When it comes to our wellbeing journey, we often start off with great enthusiasm and motivation. We set goals, make plans, and are enthusiastic about the positive changes we are about to make. However, as time passes, it can become challenging to maintain that same level of enthusiasm and commitment. We may encounter obstacles, face setbacks, or simply struggle to find the motivation to continue. This is when it becomes easy to give up on our wellbeing journey altogether. However, it’s important to remember that this struggle is normal and that giving up is not the answer.
We all have moments when we feel like we can’t keep going, that the effort required is too much, or that we will never reach our goals. The key to overcoming these moments is to understand why we feel this way and to find ways to push through the obstacles. Here are a few examples of the struggles we come across and some suggestions of how to overcome them:
UNACHIEVABLE GOALS
One of the main reasons why we may struggle to maintain our wellbeing journey is that we set unrealistic expectations for ourselves. We may want to lose a certain amount of weight in a short amount of time or feel like we should be able to stick to a strict diet and exercise regimen without fail. When we fail to meet these expectations, we may feel like we have let ourselves down and give up on our goals altogether.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
To overcome this challenge, it’s important to set realistic expectations for ourselves. We should aim to make small, sustainable changes to our habits that we can maintain over time. For example, instead of trying to completely overhaul our diet, we can start by incorporating more fruits and vegetables into our meals, drinking more water or reducing sugary snacks. By setting achievable goals, we can build momentum and confidence in our ability to make positive changes to our wellbeing.
LACK OF SUPPORT
Another reason why we may struggle to maintain our wellbeing journey is that we don’t have a support system in place. We may feel like we are alone in our efforts and that no one else understands what we are going through. This can make it difficult to stay motivated, especially when we encounter obstacles or setbacks.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
To overcome this challenge, we can seek out support from others who are on a similar journey or who have already achieved their wellbeing goals. This can be in the form of a support group, an accountability partner, or a coach or mentor. By having someone to share our struggles and successes with, we can feel more connected and motivated to continue our journey.
SETBACKS AND DISTRACTIONS
Finally, it’s important to recognise that setbacks and obstacles are a natural part of any wellbeing journey. We may experience a plateau in our weight loss, have a difficult time sticking to our exercise routine, or encounter unexpected life events that hinder our progress. In times like this, it’s important to remember that setbacks are not failures and to always be kind to ourselves.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
To overcome these challenges, we can focus on progress rather than perfection. We can celebrate small wins along the way, such as making healthier food choices or completing a challenging workout. By focusing on progress, we can maintain our motivation and continue to move forward, even when we encounter setbacks.
In conclusion, the struggle to not give up on our wellbeing journey is real, but it’s important to remember that it’s a normal part of the process. By setting realistic expectations, seeking support from others, and focusing on progress rather than perfection, we can overcome these challenges and continue on our journey towards better health and wellbeing.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post. If you like this article please take look at some of my other pages or blog posts where I talk about different therapies and my own wellbeing journey and if you’d like to see future posts then please enter your email address and click on the subscribe button below and you will be notified of future content. I have no plans to use your email address for any other purpose. Feel free to share my page with anyone you feel may be interested and if you have any feedback about what I write or suggestions for further articles then please use the comment box further down the page. Warmest Wishes, Janet x
I am currently affiliated with Body FX. This page may contain other affiliated links and if you purchase any item from following one of these links I may receive a small commission. Images that I haven’t taken myself are from pixabay.cm, unsplash.com or pexels.com.
I’m still working on my health and fitness regime which is up and down depending on my energy levels and how busy I’ve been. For example, with the arrival of the lovely spring weather I’ve spent a lot more time working in the garden, mainly weeding but planting summer bulbs and seeds too. However, at the end of the day I find myself wondering why I’m in so much pain. Then I remember how I’ve been getting up and down off the floor, using my arms to help myself and my hands digging up those deep roots.
FIBROMYALGIA – URGH!
It doesn’t take a lot of work to feel like you’ve ran a marathon when you have fibromyalgia. I’m so determined not to identify myself with the condition that I forget that this is what causes the symptoms I get. So I thought give you a little bit of insight into how fibromyalgia impacts my life.
