stress

Day 4: Self Care: Not So Easy

by ladypbwiggins

Self Care. That’s what I was told I needed to do. But just like a doctor telling a patient to eat right without an eating plan or what eating right looks like, telling me I needed to self care without offering a plan or what it should look like. I know the admonishments were for my good and they meant well but sometimes you just can’t get a handle on what you are suppose to do to correct your situation. My eldest gave me a massage treatment gift and it was wonderful. If my budget allows I may make it a monthly or bi-monthly thing. That alone is just a bandaid. To alleviate the source of my issues more must be done. I am returning to our raw eating plan, at least 90%. I made scheduling my day to get at least 6 hours of restful sleep. I am taking breaks after each major activity. I am EXERCISING. All of these are necessary for my self care. Yet, I haven’t figured out how to relieve the stress. It’s as if the release valve on my pressure cooker is stuck and releases the pressure too slow. The main source of my stress is not going away so I have to find a way to unstick the valve.

I am told self care means making yourself a priority. I get that but how do you accomplish that when something else has a higher priority , time wise, over the course of the day and you are exhausted at the end of the day. There is little energy left for self care. I am trying to create a plan that takes care of my responsibilities and place myself high on the list as well. It is not as easy as it sounds. I trust God to guide me.

After I finished the with the tags, the two thought came to me, that self care was doing what makes you feel good in addition to all the above stated healthy things. The other was self care stems from self love.What makes me feel good? What gives me the most joy? What could I do all day and enjoy even after I get tired? Thanks Lord. How do I weave it into my day? I have always struggled with loving myself. Or at least showing love to myself in a tangible way. This is the war I have to win. It is time. The struggle has gone on too long. Silence the negative voices in my head and replace them with the few positive thing said. Most of all replace them with the two most powerful voices in my life. Mine and the Lord’s. He said a lot of positive things about me. I am the negative one. I have to come to agreement with God. I embrace me. I have said this before but now is the time I need to stick with it until it manifest and the voices are silenced. This is the best care I can give to myself. Everything else will fall in line. Thanks Chef Babette for the inspiration.

Day 3: Caregivers Don’t Ignore The Signs

by ladypbwiggins

Thirty Percent of Caregivers Die Before The People They Care For Do. Rough statistics show that 30% of caregivers die before those they are caring for. Some studies show deaths higher. Illness that doesn’t lead to death is rampant, as well – depression and auto-immune diseases are high on the list.
Thirty Percent of Caregivers Die Before The People They Care …

I heard this in passing several years ago and I wondered how that could be or why. After all, the caregivers are not sick. Now I understand. After being my husband’s primary caregiver for the last six years I can clearly see it. You don’t see the toll it takes on your body or mind but others see. You know you don’t feel 100% but you just chalk it up to being tired and keep going. This person is depending on you. So you push on to get it done.

Recently I have had to come to terms with the behavior that might have killed me. I am in no hurry to be in that 30%. The blood pressure opened my eyes but if I have paid more attention to me sooner, I never would have gotten here. So what could I have done. Simply prioritize my needs. I ignored my pains. I ignored my lack of sleep. I ignored my moments of depression. I ignored body’s cry for rest, mental and physical. I had warnings of what this stress was doing to me but of course I ignored them. I wasn’t going for the strongest woman award or affirmation from others. I had just put myself so far on the back burner. My needs didn’t seem as important. I was wrong and if you are doing this, you are too.

Caregivers don’t ignore tyourself.

Don’t ignore he stress.

Don’t ignore the signs.

BP update: 159/95 7:30am 8oz Beet Juice 11:35am 154/100 5:30pm 143/86 after .5 ml CBD oil

Day 1-The BP Battle Beginss

by ladypbwiggins

I awaken this morning about 5:50am with a headache. I knew my BP was high. The question was how high. I started the day with a blood pressure of 182/108 and a heart rate 64 . This was taken at 6:15am Sunday 12/5. First order of business was exercise and tension release activities. I sat in a chair with a heated massage pad while I pedaled on bike pedals. I only pedaled for 12 minutes. I thought it unwise to go for the 30 minutes the first time out. After the exercise I juiced 4 small beets. They yielded 8 oz of juice. I drank that and sat down to do my Bible study and listen to music. Trying to release tension. Dr. Story said there would be a significant decrease in BP in 3 hours after drinking the juice. Here is my experience.

