Chronic Mom Life

Chronic Illness Blog

Marya

How to Practice Meditation to Reduce Stress and Anxiety

how to practice meditation for stress and anxiety

 

Meditation is a simple technique that can help you to reduce stress, decrease anxiety and improve your overall health. You can implement meditation anytime or anywhere. As a matter of fact, give it a try after you finish reading this! This way you can take get a head start on what works for you so you can refer back to it when you need to.

Once you get a little practice with meditation, you can do it no matter no matter where you are. Think of it as a tool in your self care arsenal that you can take out out whether you’re at home, at work, in your car, or in a doctor’s office.  Even taking a minutes or two to meditate in the midst of a stressful situation can be very helpful.

But to get the most relaxation and stress reduction benefits, you should make meditation a part of your daily routine.

meditation to reduce stress

Types of Meditation You Can Try

There are many different types of meditations you can explore. One of the easiest places to start (and my personal favorites) are either guided meditations or breathing meditations. For guided meditation you should investigate apps like Calm, Abide or Headspace on your smartphone or tablet.

All of these have free daily guided meditations you can use to give it a try. Each app also has a paid option for even lengthier meditation practices. This is probably the best option for you if you enjoy the daily practice of this type of meditation. The meditations will gradually get longer and more intense. I like to use the body scans and sleep stories on hard days.

Another easy meditation to try is breathing meditation. I love it because it’s so flexible and something that can be done at any time once you know the basics. To begin with, sit or lay down in a comfortable in a quiet space. It may be helpful to use your headset for this!

While you do your first few breathing practices, you’ll want to cut out as many distractions as possible. Close your eyes and focus your entire mind on your breath. Pay attention to how the air feels flowing in and out of your nose. Or focus on the rising and falling of your abdomen as you breathe. The idea is to tune out everything else and only think about and feel your breath. Guided meditations are the best way to do this, or your mind will probably wander.

Lovingkindness meditation. You can look for these on Google or Youtube, but I like to use the Calm app for this. When I’m really struggling with resentment or anger, loving kindness meditation helps me to cultivate an attitude of love towards that person.

Body Scan is a meditation practice that will guide you through a body scan for areas of tension and stress. It will help you to notice your areas of stress and release them. Typically, during the practice you start at your feet or hands and work your way through the rest of your body. Another form of a body scan meditation is progressive relaxation which asks you to tense and relax certain muscles. This form of meditation with anxiety and chronic pain.

If you struggle with “monkey mind”, you’re not alone.When that happens, gently bring your focus back to your breath. Start by meditating this way for five minutes per day and gradually work your way up to a level you’re comfortable with.

How Do Christians Meditate?

This is a subject that has always caused controversy in the Christian community. It’s considered by many to be new age and a practice to be avoided. Psychology Today defines meditation as follows: “Meditation is the practice of turning your attention to a single point of reference.”

As with yoga, meditation comes down to intent. What do you choose to meditate on?  Robert J. Morgan stated, “meditation is not new and it is not new age. God, not the gurus, devised it, and it’s based on the Bible, not on Buddha.”

More reading on the subject of Christian Meditation, I highly recommend Christians Practicing Yoga. Here’s what Fr. Tom Ryan, CSP has to say about the a basic meditation practice:

  • Seek a quiet place
  • Sit in a comfortable, upright position, relaxed but alert with your eyes lightly closed. Remain as still as possible.
  • Silently, interiorly, begin to say a single word or short phrase, e.g. Jesus, Abba, or Maranatha. Say it with faith and love. Some people find it helpful to say the word in equally stressed syllables in conjunction with their calm and regular breathing, e.g. Je-sus, Ab-ba, or Ma-ra-na-tha.
  • Do not think or imagine anything, spiritual or otherwise. When thoughts and images come and your attention strays, gently return to your word.

What this looks like for me is using the Divine Hours to pray and meditate every day. I usually pick a small passage of scripture to meditate on. I do use the Calm App for body scans and for me, don’t see a conflict with my spiritual beliefs. I use a lot of secular practices to help manage my chronic illness, but I often like to take rest post with some instrumental worship music in the background.

Ultimately what you choose to do or not do is between you and God. I always like to reference Romans 14 for this area..let’s not judge each other.

How You Meditate Everyday?

Make meditation a daily habit and also do it for 30 seconds or a minute or two whenever you find yourself in a tense and stressful situation.

Remember, any type of daily activity can be done mindfully and meditatively. For example, when you’re driving in your car, keep the radio off for a few minutes and take a few mindful breaths. When you’re cooking for your family or cleaning in the kitchen, keep yourself in the moment and try not to let your thoughts wander to whatever may have happened earlier in the day or the week. Get outside for a few minutes and be fully present (don’t look at your phone!)

Practicing meditation is a great way to build some margin into your day. We all need some space with the daily influx of information that we all have to process every day.

Do you have a favorite meditation tip or technique? How do you work it into your day?

