Check In Time - How is everyone doing ? 6/15/2012

Shout out to everyone - How are you all doing ?  Here it is June 15th already and as we head into summer there are always challenges for each of us.

Summertime is supposed to be a time of carefree living, fun and sunshine. But, often, this is not the case. Summers can be hectic. For parents, it is the time children may be at home, alone, even though they are still working. Worry about what children are doing can add stress. Days can be filled with extra activities, driving children around and family picnics. Vacations, meant to be relaxing, can be filled with stress and worry. The season may have changed, the stressors may have changed, but still your day is filled with worry and anxiety. So how can you control stress and manage anxiety symptoms during the summer?

The following  tips may help:

Take advantage of the nice weather and take a walk each evening. This can be family time, enjoying the time together in the fresh air.

Do you have a hard time when you first come home, trying to catch up with the children, cook dinner and unwind from your day at work. Or are you stressed trying to get everyone up and out the door in the morning. Prepare for times of high stress by setting limit and rules. Let your family know you need a few minutes to yourself when you get home to unwind, then will cook dinner, then listen to their stories about the day while you sit down to have dinner.

Breathe deeply. It is difficult, if not impossible, to feel stressed while you are engaging in deep breathing. Inhale slowly, through your nose, counting to three. Exhale through pursed lips, counting to three again. As you practice this, you will be able to do it automatically and feel your stress level decrease.

Create your own affirmation to repeat when you are feeling stressed. Your affirmation could be "I will be okay" or "it will be okay." Whatever works for you. Each time you feel stress beginning to build, repeat your affirmation over and over. _{(Reference: Health Central)}

I will post my own "shout out " later but would like to hear from each of you so here is your chance to post your updates.

Kindly,

Kitt

 

Oh my summer started may 31st last day of school for the kids. I work an alternative work schedule from the kids dad so in the evening is his turn to take care of the kids. Activities all day, everyday whether or not I want it that way. I do have to occupy 4 age group, 8,6,4 and 9 months old. It is not easy, hectic.
Now last night kids dad is driving to NY for the 3rd time this year just to go hang out( we live in Texas) so right now no babysitter, bad evening but I am holding on.
Hoping to have a good day right now. But i always love summer though matter the situation.

Love the summertime. We get outside everyday to do something. Love our home and our yard, it's no mansion by any stretch of the imagination but it's home and we love little inprovement projects especially in the summer. Not much TV around here in the summer. At the end of most days we sit in the yard swing and watch the sun go down and look around and count our blessings and are thankful for what we have. I was forced into early retirement for medical reasons which changed our lifestyle a bit. Along with the obvious, not going to work, the budget doesn't allow some of the things we used to do but it's amazing how we can adapt if we give it time. It's also amazing how much you can find to do on little or no money when you set your mind to it. I love the changing of the seasons and winter doesn't bother me as much anymore since I don't have to get out in it on the bad days. I worked outside construction all my life and came to despise winter because of the harsh conditions and loss of work sometimes but that stress is gone now. I'm sure I'm no different than anyone else that looks forward to retirement and have dreams and plans when the time comes. Being forced into retirement changed all that to some extent. Don't have the health I would like to have but I am thankful for today's technology or I probably wouldn't be here. For 2.5 years now I have been battling anxiety brought on by several heart procedures including open heart surgery. It is getting better and I think the stress of work being gone has helped some. I thought we found the answer starting back in Feb with Cymbalta. It worked wonders at first but then fell flat and when they increased the dose I couldn't take the side effects. Today is day 16 of going cold turkey off Cymbalta. It was a very rough road till this week and now I see light at the end of the tunnel. Once I put this behind me I will find another way other than meds to deal with this. The biggest problem I have with the anziety is now that I have the time to go and do things I have to be selective because of the anxiety. Travel, even an hours drive from home, along with large social gatherings are things I avoid now. I will not go anywhere unless it's in our own car and public transportation of any kind is out of the question. We still have a 15 year old at home and this is all so unfair to him and my wife. It took about a year before I would stay at home alone because all three times I had to call the ambulance when having a heart attack I was home alone. Thankfully I'm beyond that now. My wife even went with her sisters and our oldest daughter to vegas last Oct. for a week and I was fine with it. Now if I could just get to the point I could go with her. I don't mean to write a book here but I do want to say all in all I am doing much better but still have a ways to go and may never regain some of it but I am at a point where I am enjoying life again and taking it one day at a time. Plan to make the most of summer even on our restricted budget and my own personal restrictions. Hopefully my restrictions will continue to become less. Thanks for listening and everyone have a great summer and take time to look around and be thankful.