  • Remember I began at 182/108
  • 6:27 12 minutes of pedaling: BP 166/110 Hr 74
  • 7:30 Drank 8oz beet juice
  • 3 hours after drinking 8oz of beet juice: BP 152/91 HR 73
  • 10:45 potassium and B12 were taken
  • At 5pm: BP 134/83 HR 83
  • At 9pm BP 159/99 HR 74
  • 10pm Ate banana and took magnesium
  • Drank CBD tea
  • 11pm BP 155/87 HR 67

This is the planned schedule of collecting data in this experiment. I will keep a log but I may not post each measurement. I will do a trend report on Friday or Saturday. I will however share what I am eating and why and any information I discover. Dr Story said the effects of the beet juice should last 24 hours. It doesn’t seem like that is going to happen for me. Maybe after my system is cleansed and more exercise has been done. Looking at the data today it appears there should be a second dose of beet juice or something that does the same thing. Tomorrow I will add fresh celery juice. Here are some benefits of celery juice.

  • reduce inflammation.
  • lower blood pressure.
  • heal the liver.
  • fight cancer.
  • reduce bloating.
  • support the digestive system.
  • increase energy.
  • support weight loss.

More items…•Nov 26, 2021
Celery juice cleanse: Possible benefits, risks, and more

Still working on stress reduction plan. Tried to relax some today. I know my stress comes mostly from being my husband’s caregiver. I never viewed it as a stressful situation. I was just taking care of my love. I guess I internalized any problems or frustrations because they seemed to just go with the territory and no need to complain. I just do what is necessary to do. I guess it caught up with me. Now I have to find a way to unpack it all. My daughter and a friend suggest a therapist. I am considering. My problem is how do I begin to unpack it. I don’t even know what I need to talk about to relieve the stress.

Be Aware

by ladypbwiggins

It’s sneaky. It’s stealth. It camoflages its true appearance.It’s described erroneously in many ways. My most common was fatigue. While I was truly tired it was the truth. It goes unnoticed by those around you most times. I hear many people say, “I don’t know what is wrong with me. I don’t feel sick but I just don’t feel right.” It can be the root cause of many other conditions. It can be minor. It can be severe, even deadly. Sadly, many people deny its presence until it’s too late.

What is it? It is mental illness. We usually think of people that have severe emotional problems when we think of mental illness but it can be as minor as a mild case of depression. That was my illness. I didn’t realize it until the pressure of the isolation of the pandemic began to be relaxed. You think you are just doing what is necessary to survive, to live and you think everything is fine. Suddenly you realize something is a little off kilter. Becasue I recognized it and the cause I was able to pull out of it rather easily. Pay attention to yourself and those around you. They may be suffering and don’t know it. You might be suffering and aren’t aware.

Be Aware!

It is Mental Illness Awareness Week. October 3-9.

Beginning Anew Again

by ladypbwiggins

Over our 44 years of marriage we have started over several times. We changed avocations, we’ve made geographic changes and we have made dietary lifestyle changes. All of these changes caused something to begin again; Start over. In the last 3 years we have moved to a new state, moved back into apartment living and become vegans.

I am the primary caregiver for my husband. At one point I became physically challenged myself. People told me I looked and sounded tired. I couldn’t see it. When you do what you have to do you don’t think about it. I had chest pains and went to the hospital. All my test were normal. Thankfully it was just stress and I had an overnight stay and rest. That’s when I realized how tired I was. Everyone said rest but figuring out how to rest created more stress. And then Covid 19 dilema arrived. I didn’t get the virus but months of isolation caused depression to sneak in. Just what I needed, a mental health issue. Another thing to battle. I was getting a handle on that and then the Houston deep freeze. Thirty-six hours of no power and below freezing temperature just added to the stress. We stayed in bed for 30+ hours. I only arose to prepare food. Good thing we knew how to eat raw vegan. Oh yeah and to use the bathroom. You would think that was a good time to get some rest but it wasn’t. We were fully dressed in sweats and beanies under several heavy blankets. I felt buried alive but it was necessary. We were still cold. One night it was 9 degrees outside and it felt like all of that inside. So tell me how do you rest from that. I feel like I aged over this last year. My body hurt in places it hasn’t before. Recovery made it very clear that our 2nd floor living must come to an end.

