It’s Nervember. Did you know that? November is the month to bring awareness to any health conditions that get on your nerves cause nerve pain. I, and millions of other people, live with nerve pain and I will be honest and say that my pain really gets on my nerves. But lots of other things get on my nerves too.
Pain Gets on My Nerves
So many things in life get on my nerves but I guess you could say that pain probably tops my list. And no wonder. It rules my life. In my last post, I wrote that I’m going through a pretty bad spell just now and it hasn’t really improved much. It’s annoying. Very annoying. And I’m starting to run out of patience.
What Does Nerve Pain Feel Like
Nerve pain can feel different for everyone.
It can cause the skin to tingle or feel like pins and needles. Areas of the body might feel numb. Sometimes nerve pain can feel burning hot but might also feel freezing cold. It might feel like an electric shock or send stabbing pain into an area. It might come and go or it could be there constantly.
Nerve pain can be relatively mild without disrupting life too much but it can also be extremely painful and debilitating.
I’m sure that anyone living with some form of nerve pain would put it at the top of their “what gets on your nerves?’ list.
Pain Gets on My Nerves But Other Things Do Too
I write about pain all the time. I live with it all the time. It’s probably fairly obvious that it gets on my nerves. But lots of other things get on my nerves too.
9 Other Things That Get on My Nerves
Here are nine other things (in no particular order) that annoy me.
Where’s My Gluten-Free Shopping?
I order my groceries online. On the morning of the delivery, I often receive an email telling me that my gluten-free food is no longer in stock. A few weeks ago, the gluten-free bread I had ordered was no longer available. Nor were the rolls. Nor were any of the biscuits I had ordered. They didn’t even have Lees snowballs which are, by some miracle, gluten-free. I was a wee bit annoyed. I know I could tick the box to let them substitute my out-of-stock items but I haven’t liked doing that in the past. Not all gluten-free bread and biscuits are created equally.
Gluten-Free Food is So Expensive
Since I’m talking about gluten-free food…
My food shopping bill increased so much after I was diagnosed with coeliac disease. Gluten-free food is so expensive. For example, gluten-free bread is normally at least twice the price and half the size of normal bread. It annoys me because when you have coeliac disease, eating a gluten-free diet is not a choice – it’s a necessity. With the current cost of living crisis in the UK, gluten-free food has become even more expensive. I feel as though I might need to take out a bank loan soon just to buy some bread and a packet of chocolate biscuits! Baking my own would be cheaper and probably nicer but my back won’t allow me to do that.
The Government
Maybe I shouldn’t write about this because I will start ranting and I might not stop. I’ll just say that almost everything our current UK government does and says really gets on my nerves. They make rules to suit themselves and their cronies. People can’t afford to heat their homes adequately or buy basic food for their families. And the NHS is a total mess under their charge. The government needs to do better. Actually, they’ve had enough chances – we need a new government.
Rant over. Well, not quite…
MPs Who Want to Be Celebrities
Why? Just why? MPs are paid to work for their constituents so why do some of them think it’s okay to take part in television reality shows? The latest is Matt Hancock, the former Health Secretary who helped lead the country through Covid and made a lot of blunders along the way. He helped to ensure some of his cronies won big contracts. Then he had to resign from his position after getting caught on camera smooching his girlfriend while his wife was looking after the kids at home.
He is now trying to endear himself to the public on I’m a Celebrity. The most annoying thing is that he is being paid as an MP and getting paid by the show. He should be in the UK, working for his constituents, not eating bugs in the jungle.
I haven’t watched the show but, seemingly, he has made it to the final. What is going on here? Why are people voting for him to win? Why aren’t people angry that he isn’t at home doing the job he was elected to do?
Littering and Flytipping
I moaned about this on my blog a couple of years ago. People who drop their litter or dump their unwanted chairs or fridges in the middle of the countryside make me so angry. They don’t just get on my nerves. They make me furious.
Scam Phonecalls
Oh, don’t they drive you nuts? Years ago, unwanted phone calls came from double-glazing salespeople. They used to call at the most inappropriate times – normally when I was normally having an afternoon snooze. That was really annoying but nowadays, those unwanted phone calls most often come from scammers who are trying to get access to people’s bank details.
