Growing up, if you were forced to lose one of your five senses (taste, touch, hearing, sight, or smell), which one would you choose? Many people would go with smell. Some folks are born with Anosmia, which is the loss of the sense of smell. Individuals can lose their smell from many different situations like a viral infection affecting the upper respiratory tract; a persistent (chronic) sinusitis; a nose abnormality like a crooked nose or a nasal septum that isn’t straight; hay fever that causes severe inflammation of the nasal passages; certain medication; diabetes; or liver or kidney disease.
Smelling can serve as an early warning system for the detection of fire, dangerous fumes, leaking gas, and spoiled food. 80% of food tastes come from your sense of smell, which leads to depression when Anosmia is present. Smelling enhances interpersonal relationships by protecting against objectionable body odors. Your body knows if a person is bad for you. It’s when they smell a certain way, and you don’t like that smell.
If you are born with Anosmia, there is no known cure or treatment (right now). However, other types of Anosmia can be improved or cured when the underlying condition itself is treated such as if it is caused by swelling in the nose or sinuses. Steroids can usually take care of the problem. Other treatments can range from nasal washing to antihistamines to even surgery. Not having a sense of smell can teach important life lessons. Here are five of them (from Shauna MacKenzie):
1. Be unapologetic for who you are: Not having a sense of smell comes with food issues. There was only one point of tension my husband and I faced during our pre-marital counseling: the difference in our food habits. I’m not a foodie and thus not as apt to try new things and Justin likes to be more adventurous. While there was a lesson for both of us to learn in that silly tiff, my lesson was to not feel bad or pressured to be something I’m not. I was doing myself more of a disservice trying to be a foodie, thinking that would appease his wants. We know how that strategy tends to play out.
He’s much happier when I just own it, be me,
and be confident in it rather than feel insecure. Simply put, tension exists
for both parties when one lets their insecurities get in the way. Be you, flaws
and all, and people will gravitate to you. Never try to be something you’re
not.
2.
Choose your friends wisely: If
you’re going to let people help you, you need to know who the best people for
the job are. The people you need in your life are the ones that are willing
to deliver bad news even if it might embarrass you with this need-to-know
information. These are the people you want in your life. People who
avoid the tough topics, and can’t be honest with you do nothing for promoting
personal growth in your life. Choose the type of friends who will tell you when
food is stuck in your teeth. These are the people who will always have your
back.
3.
Ignorance is acceptable: Back
in the day I worked as a commission sales associate for a jewelry store. On
occasion, my colleagues would let me have a new client. I would find out later
that they were avoiding the customer because of their terrible body odor.
It didn’t matter to me. I treated them the same as I would any other
person, and made the commission. If you’re given something, don’t question it.
Some things don’t need to be figured out. Just accept it, and be alright with
blissful ignorance.
4. Life doesn’t always give you a warning. Sometimes you have to accepts things as they are: Speaking of food for, you fortunate people with a sense of smell get to preview everything before you take a bite by getting a whiff of its aroma. Not the case over here. This is why I tend to stick with what I know because texture and looks become very important to a non-smelling person.
Having to be surprised every single time I take a bite is exhausting,
but if I don’t take the risk to try something new I wouldn’t ever expand my
comfort zone. Such is life. Sometimes you have to dive in. You’re not going to
get all the facts, know the outcome, or predict the future. You just have to
do, try, and experience. Focus on the present. The worst case scenario is that
you don’t like it and you move on to something else.
5. You have to trust people for help: Whether it’s smelling sour bathroom towels, letting me know the cat
litter is starting to smell, or warning me that something is burning, not
having a sense of smell made makes you reliant on other people. Not only is it
important to let people help in the areas where you are lacking, it’s important
to trust intrinsically and with no micro-managing. Knowing that there are
certain things I just simply won’t be able to do myself means letting go of
control. It’s a relief. This realization has helped me to let go of other
things in my life so that I no longer feel the need to control them either.
“You really know your anosmic when the guy at the carwash
asks if you want cherry, coconut, cinnamon, or new car smell. And you just pick
one randomly.”
(John Bjorlie)[i]
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