Chronic Mom Life

Chronic Illness Blog

Marya

7 Simple Ways to Improve Your Mental Health and Practice Self Care During Lockdown

30 day self care challenge to improve your mental health during lockdown, quarantine or other times of isolation.

If you’re quarantined right now during the Covid-19 pandemic or are spending more time at home due to chronic illness or caregiving responsibilities, it’s essential that you focus on both your mental and physical health. Both of these are vital to keeping your sanity and overall wellbeing. Read on for practical tips to improve your mental health, practice self care and even thrive during these difficult times.

Easy Does It

Right now is not the time to stress out about doing everything perfectly. If you’re a parent, your kids are home and trying to learn online. You might be trying to work online as well. During this time, try not to stress about being perfect and doing everything right.  Don’t compare yourself with other people (especially online!) who are at home and are being brilliantly productive.

Whether you’re spending more time at home because of the pandemic, chronic illness or caregiving, putting too many expectations on yourself is going to make your feelings of stress and panic worse. This is very detrimental to your mental health.

Do give yourself a break and remember you are trying your best given the difficult situation that you’re in today.  Everyday, set a couple of small goals that can aren’t too difficult to get done, but be open and flexible for things to change.

First Things First

Create a simple daily routine and stick with it. Consider what your biggest needs are right now. This could mean time for your spiritual life, self care, business tasks, connecting with friends online or on the phone, finding a therapist who you can work with remotely, getting in a little exercise or getting more fresh air. Once you’ve identified what it is you need the most right now, the quicker you can switch up your schedule to improve your overall health and wellbeing.

One of the best ways to do this is by using a journal. After you’ve had your morning coffee and feel somewhat awake, use a journal page to write down your intensions for the day. You can easily refer back to them later when things get busy or stressful.

Move Around

Don’t become a couch potato at this time. If you can get outside, go for a walk, walk the dogs, do some gardening or other home improvement activity. Take a family stroll if you can. If you live in an apartment setting or are on a very strict quarantine situation, there are dozens of YouTube workouts that you can do for free and without special equipment. Yoga, pilates and walking fitness workouts are a great place to begin.

However, this is not the time to pressure yourself to become “bikini fit” or do any intense workouts that you’re not used to. For one thing, they can tax your system, leaving you more vulnerable to colds and flu. And if you try them and feel inadequate, it can set you up for destructive food binges.

Eat Mindfully

This is NOT the time to begin a diet. Pressuring yourself to follow the latest diet fad isn’t good for your mental health. But before you find yourself mindlessly raiding the refrigerator or pantry, take a minute to consider the following:

  • Are you genuinely hungry or just bored or stressed?
  • If you’re hungry, make a small plate and sit down at the table to eat it.
  • Don’t eat in front of the screen.
  • Eat with your family.
  • Make the healthiest choice you can with what you’ve got on hand.

Start a Journaling Habit

Journaling is one of the best ways to reduce stress, get the noise out of your head, get creative and practice mindfulness. There are tons of journaling prompts to be found on Pinterest, or you might want to check out some of mine! Set a daily time to do this, morning or evening and then just do it.

Limit Social Media

With our 24/7 news cycle it’s all too easy to check in on the latest #coronavirus updates at any time. This is incredibly toxic to your mental health. Every time I do it myself I start struggling with anxiety and overwhelm. Of course you want to stay informed but designate a few trusted news sources and check in with them once or maybe twice a day. Don’t mindlessly scroll. If you get on Facebook or Instagram, note the time and limit yourself to 10 or 15 minutes. Tops. Otherwise you’ll get sucked in. You won’t feel any better at the end of it and may find yourself looking to stuff your feelings with food or something else.

Create Your Own Personal Space

Being together with your family 24/7 is taxing. And I’m saying this as a long time homeschooler. Sometimes you need to get away from all of them. Every member of the family should have a safe space that they can retreat to when they’re feeling stressed out. It could be a bedroom, a corner in the living room, or a fort or tent outside.

Do you have any self care or mental health tips you’d like to share? I’d love to hear them! Please feel free to leave a comment below!

31 Days of Thriving at Home Challenge

Learn practical tips for self care, mental health, mindfulness and more so that you can thrive at home during this uncertain time of pandemic, quarantine, lockdown and isolation.

If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed and anxious about what’s going on in the world right now, a 30 day plan of intentional self care might just be what you need to help balance out your mental health. Self care is the intentional practice of caring for our physical, mental, and emotional health. Self care isn’t selfish. It’s essential for us to refuel our minds and bodies so that we can carry out our work and responsibilities without burning ourselves out.

This Thriving at Home challenge will help you to get start thinking about balancing your mind, body and spirit in a gentle and doable way. I don’t want to overwhelm you with stuff to buy and more things to do. Even if your time is limited, with a little intention you can still reap the mental and physical benefits of intentional self care and learn the art of thriving at home.

Like most other families, we’ve been living on lockdown for the past three weeks with no end in site. Our world has been turned upside down in some ways, not so much in others. The biggest unexpected change is having my 18 year old son with special needs home all the time. Though I had homeschooled my other three children, I was a little overwhelmed when I tried it with him and because of my struggles with chronic illness, felt it was better that he went to school. He is supposed to graduate in June. Though nothing has been announced yet, the writing is on the wall and now we’re also considering doing his transition at home because of the uncertainty of covid-19.

In an odd way I feel like my entire life has prepared me for this time of extreme challenge. I was a latch-key kid in the 70s and was used to finding my own entertainment (for better or worse) and learned to become very resourceful. After a very misspent youth I found myself in 12 step recovery rooms at age 23 and I’ve been living sober ever since.

The spiritual principles I’ve learned in recovery have served me well throughout my marriage and my challenges as a special needs mom who also lives with chronic illness. I know what it’s like to be housebound, to feel depressed and isolated and downright scared that my body was going to betray me if I went out. Since my situation made it difficult for me to get to meetings, I had to learn how to practice those recovery principles in my day to day life so that I didn’t lose myself in the stress of it all.