PAIN
One of the main symptoms is widespread pain. I consider myself luckier than many because I’m not in constant agonising pain and relying on pain medication to function. However, I suffer with painful stiffness most of the time, it’s worse in the mornings after being in bed all night and in the evenings after resting, it’s like I turn to stone when I’m still for too long and I feel like a rusty tin man trying to get up and walk.
I have problems with my knees, I struggle to get down on the floor and getting up from a chair can be agonising, I’m not sure if this is fibromyalgia or not. The numerous times I’ve been to a doctor over the years, they examine me and say there is nothing wrong, they won’t even send me for x-rays or scans. I’ve had physio but that didn’t help. I know losing weight will reduce the stress put on them and that’s all part of the plan but sometime exercise is very painful.
The rest of the pain I get is more a feeling of being bruised all over, any pressure can be felt right down to my bones. When I use the blood pressure monitor, the inflated band causes excruciating pain, as though it was a metal clamp with nails penetrating the skin. At my worst I get random stabbing pains and any area I’ve been putting stress on through work or exercise is very painful, I get hot tingling sensations occasionally from my sacrum area up to my waist and very restless.
I don’t like taking medication and try to avoid painkillers if I can help it. I can’t take anti-inflammatories anymore due to the heart medication I’m on so all I can take is paracetamol which I will take if its too difficult to sleep etc. I try to manage with Epsom salt baths and homemade pain relief oils with essential oils.
The main thing I focus on is that it is only temporary, I’m not in this state constantly and I’m very grateful for that.
EXAUSTION
I think this is the worst part of it, my energy levels are very low most of the time. If I do feel particularly energetic, I have to be very careful not to overdo it and clean the whole house or do two hours in the gym. It’s so tempting when you feel good to just get all those tasks out of the way but if I don’t pace myself I will crash and end up having to rest for far longer. The frustrating thing about this is no matter how many times you tell people about your condition, they forget and don’t understand, notice or make allowances for you. You end up feeling lazy and useless and feel that everyone thinks you are just making excuses, this can lead to trying to do more than you should so that you don’t feel judged and then end up in a worse situation having to recover from another flare up. Anyone with an ‘invisible’ illness will understand this.
BRAIN FOG
Fibromyalgia also causes brain fog so I get very forgetful and struggle to concentrate for long periods of time. I have to remind myself of this too when I struggle with the French language and beat myself up for not trying harder to learn it. If I don’t make a ToDo List I sometimes get a bit disorientate not knowing what to do because I have so many things I’m trying to do it can get overwhelming.
HYPERSENSITIVITY
I have a very sensitive sense of smell, I can’t tolerate artificial fragrances and any fowl smell is extreme, I can smell the cat’s little tray from the other side of the house. My nose is constantly blocked but not congested, as though my airways have closed up which makes using the CPAP machine difficult. I can’t stand very loud noises or the wind either, they make me very on edge and anxious.
TRIGGERS
There are things that make my condition worse and I try to be careful to avoid them or at least prepare myself for them, these are:
Mental/Emotional Stress: Any form of stress puts me into a state where I find it difficult to function. It could be having to deal with official matters, tax etc. The vast amount of administration for the children’s education or sometimes healthcare. Worries about financial security. Unexpected change of plans that require me to take some form of action.
Lack of Sleep: If I have a bad nights sleep my symptoms are quite often at their worst the following day which isn’t too bad if I don’t have plans, I just take it easy, but if I have to work, go to appointments or social engagements I find it extremely difficult.
Overwork: Like I said earlier, too much exercise or manual labour cause a flare up. Even though it’s essential to exercise for my heart and weight control, too much physical work can have a detrimental effect. It’s necessary to get the right balance. If I pace myself, I may feel bad at the end of the day but usually recover by the next day.
