july recipes, grilled chicken, grilled chicken skewers, grilled vegetable skewers, health, healthy, july fourth recipe, mccormick seasoning, mushroom, olive oil, paleo, paleo diet, recipe, recipes, red onion, sea salt, simple, summer recipes, vegetable skewers, yellow squash, zucchini
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Daddy’s Girl
I can sum up my relationship with my dad with one story. A story that still brings me to tears when I think about it: May 1st, 2011 was the day of my first full marathon. It was also my … Continue reading
Posted in Anecdotes, Fitness, Marathon Mondays, Misc, Running
Tagged birthday, compassion, dad, dad's birthday, daddy, daddy's girl, emotional, father, father's day, health, love, marathon, motivation, perseverance, run, running, senior prom, strength, support
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Shin Splints & Zensah Compression Sleeves
Shin splints. They are every runner’s nightmare. They are the aching reminder that stays with you for days after a long run. They even ruin the short runs. What can be done about them? I hadn’t has issues with shin … Continue reading
Posted in Fitness, Marathon Mondays, Running
Tagged advice, amazon, compression, compression sleeves, distance running, fitness, foam roller, health, healthy, injury, long run, marathon, marathon runner, marathon running, nightmare, pain, run, runner, running, running injury, shin splint, shin splints, short run, sleeves, tan lines, zensah, zensah compression sleeves
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Borrowing Legs for 26.2 Miles
A question I’ve been asked several times is what exactly a person thinks about for 26.2 miles. Music is great and all, but it cannot possibly be enough to occupy your mind for that long. For my first marathon, I … Continue reading
AIPooja: Seeking Wellness through Disease 