How to practice self care and thrive at home during times of quarantine, lockdown and isolation.

About the 31 Days of Thriving at Home Challenge

Once you sign up below, you’ll get daily emails for 30 days with self care, mental health and stress reduction tips that will teach your how to relax more and live more intentionally during these difficult days. I’ll also send fun printables for you to use in planning your day and coloring.

You’ll learn how to relax more and take a more intentional approach to stress reduction. You’ll reap the benefits of improved mental health, reduced stress and a better outlook on life no matter what’s going on around you.

Remember that like any new habit, it will take time and consistency for it to take root and become a lasting part of your life. But if you don’t plan and take action, it will never happen.

Quick disclaimer: I’m not a doctor, mental health professional or even a life coach. I’m just a mom who wants to share her experience, strength and hope with other people who are struggling during this unprecedented time.

What have been some of the obstacles you’ve faced in establishing a good self care routine? I’d love to hear your thoughts below!

April Journal Prompts

April Journal Prompts

Like everybody else, our family has been pretty much locked down for several weeks for the sake of several family members who are high risk.  Journaling is one of the best investments that you can make for your mental health during this unprecedented time. So go ahead, find an unused notebook or journal you have around the house and get writing with these fun April journal prompts!

April Journal Prompts

  1. It’s April Fool’s Day! Do you participate in any fun pranks?
  2. The first week of April is Library Week – It’s a great time to visit your local library and enjoy a few hours of quiet time. What is your favorite thing about the library?
  3. What goals do you have for April?
  4. It is also National Walking Week – write about your favorite places to walk in your area.
  5. What is your favorite form of exercise?
  6. What are some things you have been doing lately to stay healthy?
  7. Celebrate ‘No Housework Day’ with a day off from cleaning and chores. What can you do instead?
  8. It’s time to catch up on your Resolutions for the year. How have they been going?
  9. For Garden Week – write about what you love about gardening.
  10. What are your favorite gardens to visit?
  11. Do you have something you always love planting?
  12. Today is Easter – how do you plan to celebrate it?
  13. Write about some of your memories of Easters past.
  14. Are you ready for tax day tomorrow?
  15. Celebrate World Art Day by writing about your favorite form of art.
  16. What do you love about Spring?
  17. What is something you look forward to every Spring?
  18. Name something you can do for yourself this Spring?
  19. It’s a great day to organize your files – write a list of what needs to be organized today.
  20. What are some other areas of your life that need to be organized?
  21. Do something for your business today and write about it.
  22. It’s Earth Day! What are some ways you can celebrate?
  23. It’s ‘Take Your Daughter to Work’ Day. Have you ever participated? Why or why not?
  24. For Arbor Day, write a story about planting trees.
  25. What are 3 things you want to get done before April is over?
  26. What are some plans you have for next month?
  27. Express your gratitude today for everything good that happened this month.
  28. What are 10 things that inspire you?
  29. What goals did you get done this month?
  30. It’s time for the end of month review – How did April go?

Bonus April Journal Prompts

  1. April is ‘National Garden Month’. Write a short story about gardening.
  2. What are your favorite flowers?
  3. List your favorite plants.
  4. Do you prefer indoor or outdoor plants?
  5. What is something you like to plant every year?
  6. It’s ‘Stress Awareness Month’ – what is your stress level like today?
  7. How do you personally deal with stress?
  8. What are 3 other healthy ways you can handle your own stress?
  9. How do you help your kids with stress?
  10. What do you feel is the root cause of your stress?
  11. For ‘National Pet Month’ talk about the pets you have.
  12. Do you remember any pets from your childhood?
  13. What is an animal you wish you could adopt?
  14. If you could make any wild animal a pet, what would it be?
  15. What are some of your favorite things about having pets?
  16. Celebrate ‘National Humor Month’ by writing down some of your favorite jokes.
  17. List your favorite funny shows.
  18. List your favorite funny movies.
  19. Who is a comedian you would love to see live?
  20. Who or what always makes you laugh?

Need some more journaling inspiration?  Check out some of my previous journaling posts!

How to Start a Worry Journal

How to Start Journaling for Stress Relief

A Beginner’s Guide to Simple Bullet Journals 

How a Bullet Journal Helps Mental Health 

5 Easy Ways to Practice Gratitude Every Day

Finding Peace During Hard Times

 

Finding Peace During Hard Times

Finding peace during hard times

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” –  John 14:27

Just one month ago I took a long awaited trip to Disney World with my youngest daughter. Our family bought an RV and I began brainstorming and planning my bucket list road trip to Montana this summer. I was nervously following Coronavirus on the news, trying to make sense of the differing perspectives and holding onto hope.

Like everybody else, our lives have been turned upside down the past two weeks. My 18 year old son with Down Syndrome is home until April 15, at this point probably longer. His senior prom was supposed to be in May, and his graduation in June. His older siblings have brought plane tickets so that they could be here. He’s anxiously asking about a graduation party and seeing his friends. I don’t know what to say or do right now. We’ve been blindsided.

We also have to make a serious decision about his transition years considering that the virus is probably not going to go away any time soon. What will be in the best interest of his health as a heart patient and as a person with Down Syndrome who is anatomically wired to get sicker than the general population?

We’re all standing in the midst of troubled times unlike most of us have ever had to experience over the course of our lives. This horrendous Coronavirus is a rapidly spreading pandemic, affecting people across the globe from every walk of life. From the very young to the old, everyone in between, the disabled and the chronically ill, we’re all at risk.

It’s tempting to give into panic and worry in this trying place. You may have been tempted to hoard supplies, watch the news 24/7 and worry about all the awful things that might happen to you or your loved ones.

