A Sense Of Kefalonia

Both my husband and myself love the beautiful island of Kefalonia. In fact so much so that we’ve bought a little rundown cottage over there to renovate. However that’s another story!

We went to Kefalonia a week ago, ahhh it seems like an eternity now we’re back to the nitty gritty of everyday life. There were a few revelations for me while I was over there however. Let me tell you about them.

• My sense of smell vanished, not just a little but completely! 

Whilst here in England it had returned a little. For example I could smell certain types of candle, especially spiced notes with cinnamon in, also vanilla candles. I also got the odd smell of my perfume while I was spraying it on, and could smell food cooking if it was strong like curry for example. They were quite faint but definitely there.

Once I was in Kefalonia however….nothing. I didn’t even notice a first as I was enjoying the sunshine and relaxation so much. It clicked when we were strolling past taverns that often lined the streets, with Greek music playing softly in the background. Am I making it sound idyllic yet? On one of our little strolls while we were deciding where to eat, I asked my husband if he could smell the food or was it quite faint, thinking maybe it was because we weren’t that close to where they were cooking it. He said yes he could smell it and I asked him to describe the smells as I always did. Spicy Kebabs, fish, hot sauces. All the things I had faint smells of in England….what?!

• I didn’t mind

Now don’t get mad at me here. Yes I was surprised, but it didn’t make me want to cry like it used to. I accepted it, I was calm. I think it was my whole state of mind. I let it wash over me and it felt fine. Getting angry and upset about it is understandable I know but the fact that I was somewhere where I wasn’t fighting with early morning traffic, or having to drag myself out of bed after a sleepiness night, or go to a job that I hated, made the whole thing seem less of a problem.

• No Parosmia if you don’t know what I’m talking about check out this link.

I ate food and it didn’t taste like dog sh…. anymore, again the calm feeling was there. Elated too of course! Ok I couldn’t taste anything apart from the four true tastes. Salt, sweet, hot and umami, (very rich food i.e. strong/cheesy ), and they were faint but hey what would you prefer?

• When we reluctantly returned to England my slight sense of smell came back.

However so did my Parosmia. Not when eating but when smelling certain things, they weren’t that pleasant, especially when I was tired or stressed.

I do believe your state of mind can worsen these distortions. For example if I wake up at night I can get a smell as if the air is sweaty, I’ve often had a bad day i.e. stressful, upsetting or just plain horrible so…..get the picture here?

• These things have really made me think about my quality of life.

Ok so you cant go rushing off to a lovely island if your Parosmia gets worse, or your stress levels get so high that you cant cope. But you can walk away for a bit, enjoy other things. The sound of the birds singing, a beautiful sunset a lovely cuddle off your nearest and dearest, (yes ok a bit corny). Walk, run, give that stress a beating, take up a hobby, read a favourite book anything to take your mind in a different direction.

I still get days when my Anosmia floors me and I want to throw things around the room, when I bury my head in a pillow trying to lessen the Parosmia smell. It is less often now though. I breath, I calm my energy, I think of the positives and it really does help.

So I intend to create a little piece of Kefalonia in my mind.  I can go to it when it all gets too much, play my Greek music, have a BBQ, yes I can enjoy things like that now. Raining ha, no problem we’ve put up a gazeebo! I wont be floored that easily.

When I return to my little Island, well ok not my Island as such! I wont be worried if my sense of smell goes for a bit. Maybe it wont this time, who knows? I’ll just live for the moment and enjoy my life, dive into the unknown, the sea is really warm over there. Sorry I’ll shut up now!

---

Do you have a place of calm? What are your coping strategies? Please share in the comments if you would like to.