Staying Positive: See the Silver Lining!

Hey everyone!

I hope you're all doing really well, and the first month of your New Year is going awesome! I'm writing this post today because I'm aware the past couple of weeks have been full of emotion for people in my family, and all of my friend groups in some way as many of my friends and most of my immediate and extended family have some pretty serious health problems, I know these issues have been getting my loved ones down and they are struggling to see the bright side of life and to me that is just awful to see. 

It's so important when you have ill health to look at the positive things you have, for example yesterday I spent the day with my best friend and her partner, Nana and Simon baking all day, we both made lovely cakes and if you want to see mine head over to my personal instagram and it's the most recent cake picture! I made a beautiful white chocolate lemon drizzle cake and it smelled amazing! Me and my friend can't eat our cakes, she seemed quite frustrated at this and admittedly when you love cake and know you can't have it or taste what you've made it is very annoying, I can't eat my cake because it isn't worth it in my opinion, if I am going to eat something less healthy than usual I will wait until there is something that truly takes my fancy; albeit those times are few and far between but it makes me appreciate  and enjoy it more for waiting. The thing is everybody on earth has their own cross to bear in terms of their health but something I think is so essential when dealing with your lifestyle when you're chronically ill or have a long term/lifetime illness is that you've got to see the positive side of things even if sometimes it feels like you're fighting a losing battle.

When I first made changes to my diet it was super difficult and after years not not eating very well, or at least as well as I should've been, I was miserable for a long time because I thought I had to cut out foods that I love, like cakes and bacon but I did a lot of research and I've found so many different cake recipes that barely use any sugar and taste really good, most of those are vegan cakes which although they may not be ad indulgent as some other cakes hey I still get to eat cake! Plus vegan diets are recommended to some people with PCOS to relieve symptoms so I'm in a way being a little healthier than I would be if I made a Mary Berry cake. In terms of bacon just changing how its cooked and the kind of bacon makes a huge difference to a diet, I can still have things I loved but they are more strictly moderated and cooking techniques and products use to make my meals are slightly different. That is one of the ways that I tend to se the positive with my dietary changes because that was one of the most difficult things to cope with as it was such a major change for me as I like routine and at the time didn't eat a lot of different things.

Another positive thing is that although I can't eat my cakes I get to have so much fun baking them and trying out recipes, Simon is my personal tester and it's so awesome watching people eat and enjoy the food that you've made, the smells are wonderful the colours and textures are awesome! One of my favourite quotes, I don't know who by, is "life is not about wiring for the storm to pass, its about learning to dance in the rain" and that really resonates with me and I would definitely suggest that others remember this quote when you're feeling down. Every time something negative happens or you're feeling generally crappy just take a minute to think about the positives of the situation.

Image from Google.com

For example I had a friend a while ago who started on a treatment that involved daily injections, her way of seeing the positive is that she was scared of needles and at least after the treatment she wouldn't be scared anymore because she would get used to the feeling! That's an awesome way of looking at things if you ask me! My Mam has M.E., a basically null immune system, hundreds of allergies, epilepsy and lots more wrong with her which means she doesn't leave the house much, from this she has learned new sills and gotten really involved in arts and crafts, and although her life is a major struggle at times she has still gained a wonderful new hobby from it all.

Seeing the positive in the negative can change your outlook on life massively, honestly I'm planning  few posts within the next month and I'm very excited about them, during the planning of them I've realised how much I have truly changed and how positive my outlook on life is now. I'm hoping that if anyone reading this is feeling down at the moment, for whatever reason, that this little post does help in some way and if you're feeling low because of ill health please just remember that you're still alive, you still have people around you who are happy to see you turn up to work, or school or uni everyday, people who are happy to have you say hello to them or even just people who are happy that you managed to get out of bed this morning, that's an achievement in itself and I really mean that. In the next month I've to have a couple more posts up and while I was planning them it's been a real shock to look through some of my old stuff and see how much I have truly changed and now much more positive my life is now.
If every anybody needs some support or to talk please go to my Contact Me page and reach out to me because I will ALWAYS be willing to listen if you need to talk. I truly hope this post has helped someone out there because even the smallest of positives can make a huge difference.
Please be safe everybody and remember to see those silver linings!
Love,
Katy xo

I'm Cool as a Cucumber... NOT! How Can I Keep Myself Relaxed?

Good evening everyone!

I'm not in the best of moods today so I'm hoping that writing up this post will be something to take my mind off things. I had no plans on writing a post about how I remain calm and relaxed but over the last 3 weeks I've had a massive amount of things going on, I've never experienced pressure like I have this last month and that's not even including any stresses from university either. All of this stress had resulted in unexplained chest pain that has lasted 3 weeks and I'm not going to lie it actually felt like I was going to have a heart attack, I've worried about everything from a blocked artery and heart attack, to a viral infection to Lymphoma. Ask any of my family and friends... or lecturers... or random people on the street and they will be able to tell you how much of a stress head I am. I worry about the tiniest of things and can never ever fully* relax. The pain in my chest caused by stress (confirmed by a doctor that stress was the cause after 3 ECGs and ECHO and blood tests), it was scary and I'm not going to lie it's given me a kick up the bum to really start looking after my body spiritually and emotionally rather than focusing on the physical side all of the time.