Negativity: All of these setbacks can lead to spiralling negative thoughts and feelings. Frustration leads to despair to feeling useless, feeling trapped in a cyclone of obstacles. There have been times when I have given in to self-pity, feeling alone in my world of pain. No matter what I try nothing improves. The exhaustion has sometimes got to a point where I wish I could go to sleep for weeks and wake up healed. You start to believe the judgement of medical professionals. They all tell me to lose weight ‘eat less and move more’ as if I didn’t know that. During my last visit to the doctor I told her how desperate I was to lose weight but that it was difficult having a family to cater for too and she simply said ‘children don’t need biscuits either’!!!! I didn’t have the energy to explain that it wasn’t the unhealthy snacking but that sometimes I can’t even think about what to make for dinner let alone have the energy to prepare it so I let the family cater for themselves and eat whatever is easy. I felt she would just think I was making excuses and no one will take me seriously until I lose a lot of weight. These negative scenarios do not help me in any way, just make me want to give up.
MORE POSITIVITY
Generally, I am a very positive person though. I am a complementary therapist, I go to healing workshops and study various other healing methods and still believe that life is good and will be even better. But I also have a shadow side and even the most positive person can feel sorry for themselves. I don’t always practice what I preach and have never tried to be a saint or guru etc.
I truly believe that we have a purpose in life, or that we can create one. My passion is Self-Healing, Therapy Work and Writing and this is what this blog is about.
Putting myself out there and sharing my journey helps me to centre myself and get back on the right track.
HEALING
The healing methods I’m focussing on are the ones I write articles on, you can find them in the menu at the top of the page. I’m also studying other therapies for my business that will have a positive effect on my own wellbeing too.
After recently seeing other people go through problems where I was not able to help such victims of wars, poverty and ill health, I felt very sad. But I reflected on it for a while and decided that even though I can acknowledge these matters and help in whatever way I can like, donating money or clothing, sending healing etc. If there is nothing else I can do, then I need to focus on the things I can control. These things are my own personal health, finding ways to earn a better living, work in the garden, continue my studies and find time for my creative hobbies. I am so fortunate that I have so many options no matter how I’m feeling physically.
One way to help others and myself is by reaching out to them by writing this blog and putting positive posts on social media. When I write a post or article, I get inspired to take action myself because I feel more optimistic and enthusiastic about the subjects I’m exploring.
A healing method I’m writing about now is ‘Forgiveness’, I wont talk about it too much here because I will publish it at the same time as this post. But it’s one of the best ways to release emotions that are locked in your body and mind enabling you to move forward.
I hope you found this article interesting and useful. If you like this take look at some of my other pages where I talk about different therapies. If you’d like to see my future content then please enter your email and press subscribe below and you will be alerted when I publish anything new. Also, as this is a new website I would love to hear your opinions and suggestions about what I write and you can make comments at the bottom of the page. Thank You for taking the time to read this. Until next time, I wish you all the very best. Janet x
I am currently affiliated with Body FX. This page may contain other affiliated links and if you purchase any item from following one of these links I may receive a small commission. Images that I haven’t taken myself are from pixabay.cm, unsplash.com or pexels.com.
I am currently affiliated with Body FX. This page may contain other affiliated links and if you purchase any item from following one of these links I may receive a small commission. Images that I haven’t taken myself are from pixabay.cm, unsplash.com or pexels.com.
I have been making small changes in my habits that I’m hoping will become natural instincts in my daily routine. I haven’t started a ‘diet’ as such and I am reluctant to do that because I’ve done it all before and even though it works it has to be maintained for life so I really just want to change my habits.
I haven’t lost weight but I’m gradually changing my eating habits and have a healthy breakfast and lunch to start with. This doesn’t meant I eat pizza for dinner though (only occasionally) but I may still have a desert or snack afterwards. I’m incorporating more of the low calorie meals from the Pinch of Nom books and Slimming Eats websites because the whole family enjoy them.
I did go without alcohol for about five weeks and now only have it at the weekend or if we occasionally eat out for lunch.