Chronic Illness Diary Vol 1

Chronic Illness Diary - sharing my journey of self care, chronic illness and sobriety. Welcome to The Chronic Illness Diary. This is a new weekly post that I’m starting at Chronic Mom Life where I write about all the little things that are happening (or not!) in my day to day life. Things like my self care routines, what I’m reading or listening to, what I’m doing in the kitchen and more. As a blogger I’ve found myself getting caught up in the blogging should and to-dos and I’ve forgotten the joy of writing for its own sake!

My Chronic Life

I never imagined the day would come when I could say that I don’t think about the dystonia constantly. It’s still there of course – when I get stressed out the tremor comes back and my trapezius likes to “talk” to me at times but I’m no where near as incapacitated as I was when this started in 2010. My other conditions – ulcerative colitis and chronic fatigue – are reasonably stable. I’m not going for words like cure or even remission here, just quality of life so I can be here for my family for as long as I can. I have asthma too but tend to forget I have it now. I always have the inhaler in my backpack, just in case!

The SCD Diet

I didn’t mark the date when I switched over to the SCD diet after trying GAPS and Keto, but I think it’s been about six months now. As I mentioned above, my ulcerative colitis symptoms are pretty stable. I am taking the Apriso, because I need it. I’ve actually gained some of the weight I lost back and I need to watch the medjool dates and other SCD treats that I’ve grown to love.

Self Care

I’ve been doing some hard thinking about the amount of time I spend on social media – specifically scrolling my feed! As someone who had some degree of ADD to begin with, this habit of constant scrolling has been destroying my concentration, my already limited organizational skills and increasing my stress levels. But I’m a blogger and virtual assistant – I do have to be on it! So one small habit that I’ve started this week is to eliminate the morning feed scroll. Just a few days into eliminating that habit I already feel more centered and less stressed. This can only help my writing, I hope! I was waiting around at an appointment yesterday and instead of scrolling my feed as I usually do, I read about half a chapter of a book that was on my Kindle. I felt more productive and less agitated.

What I’m Reading

Talking about reading, I have countless contemplative books on my Kindle that I never seem to have to time to read. Right now, I’m reading Flee, Be Silent, Pray by Ed Cyzewski. I’m really loving it because it affirms what I’ve privately been thinking about what he calls “anxious Christians” for years now as I look for a winsome and quiet way to share and practice my faith. In my never ending quest to calm down my hyper nervous system, monkey mind and anxiety, I’ve become a student of contemplative living which for my includes daily yoga, centering prayer and praying the divine offices every day.

My Journaling Practice

This is another habit that went by the wayside because of my social media addiction and it’s one of the most important things that I should be doing! I pulled out a blank journal that was on my shelf and I simply started writing after breakfast. On the days when brain fog is a problem (really, when isn’t brain fog a problem!) I read some scripture or some prose. I just ordered one of Mary Oliver’s books for this purpose. I’m embarrassed to say that I never heard of her until her recent passing, and I noticed that a lot of recovery accounts that I follow were sharing her works.

In the Kitchen

I’m rethinking the way I cook and meal prep now. With two of my adult children out of the house, I don’t need to cook in quantity as I did before. My family does not follow the SCD so sometimes keeping everyone happy is a struggle. I try to focus on meat and vegetables which I can eat and give them rice or potatoes on the side. I do have to keep things prepped so that I have a quick protein or snack that I can grab when I need to. That’s it for this week!

Recommended Books

 

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17 Chronic Illness Blogs You Should Follow

 

17 chronic illness blogs you should follow #chronicillness #chroniclife #spoonie

Living with chronic illness is tough, debilitating and extremely isolating at times. But one of the perks of living in the 21st century is that people living with chronic illness are better connected and more informed than ever…because we have each other! Chronic illness blogs offer the opportunity to encourage and educate others who are on the some path.

Social community has become a real lifeline to me as I struggle to navigate the complexities of living with cervical dystonia and ulcerative colitis. I don’t even want to think about where I’d be without it!

People living with chronic illness often struggle with feeling like we’re stuck on the sidelines while everybody else is living a picture perfect life (on social media, anyway.) It gets discouraging. For us, blogging is a way to use our own unique life story and perspective to connect with others who are struggling. It also functions as a much needed creative outlet.

One thing that most people with chronic illness share, regardless of their diagnosis are mental health struggles. Anxiety and depression are very common. Unfortunately this is an area that is not addressed by most medical doctors and we’re left on our own to muddle through it. Checking in with other chronic illness bloggers is a great way to find some emotional connection with others who are struggling.

So brew some coffee, tea (or chicken stock!) curl up in a comfy place and give these blogs a look.

Chronic Illness Blogs

A Balanced Belly is a fantastic resource for anyone living with IBD (Crohn’s or Ulcerative Colitis) as well as other digestive conditions such as celiac disease.

Bladder-Help.com was created by Layla, a Nutritional Therapist who specializes in chronic bladder issues. If you struggle with UTIs or interstitial cystitis, you’ll definitely want to follow this blog!

A Chronic Voice offers encouragement to chronic illness suffers who are struggling with depression as well as caregivers and medical researchers and doctors.