We regularly get calls from “BT” to tell us that they will be cutting off our internet. but we do not have BT internet. We also get calls from “Microsoft” to tell us that “someone bad has been using our computer to do bad things.” But we have Apple computers so we don’t use Microsoft. And then there are the calls from the bank’s fraud department to tell us our card is going to get suspended. “Just give me your personal details and we’ll get it sorted out.” Yeah…sure.
Those stupid scammy calls are easy for us to detect. But some people don’t realise that they are scammers and give them the information they want.
They’re worse than annoying. Those calls are from criminals preying on vulnerable people.
Midges
Scotland is famous for many things – beautiful scenery, the Loch Ness Monster, whisky and haggis to name a few. But it’s also famous for midges. I really don’t like them but for some peculiar reason, they seem to like me. In summer evenings, I daren’t step outside my door or else the pesky little blighters will attack me.
Spellcheck and Autocorrect
My fingers often don’t work with my brain. They don’t operate at the same speed. (In case you’re wondering, my brain is definitely slower!) So I am glad to have spellcheck tools. However, sometimes spellcheck doesn’t pick up on my mistakes because I’ve typed a real word.
Years ago, I was chatting online with a friend. I had to go because the farmer was here working and was coming in for some lunch. I said to my friend, “I have to go. It’s time to feel the farmer.” Of course, I meant feed! I think she still has a chuckle about that.
Autocorrect is even worse! My phone and laptop seem to decide what I’d like to say before I say it. And it normally gets it wrong.
“Karen”
Have people run out of vocabulary? They now insult people by using the name Karen. Can’t they just tell the person why they find their behaviour annoying? Or am I being a ‘Karen’ by complaining about this?
I know a real-life Karen. Actually, I know more than one. My cousin is called Karen and she is one of the nicest, kindest and most considerate people I know.
If the world had more Karens like my cousin, it would be a much better place. Maybe it’s time to stop using that name as an insult.
What Gets on Your Nerves?
If you live with pain, I’m sure it gets on your nerves. But what else really else annoys you? Please drop me a comment below.
Thank you for raising awareness about nerve pain, the different types of pain people suffering can experience and how debilitating it can be. So sorry to hear things have been tough for you lately. I hope and pray things improve soon. Your list of other things that get on your nerves made me smile. I completely agree with you about free from foods being more expensive. I don’t understand why we should have to pay more for the same foods, especially when gluten free bread tends to always have a massive hole with a large amount of it missing. We used to get numerous scam phone calls everyday but there’s a specific number you can phone to register your number with which reduces the amount you receive and we receive considerably less now. I’ll have to try and find the number and let you know!
Another fabulous awareness-raising post, Liz! I shared this on Twitter and realised the other day that I hadn’t commented after I read it, so I came back (sorry, head’s all over the place).
You’re so right with how pain gets on your nerves, it really does and in so many ways, for so many reasons. Pain seems simple in theory, but the impact is complex. I have nerve pain in different places but the worse of it is my back and hips, most debilitatingly my hips. It feels like a vicious itch deep in the joint, and then it’s on fire. It’s agonising and so, so damn annoying! I get electric zaps down my legs that are so different in sensation and those can get painful when they’re in a similar place over and over again. So I’m glad you explained the different types of how nerve pain can feel.
I loved reading the things that get on your nerves! I don’t think I’d dare write a post like this because despite how tempting it is, I think the list would be never-ending these days 😂
What I don’t have any experience with is coeliac and needing gluten-free, so it’s good to learn from you. I’m glad there are more options these days in what we see on the shelves but bloody hell, it’s a mickey take on the prices. I’ve noticed gaps on lots of things in supermarkets over the last two years on and off, so I don’t know if the lack of yours being in stock is due to that or an increase in people searching for such foods. Maybe a bit of both. I’m limited in what I can eat and when I can’t get something, it’s a really big deal. It’s all the more of an issue for you with coeliac so I do hope that out-of-stock problem doesn’t happen too much in future.
I shouldn’t talk about the government (or the twot that went into the jungle) because the anger is palpable!
As for “Karen”, I actually started a post ages ago (and never quite finished, as usual) talking about insults like this. The way they get used, whether it’s “Karen” or “snowflake” and “sheeple”, it’s often from someone trying to make themselves feel better and more superior to the person they’re pooping all over.
I hate midges, makes you feel itchy when you see them. I didn’t realise Scotland was famous for them though! I guess they don’t get as much airtime as haggis and the sea monster 😆
Caz xx