The search began for a first floor, one level home. Change One. Change Two. During the pandemic I gained weight. I miss my size 12 and I plan to begin our dominantly raw vegan lifestyle again. At least that’s the plan. I know many aches and pains will be diminished or eliminated. I will see my size 12 again this year. Change Three. I am resuming my hobbies because I need the outlet. I had put them aside for a while but I have to begin again.

Back to Change One. We moved into that 1st floor home. Love it but it is taking longer to unpact because my bosy is still recovering. Change Two is proving more difficult than I thought. We are eating raw sometimes but the consistency is proving to be hard. Hence, I don’t know when I will see my size 12 but at least I haven’t gained more. Hobbies are still on hold.

Still beginning again but still moving forward. We have begun again and it is exciting. Always new. Beginning again brings new and exciting experiences.

Well, here I am two months after the move. I have spent the time trying to get adjusted: unpacking and organizing. I have not completely gone raw vegan or begun my hobbies but I am moving in that direction. My mental health has improved thanks to my kids and grandkids. They have blessed us immeasureably. I have so much for which to be thankful. So inspite of quarantine, deep freeze and body pain beginning again has been a blessing.

Resurrecting Franklin

by ladypbwiggins

I went to bed last night thinking about causes for my stress and how to relieve it. I realized all the different directions I felt pulled into; all the different ideas floating around in my brain; all the different responsibilities I now have. I felt my stress level go up just thinking about it all. Anyone who knows me well knows I hate unorganized chaos. (I believe I can have some organization within my chaotic life) Example:looking for the tops to storage containers or pots and pans. When they are cleaned, I store them with their tops on. Having to look for them creates stress.

Then an organization system we used in the ’80s popped into my thoughts: Franklin Planner. I haven’t used it in years but it seems quite appropriate for the chaos in my life. Can’t hurt. After this thought I went into a restful sleep.

For those who haven’t used the system, it is quite simple and very effective. First list all the things you have to do. Then prioritize them. All urgent, time sensitive recieve an A level; the next in importance recieve a B level and so on. Making the lists should prove very enlightening. Prioritizing is going to be interesting because right now I think everything is urgent. Recently I unpacked my husband’s office and found his planner. Now I can organize my chaos. 😄

So today I will resurrect Franklin.

My Friend, Stress

by ladypbwiggins

August was a very stressful month. I didn’t know how stressful until a few days ago. But I’m getting a head of myself . Here’s the story.

Four and a half years ago my husband had a massive heart attack and our shared responsibilities became all mine and I became his primary caregiver. The stress created by all that has become so familiar that I didn’t realize I was stressed. Then August 2019 came.

Event 1 – husband began having difficulty breathing. Fluid had accumulated around his heart and lungs. His right foot was so swollen it looked like his ankles had tumors on each side. Water pills were prescribed but in the meantime there was the breathing issue. I rubbed Raven a Young Living Essential oil on his chest and put some in the diffuser. That helped but I still received interrupted sleep.

Event 2 – Trip to Alabama. I went to visit my uncle who has become debilitated. He insists on living alone to retain some independence. It was a 3 day turn around that was stress-filled. I functioned on adrenaline and caffeine. I did what I could in that short time to help him and to relieve some cconcerns my mother, his sister, had.

Event 3 – I began having chest pains. My left arm and hand began to tingle. Fear stepped up and said you are having a heart attack. I began to pray and declare that I was not. I didon’t have time to be sick. I absolutely refused and the pain worsened. Finally, I listened to my husband and ddaughter and went to urgent care who redirected me to emergency. After several test I was admitted for observation and more tests. All test were negative. My heart and lungs are healthy.The doctor told me whatever I was doing to keep doing it. I am healthy. Yes, Lord. STRESS was blamed for all my pain. The intensity crept up so I didn’t notice until it took control. I began massaging my feet at night with Peace and Calming oil and that helped me sleep.

This is how August ended. So how did September begin? With pain. I decided to exercise to begin relieving the stress. The next morning, September 2, I could not walk. Literally could not walk. So now I am fighting that pain. I need to exercise because I will not take a boat load of pills for the stress. I will continue with exercise, Stress Away essential oil and Peace & Calming Essential oil.

This is my time for ME!