Tea and Cake for the Soul – I’m all about blogs that offer encouragement and self care tips no matter what the diagnosis. This blog covers a wide range of subjects that will help you practically and mentally.

Brainless Blogger (I know the feeling!) shares about her experience living with migraines, fibromyalgia, asthma, hypothyroidism, depression and hypermobility syndrome. Like many of us, blogging and writing are very therapeutic for her.

Laura Chamberlain is a professional journalist who had to give up her career when she became chronically ill. She writes to share her experience living with a plethora of conditions including fibromyalgia, hypothyroidism, Raynaud’s syndrome and ME/CFS.

My Brain Lesion and Me writes about the complexities of living with a long standing brain stem lesion and spastic paraparesis. Her writing is beautiful and encouraging to anyone living with any type of chronic illness.

A Journey Through the Fog was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, osteoporosis, IBS, anxiety and panic attacks, depression, migraines and insomnia.  She writes authentically about the mental health struggles that many of us face.

Blogs for Parenting With Chronic Illness

Living with chronic illness is challenging enough. But parenting with chronic illness? That’s a whole new level of parenting style. In fact, it stands alone in that regard! As a mom with chronic illness, parenting means constantly pacing my self, watching my stress levels, creating healthy meals for myself and my kids, advocating for my special needs kids, keeping track of their appointments and therapies finding time for exercise plus playing Uber driver.

Whew! I’m not even sure how I do it. But checking in with other chronic illness parents helps me to feel like I’m not alone. We encourage and learn from one another.

Chronic Mom lets people living with chronic illness know that they’re not alone in their struggles. Parenting with chronic illness presents its own unique set of struggles as we still have to be mom no matter how crappy we’re feeling.

The Spoonie Mummy also writes about parenting with chronic illnesses. Like me, she lives with IBD (Crohn’s disease) as well as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, ostopenia, anxiety, iritis and  high blood pressure.

Being Fibro Mom – everything you need to know about parenting with fibromyalgia, aka “Fibro parenting”.

Chronic Eileen writes: perspective of life changed drastically when I became chronically ill.  Before Arthritis my schedule was filled with work, friends, underground heavy metal concerts and the music scene, drinking beer, to suddenly doctor appointments, treatment, isolation, medications and juggling single motherhood with my new very confusing disabilities both physically and mentally.”

Crazy Creole Mommy shares my IBD diagnosis. Brooke Abbot is now a dedicated advocate & WAHM (Work At Home Mom) who lives without a colon, and still battles her Inflammatory Bowel Disease & Arthritis daily. Armed with a mommy bag and a new lease on life, she shares her stories, tears, triumphs and quick tips with other mommies with autoimmune diseases.

IBD Moms – coming very soon but as an IBD Mom myself, I’m thrilled to find this support!

Lights Camera Crohns – Natalie (Sparacio) Hayden, 35, is a former TV news anchor living in St. Louis. Her mission in life is to be an advocate for those battling inflammatory bowel disease and to show that a chronic illness doesn’t have to dull your sparkle. Natalie was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in July 2005.

Tripping Through Treacle – parent of two and lover of yoga, crochet, cocktails and interiors… oh, and also lives with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

The Zebra Mom writes about motherhood with chronic illness (Ehlers Danlos Syndrome/EDS) and like me, parents children with special needs.

More Reads for Moms With Chronic Illness

When Mommy Can’t Dance: How to be a Chronically Ill Mom

Katie Carone writes: “It’s a hard to be a sick mom. For most mothers, a few days of illness may mean a back-up of laundry and a night or two of frozen pizza or cold cereal for dinner. For those of us moms that are chronically ill, it’s a whole other ball game.”

5 Things Not To Say To a Mom With a Chronic Illness 

Bree Najera writes: “When a friend gets a bad cold, we know just what to do: We send them an encouraging text, order them some UberEATS, or rescue them from their kids for the afternoon. But when people come across a mom with a chronic illness — like me — they absolutely do not know what to do or say. And you know what? I don’t blame them.”

3 Essential Skills for Moms With Chronic Illness 

Allison writes: “Chronic illness affects tens of millions of Americans, many of whom are moms.  I am one such mom.  Perhaps you are too.  It’s good to recognize we are not alone, that we are still good parents.  That’s right!  Our parenting strategies may differ from the norm, but we need to release ourselves from the guilt that tells us we aren’t successful.  We can positively simplify with 3 essential skills and happily succeed as moms with chronic illness.”

Parents and Chronic Illness: Take Care of Yourself and Your Child

This is a great article describing the hurdles of parents with chronic illness who live with conditions such as MS, scleroderma, diabetes, lupus and chronic fatigue. Also has some helpful tips about how to help a sick mom friend.

How Living With a Chronic Illness Has Made Me a Stronger Mother.

A bit fat Amen to that! Written by Rachel, a type 1 diabetic who shares self care tips to help her cope with the daily challenges of living with chronic illness.

I hope this list of chronic illness blogs gives you a starting point to finding your online cope. For me, knowing I’m not alone is half the battle.