Fear and worry are natural and normal human reactions to events we have no control over. Fear and worry might be the most tempting reaction, but it’s not your only choice. There’s another option that is easy to overlook – peace.

Peace is a Choice

We often think of peace as an occasional state of mind that we stumble across every now and then, usually when things are going the way we want. It’s easy to feel peaceful when we’ve had a nice day at the beach, or a loved one’s cancer battle is going well.

But it’s also important to remember that we can choose to walk in peace, no matter what’s going on around us. Even in the midst of a terrible pandemic like Coronavirus. Even when we’re afraid of losing our jobs and are worried about feeding our families and keeping them safe.

What God Says About Going Through Hard Times

Finding peace always begins with turning our eyes upward. It starts with turning your eyes upwards to the throne of God.

I lift my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all evil, He will keep your life. (Psalm 121)

Friends, God is the same yesterday, today and forever. It might not look like it right now, but He’s still on the throne. He still reigns. Take a minute to  meditate on that truth for just a moment. No matter how crazy things get, despite the chaos pain and heartbreak that is occurring at this very moment, God is still in control.

How to find peace during hard times of chronic illness, isolation and quarantine.

Where is God in All This?

In Matthew 10:29, Jesus said “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

Remember how very precious you are to God. From the very beginning He knit your cells together. He knew all about you before you were born, what you would look like and what struggles you would have to face. He loves you and those that you love.

Does God Care about the Coronavirus?

Matthew 14:14 reads, “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.”

During Jesus’ earthly ministry, he reached out to people with every kind of disease and disability in a variety of ways. Some of those people were healed by simply touching the hem of His garment. Remember that the very same Jesus who had compassion on the sick and frail thousands of years ago still has compassion for those who suffer. He knows about every physical struggle and chronic condition that we have to encounter in this life and on this earth.

Get Out of Your Head & Serve Others

One of the best things you can do for your mental health is to serve others. As a Christian, you’re standing in the middle of an amazing opportunity to let your light shine. Right now, people are desperate for words of prayer, encouragement and hope.

Here’s some practical ways to serve others:

  • Be kind to those around you, especially to those who are serving the public during this difficult time.
  • Don’t hoard critical supplies.
  • Share your resources with those who don’t have any.
  • Send a text to a friend.
  • Pray for those in your circles – family, friends, neighbors, professionals.
  • Post positive things on social media.

If you start to struggle yourself, remember God’s care and provision in times past. He didn’t fail you then, and He’s not going to fail you now. Reach out to a trusted friend, family member or pastoral staff. Some churches have lay ministers that you can meet with. Don’t feel that you have to walk through this frightening time alone.

Let’s Pray

God, today we choose to rejoice in Your Sovereignty. We are reminded that You are ultimately in control and no virus, flu, or illness can enter our lives without Your Divine permission. You alone hold the power of life and death.

We lift up all of those who have been affected and will be affected by Coronavirus. We ask for complete healing over their bodies and continual peace over their hearts and minds. We pray for speedy recoveries without complications and hardship.

We also pray for those who are working on the front lines including medical professionals and first responders right now. These servants are certainly close to Your heart. Father, please protect them from this awful disease. Comfort them as they comfort others. Encourage them in the midst of this battle and remind them that the armies of God are greater than our earthly foes.

You are Lord over your creation. Father, we plead with you to stop this deadly Coronavirus in its tracks. We pray for the development of good treatments to shut this virus down.  Just as You have full control over every virus, Father, we ask You to stop this one.

Finally, God we pray for those who have lost or will lose loved ones to the Coronavirus. Walk with these precious souls. Let us be compassionate to them, come alongside those who are grieving, and comfort them in their affliction.

Father, we thank You for who You are and for all You’ve done. We know You’re in control even when the world feels chaotic and crazy. Let us remember to fix our eyes on you in this trying moments. Keep our gaze fixed on the Cross. We pray in Jesus name, Amen.

Practical Tips for Soul Care During the Pandemic

  • Create a routine. When you get up, resist the urge to check your social media feeds. Take some time for prayer, meditation and devotional reading. Then take a shower and put some light makeup on.
  • Get moving. Take a walk outside if you can or do some in home yoga or other fitness activity.
  • Eat well and stay hydrated. It can be tempting to indulge on the quarantine snacks, but don’t. You’re going to feel ten times worse at the end of this if you’ve added on pounds. Try putting on your regular jeans every few days to remind yourself of how you’re doing.
  • Reach out to others. Text friends and family. Connect with online ministries and recovery meetings.
  • Create something. Whether it’s cooking, art, gardening, journaling or something else, creating something with your hands is one of the best ways to take your mind off your worries.
  • Spend real time with your family. Play an actual game, do a puzzle, cook or bake. Take a walk together. The memories that you’re making during this difficult time are priceless. This is our moment to rise up and shine for our kids. We can model inner peace, strength and resilience to them.

Do you have any tips for coping during this difficult time? I’d love to hear them!

March Journal Prompts

March Journal Prompts

Here’s a list of fun March journal prompts to help you stay consistent with your journaling practice.  In Florida, March is a beautiful time of year and I like to try to get outside as much as I can to visit some of our beautiful natural parks before the long hot summer hits.

