Mental & Emotional Health

Emotionally I don’t cry much anymore.  I have assumed for some time that it was the product of the anti-depressants because, well duh, they keep me happy.   But, I’m telling you, right now, being physically sick made me cry.  I was so sick on Wednesday night and Thursday that I literally cried. 

As it all turned out, apparently it was strep but man, I felt like rotten awful dirt.  Which doesn’t really take much if you want to know the truth.  Either way, I slept most all day because a horrible steroid shot kept me awake all night last night.  I’m planning to go to bed soon in hopes of a normal day tomorrow..ahhh, normal?  What is that?

I have to make an appointment to see my therapist and doctor this week as it is medication refill time plus I need my records from him to check on having lapband surgery.  So, if that happens, you can guarantee, I’m going to be blogging some happiness, some sadness and probably some pain.  Oh well, that’s that!

I am going to a meeting Thursday night to see if I even qualify but apparently the nurse things I should be good to go.  I have to get to feeling better and my oh my, it has to happen soon!

So, that’s emotions in a nutshell…..what about you guys?  Do the holidays help you relax or exacerbate depression and anxiety?

And, one more thing…

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS GIVE AWAY - Starts December 1st at midnight and goes through…..December 12th at midnight.  I have ten blogs, three of them have a contest running on them and the contests are different each day. 

All the information you need to enter can be found on the websites:  Mom~E~Centric, Mom is Teaching and Education Uncensored.

I look forward to seeing all of you there!

Before I get started, let me tell you about a secret code.  It’s a coupon code for

Child Safety & Baby Gear Store 25% off your first purchase with coupon code BLACKfriday08 at http://www.MyPreciousKid.com

If this is not your first purchase from My Precious Kid, you can use the following code as well 10% off code # TWITTERten

MY BIG NEWS!

Ok, "something big" refers to quite a few things, BUT THE BIGGEST OF THE BIGGEST IS….

• my upcoming "12 Days of Christmas" Give Aways…
  • 
• I can assume that you realize that is the big one, and yes there will be prizes every day.  More instructions on how to enter to win are forth coming and soon.  The contest will start on December 1st and end on December 12th..for the 12 Days of Christmas
• The next big one is this…..

• And, I’ll save the last BIG disgusting issue for later….

• Until then, start dreaming about all you have a chance to win.

So much going on, you know for someone who has a tendency for anxiety attacks, all this action is really not a good thing.  I haven’t been back to see my psychiatrist and we’ve basically stopped seeing the counselor as well.  Time, all that takes time. 

I will get back to my psychiatrist as soon as possible because I can’t get medication filled any other way.  But, right now, my time has been spent with my head on my pillow nursing one sinus infection right after another.   And, if you don’t think you physical health will affect your mental health, you just give it a try and see what happens.

Honestly, I’m down, call it depression, call it apathy, call it whatever you want, you can even call it too low dose of a certain medication called Prozac but the fact of the matter is, the germs are horrid around here right now.

My son’s have both been sick with runny nose and high fever junk.  One had impetigo and at the same time he had his eyes checked and we learned he needed glasses.  So, you see, call it whatever you want, I call it very busy.

And, of course, you gotta throw in a bridal shower, a birthday party for the "3.99 year old who is not potty trained" and another party on Wednesday of this upcoming week on his real birthday, a couple of Thanksgiving meals, decorating for Christmas and then we have to do birthdays again not long after….what would be your diagnosis?

I’ve spent most of the week trying to prepare a website for local exposure.  I will have my site featured in the Life Styles of our local paper again.  This website is set up strictly for the parents, students and teachers in our community.  Well, all actuality, there’s two of them. 

I know that neither of them refer to you guys but if you get a chance, swing by, leave a comment for me and let me know what you think about the over-all site structure, idea behind the websites and just general opinions.