6 Simple Morning Routines to Start Your Day

6 Simple Morning Routines to Start Your Day #selfcare #mindful #intentional

At the beginning of the New Year or when spring arrives, we often think about resetting our body and life. The best way to begin a new and healthier lifestyle is to begin an intentional morning routine. That first hour can make all the difference in your mindset, focus and energy levels throughout the day.

Morning routines set the tone for the rest of your day. Think about what you need to do to get ready for work, your family out the door and what you need to do for your own self care. If you begin each day in a state of panic, overwhelmed by your to-do list and running out of the house late, then the rest of your daily will likely be chaotic as well.

Set a Morning Intention

While it may be tempting to check your phone the minute you get up, this is never a great way to start the day. It’s all too easy to get caught up in the news drama of the day and lost track of your good intentions. Use your first minutes to listen to calming music, read some devotional literature or poetry. It will fill your mind with positive thoughts that will sustain you throughout the day.

Start a Morning Journal Routine

Try setting your alarm 20-30 minutes before you need to get up. You can use this time to yourself to get up slowly and participate in activities like journaling that are just for you. Sit quietly and write in your journal, whether it is a gratitude journal, you are writing what you plan to do that day, or simply try stream of consciousness writing.

Try Some Gentle Yoga

Another excellent practice for your morning routine is to do yoga or another relaxing physical activity. By getting your body moving in the morning, you naturally increase your energy and get some mood-boosting endorphins going as well. Morning exercise lots of physical and mental benefits, even from getting it out of the way (so  you don’t need to worry about it later!) to boosting your metabolism for the remainder of the day. Get up a just little earlier to have time for yoga, Pilates, or just a brisk walk around your neighborhood. If you’re super groggy when you get up, take 5 or 10 minutes to do some yoga right in bed. You’ll be amazed at how much more grounded you feel.

Herbal Tea for a Body Reset

If you enjoy a nice cup of tea, why not try one that is not only delicious, but can help heal your body and mind as well? Instead of starting the day with a hard caffeine jolt, try some gentle rejuvenating tea such as green tea, rooibos tea or matcha tea.

Start Your Day with a Green Juice

Getting healthy nutrients into your body is another aspect of having a healthy morning routine. When fresh produce is in season, it’s a great time for juicing, especially with a green juice or green smoothie. You can easily incorporate your favorite fruits and healthy greens like kale, spinach and broccoli. You can even add additional herbs and spices for more vitamins and minerals and boost your energy without needing half a pot of copy.

When you start your day on a healthy note, you’re far more likely to continue with your good intentions throughout the day.

Bulletproof Coffee

Being honest here, while I love the idea of a healthy start with herbal tea or green juice in the morning, I need caffeine when I get up. Bulletproof coffee is a great way to get a healthy energy boost without adding sugar or processed creamers. It’s simple to make with grass fed butter and MCT oil. I like to add some collagen for its nutritional benefits.

I’m not suggesting that you do all of these at once! Try one idea out at first and see how it changes your attitude and outlook for that day. Later on, you can always add more.

How to Start Journaling for Stress Relief

Journaling for stress relief

 

Journaling is a great way to reduce stress and anxiety. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, you might be feeling worried or even scared at some point in your day or week.  Those feelings can get overwhelming and eat you up from the inside. To start journaling for stress relief, you’ll need a notebook, a writing tool, and a commitment to stick with it. Then just start writing!

Journal Writing for Stress Relief

One of the key benefits of journaling during times is that getting your thoughts out helps you to process and deal with them. If you struggle with anxiety, you know it usually starts off with racing thoughts and fears of some kind. This is because anxiety is generally something that is triggered by an outside source and that triggering is hardcore and fast.

Writing down your thoughts as they come to you can help you slow your mind down and get rid of the mental clutter while your nervous system comes down. It also helps to bring you back into the moment.

Don’t know where to start? Here’s three simple journaling prompts:

  • Write about what you did today.
  • Write about what’s making you anxious.
  • Write about what decisions you need to make.


Writing About Emotions

When you journal during an times of stress and anxiety, you’re actually removing those negative thoughts from your mind. Yes, you are voicing them, but you would otherwise be doing that internally. By writing your emotions and thoughts down, you’re removing them from an internal space to a concrete, open space. Having it out on paper can help you sort out the issues and keep them from bottling up in you.

Like my other stress busting suggestions, journaling is something you can try out with what you have on hand then if it works for you, then start incorporating into your daily habits. 

How to Start Journaling for Therapy

It doesn’t matter if you go 20th century with a notebook and a pen, use a Word document on your computer, or even start your own blog. Just go with whatever medium works best for you right now. The only difference is the tools and mediums you use to collect and organize your thoughts.

Don’t make yourself crazy getting started. Journaling is simply about getting your thoughts on paper and in the process you’ll be able to work through your thoughts. Not only does journaling help you work through anything that’s happened during your busy day, it’s also very therapeutic and can help to reduce stress. And later on, it’s fun to go back through your journal later and see how far you’ve come.

start journaling-2

Tips for Keeping a Journal

There many ways to journal. What style and medium you choose is entirely up to you. There’s no wrong way to do this. If you find it easier to be at a computer, then go for it.