March Journal Prompts

  1. What is on your March bucket list?
  2. What are your business goals for the month.
  3. What does happiness mean to you
  4. What are you excited about this month?
  5. Are you happy with where you are in your career?
  6. How do you go about meal planning.
  7. What method do you use for your to-do lists?
  8. What are some ways to relax when you’re stressed?
  9. What is your favorite comfort food?
  10. What are your favorite self-care activities for the month?
  11. Spring is coming up soon – what are you excited about?
  12. It’s Plant a Flower Day – what are your favorites?
  13. Do you track your goals quarterly?
  14. Describe how you deal with your difficult emotions.
  15. What are 3 things you want to accomplish this month.
  16. What do you feel is holding you back lately.
  17. March 17th is St. Patrick’s Day – do you celebrate this holiday?
  18. How do you feel your social life is going lately?
  19. What do you wish you could say to someone?
  20. On the First Day of Spring – what do you like to do to celebrate?
  21. What do you think makes you a good person?
  22. What do you want people to remember about you?
  23. What do you hope your kids say about you?
  24. When it comes to productivity, what are your strengths and weaknesses?
  25. What is your dream business?
  26. What will get you closer to your dream business?
  27. What is something you are grateful for
  28. How do you prefer to express your creativity?
  29. It’s close to the end of the first quarter – are you on track?
  30. The 30th is ‘Take a Walk in the Park’ day. Where can you go walking?
  31. Describe how the end of your first quarter is going.

Bonus March Journal Prompts

  1. What are some healthy meals you love making for your family?
  2. Find some new healthy lunch ideas for your kids.
  3. March is Family Nutrition Month – how can you improve your family’s nutrition?
  4. Do you grow any vegetables or herbs at home?
  5. List 5 ways to add more vegetables and/or fruits to your family meals.
  6. How has nutrition changed from when you were a kid.
  7. How important is nutrition to you?
  8. In what ways do you find a healthy balance in your life?
  9. What do you want your kids to learn about nutrition?
  10. What do you feel are the pros and cons of focusing on proper nutrition.
  11. What is your favorite craft to do alone.
  12. What craft do you love to do with your kids.
  13. What is your first memory of making crafts?
  14. Do you enjoy homemade birthday or holiday gifts?
  15. Spend the day working on your favorite creative project, then journal about it.
  16. Make a craft for St. Patrick’s Day.
  17. What are some crafts your kids enjoy doing?
  18. How do you feel about wine and paint events
  19. Sketch how you feel right now in your journal.
  20. Draw a picture of what March looks like to you.

 

 

How to Start a Worry Journal

Worries are an unfortunate fact of life. Whether it’s your everyday life or bigger worries such as health and financial woes, it seems like there’s always something to worry about. However, you don’t have to let your worries get the best of you and become overwhelming. Start a worry journal and you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the benefits to your overall health and wellbeing.

What is a Worry Journal?

A worry journal is a private place where you can write down all of your worries. When used correctly, a worry journal can help to get the negative thoughts out of your head. When you worry too much, it can often lead to more anxiety, stress and depression. If we keep them bottled up, it can lead to a range of mental and physical issues.

How to Write Your Worries Down

The first step is to begin writing down all the worries you have at the moment. You’ll notice that as you write each thing down that’s worrying you, it will help to release the power that it has over you. This step in the process only takes a few minutes.

The next step is to begin to evaluate your worries. Ask yourself some questions to determine why you have these worries, and what you think could happen. Once you have defined your worries, you can go to work on reducing them. Here’s some questions that you can ask yourself in your journal:

• Is there any evidence to support my worries?How
• What is the worst thing that could happen?
• Could I look at the situation in a different way?
• What evidence do I have that could argue against the worry?

How to start a worry journal-3

What Should I Journal Before Bed?

If your goal is to sleep better, experts suggestion writing in your journal about three hours before you go to bed. This will give you plenty of time to both list your worries and then analyze them. It can takes some time to process everything and you may not feel better right away. But after a few hours, your brain will feel more relaxed and it will be easier to get to sleep.

The Mental Health Benefits of Keeping a Worry Journal

When you have a lot on your mind, it can become very overwhelming. Writing it down is the best way to release them from your mind. Many times we’re not aware that we are bottling things up and over time, the things that we’ve been holding in start to come out in unhealthy ways.

Here’s some health benefits you may experience by writing in a worry journal before bed.

  • You’ll sleep better.
  • Journaling is a positive outlet that can help with weight struggles.
  • Reduce anxiety
  • Improved immune system
  • Boosting happiness levels

And once you’ve written down your worries and analyzed them, create a gratitude list. Gratitude can help to increase happiness levels and thinking about what you’re grateful for is a great way to fall asleep.

How to start a worry journal-2

Journaling Tips for Beginners

Have a dedicated space. Set aside a small space with your journal, pens and whatever helps you to feel focused and relaxed. Ideally, this should be away from the noise going on in the rest of the house!

Try morning pages. While we’ve been discussing journaling before bed, morning pages can also help you set the tone for the day. This is how morning pages work:

  • You must do your morning pages immediately upon waking up.
  • You write until you’ve completed three pages in your notebook, which is about 750 words.
  • Morning pages must be handwritten.

You can write about whatever comes to mind. For the first half-page or page, you  may find that you’re filling the page with random thoughts, but if you stick with it,  you’ll likely end up with some gems in the rest of your writing. It’s all about being patient and committed to the process.

Keep it simple. While’s it’s important to analyze your worries, it’s also important to take care not to go into a lot of depth with them. Spend just a few minutes writing about each worry that you have.

Write about your day. This can help with stress because you’re not bottling things up. It’s a great way to free up all of the tension, anger and frustration that you might be experiencing.

List your fears and concerns. If you can, try to organize them into chronological order. Focus on the worries that are affecting you right now. Many times our worries are focused on the future. Just think about what’s troubling you today.

Create to do lists. If you worry about having too much to do, creating a to-do list can really help. Every night write down the main three things you want to accomplish the next day.

Begin with your most pressing worry. It’s always a good idea to start with the most pressing worry. As you focus on your most pressing worry, it will help you to better deal with the smaller ones. Not only that, you’ll experience relief faster if you start with your most pressing concerns.

Don’t judge yourself. One thing that you may struggle with is judging yourself harshly. You’re not weak. Your worry journal is a safe place to vent your worries and concerns. If you censor yourself, you won’t get the full benefits of the journal.