EXERCISE
I’ve started doing a weekly Zumba workout with a friend which encourages me to do a longer sessions than I would on my own. I also manage to fit in shorter exercise sessions in between, so even if I don’t do a full workout I’m still doing more than I was before and I’m improving each time. I suffer from knee pain which makes a lot of the movements difficult but it seems to be less restrictive each time. I listen to my body and if I’ve been too still for too long I get up and move. I’ll do a short workout, take a walk or even l do some standing crunches from the Figure 8 workouts whilst cleaning my teeth or waiting for the kettle to boil etc. It’s not much yet, but every little helps.
WRITING
It’s a couple of weeks since I updated my blog but I have written a couple of articles. I’m not sure if people get alerted to them being published like they do with the blog but you can find them here:
I will be adding these in the next few weeks and will update this post with the links when they are published.
HOBBIES
I have a few creative hobbies that I enjoy and have a few small projects on the go. I started macramé last year and enjoyed making lots of Christmas decorations and wall hangings. Also a couple of years ago I decided to make Christmas gifts for family in the UK, I made a selection of things like tote bags, jewellery and even some homemade balms and incense etc. I also made dreamcatchers and suncatchers and enjoyed making these so much I started to make a lot more. I’m trying to add this activity to my business so that I can eventually sell them. Also I’ve been practicing making beads with polymer clay, I used to do this years ago and saw some clay for sale recently so thought I might make a bit of jewellery for myself.
Currently I’m finishing off a few embroidery projects too. I love making gifts for people but rarely finish off things I start for myself so I’ve decided I need to do this as part of a self-nurturing process. I started embroidering a Shamanic Medicine Wheel a couple of years ago and as I still attend workshops in this field I am focussing on finishing it before I start anything else. I will publish a photo of it when it’s complete.
MULTI-TASKING & NEW DISCOVERIES
I have lots of online courses, podcasts and videos that I intend to get around to when I have the time and since one of my recent articles was about time management, I realised that I didn’t talk about Multi-Tasking. I often multi-task when doing housework but I decided to do this with recreational things too, like listen to podcasts whilst walking the dog and loading up my YouTube playlists whilst doing some embroidery. The good thing about algorithms is that you discover new material in the areas of interest you have and in my recommendations were videos of ‘Mel Robbin’s 5 Second Rule’.
5 Second Rule
In brief the system explained in the video is simply counting down from five to one to motivate you into action. The video explains how to use it and the book that you can find in the links on the sidebar goes into more detail of how to use for different purposes. At the moment I’m using it to stop negative thoughts, as soon as I recognise my mind drifting into areas that eventually bring me down, e.g. reliving how someone may have upset me in the past, I count down 5,4,3,2,1 and stop thinking about it. Also when I suddenly lose the motivation to do something that I really want to do I count down and do it anyway. It’s quite subtle, you don’t suddenly get an overwhelming impulse to do something but it stops you spiralling and can do it anyway even if you don’t feel like it. The more I’ve been doing it the less I’ve needed to use it. For example, during times of exhaustion and more pain from the fibromyalgia, just getting up out of a chair can be a real struggle and leads me to put off doing things, so I used the 5 second rule and did it anyway. I’ve since noticed that I don’t even need to count and I’m responding naturally to getting up to go and get something or do something without the fear of pain or the voice in my head saying I’m too tired.
Spring is in the air
Daffodils in my Garden
It seems like winter is never ending, although we are at the end of March we’ve had continuous gale force winds for the last couple of weeks, I really don’t like the wind, I hate the sound of it howling around the house, it chills me to the bone. I don’t mind a gentle breeze in the summer, but the bitter cold blasts we’ve had recently I can do without. However, they seem to be dispersing and I’m hoping to get out into the garden next week to get it ready for the summer. I find gardening very therapeutic, it can be quite meditative and being in nature is very good for the soul so that is more multi-tasking I can look forward to.
You Tube
I’ve mentioned before that I have a YouTube channel, at the moment there are a few meditation videos on there with lovely musical soundtracks. I am in the process of creating my own guided meditations and I’m looking to put together some of my own background music as I’ve heard of a lot of scams where royalty free music is changed once it’s embedded into peoples video and people having to then pay a ridiculous amount for the copyright or lose any monetisation from it. I don’t want to spend ages making a video only to have to take it down and re-do it if it gets popular.