What you’ll want to do is to find the journaling method that you most enjoy and feel that you can stick with for. It’s during those longer stretches of time when you’re journaling regularly that you’ll see and experience the full benefits of journaling when it comes to helping you relax and reduce stress.

Here’s a few ideas to started. Grab any old notebook you have laying around and a pen and start writing down one or two sentences about your day.

If you feel more motivated by a cute journal and a fun gel pen, go out and get them, by all means. If you find typing easier than handwriting, start on your computer. Or start a blog.

You can even use Instagram as a micro blogging platform and start with a picture followed by a few sentences about your day.

Online journaling options can always be can set to private so you don’t have to worry about just anyone online being able to read your posts if you don’t want to go public with it.

Figure Out Your Best Time for Journaling

You should figure out what time works best for you to make sure you journal regularly. Some people might prefer to do it first thing in the morning, others at night before bed. Anything in between works just as well. There’s no right or wrong time to journal.

But that being said  while you’re getting in the habit of journaling, it’s a good idea to stick to the same time each day until it’s an integral part of your daily routine. After that you can be a little more flexible.

How much or how little you write is also up to you. Start with short entries, or even give bullet journaling a try. You don’t want to set the bar so high in the beginning that the thought of having to sit down and write a 500 journal entry each day stresses you out.

Keep in mind, journaling is supposed to help you relax and reduce stress, not create more!

Do you keep a journal? How do you stay with it?


 

March Journal Prompts

March Journal Prompts for your journaling practice #journal

I’ve had a revelation this year. In order to grow as a writer, I actually have to sit down and write something. That’s not always as easy as it sounds, though. After a day of doing all the mom stuff, I don’t have too many functioning brain cells to work with. I’ve found that keeping some journal prompts handy is a great way to fire up those neurons and then my writing muse takes over. Want to join me? Here’s some March Journal prompts to get you inspired!

Journal Writing Prompts For March

    1. How are you planning on celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day?
    2. Spring is in the air, what sales can you offer your customers?
    3. Write a note to someone who has a mom in the U.K. to wish them Happy Mother’s Day.
    4. What plants would you plant in your ideal garden?
    5. What birds have you seen so far this year?
    6. Write 3 things that you can do for National Nutrition Month.
    7. Spring into Action! What are your top goals for this month?
    8. Write about a quote or social post that hit home today, and why…
    9. Create your Spring Cleaning list.
    10. If you had to pick a favorite verse from the Bible which one would you pick?
    11. Write about your feelings that you have at this moment – joy, happiness, frustration or…
    12. If you could take an extra day off what would you do with it?
    13. Easter is almost here, what are your favorite childhood memories of Easter?
    14. Do you have plans for Easter or Passover?
    15. Plan out a minimalist spring wardrobe.
    16. If you were given a free makeover what would you love to have done?
    17. What’s your favorite weekend thing to do in March?
    18. The person that means the most to me, right now, is…
    19. Take a day to back up your computer files.
    20. What’s your favorite spring flower?
    21. Write about your ideal Spring scene in detail.
    22. What are your favorite crafts? Or which ones you like to learn?
    23. Write down the top 3 colors that come to mind when you think of March.
    24. Your favorite moment of this year so far is…
    25. What words of wisdom could you hand down to a younger person?
    26. This month I will…
    27. One thing I want to improve in my business is…
    28. What one thing frustrates you more than anything?
    29. What birthdays or family events do you have coming up?
    30. One thing I love about my life is…
    31. What music resonates with you now?

 

How to Create and Use a Mood Journal

If you have been noticing that you find yourself easily triggered, falling into certain negative moods, or that you can’t seem to change your mood when you need to then
you might want to start a mood journal. Journaling is a great way to manage your mental health. Mood journals can help you determine not only what put you in a certain mood, but also what to focus on to remove negativity from your life and reduce bad moods. If this sounds like something that you’d like to try, here’s some simple ways to create and use a mood journal in your daily routine.

Setting Up Your Mood Journal

There are lots of ways to set up a mood journal. One way that people find that works well  for them is to have a strip at the top of each daily page that has various faces. (Stickers work great for this!) These faces range from a full smile to a full frown or even pain. This allows you to simply pick the emotion you are. That is the first step. Underneath this strip of faces can be other strips or just an area to write your thoughts on the mood you are having. Other strips that you can use are scales that show how happy or sad you are. You can also expand
on these as you need to.

When to Use Your Mood Journal

Mood journals are ideal for moments in your day when you find yourself struggling with mood swings. Most people start mood journals as a way to focus on why they may be sad,
depressed, or feeling anxious and work through those issues. Many users of mood  journals feel a rush from seeing their lives and their entries go from a negative extreme to a positive extreme overtime.

How the Mood Journal Helps You

The mood journal is a great way to focus on you. By writing down your thoughts and recognizing the emotion or mood connected to them you can help bring the focus back to you and making your life a bit better from the journal entries and routine. It takes the noise out of your head and that helps with clarity and stress reduction.