Identify ways to look at your worries differently. For every fear or worry that you’ve written down, try to identify at least one way that you could could view the situation differently. If you tend to fear the worst, try thinking about something positive that could happen from the situation.

Bring a journal everywhere with you. It doesn’t have to be your worry journal, but having a smaller journal will allow you to write in your journal as things come up, like when you’re having problems at work or are nervous about an upcoming appointment.

The majority of the time, you’ll find many of the things you worry about often resolve themselves in time. They may not be as bad as we perceive them to be. By questioning and analyzing your worries, you’ll be taking away their power and seeing for them for what they really are, rather than what they could be.

These are some of the best ways to journal in order to take your power back from worries. By facing your worries head on and gaining a better understanding of them, it can really help to reduce the worry and help you live a more intentional and less stressful life.

If you follow the method above, you’ll be surprised by how much better you feel. A worry journal is a very simple, yet very effective tool for reducing anxiety and preventing excessive worry.

11 Wellness Podcasts and Audio Books to Transform Your Life

 

wellness podcasts

As a mom with chronic illness, I’ve come to understand that body, mind and spirit are deeply connected. For example, stressful situations have an almost immediate impact on my mental and physical wellbeing and it’s become essential to check in with my health daily and continually look for ways to keep growing. Here’s a few wellness audiobooks and podcasts I’ve discovered that can help anyone to lead a more balanced life.

Wellness Books and Audiobooks

Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World 

Mindfulness, also referred to as living in the now, is a particular form of meditation practice that can help people with a range of issues, including stress, anxiety and burnout. Meditation means to think. Mindfulness meditation only takes a few minutes each day, and you can do it almost anywhere. Following the 8-week program carefully will lead to remarkable results.

Yoga: The Top 100 Best Yoga Poses: Relieve Stress, Increase Flexibility, and Gain Strength

 There are thousands of yoga poses. This beginner’s guide teaches 100 poses which can help you see results in terms of strength, pain relief, and an increase in inner calm. Yoga counts for both aerobics and strength training, making it the perfect workout to do at least a couple of times per week. Yoga also counts as a moving meditation because it requires such focus. 

How to Live Well with Chronic Pain and Illness: A Mindful Guide

Chronic illness creates many personal challenges, from relationship issues to financial issues as well as mental health concerns. Author Toni Bernhard addresses these challenges using practical examples to illustrate how mindfulness, and compassion can help her readers make peace with a life suddenly turned upside down.


Wellness Podcasts

TED Talks Health

https://www.ted.com/topics/health

TED talks are incredibly popular and with good reason. The idea behind the acronym is to have Technology, Entertainment and Design all merge. TED talks are short, sharp, and to the point. Listen and learn more about the topics of healthy eating, the latest in cancer research, and much more.

Bulletproof Radio

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bulletproof-radio/id451295014?mt=2

This podcast was founded with the goal of looking at every aspect of how humans can improve their health and learn to be the best they can be. In particular, these programs look at ways to add technology to our live to help us get fitter, and the body, mind and spirit connection that propels people towards their goals.

The School of Greatness Podcast

https://lewishowes.com/sogpodcast/

Hosted by Lewes Howes, this is an inspirational podcast about health, wellness, and being all that you can be. His special guests are successful & influential figures in their profession or industry. Listen regularly and you’ll be on your way to transforming your body, relationships, and more.

The Cabral Concept

https://stephencabral.com/podcasts/

Host Stephen Cabral practices traditional Indian medicine (Ayurveda), and takes a holistic approach to health. Learn about organic foods, juice fasts, easy circuit training, and more.

Bee the Wellness

https://beethewellness.com/podcast/

Primal living is a very popular topic right now. Bee the Wellness is popular podcast that talks about getting back to basics, with a Paleo or Primal diet It also emphasizes adding activity to your daily routine so you are not sitting in a chair all day, but are up and moving like our hunter-gatherer ancestors.

The Daily Boost

https://player.fm/series/the-daily-boost-best-daily-motivation-life-career-goal-setting-health-law-of-attraction-network-marketing

This podcast will give you a wonderful boost in all areas of your life, health, wellness, and more. The focus is on balance in life even as you go for your goals and strive for success. 

Inspire Nation

https://player.fm/series/inspire-nation-daily-inspiration-motivation-meditation-law-of-attraction-health-career-spirituality-self-help

This podcast encourages listeners to aim for the life of their dreams. The host offers various insights based on his new-found appreciation of life after two near-death experiences. If you’re feeling stuck in a rut, this podcast can help you set goals and transform your life into the one you’ve always longed for.

The Jillian Michaels Show

https://www.jillianmichaels.com/podcast

Jillian Michaels rose to fame through her work on the TV show “The Biggest Loser,” and has inspired and motivated countless people to lose weight and keep it off. Her work stems from her own struggles with weight. If you’re keen to transform your body and life, this is a good place to start.

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Wellness Podcasts Can Inspire Your Health Journey

Many of us are so busy with work and family matters that we don’t pay enough attention to our health—until we get an expected diagnosis. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. Wellness podcasts can help to both  inspire you and keep you on track with your health and fitness goals. You can also create your own reading and listening list and track your progress to a brand new you.

You can listen to audiobooks and podcasts you can listen to almost any time or anywhere. You’ll be encouraged to pay  more attention to your health and take the action steps you need to meet your health goals.

Whether you’re trying to lose weight, physically transform yourself or live more comfortably with chronic illness, there’s an audiobook or podcasts that’s just right for you.

11 Wellness podcasts you don't want to miss

 

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How to Cope with a Chronic Pain Flare Up

 

how to cope with a chronic pain flare up

If you live with chronic pain, you’re probably all too familiar with chronic pain flare up days – when the pain that you already live with on a daily basis intensifies and completely levels you. In order to help minimize bad chronic pain flares, it’s helpful to know what triggers your physical symptoms and that can help you to cope with a chronic pain flare up.

How Does Weather Affect Pain?

