The beginning of 2026 has been… rough, to put it lightly. You know how some years ease you in gently, like a slow sunrise? This one felt more like being shoved out the door before I even had a chance to get my footing.

It started with a massive Fibromyalgia flare-up that lasted an entire month. Not just a few bad days—weeks of deep, aching pain, crushing fatigue, and brain fog so thick it felt like I was moving through mud. Just as I was trying to manage that, life hit harder. My mother-in-law passed away, and navigating grief while already physically depleted felt almost impossible.

Then, as if that wasn’t enough, I caught a cold that completely wiped me out. The kind where even getting out of bed feels like a monumental task. I barely had time to recover before allergies came crashing in—and this time, they were horrendous.

I’ve dealt with seasonal allergies before, but nothing like this. The congestion was unbearable, my nose constantly running or completely blocked. I was sneezing nonstop, my throat felt raw and scratchy, and my eyes were so swollen they were nearly shut at times. I honestly don’t know why it was so much worse this year, but it was. And of course, pairing that with Fibromyalgia only made everything more intense. My body ached more than usual, and the brain fog? It went from frustrating to downright confusing—like I couldn’t even trust my own thoughts.

What made it even worse was that allergy medicine didn’t seem to help at all. I tried different brands, adjusted doses, changed when I took them—nothing made a real difference. It’s incredibly discouraging to keep trying and get little to no relief.

Out of sheer desperation, I turned to something I normally wouldn’t rely on: essential oils. And surprisingly, they helped… a little. There was a lot of diffusing, a lot of mixing with carrier oils, and at one point I probably smelled and looked like I’d bathed in the stuff. But even that small bit of relief mattered. It didn’t fix everything, but it helped me function just enough to get through the day.

And now, Utah’s weather is being indecisive—one day warm and sunny, the next cold, windy, and rainy. Either way, it’s not helping me bounce back even after all of this time.

Honestly, I feel like I need a reset button. A do-over for the past few months. Because right now, I’m just trying to find my way back to feeling like myself again.