Being so scared that my stress levels have caused this, and could cause something worse if I get too wound up, had prompted me to write this blog post, maybe I need a little reminder of how I can stay calm, therefore I am using this blog to write down all the ways in which I can help myself, and hopefully give others tips on how to relax as well. So, please read on and enjoy, also note that my ways to relax are different to everyone else's so if my tips are totally different to what you like, try and apply it to something you do like!

My favourite book series. Skulduggery Pleasant

Get into My Hobbies - When I was a young girl and I used to stay inside a lot because of the bullying I got into some interesting hobbies, I've always used reading as a form of escapism but have really lost the lust for reading with having little time because of uni; reading could be a good way to levee my problems behind for an hour or two. I ask love to knit and cross stitch and can't remember the last time I did that either, maybe learning  new skill like crocheting would be good for me as I got lots of knitting and cross stitch stuff for Christmas. I could also get back into playing the piano or clarinet as I used to do both of those and really have lost the drive to do everything I used to love because of being so stressed about one thing or another. 

Pamper Myself - I always try to put time aside each week to do this anyway and it's kind of become a chore where I pick the things I'll use in the bath/shower and just sit there thinking about what else I could be doing. Maybe it is time that I make time for a lovely long nth/shower with the nicest smelling products I own, I never have unpainted toenails so that's another way that I can palmer myself as well. There really isn't a better feeling than being fresh and comfy, looking nice and being chilled out. 

Marsden Rock in South Shields

Exercise - Exercise is usually pretty stressful thing for me to do because it usually ends up with my legs being numb and my back throbbing painfully at best. However, I love South Shields and other beaches in the North East so why not just take a drive up there and walk along the sands for a little, there is something about the sea that is really soothing to me particularly during a storm and the waves are crashing in all their awesomeness. I think i would find that really relaxing. I love walking in the rain as I find that the easiest time for me to walk, I tend not to overheat in the rain and love rain anyway so that might be a good opportunity for me to unwind as well. Oh for the less mobile people out there I would highly recumbent Yoga, it is fab for keeping fit and chilling out. 

Talk to Friends and Family - I don't have many friends, particularly ones that are readily available to i just don't tend to talk to anyone unless I really need to or we are together at the time. I've been let down a lot with friends and family and if I truly need someone to talk to about anything it's my Nana I will go to as she is the most understanding, compassionate and diplomatic woman ever. She usually gives me awesome advice or makes me think about things in a different way so if you have friends and family you can talk to then that's awesome but if not then sometimes talking to yourself helps, I have found that arguing with myself can help me straighten things out in my head sometimes... that makes me sound off my rocker doesn't it?

One of my Cross stitch designs - did it without a pattern!

Go Driving - Every week my Nana and Granda will go for a short drive somewhere, they never pick a destination just flip a coin and drive in a particular direction, usually until Nana spots something or Granda gets sick of driving. They once ended up having fish and chips in the car park of Lightwater Valley and headed straight home haha! Nana always says that just getting out of the house lightens her mood and chills her out. I'm sure I get my stress habits from my Mam and Nana. Getting out of the house is usually a good way for me to relax, if my essays are stressing me then if I am out of the house and away from my computer/work then there's nothing I can do about it is there? I have no choice but to enjoy myself while I'm out so that's a pretty good idea too. 

Light Candles - My Hygge book says that the Danish are so happy because they often light a lot of candles and that... I guess makes them happy because candles are just SO cozy. I don't really understand why candles make the Danish (and me) so happy and content but they apparently do. I'm a sucker for candles but also a candle hoarder, I don't like using them because once they're gone they're gone and sometimes they smell far too nice. I had a sea foam candle once which just smelled divine, the whole house smelled like the seaside and that was brilliant. I always have candles so that'll be an easy one to keep to haha!

Best piece of technology Apple ever created!

Listen to Music - This one is pretty much a guaranteed way to relax me. Music is my lifeblood and I honestly couldn't live without my music and my taste is so eclectic you wouldn't think that I listened to country, elvis, Eurodance, classical, one direction and so so so many more. I love closing my eyes and just drifting away to whatever I'm listening to, it's just perfect trying to listen deeply and hear all the instruments involved in a particular song. You can even start to imagine different scenarios in your head and sometimes I get really blown away by the imagination of the human mind. Music is amazing and this is a sure fire way to help me relax. 

So, there's 7 ways that I am going to try and keep myself relaxed, it's much easier said than done and I have 100 other ways I could chill but again the proof is in the pudding. Please everybody remember that stress can cause some serious physical problems so if you're feeling overwhelmed and have tried different ways to stay calm maybe talking to your GP could help, they could offer alternative methods such as counselling, or if necessary medication. 

If you've got any tips of your own about how to stay chilled I would absolutely love to know them so get commenting below and let me know! 

Hope you all enjoyed this post, see you guys soon!

Katherine.  xo