When the weather changes to an extreme, whether from atmospheric changes or temperature fluctuations, it can affect certain types of chronic pain. This is especially true when your pain is related to your joints, such as with arthritis or fibromyalgia. If you start to keep a pain journal and record everything that occurred on the days when you had a flare-up, you might notice that your neck or knees hurt a lot worse when it rains or gets extremely cold. For others, extreme heat can trigger symptoms. Journaling can help you see what weather changes might be triggering you and help you to prepare for them in the future.

The Relationship Between Chronic Pain and Stress

Everyone experiences stress. Some women are living with chronic illness, multiple caregiving responsibilities, work demands and more. It’s overwhelming for sure  but we’ve got to learn how to manage it. No matter what chronic illness you’re living with, stress will probably impact your pain levels and cause flare-ups. But be assured that while we can’t eliminate stress completely, effective stress relief methods can help to reduce chronic pain.

Hormones and Chronic Pain

For women, a big flare trigger for chronic pain might be as a result of fluctuating hormonal levels throughout the month. This might be related to PMS, where your pain is worse when you are about to start your period, or you might be experiencing more pain as you head toward menopause. This is yet another reason to keep a pain journal, since it helps you to notice these patterns. The more you know, the more prepared you’ll be for these potential triggers.

Nutrition and Chronic Pain

Eating inflammatory foods such as refined carbs, and sugar can increase symptoms for many people. Others might need to eliminate dairy and gluten. They key is to know yourself and track your symptoms. Again, a journal is going to be helpful here to track your symptoms.

How to Cope With a Chronic Pain Flare Up

Despite your best intentions, chronic pain flare ups can happen at any time. If you’re having a bad day, week or month…just step back and regroup. Think about what absolutely has to get done and let the rest go for now. If you need to spend a few days in bed, that’s perfectly fine. There are things you can do every day that help you cope with your chronic pain. Some things you might already be doing, while others are good to start getting into the normal practice of. It is important that you keep trying to make changes in your life for proper chronic pain management and mental health.

Take Intentional Action to Reduce Stress

Stress has such a large impact on nearly every facet of your life, including your chronic pain. No matter where your pain comes from, stress is likely to trigger chronic pain flare ups and make everything worse. The best thing you can do is figure out what is causing your stress and work to reduce it. Limiting time with toxic people, not taking on extra tasks at work, reducing unnecessary spending and just living a more organized life are a few ways to begin to reduce stress.

Get Those Endorphins Going to Ease Chronic Pain

You may not love exercise, but exercise definitely loves you! We all know it’s great for weight management, but it can also help to promote blood flow that helps to reduce your risk for heart disease and high blood pressure. Working out also helps to release endorphins, the happy chemicals in your brain. When this happens, you not only reduce stress, but your mood will improve and you’ll probably find that you can handle your chronic pain much better. And some types of chronic pain are reduced when you are moving your body more often, like mild forms of arthritis. (This has definitely been true for me in managing the pain from cervical dystonia.)

The Danger of Using Alcohol for Pain Relief

Drinking alcohol may temporarily reduce your pain, but it is only hurting you in the long run. Not only is there a risk of addiction, but alcohol can get in the way of your sleep. Sleeping is extremely important when you are trying to cope with chronic pain, so you don’t want to get into the habit of putting a Band-aid on the pain with alcohol every day. Plus, alcohol is a depressant, so it can make your mood highs and lows a lot worse. And don’t forget how miserable a hangover can be! Finally, mixing alcohol with other meds is extremely dangerous and can lead to catastrophic consequences.

I’ve been sober for over 30 years! Read more about How Sobriety Helps Me to Cope With IBD and Mental Health 

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Join a Support Group for Chronic Pain

Chronic pain is serious business. It’s easy to become overwhelmed by it and let it ruin your life. Unfortunately, even those who love you might not understand what it’s like. Finding a chronic pain support group might be one of the best things that you can do for yourself, whether online or local. You’ll feel less alone and much more empowered.

The Effects of Chronic Pain on Family

Chronic pain can cause a lot of family stress including social isolation, marital conflict, and feelings of anger and resentment. Be patient with each other. Let your family know where you’re struggling and ask for help with what you need. Let them know that you appreciate their support. Keep meals and expectations simple. Don’t take on any additional responsibilities. Finally, when you’re feeling awful…just do whatever nourishes your soul. Binge on Netflix, journal, listen to music that you love, take a long bath or spend some time outside.

How do you like to regroup during a chronic pain flare up?   SaveSave

Why Self Care Is Not Selfish

Is Self Care Selfish?

I’ve seen a couple of blog posts recently trying to make a case that self care is selfish. (Not linking to them because as part of my own self care practice, I try to avoid online drama!) This got me to thinking because as a chronic illness blogger, I write about self care practices frequently. And I strongly believe that self care is not selfish…especially for moms living with chronic illness. Have a self care practice can greatly help with chronic pain management and potentially minimizing the need for unnecessary medications.

Take Care of Yourself First

If you’ve ever flown on an airplane, you’re probably familiar with the safety presentation before take off. Back in olden times this would consist of the flight attendants demonstrating the proper use of seat belts and reviewing important emergency information.

These days however, it’s usually presented as a video on your personal screen. At some point in the presentation, the use of air masks is demonstrated and it’s notable that mothers need to be reminded to put on their own masks before assisting their children.

The reason I mention this is that it’s a powerful reminder to us that we have to take care of ourselves before we can take care of everyone else and as moms, we’re very guilty of doing this far too often.

It’s all too easy to take care of everyone else around you and never get around to your own self care. Most of us were taught from an early age to put ourselves last when it comes to self care, and this is especially true for women.

Now, there’s always going to times others have to come first. For example, your newborn doesn’t have a choice and you’ll be sacrificing a lot of time, sleep, and energy in those first few weeks and months. But usually, that’s only for a temporary period.

