Friday, March 28, 2014

Y is for Yada Yada




Boy am I finding myself busy. Busy to the point of physical and mental exhaustion.  I am talking to the point of not being able to keep normal conversations straight in my head.  All I hear is "yada...yada....what are we going to eat....yada....yada...."

As I am typing this post, I actually went to bed a little after 11 last night, woke up to my 5:30 am alarm.  Now at 6:30, after working a little bit....I am back to mental exhaustion.  I should also mention that I was woke up by the kittens, Caty and Joey several times throughout the night.  So it doesn't help that I am unable to have uninterrupted sleep.

I don't know how familiar you are with fibromyalgia, but it really messes with you.  It's not only painful to just move most days, but I also have the brain fog.  When I get really stressed, I start feeling like I am walking in a fog.  I really start to feel personally what some of my sensory kids feel like all the time.  I just want to cover my ears and start rocking too.

When these things happen, I feel myself get angry quicker.  I snap sarcastically at the smallest of things.  I feel like crying, and I snack constantly to stay awake.

The mental & physical exhaustion also makes it so that I cannot get myself motivated to exercise.  That means that one of my ways of feeling better is not getting done.  Jogging is really a great mood improvement for me.  Yada...yada...yada....What did you say again?

I am working hard at keeping a positive attitude.  Here are some of the ways that I try to get myself back into clearer thinking....

1.  Think sunshine.  Sunshine...Vitamin D ....so necessary.  It's amazing how much better you feel after being out in the sunshine for just a bit.  Too cold outside.  Sit in front of a living room window, soak in some rays.
2.  Brain Aid.  I am learning about essential oils, and really want to take a course on using them effectively and properly.  Plant Therapy has a mix called Brain Aid that I really like.  The smell at first is a bit overwhelming, but I find that it really brings my focus back.  Some days I diffuse it (to the benefit of the whole family) and other days I dab a bit on my neck.
3.  Get up and just move a bit.  Sometimes I just need to get up and walk around a bit.  No matter how stressed I am about finishing a project, maybe get up and fold a few pieces of clean laundry (while standing), walking on the treadmill for a few minutes, pick up the living room.  Spend 15 minutes doing something different in order to get myself back on track.
4.  A friend recommended a new homeopathic lotion made with arnica.  I had never heard of it.  I now use it to help alleviate some of the pains which allows me to redirect my attention from pain to what needs to be accomplished.  I have only been doing this a couple weeks, but when my back is really hurting and I rub some of the lotion on, I can usually stop thinking about the pain and redirect my attention back to my project.
5.  Play a brief game with the kids.  Laugh a little.  A quick 15-20 minute game with one of the kids means the world to them and refreshes my brain at the same time.

These are some things that help me.  Some days I just completely give up trying to control my thoughts and fog.  Do you have any tricks that help keep you on track mentally?

Linking up with other homeschool moms at Ben and Me....Blogging through the alphabet.







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