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Posted 3/16/2020 5:13 AM (GMT 0)
Hi , stress is not good for fibro...are we at a stressful time with this bug..its confusing...
Posted 3/16/2020 6:37 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Lj: Yes, it is confusing. Personally, I feel that we just have to take it at face value, little by little, with what we know today. One day at a time. We can only deal with what is currently going on, and even some of that is out of our own control.

Last week, I realized I almost had too much information, after looking at several news stories on the virus. Of course, we should be paying close attention, as things seem to change almost daily, but I have had to back off some and limit my time hearing all about it, including every time I turn on the radio. To relax, I started reading a fictional book and also started planning my garden (thinking of sunny, nice weather and flowers is an inspiration to me!). I put in more prayer time too, specifically against this virus and for a return to 'regular' life.

I listen to a religious radio station quite often, and one of last week's guests was author Gary Zimak. For anyone not familiar with him, he has written Christian-themed books on stress and how to cope. From a more secular viewpoint, an author from some years back still has her books available online, I believe. Her name is Dr. Claire Weekes. Books by authors like these might be helpful, especially at a time like this, with all the uncertainty.

Stress is tricky! I have been diving into my various projects and keeping very busy. I also like calming music (lots of that on YouTube).

So much else to say about this virus, so I won't even get started. I do hope and pray that this will pass quickly and things will get back to normal soon.
My M-I-L had her place of employment close until mid-April. She said she's going to "dig in" and deep clean just about everything and keep super busy. I like her spirit on that.

Hope you and everyone here are doing well!
Posted 3/17/2020 4:42 PM (GMT 0)
Stress is caused by fear and, in this case, it is the fear of the covid-19 virus. Fear is a common emotion in cases like this. But we don’t have to let fear carry us away. We need to put everything in prospective.

There are over 185,000 cases of this virus in the world BUT there are 7.8 BILLION people in the world! There are roughly 331,000,000 people in the United States but we have only had roughly 4,700 cases of the virus and 74 deaths. This is from the CDC...“Despite the growing number of lab-confirmed cases in the U.S., the figures pale in comparison, for instance, to the seasonal flu, which kills an estimated 12,000 to 61,000 people per year and affects between 9 million and 45 million people in the country alone, according to the CDC.” We can’t get people to get their flu shots but they clean out the store shelves because of fear of this virus. Hopefully these numbers will help put things in perspective. These numbers were gotten off the CDC site for March 17, 2020.

It’s hard not to stress when every time you turn on the news, they are talking about this virus. Soooo, right now I have on Animal Planet. 😂. I can’t watch all the doom and gloom. I not only hear about the virus but also watch the few stocks I have go in the dumper. That plays tricks with your mind and brings fear and anxiety to the surface. I refuse to allow myself to go there.

I keep busy, watch nice programming where I can learn new things. I chat with friends online, I clean, and I make nice meals for my girls. These things make me happy and stop the incessant fear-mongering I get that is on the news. Sheesh, people are calling 911 because they ran out of toilet paper!

The best things you can do for yourself to help prevent your acquiring the virus is to #1, wash your hands frequently. Washing your hands is better than the hand sanitizers. Thank goodness for that since there is no sanitizers in the stores around me. I did find three small bottles in my closet and I gave my 2 girls each one and I have one for me. You want antibacterial soap when you wash your hands. If nothing else, Dial soap is antibacterial and not expensive.

#2, drink a lot of water to keep yourself hydrated. Maybe get Gatorade or Propel for the electrolytes. I bought powdered Propel at Walmart so I can put a packet in a 12-16 oz. bottle of water. It tastes good and is healthy.

#3, eat healthy.. lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. I have fresh mandarin oranges, minneola tangelos aka Honey Bell oranges, three boxes of strawberries, red and green grapes and a container of fresh pineapple all in my refrigerator and a banana on my shelf right now. All these fruit, except the banana, will last up to two weeks in the refrigerator. I have several bags of salad plus fresh radishes, celery, and avocados too. My freezer has many bags of frozen veggies. All these things are healthy. I also eat potatoes several times a week for their vitamins and potassium. They are very healthy. I’m adding to avoid salty foods too. That just puffs up your legs and feet.

Exercise the best you can. I actually do a lot of walking in my home! You can turn on a favorite program, stand in front of the TV and march in place! That gets your heart pumping and your circulation flowing.

Lastly...drum roll please...be happy! Here are two links that show that happiness makes you healthier!

https:// https://www.everydayhealth.com/news/happiness-healthy/

https:// https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/06/05/researchers-cracked-code-happiness/

So try to relax and enjoy each day...one day at a time. Luvsminis was right on!

Sherrine
Posted 4/29/2020 2:41 AM (GMT 0)
I imagined that i would get a major cleaning and paring down done😂

We did clean a couple days last week , deep cleaning some..we were so sore after, lol

Its getting rid of stuff we just have not gotten into yet..

Two of our kids came this weekend and we distanced on the deck in the sun for hours..that felt marvelous. They also brought us shopping items that were missing from our shelves..

Can anyone offer tips for paring down , we have not moved since 1976 , soooooooo...
Posted 4/29/2020 8:30 PM (GMT 0)
I was hoping to accomplish much more, too, Lj. For me for whatever reason, I seem to do better working in areas for a short time--maybe 15-20 minutes at a time, then moving on. I find that if I revisit that area the next day, it's encouraging to see a "bite" out of the big project.
We, too, are paring down, albeit very slowly. We already took a load of 'stuff' we no longer use to Good Will. We also took some hard cover books to a used book store. If they are accepted, they offer credit on your next purchase. It's a pretty good deal. Though---we try not to add too many more books!
I was just about to work in this computer/library room and hope to rearrange things so my favorites are more accessible. It will take time, so again, 20 minutes to maybe a half hour will be it for today, then it's onto the next area or project.
Being the weather is warming, I'm slowly getting the garden in, but today there's a super strong wind and I know from experience that my head/sinuses will not be happy if I'm out in that for too long. But there's enough for me to work on inside, for sure!

Wish you well!
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