Self care is not selfish

Self Care for Caregivers

I know that some of you are caregivers to children or have other family members who are in need of assistance. Some of you may even have a chronic condition while being caregivers to others (like me…) and help is hard to come by.

Special needs moms, sober moms and moms with chronic illness often are living with PTSD while navigating their circumstances. It’s been said that women like us have psychological profiles similar to combat war veterans.

Self care in our situation is tough, but not impossible. You have to be intentional about it and at times, you’ll just have to grab that five minutes or more for self care on the fly when the opportunity presents itself.

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Self Care Is Not Selfish

For many of us, taking care of everyone else before ourselves is something we do on autopilot. Learn to become more aware of it and stop putting yourself last all the time.

And when you’re dealing with a high intensity situations it’s certainly a tight rope walk at times. You really have to be intentional in your situation to be able to make a conscious choice about how you’re going to spend your time.

And you know what…it’s perfectly okay and necessary to put yourself first at times. The consequences of putting yourself on the back burner for months or years are very costly. After awhile, there’s really nothing left to give and your health will suffer.

It may feel good to put ourselves last, but when we routinely do it, we’re doing more harm than good to those around us. It causes us to be stressed and exhausted and that’s not pleasant for those who have to live with us! So, self care isn’t selfish!

Self Care is Having New Experiences

When you go outside what’s familiar and look for new experiences, you open yourself up to new adventures. You’ll discover new ways to do things. You’ll also find solutions that you wouldn’t have come up with any other way. As a result, you learn more about yourself and the world around you.

To begin, it’s easy to bring new experiences into your life just by looking for opportunities outside of your usual comfort zone. Try a new restaurant. Drive a different route to work. Volunteer for an organization that you wouldn’t typically support. Take a weekend road trip to someplace new and see where you end up.

Remember that your environment shapes your self-confidence, so don’t be afraid to look around at your life and make some changes. Surround yourself with people and experiences that build up your self worth and make you happy. Distance yourself from toxic friends and family members if you can.
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Self Care Is Living Mindfully

Mindful living is one of the best ways to practice self care. Often, anxious thoughts are the result of worrying about the future while sad thoughts are related to regretting the past. Mindful living helps with this mindset because it forces you to stay in the present.

Unless there’s something you can do to change your past, you’ll have to accept what’s happened in your life. Allow yourself to feel your feelings and grieve, and then move on in your own time. But if you  find that you’re frequently haunted by your past or always worrying about tomorrow, it might be a good idea to speak to a trained counselor who can help you move on.

self care is not selfish

How to Practice Self Care

Starting today, make an effort to carve out some time for yourself.  Do one thing for yourself, even if it’s just enjoying a quiet cup of coffee alone, or catching an extra 20 minutes of precious sleep. Investing time for self care matters. Do this more often and see for yourself how powerful the impact can be!

Practical Self Care Ideas

  • Go outside for a walk.
  • Do some YouTube Yoga.
  • Take a hot shower and indulge in some at home spa goodies.
  • Visit your favorite coffee shop.
  • Curl up in bed and take a solid nap.
  • Meditate for 10 minutes. (Yoga nidra is especially soothing!)
  • Find a coloring book that you love and can grab in a minute.
  • Stay off social media.
  • Listen to calming music.
  • Journal your thoughts.
  • Put on yoga pants and fuzzy socks.
  • Healthy food choices…do try to avoid alcohol.
  • Read some scripture.
  • Listen to an uplifting podcast.

Gentle reminder – if you’re a woman with chronic illness, please check with your doctor before beginning a new exercise program!

What’s your favorite way to practice self care? Leave a message in the comments below?

 

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How to Practice Self Love

HOW TO PRACTICE SELF LOVE-6

Self love has become a major buzzword in recent years. Some might consider it a sign of selfishness or narcissism and while that may be the case for some people, it is still very much needed for busy and often struggling women.  So how to practice self love? It can simply mean that you make your own health and wellbeing a priority, even if you only have a few minutes a day to do it.

Many women in our crazed digital times struggle with overloaded schedules, family responsibilities and work. In my own case, self love never entered my mind. I wanted to be a good mom in the face of many challenges including being a special needs mom as well as a sober mom in long term recovery. That meant lots of self sacrifice which was supposed to be a good thing.

But I didn’t know how to properly handle the stress that came along with it. As a result of a toxic childhood, I was accustomed to holding all of my emotions and feelings in. I never let people know what was going on. I couldn’t get to meetings because of parenting responsibilities. I struggled with anxiety, depression and emotional eating. Now, I strongly believe my lack of self love and self care lead to the development of the autoimmune health struggles that I have today.

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Signs You Need More Self Love

  • Feeling constantly stressed out
  • Extreme emotional ups and downs
  • Frequent colds and flu
  • Struggling with assertiveness
  • Holding on to anger and resentments
  • Losing interest in hobbies and activities you used to love
  • Personal care suffers – bathing less frequently, letting yourself go

How to Practice Self Care on a Budget

Make your daily hygiene a daily priority. When life gets busy or you’re feeling depressed, your own self care can wind up on the back burner. Taking some intentional time to take care of your personal needs can be just the boost you need to pull yourself out of that dark place. Simply taking some time out to have a soothing bath can lift anyone’s spirits.

When you start taking better care of yourself, you look and feel better. You won’t cringe when you look at yourself in the mirror when you know that you’ve been taking time for yourself.

Get organized

Do you procrastinate about getting the laundry done and find yourself going through piles of clothes to find the least offensive item of clothing? Take a few hours to catch up on your laundry…your own clothes and bedding. When you’re done, go and take nice, hot shower. Then go and put something clean and comfortable on from the clothes that you just washed. The wonderful feeling of clean clothes against your clean body as well as clean bedding will be an instant boost.