I promise I will get back on gear over the weekend.  I am also redesigning my Mom~E~Centric site but that has to wait til later.  Also, I’m being bombarded by ideas and can’t keep my head on straight.  Here’s the sites, see what you think…

Education Uncensored:  The Blog

Education Uncensored:  The Social Network

I was a chronic suffer, I’ve written about it here and right now there is a survey by Neurocrine Biosciences’ sponsored Endometriosis Survey which is one that I took.  If you have endometriosis and are interested in participating, there is a honorarium that comes with the completion of the survey.  If you are interested in participating, shoot an email to Chrysa at endosurvey@neurocrine.com and give her a shout regarding the survey.

So, go ahead, give it a try.  The honorarium is $25 and so definitely worth the few minutes of your time.  Go ahead, get yourself involved.

I mean c’mon please, if you aren’t over-weight, or obese, you don’t get it.  I started walking on my treadmill three weeks ago.  And, after one day, I came down with a horrible sinus infection.  So, I didn’t exercise again that week.  The next week I walked 2 days and then I earned this horrible crick in my neck.  I’ve been down ever since.  I finally gave up today and saw my general practitioner so that I could get a specialist to see me.  But, that’s a long drawn out process and it will even be the first part of next week before I can even get the initial x-ray.

One x-ray to warrant an MRI to start the process of going to see a specialist who is probably going to order yet another MRI.  And, this about where my insurance starts acting crazy because gah, all these MRI’s.  I just had a brain MRI this week, nothing there…ahahaha, ,old joke, always funny. 

But, really, the brain is normal and the sinus’s were clear.  That means that this horrible knot on my neck and this horrible ear pain and arm weakness on the same side are not related to sinuses.  And, so I guess I spend the weekend doped up on muscle relaxers yet again…which is what I did last weekend.

I’m telling you, it’s hard to work when you can’t hold your head up and even I get tired of sleeping.  Anyway, I’m over-weight and every time I make good on my promise to myself to get back to exercising, something happens to mess me up. 

Now, if you had experienced all this crap in the last few weeks, you too would probably be suffering psychologically as well.  And, by suffering emotionally from the physical pain, my weight continues to be an issue.  Does that make any sense at all?

Depression is truly an affair in the brain. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise and certainly don’t doubt yourself. It is important to understand that it is a chemical imbalance but you don’t necessarily have to understand all the chemical mechanics of how to make it work right. You simply need to be aware and know where to find the necessary help. You can and should seek professional help if you feel like you need it. But, as you well know, part of getting help is finding support from those who suffer as you do. If you look around, you can find people willing to talk, willing to listen and you can find both in support forums almost everywhere you go.

I’ve been very fortunate in my quest for finding good places online with good people. When you are in need of help, you need people to support you, not find ways to bring you down. Forums are a dime a dozen but when you can find a forum that is recommended by someone you’ve been reading or following for some time, you can feel much better about the kind of support you have found.

Most everyone that reads this blog or my personal blog knows how I feel about depression.  If you’ve read even one of my posts on depression, you know that a quick way to get me all in a tizzy is to dispute the reality of depression.  I can link for days on this because I’ve written for days on this subject.  But, I’ll only give you a few of my own because right now…now I want to introduce to you, a new place for us to gather and discuss depression and anxiety without feeling as if someone is judging us. 

So, go now, check this out on TwitterMoms PPD Support

Ok, so here’s the deal, if a company were to offer me something…I don’t know what yet, just something…and I was to give it away here on the blog…..what kind of contest would you participate in and what (within reason) would you like to see as the prize being given away??????

So, if my sleeping for hours on end didn’t qualify as meditating, what is exactly the best way to meditate.  Here’s a few tips:

1. Find a quiet spot that’s free from distractions.  Sit on a cushion or a chair, lie down if sitting for too long is uncomfortable.



2. Choose a focal point.  Use that focal point to gaze softly upon, your breath, a soothing mental image such as a waterfall or a mantra.  If you don’t want to gaze at something special, simply close your eyes.  (See, closing your eyes counts, just because I went to sleep means nothing, haha).
3. Gently allow yourself to bring your full attention to your focal point.  Your mind will drift but don’t be upset with yourself when you become distracted.  Just acknowledge the wandering and then try to return to your focal point.

It is simple even if it may seem uncomfortable and pointless at first.  But the mind is conditioned to jump from one thought to another and training it to rest is not easy.  But the results are huge. 