I also have a few other ideas for the channel and that is to do some demonstrations of the therapies I provide and also some instructional videos on self massage and reflexology etc.
I also thought of doing a few personal updates on my progress with health and fitness. This is something I will have to pluck up courage to do though, but eventually I hope to get there. You can see my channel by following one of the links on the side bar and when I do my personal videos I’ll link to them in future posts.
Tortoise and the Hare
As the heading of this post suggests I’m making slow and gradual progress (tortoise), in the past I’ve enthusiastically thrown myself into regimes and do really well to start with (hare) but I get distracted and don’t continue with my efforts. I hope that by taking things slow and steady, gradually introducing new habits, I can make long term changes that will produce the results I want and be able to maintain them.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post. If you like this article please take look at some of my other pages or blog posts where I talk about different therapies and my own wellbeing journey and if you’d like to see future posts then please enter your email address and click on the subscribe button below and you will be notified of future content. I have no plans to use your email address for any other purpose. Feel free to share my page with anyone you feel may be interested and if you have any feedback about what I write or suggestions for further articles then please use the comment box further down the page. Warmest Wishes, Janet x
I am currently affiliated with Body FX. This page may contain other affiliated links and if you purchase any item from following one of these links I may receive a small commission. Images that I haven’t taken myself are from pixabay.cm, unsplash.com or pexels.com.
I am currently affiliated with Body FX. This page may contain other affiliated links and if you purchase any item from following one of these links I may receive a small commission. Images that I haven’t taken myself are from pixabay.cm, unsplash.com or pexels.com.
I started this blog to share my progress on the goals I’ve set myself on overcoming physical limitations, losing weight and improving my overall wellbeing. My intention was that by sharing with you my schedule and progression, I will be motivated to stay on track as well as inspire others to achieve their goals.
What has held me back in the past has been the inability to focus and commit to my own needs because of ‘life getting in the way’. The distractions of unexpected events and demands on our attention and time lead us to forget the new positive habits we wanted to incorporate into our lifestyles.
Distractions
These last two weeks have been a perfect example of this; for a start it’s the school holidays and whilst my children are now teenagers and don’t want me to spend time with them like when they were younger, they still need taking to appointments, shopping trips for school books or clothes, taxiing to social events and obviously providing more meals which means, more time shopping and preparing and cleaning etc. Another distraction has been building work at the house so lots of mess and noise. So, I’ve been immersed in trying to keep on top of the normal day to day routines, delegate chores to reluctant teenagers, rearrange clients to fit into less chaotic noisy time frames and taking my children to school meetings and driving lessons and so on. I’ve managed to do a few things for myself like a little bit of gardening, writing blog articles and a bit of creative work such as embroidery, macramé and wire art which I’ve tried to combine with listening to audio podcasts or relaxing watching TV etc.
Obstacles
I’ve mentioned in previous posts that I suffer from fibromyalgia and this is my major obstacle because the effect of doing too much leads me suffer from a flare up where I am in so much pain and feel so exhausted it’s a struggle to not only prepare a simple meal but also the brain fog that goes along with it means I struggle to even come up with an idea of what to make in the first place. In an ideal world I would have lots of pre-prepared meals that can be heated up easily by any member of the family.
There are lots of distractions and excuses that prevent us achieving what we set out to do. Unless you have a perfect work/life balance with a good support network and no financial insecurities then there will always be something that doesn’t meet our needs and desires. We also know people who seem to be able to organise their lives and be super-efficient, self-disciplined, high achievers or super-mums who make us feel like inadequate failures. However, we shouldn’t compare ourselves to others, what you see on the surface isn’t necessarily the truth, we can’t know what other people are dealing with and what it would be like in their shoes. We are our own worse judges and critics and beat ourselves up over our mistakes and setbacks.
