Saturday, 1 September 2018

Stressed! DOH YEAH!

1st September 2018
Sometimes the biggest challenges actually transport you to the greatest places.

Another Saturday morning, 1st September, another month, 2/3rds of the way through the year, it sure has flown, now we’re 115 days away from Christmas, oh yeah a mere 16 weeks.  Christmas can be a pricey time so it’s a good time to start trying to save some money which is why I’ve decided it’s that time of year where I start to get my finances in order, see what I’ve got, where I am, where I can save some money, I know I spend too much on food so that’s my starting place, we’re also going to be talking about budget shopping in my meeting next week so hopefully I’ll pick up some ideas there too.  I have plenty of whoopsie salmon in the freezer to make a good few meals!

I’m looking forward to the weekend, hoping to meet up with my bestie tomorrow, we’ve not seen each other in weeks!  Today’s all about my meeting this morning which I love, then I’m not sure after that, once I’ve walked Alfie, I may even do a bit of housework, if it’s a dry day again mom and I might have some time in the summerhouse, we were out there a couple of hours yesterday, I got my crochet back out, that’s what I’ve not been doing the last month, I’ve been sitting watching television but not doing my crochet which I actually think is really good for my mental wellbeing, I couldn’t decide there whether to write ‘mental health’ or ‘mental wellbeing’, I think it’s the same thing but do you know what, when I (and I think others) write or think ‘mental health’ it has a negative attached to it as if it’s expected for our mental health to get bad, whereas when I wrote mental wellbeing immediately it has a positive feel to it.  I might be wrong, but that’s how I felt just.

Anyway what does ‘mental health’ really mean, quoting the Mind website again www.mind.org.uk

Good mental health is about your behaviour - what you do. It goes on to say that good mental health is when:
"You care about yourself and you care for yourself. You love yourself, not hate yourself. You look after your physical health – eat well, sleep well, exercise and enjoy yourself.

You see yourself as being a valuable person in your own right. You don't have to earn the right to exist. You exist, so you have the right to exist.

You judge yourself on reasonable standards. You don't set yourself impossible goals, such as 'I have to be perfect in everything I do', and then punish yourself when you don't reach those goals."


I think I have pretty good mental health, I could take care of my physical health a little more sometimes but overall I’m pretty good.  I definitely ain’t one for judging myself or others, we’re all BeYOUtiful and good enough as we are!

So anyway, crocheting is good for my mental wellbeing, the thing with ‘mental wellbeing’ is it’s dynamic, it can change from moment to moment, day to day and it’s easy to miss it when it’s taking a turn and that’s how we end up with mental health problems.  Which is why I’m all up for talking about it, being open and honest when you’re having a tough time, when stuffs a bit poo!  I’m definitely a sharer, not a wallower, just a realist.

I know I posted this next bit the other day, but somethings you can’t be reminded of often enough;
If you have good mental wellbeing you are able to:
  • feel relatively confident in yourself and have positive self-esteem
  • feel and express a range of emotions
  • build and maintain good relationships with others
  • feel engaged with the world around you
  • live and work productively
  • cope with the stresses of daily life
  • adapt and manage in times of change and uncertainty

If you want to read more and I suggest you do, go to their website https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/wellbeing/#.W4ZUJ7gnaUk

Anyway, where am I going with this, I went to the docs yesterday and he’s going to do blood tests just to check stuff like thyroid but he thankfully just thinks I’m stressed, no shit Sherlock! But I see that as a positive because I can do things about that, I assume it’s hormonal because it tends to be monthly but maybe I cope pretty damn well with my life most of the time but some days I just get stressed which is absolutely okay by the way, this ain’t no easy life.  Actually life for a large majority of folk ain’t each! 

Yeah some days I find it hard to cope with the stresses of daily life, I get frustrated, I get angry (yeah I do, I wasn’t going to write that but I do, I get angry that this is happening to my mom, I hate Alzheimer’s), I get emotional, really, really emotional because you know what, I’m already grieving for an incredible lady who hasn’t died yet but parts of her have.  I’ll get her back at her best for a few hours and it’s amazing and we laugh and chat like we’ve done all my life because she’s always been my best friend, then she returns to who she is now and my heart breaks again and I cry, yeah I cry and I hurt and I know that there’s so much more to come and I feel sad.  That’s when my mental wellbeing needs some attention and as long as I remember that, I’ll be just fine. 

This is where Weight Watchers is great because one way to improve your mental health is to build positive relationships, they don’t get no better than the people I’ve met through Weight Watchers.  It’s easy for me to lock myself away with mom but I know I have to make time for the people I love and talk about how I feel.  If you’re connecting to this go read more on this website https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/wellbeing/#.W4oSrrgnaUk
It’s important for me to take time for myself, I find this the hardest because I also feel guilt about leaving mom, even though I know she wouldn’t want me to and would be angry if she knew I felt that way.  I also don’t want to leave her because she’s my best mate and I love spending time with her, although this version is a bit like groundhog day, she talked about the wasps nest we have for over an hour yesterday whilst we were outside and they kept flying round us, then a couple of minutes later said “we haven’t seen many wasps this year have we!”  

Anyway, I’m waffling, I could write pages and pages on this but go read the mind page it has lots of tips and I plan to read it more than once. 

You can’t pour from an empty jug so this weekend, I plan to refill mine. Xx

Here’s to having a very great day, looking for the smile moments and focussing on creating those healthy habits for life. 


#mywwwellbeing





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