Mood journals are similar to trigger journals in the sense that both are done at the time of the emotion. This means they should be an option that is easy to take with you and
easy to use when you need to journal. Keep that in mind when creating your mood journal.

Yoga for Chronic Fatigue

Why you should try gentle yoga to relieve chronic fatigue symptoms. #chronicfatigue #spoonie #chronicillness

Chronic fatigue syndrome is an exhausting condition characterized by debilitating fatigue that doesn’t go away with rest. I’ve been living with chronic fatigue for a number of years, probably before I was officially diagnosed with mononucleosis three years ago. Yoga is an excellent way to manage chronic fatigue symptoms.

What are the signs and symptoms of chronic fatigue?

My symptoms were debilitating fatigue, a nagging sore throat, glassy eyes, chills and an overall feeling of unwellness.

  • chronic and debilitating exhaustion
  • brain fog
  • muscle weakness
  • slowed reflexes
  • moodiness
  • headaches
  • post-exertional malaise
  • depression, stress and anxiety

How long does chronic fatigue syndrome last?

To be diagnosed as chronic fatigue syndrome, symptoms must persist for at least six months. But for some people, symptoms can be off and on for years. I can always tell when I’m flaring because the sore throat and glassy eyes come back.

Can chronic fatigue syndrome be cured?

There is no cure for chronic fatigue syndrome, but some symptoms can be treated or managed. Always discuss your concerns and treatment options with your doctor.

Whole Foods diet. A natural, low carb diet is an essential part of good health. You might want to look at the Paleo, GAPS and SCD diets.

Vitamin supplements. If you live with a chronic condition, it’s essential to get your labs run. You might have nutritional deficiencies that are either contributing to your condition or even making things worse.

Lifestyle changes. Reduce or cut out caffeine and alcohol. Reduce stress. Gentle movement. Lose weight, if necessary. Get solid rest every night. Every little thing you do will boost your overall health and your body’s healing. Alternative therapies such as meditation, gentle exercise, or yoga can be very beneficial and help to relieve symptoms such as depression.

Does chronic fatigue weaken the immune system?

If you have Epstein Barr you should know that it has been associated with autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus and malignancies including Hodgkin’s disease, B cell lymphomas and nasopharyngeal carcinoma.


Yoga For Chronic Fatigue

If you’re struggling with chronic fatigue, the last thing you probably want to do right now is exercise. One major symptom of chronic fatigue symptom is post-exertional malaise, which is a debilitating reaction to even small amounts of exercise. (I had this going on for years before I realized what it was!) Symptoms can range to increased fatigue, pain and flu like symptoms.

Many people with chronic illness are turning towards yoga to help cope. Yoga is an ancient practice combining mindfulness meditation and movement which have a deep and long lasting effect on the mind and body.

I was given a review copy of Yoga for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome by Kayla Kurin. I found this book to be a very empowering read and confirmed much of what I’ve learned along the way living with chronic illness since 2010. Keeping my nervous system calm is key to managing my diagnoses of cervical dystonia, ulcerative colitis and chronic fatigue.

I’ve struggled with disordered eating for most of my life and got into the habit of using strenuous exercise as a “purge” for when I’d overdone it. But as I got into my 30’s I began to notice that on the days when I had a hard workout, I would get bad cold symptoms within a few hours.

Even after I knew what was going on, I’d often still try to push too hard and would pay the price..which meant I couldn’t work out again for a week or more. I’ve really struggled with doing “only” gentle yoga but I’m in a better place of acceptance about it.

If you live with chronic fatigue syndrome, it’s essential to have restorative practices in your life so that your body can rest and heal. It’s an act of lovingkindness to yourself. Ms. Kurin discusses mindfulness as a tool for healing. As a Christian, I’ve often heard about mindfulness being frowned upon but when I took some time to learn about it myself, I found that it was as simple as keeping your head where your feet are…being fully present with yourself and where you are.

yoga for chronic fatigue

Yoga for Chronic Fatigue is a fantastic read for anyone living with chronic fatigue, or any other chronic illness for that matter. While it’s not promoting a cure, it will empower you to make the healthiest lifestyle choice that you can which will give you a mental boost and restore your energy over time.

Yoga for Chronic Fatigue is divided into seven sections:

  1. Understanding Chronic Fatigue
  2. The Yogic View of Chronic Fatigue
  3. Mindfulness as a Tool for Healing
  4. Using the Breath as an Energy Source
  5. Yoga poses to Help Reduce Fatigue
  6. Building Daily Self Care Rituals
  7. Living Mindfully.

I especially appreciated the chapter about building daily self care rituals, which is another essential part of recovery for anyone living with chronic fatigue or other chronic illness. Your lifestyle must support your healing. This includes practices such as creating a morning routine, adequate sleep and intentional living. Having set routines helps to reduce decision fatigue which is an important part of learning to pace yourself. If you’re always stressed out, you’re only sending your recovery backwards.

Yoga helps to regulate breathing and increases metabolism, aids in weight loss, relieves stress and reduces depression by bringing in positive energy via meditation and can also help in pain relief and management.