I find it extremely easy for my mind to wander. Focusing is difficult when you have ADD and you are awake, never mind the difficulty when you are suppose to be focusing on something. So, I do find that it helps to think about soft flowing water, quiet music and candle lit rooms. It definitely helps and then to feel the air going in and out of my lungs as each body part relaxes. Definitely these tips help.

I love to sleep.  So much so that it annoys most folks that know me.  Regardless of whether the sleep affects them or not, people get all bent out of shape over my desire to sleep.  Now that I have children it is different for obvious reasons.  But, when I was younger, single, or it was just me and my husband, people would complain anytime I suggested a nap.  Why?  Who was I hurting?

Finally, right before I met my last husband, my roommate was quite vocal about my ability to sleep. We won’t discuss her ability to drink but anyway, it would drive her crazy because I would sleep so much.  Anyway, I finally started telling her I was meditating.  At least she would leave me alone that way.

And, the more I thought about it, the more I figure that the time I spent in bed, awake, doing deep breathing exercises trying to clear my brain…it was meditating, wasn’t it?

There are 3 popular forms of meditation and even though my form (sleeping) doesn’t necessarily get listed, it still works…trust me.

1.  Transcendental Meditation which uses a mantra

2.  Mindfulness Meditation or Insight Meditation or Vipassana involves nonjudgmental observation of thoughts as the focus on breathing or a seen or visualized object takes place

3.  Visualization Meditation is used to relieve pain.

So, see, I wasn’t too far off was I?

I’m not a big shopper, but I’m telling you, when I get started, there is no looking back.  And, I’ve been a little slower than most with the shopping online phenomenon but honestly, can shopping get any easier?

Anyway, I’ve got a contest for you me, it’s called Shop and Confess.  Basically it’s pretty simple, you go to the link for Shop and Confess and sign up.  When you sign-up, tell them that I sent you from Life in Reality, that way I get credit for you signing up. 

I know, it sounds difficult, but basically, if you are going to do your holiday shopping sooner rather than later (later is when I tend to do mine) and you are going to be doing online shopping, then definitely this can benefit you as well as me.

Now, are you thoroughly confused….if so, go see this video on youtube and see if it helps.

I’m not sure when this contest actually ends, but as soon as I know, I will let you know.  And, I did say it was a contest and the contest is basically about me trying to get as many people to sign up with my referral Life in Reality as possible…so please, sign-up, spread the word and have everyone you know use Life in Reality as the referring link. 

I’m not even sure what I would win if I won but you know, I’m all about sharing and will gladly give away some of my winnings in another contest on Mom~E~Centric.

Ok, so go to Shop and Confess, sign up with Life in Reality as the referring blog and when I win, I will in turn give away part or all of my winnings on Mom~E~Centric.  That simple, looks like I could have just said that in the first place, uh?

Look, you don’t wanna know why I’m wimping out, just take my word for it…I am.

But, first of all, here’s a few fleeting thoughts.  Do you guys know about the Halloween Witch?  If not, you can read about it many places, but I’ll tell you quickly here.  Basically, we come home on Halloween night and the kids open and eat candy for about an hour.  No eating while out trick or treating so…they eat for about an hour.

Then, I give them a quart size ziplock bag with their name on it and they pick out their favorite pieces and put them in the bag.  They are reminded that the more candy they leave for the Halloween Witch, the bigger the toy will be.  So, they bag their candy up and leave the rest spread on the floor for the Halloween Witch to take.

The Halloween Witch then takes the candy to work with him on Monday…hehehehe.  There you have it…Here’s what "mah stash", as Jace called it…

The witch got…

The kids keep…(well they think they are, I’m going to work on those bags before I go to bed..)

But, the greatest part of any holiday is your family.  Am I correct?  Can I get someone to agree with me here for once?

And, the Halloween Witch has left a huge Tonka Truck Toy of some sort in exchange for the candy.

So, my mom did indeed load them up with a bunch of candy.  But, they also got this lovely Easter Egg with a note it…yes, an Easter Egg, what else are Grammy’s for?

Another awesome highlight or two coming later………..