Inspiration
With all this in mind I thought I’d also address the setbacks that hinder our progress and look at various ways we can deal with them to overcome some of the obstacles that get in our way. Rather than address all these issues here I’m going to break them down into individual posts. Some of the subjects I’m planning on writing about are listed below (in no particular order), as I publish them I’ll also add a link to them, if I can work out how to do that. This is what I have in mind:
A lot of the topics will be related to my own issues and the methods I have used or intend to use on my wellbeing journey and will also complement the articles on different therapies I’m interested in. You can find lots of self-help books and webpages on these subjects but you can also get overwhelmed with the amount of information out there so I’m going try to write brief, easy to read posts that will hopefully be useful to you.
And Finally
I hope you enjoy reading my blog and I thank you for the time you have taken to read it. If you you would like to see future content then please enter your email address and press the subscribe button below, I have no intention of using you email addresses for any other purpose other than to inform you of new posts I have published.
I also welcome any feedback and suggestions you may have and I’m happy for you to share this with your friends and colleagues.
I am currently affiliated with Body FX. This page may contain other affiliated links and if you purchase any item from following one of these links I may receive a small commission. Images that I haven’t taken myself are from pixabay.cm, unsplash.com or pexels.com.
I am currently affiliated with Body FX. This page may contain other affiliated links and if you purchase any item from following one of these links I may receive a small commission. Images that I haven’t taken myself are from pixabay.cm, unsplash.com or pexels.com.
We are in the first week of February already and I feel like I’ve been in a complete blur for the last month. I used to find January and February the most depressing time of year. It’s the middle of winter so the weather is usually cold and often wet and dreary. The aftermath Christmas holidays can be a bit deflating, all parties and excitement have ended and there’s nothing to look forward to except going back to work etc.
That changed for me after having my daughter in January (many years ago). I actually look forward to taking the Christmas decorations down now and instead of feeling like the place looks sparse and dull, I feel like the rooms are more airy and even a little bigger without all the tinsel, trees and various other festive decorations cluttering the place up. Within a couple of weeks the house has birthday banners, balloons and cards on display and it’s time for birthday celebrations, cake making and teenage sleepovers. It isn’t easy starting healthy habits during this time so I gave myself permission to start mid January instead of the beginning this year.
I consider the phase I’m in at the moment a ‘weaning’ stage where I ease myself into the New Year gently. It sounds like excuses I know, but by allowing myself to go slowly it takes the pressure off trying to start out with too many changes and restrictions or imposing strict exercise plans where there is a high risk of failing and giving up too soon.
So I started the year by being more mindful of what I eat, we all have left over festive foods and treats still tempting us, not to mention two birthday cakes (teenage girls deserve at least two celebrations apparently!). So I didn’t deny myself a slice of cake and glass of wine but I also didn’t eat cake with every meal or drink every night. I started my ‘dry January’ halfway through but decided I would continue it until the end of February to make up for it. I’ve founds some lovely alternative that make me feel like I’m not depriving myself. The ones in the image below are a few of my favourites, I also like herbal teas and fizzy water from my soda stream and so far I’m not really missing alcohol that much.
Diet
So that is the alcohol taken care of. Food hasn’t been as good but I am easing myself into it so I’m making some of my favourite recipes from various diets I’ve done in the past and trying to make sure I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables with the meals, also only having one portion of bread or cereal a day. One of my favourite recipes for breakfast is banana pancakes, these are delicious and don’t use up any of my bread or dairy allowances. I can’t remember where I found the recipe and I tweaked it a little anyway so I will give you the recipe here:
I’m also trying to use up the contents at the bottom of my freezer to make room for when I really get organised and start batch cooking! I’ve enjoyed making frozen cauliflower bakes and frozen mushroom soup to name a few. Tonight will be chicken stir fry with noodles. It’s best to cook from scratch rather than convenience food because you can control what ingredients you use and you can usually find great healthy alternatives. Even though I have many cookery books I often just search google for healthy versions of popular dishes.
