You, Your Mind, Your Life

Life has been kind and kindly crazy towards me in the last 4 months. I think all the chaos is catching up with me. I am getting on the edge again. My body is screaming again, from weight gain, irregular period and stubborn acne to mood swings, sleep disturbance, and brain fog. Yes, I know some tips and tricks. But now is not the time to preach or point fingers. There is no judgment in healing, and that is what I need, healing. Counting my blessings: I am not displaying self-destructive behavior, I am staying financially sane and trying to keep hope alive. Yet I am feeling misplaced, at the mercy of chance, short of breath and running out of patience. I need a day or two or half day to myself. I can afford the time but don't know what to do. My physical symptoms are overwhelming, and I know it will take me months to recover from it all. I don't have the energy for it this time.

I am in the middle of selling the current house and moving to an apartment ordeal. The task of simplifying and downsizing is physically and emotionally hard. What to keep and what to toss away? Two tall bookshelves, two benches with storage spaces, two huge drawers of the dresser plus some shelves in the loft were packed with books, folders, notebooks, and papers. I couldn't decide what to keep and what to let go. What if I need those notebooks? I can certainly use those new binder folders with colorful separators and divider tabs in the future. I love books and I have handpicked all of my books. Eventually, I will make the time to reach each one of them. These were all the STUFF that I had accumulated, stored, organized and looked at for over 5 years. I read about 35% of my books, barely needed those folders and papers and notebooks. But still, I didn't want to give them up.  I was facing my STUFF as I was meditating when it dawned on me. How much energy have I spent over ...

December and January were difficult months for me. My depression took over and made me miserable. Its physical manifestations were server neck and shoulder pain. Thanks to my amazing Chiropractor, DO and therapist, I am back on track. For the most part. Here are some points I've learned that I would like to share: A chiropractor visit is more beneficial than massage sessions when you are suffering from chronic pain.  If you MD is reluctant, go to a DO. Have your copper and histamine levels tested! Imbalance of those chemicals can cause chaos in your mind and body.  Seeing a therapist is invaluable in assessment and development of proper coping skills.  Allow yourself to feel.  Keep a healthy diet. Fried food, junk food, and cookies don't fix anything.  You can say No to taxing demands and expectations.  It is ok to be depressed, cry and stay in bed for a little while. But don't make that your new routine.  Meditation can do wonders.  ...

The beginning of every month is an exciting time. We are one month older, a few ounces heavier (or lighter), (hopefully) a little wiser, and (you can fill in the blank------------).  Start of every month can be an edit, refresh and restart time. We can: archive and possibly delete unpleasant memories,  print happy memories,  restock our fridge and pantry,  clean our living spaces (I mean detail cleaning),  declutter our closet and cabinets (donate, recycle and repurpose all those unused items taking space), send out some cards and notes (in the age of social media, print communication is even more rewarding), review our budget (maybe ask ourselves do I really need to dine out that often or help out amazon's sales every month), weigh ourselves (you can decide what to do after seeing that number on the scale), start a new healthy habit (can be anything from portion control, meditation, taking supplements, washing your face every night, burning a s...

How many women have neck and shoulder pain, headaches and preventable injuries related to their bags (handbag, shoulder bag, purses of different styles and sizes.) How did we get here? Do we have to stay here? Do we really need the bag? History of women's handbag is fascinating. It started as a pouch attached at the waistline, then a wristlet and now to almost a piece of luggage on our shoulders. It truly was inspired by the carry on handbags carried by travelers. We adopted a piece of luggage as part of our daily fashion. But does it have to be so inconvenient, inflict physical pain and cost so much? So ladies check your bag or purse. Assess if you really have to carry all the items you carry in your purse or handbag around all the time. Start with your wallet. Do you need to have your collection of department store credit cards with you every day? Do you need two different kinds of hand sanitizers, lipsticks, nail clipper, electronic devices, notepad, diary, checkbook (if you ...

Gender equality. Philosophy, religion, science, and history have been trying to define and implore gender equality with minimum success. Why is it called a Man's world when in reality they wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for women? Why is the balancing act targeted at women? Why do women have to balance career, family and much more? Who gave men the pass to not deal with the same conflicts as women? Why don't TV shows and magazine articles dispense advice for men on how to win over women and please their partners in bed better? I am not even going to bring the superficial issue of youth and how and why women need to keep young appearance. That's a separate discussion. Why do women sit around telling other women how to please their husbands while taking care of their children and owning a professional career? Why don't they advise men on how to participate in house chores with their wives and how to behave with their female coworkers? We have been telling ...

"Don't talk to me before my coffee!" "I am not a morning person." "I am a night owl." I am most productive at 3pm." What is your preference? Are you a morning person or evening person, and what do you mean by that? Being sluggish in the morning can have different reasons, like poor sleep hygiene, low blood sugar, unhealthy diet etc. Running out of energy by the evening shares some of the same reasons like poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, stress and idleness. There is plenty of online advise for you to choose from to improve your energy level and mood. What I would like to reflect on here is morning vs. evening. I am a morning person in the sense that I wake up early. But instead of spending beautiful morning hours stuck in traffic or listening to the news or anything else, I would like to sit and watch the color of the sky change, listen to the sound of life getting louder gradually, and join the stillness there is in the morning hours. I would l...