I won't stress you out with the details of just how sensitive I was to it and how much I reacted. Basically - very, very much.
The reactions and degree of sensitivity have been improving over the last few years to the point that it has made my life a lot easier - especially living in a neighbourhood where a number of people heat with wood from October to April and many more have fires in their yards the rest of the year.
Yesterday I had my biggest wood smoke exposure so far and did so well!
I was gardening at a friends house for 2 hours. We had agreed to trade garden in barter for a healing service she offers so I had a specific 2 hours scheduled.
I began weeding in the area she directed me to and within a few minutes, the neighbour started a fire about 12 feet away from me on the other side of a chain link fence. My initial reaction was very stressed because even though woodsmoke has bothered me less for a while, I still choose to remove myself from it's presence if it's very strong. I didn't know how I would react.
It was great! I disliked the smoke but didn't react physically or emotionally (one the ways I used to always react to woodsmoke was intense, sudden anger). I continued gardening for the full 2 hours with woodsmoke wafting through the yard - at times enough to make the air visibly smoky. In addition, the neighbour was periodically smoking a cigarette. I didn't have any reactions to either.
I did have a bath when I got home many hours later but didn't bother washing my hair and was able to sleep the entire night with no reaction and wake up feeling good. I can still smell the smoke in my hair today and am fine with it!
For me, this is a huge success and I wanted to share it here with you.
Healing is possible :-)