Now move on to your living and workspace. When life is busy it’s very easy to get caught up in the hustle of daily life and home organization winds up on the back burner. Having a cluttered environment gets very stressful over time. Make a priority of spending some time every week to declutter and tidy things up. You might take a few minutes every day to get rid of useless things that are just taking up space. Once the clutter is gone, you’ll feel far less stressed as you go through your daily life.

Improve Your Diet

Healthy food and snack options abound these days yet many women still struggle with emotional and binge eating, usually with the unhealthiest food items that are sitting in our pantries even if we’ve bought salad and veggies that week. You might want to consider purging your house of foods that could set off a binge. Shop for healthier treats, or set aside a few hours once a week to make yourself some healthier options that you can just grab when life gets busy.

Are You Sleeping Well?

A good night’s sleep is essential. This is the time when your body repairs and rejuvenates itself. If getting to sleep or staying asleep is a struggle, you’ll want to reevaluate your habits. Some things to consider:

  • Don’t consume caffeine later in the day.
  • Be mindful of what you watch before bed. If you’re easily stimulated, don’t watch crime dramas before bed!
  • Don’t eat after 6pm.
  • If you can, turn off the tech a couple of hours before bed. Read from a physical book.
  • Practice some gentle yoga or other exercise to signal your body to calm down
  • Use guided apps and meditations to help calm your mind down and induce sleep.

Take Up a Hands on Hobby

Physical hobbies like cooking, baking, crochet, needlepoint, painting and model building are great ways to creatively express yourself and reduce stress.

Don’t Forget About Exercise

Exercise should be essential for everyone, but many people avoid it because they haven’t found something that they like. If your thing is going to the gym for a sweaty cross fit or power yoga session, then go do it. But if this isn’t your thing, or you just don’t have the time, there are lots of other ways that you can get some quality exercise in. It could be as simple as going for a walk or hike, or finding an exercise or yoga video on YouTube that you can do in the privacy of your own home.

Remember that studies have shown for ages that getting some exercise can be a great way to help your deal with stress and improve your mood. You’ll look and feel so much better. And the endorphins that you get from physical activity can also make it easier for you to sleep.

Wake Up Early to Start the Day Right

How do you begin your days? Do you sleep until the last possible minute and then hustle out the door to your car or bus or subway? That’s a lot of stress to begin the day.

Instead, try setting your alarm clock earlier. Use the first minutes of the day to meditate, read some devotions or poetry and possibly do some gentle yoga. Don’t look at your phone until after you’ve done this! Spending those first few minutes of the day focusing on your mind, body and spirit will make all the difference in the way you handle the rest of the day.

Journaling for Self Love

If you’ve been struggling to find more focus and clarity in your life, journaling is one of the most therapeutic things that you can do for your mental health and practice self love. Writing in a journal daily helps you to learn more about yourself and process your feelings. Here’s some simple ways to start a daily journal practice.

The List Journal

A list journal is an easy and non threatening way to begin your new journaling habit. Getting started can be as simple as a brain dump or a bucket list. You can also create a list of accomplishments you’ve achieved recently. This will give you a good sense of positive things you’ve done lately and will boost your confidence.

Start a Gratitude Journal

Do you struggle with chronic discontent and find  yourself becoming impatient and envious about the things you wish you had? For some people, it’s easier to focus on what they don’t have instead of what they actually have. Taking some intentional time every day to write down a few things you’re grateful for can help to put things into perspective.

We all need a gentle reminder at times that life hasn’t dealt us the worse hand, though it may seem that way on some days. But even in the worst of times, there is always something to be grateful for. Try to write down what you’re grateful for this month, this season or this year.

Create A Free Thought Journal

Don’t let journaling become one more regimented to do task, or you’ll never get to it. Sometimes you may want to just free write and say whatever is going through your mind. This type of journal is typically called a free thought journal. This type of journal can help you to get rid of the mind clutter and clear your head. Jot down your random ideas and thoughts. Be unfiltered, you’re the only one who is going to read it!

Later on, you can always go back and review what you’ve written down to help push you closer to clarity about the situation.

Journal to Chronicle Your Emotions

If you’ve been journaling for awhile, you know that it’s pretty enlightening to revisit the past to see what kinds of emotions you were experiencing in your life years ago. The written word is honest because it was written during the moment those things were being experienced instead of trying to recall from memory years later. This also will help you to find clarity about difficult events.

Writing to Create Intention

Dedicate some time to creating a vision board or journal.  It will help you to visualize where you want to go and set a course for your life. When you don’t set an intention or target, you won’t know if you’re doing all of the right things that will make your dreams a real possibility.

Set Boundaries with Toxic People

This may be the hardest part of self love to implement, especially if you live or work with toxic people. If you have to keep contact with them, learn to set proper boundaries and don’t let them invade your space. Step away when you need to. Cut off uncomfortable conversations. Don’t feed into someone else’s anger. If you’re struggling with resentment, try a simple lovingkindness meditation to release the negative emotions.

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Evaluate Your Use of Social Media

Our phones and tablets area a daily necessity aren’t they? And they do have their benefits. But it’s so easy for them to take over our lives. Instead of being present with our family and friends, cleaning the house or working on a hobby, we mindlessly scroll Facebook and Instagram, or get caught up in the argument of the day on Twitter. (Yes, I’m very guilty thank you very much!) Here’s a few quick tips to get started:

  • Don’t begin your day with your phone..and shut down a few hours before bed.
  • Set limits to your social media usage. Consider removing the most offending apps from your devices.
  • When you’re online, remember that you don’t have to attend every argument that you’re invited to. If you see something that bothers you, just scroll on by. Don’t engage with trolls who are just looking for attention or to start drama. If someone on your list repeatedly posts things that trigger you, just unfollow them for awhile.
  • If you’re really struggling, consider a social media detox.

Do you have any favorite ways to practice self love or other self care tips to share? I’d love to hear them!

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