Resilient Voices Archives - Page 3 of 16

No, I’m Not Drunk: What Walking with Ataxia Is Really Like

Michael MantzMay 8, 2026Ataxia Awareness, Resilient Voices

Walking shouldn’t require concentration. Your body should handle it in the background without asking for your opinion. Mine has follow-up questions. Not out loud. Nobody ever asks. But I can see it: the look and the recalculation, as they decide that something is going on here and needs an explanation. So let me help you...

“So Have You Tried Yoga?” And Other Well-Meaning Things People Say

Michael MantzMay 1, 2026Ataxia Awareness, Resilient Voices

A field guide to the well-meaning things people say when they’re trying to help There’s a moment that happens when you tell someone about your diagnosis. You can almost see it – the quick calculation behind their eyes as they figure out what to say next. Most people land somewhere kind. Some land somewhere memorable....

Living Without a Finish Line: What Spinocerebellar Ataxia Taught Me About Uncertainty

Michael MantzApril 20, 2026Ataxia Awareness, My Story, Resilient Voices

There’s a moment, somewhere between the kitchen and the hallway, where I catch myself paying attention to how I’m walking. Not because anything dramatic happened. Just a slight shift, a half-second of recalibration, and suddenly I’m aware of my feet in a way most people never are. It happens in my own house. A place...

The Strange Things You Notice When Balance Starts Changing

Michael MantzMarch 20, 2026Ataxia Awareness, Resilient Voices

Balance is one of those things you never really think about. Walking across a parking lot, stepping off a curb, and moving through a crowd… your body just handles it. Thousands of little adjustments are happening every minute, and they stay completely in the background. You don’t notice them because, honestly, you’ve never had a...

Overthinking When the Stakes Are Real

Michael MantzMarch 7, 2026Ataxia Awareness, Resilient Voices

When “Stop Worrying” Doesn’t Help Most advice about overthinking starts from the same assumption. That you’re worried about something that probably won’t happen. Or that your brain is jumping ahead for no good reason. You’re told to stay present, let go of hypothetical outcomes, and focus on what’s actually in front of you. And sometimes,...

How Blood Sugar May Affect Balance and Coordination in Ataxia

Michael MantzFebruary 25, 2026Ataxia Awareness, Overall Wellness, Resilient Voices

There are days when nothing obvious has changed. You slept fine. Your symptoms feel about the same as usual. And yet your balance is just a little less reliable. You misjudge a step or reach for something, and it takes a second longer than it should. Walking across the room takes slightly more effort than...

When It Feels Like You’ve Lost a Part of Yourself After a Major Life/Health Change

Michael MantzFebruary 20, 2026Ataxia Awareness, Overall Wellness, Resilient Voices

There’s a moment after a major life change – injury, illness, relocation, relationships, career changes – when something feels like it disappeared. Not paused, not adapting, just gone. It doesn’t arrive dramatically. It shows up in quiet sentences: “I’m not that person anymore.”“That chapter’s over.”“I can’t do that the way I used to.” Over time,...

When the Same Advice Wrecks One Person and Helps Another

Michael MantzJanuary 18, 2026Ataxia Awareness, Overall Wellness, Resilient Voices

Why “What Works” Is Misleading With Ataxia and Neurological Conditions One of the most confusing parts of living with ataxia and similar neurological conditions is how often the same advice produces completely opposite results. Something that genuinely helps one person can quietly wreck another. Sleep medications are a common example. Supplements too. So are routines,...

The New Year’s Chat

Franke JamesJanuary 9, 2026Ataxia Awareness, Resilient Voices

Every once in a while, someone in this community puts words to a feeling many of us carry but rarely articulate. Franke James is one of those people. Franke is a writer and author who also lives with idiopathic ataxia. When she shared this piece with me, it stayed with me. Not because it softens...

When the Same Advice Wrecks One Person and Helps Another

Michael MantzJanuary 4, 2026Ataxia Awareness, Resilient Voices

Neurological conditions: why sleep meds, supplements, and routines make “what works” a misleading question. Neurological conditions like ataxia make daily life unpredictable, especially when the same advice produces completely opposite results. Something that genuinely helps one person can quietly wreck another. Sleep meds are a good example. Supplements too. Routines, workouts, even lifestyle changes that...