If you’re living with chronic fatigue or any form of chronic illness, Yoga for Chronic Fatigue is a must read!

 

What It’s Like to Have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Now

Since I began a mindfulness and breath practice my overall attitude to every part of my life has improved and the anxiety that I struggled with for years has been greatly diminished. I’m not cured by any means. I started feeling unwell a few months ago and sure enough, the EBV numbers were elevated. I have good and bad days with IBD and dystonia which themselves are debilitating and exhausting.

Life is going to happen, but I have a mind, body and spirit practice that I can always fall back on.

“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” – Maya Angelou, Letters to My Daughter

Special Considerations

If you live with ME/CVS, please consult with a knowledgeable professional as some yoga postures may push the limits of your balance and strength.

Awakening

Living with chronic illness

I’m joining up with the other chronic illness bloggers at A Chronic Voice for February Prompts. It’s a monthly get together for anyone living with chronic illness. Sometimes I get bogged down with the business of blogging, and this is a great way to just freestyle it and listen to others with different points of view.

If you’d like to join us, there’s still time. Click here to submit your own entry and see what others are up to!

Adjusting

I’m coming up on the one year anniversary of my ulcerative colitis diagnosis. Adjusting is putting it mildly. It’s been more of a complete overhaul, to say the least. I’ve had to radically change my eating habits. As a special needs mom, I had some familiarity with grain free protocols such as the GAPS, Keto and SCD diets. I went through each of these and finally settled on the SCD Diet, which I’ve been doing for about six months. I try not to think about my favorites such as New York pizza, Jewish deli treats, Cuban bread, cafe con leche, chocolate…I should probably stop here.

Hoping

Hope for me at the moment looks like being optimistic that the SCD Diet will keep me from bigger meds or big surgeries. Many people report results like this, but there’s no guarantee of course. I’m also hoping that we can figure out a good transition situation for my 19 yo daughter who has a severe learning disability but falls right through the cracks when we try to find supports and services.

Surviving

The last ten years have been about surviving, beginning with the cervical dystonia diagnosis in 2010 quickly followed by my son’s cardiac emergency where he had to get a pacemaker almost 10 years after his open heart surgery. I’ve become a student of mind, body and spirit practices in order to keep my nervous system calm.

Befriending

Last year we finished homeschooling. I devoted over 20 years of my life to it and I look back with mixed emotions on it all. In the beginning it was fun, kind of radical thing to do with my kids. But the last ten years I struggled with chronic illness, not being able to keep up with the homeschool Joneses and watching my younger daughter struggle to fit in. I’m kind of done and moving on to the next stage of life. I’m working towards finding a tribe where I can truly be my authentic self…possibly even in person and not just virtually? A girl can dream.

Awakening

I’ve learned to expand my cooking skills (hello almond flour!) and am learning other ways to process my emotions rather than stuffing them with food, which I’d done for years. Yoga and meditation are teaching me to clear my head and stay in the present. I’m getting older and am starting to feel that if I want to make time to do certain things, the time is now.

Overall, I do feel reasonably positive about the future. Just have to remember to live it one day at a time!

February Journal Prompts

Start a journal practice with February Journal Prompts #journaling #selfcare

A journaling practice is all about writing your thoughts, feelings, plans, emotions, and anything else you want to get out of your head and onto paper. There are lots of ways to use a journal, but it doesn’t always have to be simply writing alone. If you find that you get bored with this activity, one way to make it more interesting is by being more creative with it. February is a great month to practice creativity in your journal.

Creative Ways to Journal

An easy way to be more creative in your journal is simply to mix up the colors and designs of your pages. The great thing about this is that it can be done in any type of notebook or journal you are using. For example, if you have been writing in black pen, just switch to a different color or use colored pencils! It can be more of a challenge to write, which is a good thing. You use a different part of your brain, and it really encourages you to do more doodling and sketches at the same time.

You might also want to add other decorative elements, like using stickers on some pages, printing out photos that pertain to what you’re writing about, or using multi-media supplies like paints or charcoal to add some color to your journal pages.

Start a journaling practice with February Journal Prompts #journal #selfcare

How to Make Your Journal Interesting

Fantasy writing. This can be anything and everything you want. Fantasy writing can just be writing about any dreams or long-term goals and visions you have. Or it could be more of creative writing where you make up a little short story, or where you envision what your own life would have been like if you had made different choices.

If fantasy writing is overwhelming, you can simply copy favorite prose from your favorite authors, such as C.S. Lewis and decorate with stickers. How simple is that?

This type of writing helps you to get outside your comfort zone and really tap into the creative part of your brain. It gives you a place to explore what is in your imagination and see where your words take you

Doodle pages. It can be really fun to have some pages for doodling.  These are blank pages you use just for little sketches or drawings. Maybe you want to paint what you see in front of you, draw a scene of what your day was like, or spend a journaling session just doodling whatever comes to mind first. This is great practice to channel your creativity.