Exercise
As I love dancing and the weather is far too cold to use the pool or the gym equipment in the unheated barn, I’ve focussed my exercise on using a Zumba DVD and I’ve also bought the online Figure 8 basic package by Body FX.
Both the Figure 8 and the Zumba are based on Latin American dances and are a lot of fun to do. They are very high energy but you can go at your own pace and build up in your own time. A lot of the focus is on hip movement and abdominal crunches but it’s a whole body workout too.
I’m enjoying the classes and can manage short routines and have to make sure I don’t try to push myself too much until I overcome some of my health obstacles.
Struggles
I have found the main problem I have is the pain in my knees during exercise. So now I’m also looking at ways to help with that as many of the dance routines use a variety of squats and lunges too. I’ve made by own pain and inflammation reducing oil using frankincense, myrrh, ginger and wintergreen essential oils, you can find many recipes on the internet to make various remedies and I’ve been collecting essential oils for years and now putting them to good use. I’ve also bought some tiny magnets that you stick on painful areas but haven’t noticed any positive results yet, I may need to look more into the correct placement of the magnets to see if I get better results.
It’s an uphill battle at the moment but, no matter how difficult, I’m optimistic that perseverance and pacing myself will eventually ease any problems as I become lighter and fitter.
Before starting these workouts I used and still intend to use workouts on YouTube by Dr. Bri who does exercise routines for Pelvic Health. While the exercises are for improving pelvic floor muscles they are really great for loosening up your hips and toning your stomach muscles. They are low impact exercises using figure 8 belly dance movements. This is a great alternative to use on days when I’m in more pain or feeling less energetic.
Sleep
One essential area I am focussing on at the moment is to improve the quality of the sleep I get because it is during the deep sleep cycle when the body repairs itself and I’ve struggled with insomnia most of my life and although I can get to sleep OK now I have developed the habit of waking up to use the toilet two or three times a night. Sometimes I can get back to sleep but not always. I was diagnosed with sleep apnea last year and I’m currently trying to adjust to using a CPAP machine, I’m finding it easier but for some reason I always seem to get a blocked nose at night so I’m woken up by the air leaking out of the mask making lovely hissing and farting noises not to mention the cold air blasting into my eyes. Luckily this doesn’t happen every night and it does seem to be improving.
I bought a new fitness watch last week and according to that I’m getting over 3 hours of deep sleep each night which compared to my old watch is at least two hours more than before (I suspect one watch is not as accurate but I’d prefer to believe the new one!)
One thing I have changed is to load my MP3 player with motivating meditations and audio books and setting it to play all night. I’m asleep before the first one finishes but I’m hoping that the words in the meditations still get through to my subconscious mind while I sleep. Have a look at my article on meditation if you’d like to know more about the subject. It’s a free tool you can use and adapt to use anywhere at anytime to help you cope with stress and negative emotions, there are many forms of meditation so you are sure to find something that works for you. Another tool is EFT – Emotional Freedom Technique and I will be posting an article about that soon so keep an eye out for it.
Summary
So the progress so far is slow, I took all my measurements two weeks ago and started exercising and eating healthier.
It’s too soon to notice any results so I haven’t measured myself since but I’ve lost two or three pounds in weight which is a positive sign as I still intend to build on the regime I have in place.
I will hopefully have before and after pictures but I’d like to wait until there is actually a noticeable ‘after’ picture to share with you. Until the next update you can click on any of the icons below to see my Facebook, YouTube and Instagram pages to see other content that you may find interesting. I have two Facebook pages; one is my business page ‘Solistic Therapies’ where you will find links to videos on self reflexology and acupressure techniques and the other page ‘Healing Myself from Fibromyalgia’ has articles that I’ve shared on the subject. My YouTube channel is quite new and only has a few meditation tracks on there at the moment but I’m working on some of my own guided meditations that will be added soon so if you’d like to try them please subscribe to my channel to see future content.
I am currently affiliated with Body FX. This page may contain other affiliated links and if you purchase any item from following one of these links I may receive a small commission. Images that I haven’t taken myself are from pixabay.cm, unsplash.com or pexels.com.
Solistic 