It’s Okay to Ignore Writing Rules

Writing in a journal can be many things; it may be a creative activity, a way for you to find mental clarity, a place to keep track of your dreams and aspirations, or might just be a brain dump for all those random thoughts running circles in your head. No matter what the purpose of your journal is, one thing to remember is that there are no rules. Go ahead and forget everything you learned in English class, and just write what comes to mind. By simply having fun and taking the work out of it, you’ll naturally begin to improve your journaling skills.

February journal prompts

February Journal Prompts

1. What does Valentine’s Day mean to you?
2. Who is the person you think about the most this month?
3. Have you listed your business goals yet? If not do it this month.
4. The weather outside is…
5. Explain what the words love and romance mean to you.
6. It’s heart month, what small changes are you putting in place?
7. Is your business on track?
8. What’s the best business tool you find most worthwhile?
9. I love to journal because…
10. Do you take much stock in Groundhog day?
11. List two things you can do to clean out your closets to get ready for spring.
12. What bulbs or seeds are you going to plant this year? Pretend if you don’t have a garden.
13. The winter birds I love to see, and feed are…
14. What new clothes do you want for this spring and summer?
15. How many Valentine’s cards are you sending?
16. Find a chocolate recipe you could make this month & describe how you made it, who you shared it with and how it turned out.
17. How’s your product planning coming along? List out the products you plan on creating this year.
18. What’s your favorite topic to blog about this month?
19. What top qualities do you few as important in a relationship?
20. What’s the funniest thing you have seen people do this month?
21. Write about how you view your parent’s relationship.
22. Be truthful and describe how February really makes you feel.
23. What’s your favorite romantic movie to watch?
24. Are you sick of this crazy weather this year? Let all your feelings out!
25. What qualities do you love about yourself?
26. What family memories do you have of Pancake day, or just pancakes breakfasts in general?
27. What is your favorite soup?
28. What’s your favorite red dress or outfit that you own or would love to have?

Read More Journaling Posts

10 Stunning Bible Journal Instagram Accounts 

Journaling for Stress Relief 

A Beginner’s Guide to Simple Bullet Journals

5 Tips to Overcome Negative Thinking

 

5 TIPS TO OVERCOME NEGATIVE THINKING

Low self-esteem is the major cause of negative thinking. Negative thinking can lower your self esteem even further creating a vicious cycle where you’re constantly feeling bad about yourself.

But the good news is that you don’t have to stay in this rut. You can overcome the vicious cycle of negative thinking and low self esteem. When you’re able to overcome negative thinking, your self esteem will naturally improve. You’ll boost your self confidence and feel far more optimistic about your life, no matter what you might be going through.

If you’re ready to break the cycle of negativity, you need to understand these essential truths.

Recognize Negative Thinking Patterns

Your actions always begin with your thoughts. If you think you’re hopelessly overweight and destined to stay that way, then it doesn’t matter how many diet books you buy or blogs you read, you’re still going to struggle. The fact is that you’ll stay overweight because you haven’t changed your mindset.

If you want to change something in your life, you’ll have to change your thoughts first. Instead of thinking that you’re destined to be overweight, work on changing your thinking. Try saying to yourself that you’re in control of what you eat and how much. Doing this changes the story you’re telling yourself. You just went from the victim in this story to the victor.

Change Your Mental Outlook

You are the only one with the power to change your mental soundtrack. Just because you have some negative thoughts doesn’t mean you have to listen to them. You alone have the power to change your focus.

Instead of concentrating on the terrible day you had, start thinking about a simple pleasure – a serendipity – that you’ve been anticipating like getting to change into your yoga pants or flannel pants tonight or hearing your son’s laughter during a silly bedtime game. By focusing on what’s positive, you’re teaching yourself to let go of negative thoughts.

Remember Garbage In, Garbage Out

It’s hard to stay positive if you’re constantly consuming negative information. Watch your social media consumption. If you really want to change your negative self-talk, then you have to focus on consuming good stuff. You want to read and watch content that lifts you up. Not only will you feel better, you’ll notice that your self-talk is more optimistic when you focus on the good.

Practice Mindfulness

Stay aware of your present environment and what’s going on around you, whether you’re at home, at work or out running errands. It can be very easy to get sidetracked by negative thoughts if you don’t stay present. If you’ve found your mind going off on auto pilot, take a minute to focus on your breath and refocus. No judgment, just regroup.

Practice Positive Affirmations

What you say about yourself will become your truth. That’s why it’s really helpful to practice positive affirmations every day. Begin by looking in the mirror and telling yourself something like “I’m in charge of how I feel today and I choose happiness.” When you speak these positive affirmations out loud, they’ll begin to affect how you talk to yourself and how you live out your life.

Everyone struggles with negative thinking at some point in their life. The important thing to remember is not to beat yourself up when you’re in a mental rut. Accept that you had a negative thought, then just push it away and replace it with a positive one.

No matter how ingrained your negative thinking patterns might be, you can overcome it. Think of it as building new mental muscles. It will be hard at first but just like any other good habit or intention, it will become ingrained if you stay with it.

How to overcome negative thinking #mentalhealth #selflove

 

Find Your Influence