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

Exercise tips and Tricks - The POMC Series

Hello everybody!

Happy Sunday once again and I hope you've had an amazing week. Things have been absolutely maid here as Simon started back at University on Monday and I'll be getting ready to carry out more buddy duties this week, hospital appointment on Monday and dentist on Wednesday, feels like things are non-stop to be honest. Well, it means I'm not bored ha!

Anyway, I know I have been pretty delayed in posting recently but what with York and uni I've had a few post scheduling mishaps, mainly because one post that should be coming soon about a possible POMC "treatment" for want of a better word, will mean I'll need to do a massive amount of research on it and a lot of the information online I'm finding quite inaccessible so I'm relying on my doctor at the RVI to tell me a little bit more tomorrow. Obviously there's a post going up today about exercise tips and tricks that I've learned over the years, this one will include information on the best kinds of exercise I've found really helpful and what you can do to make the exercising process easier if you've got a genetic obesity condition. So, without further ado lets get on with it!

Exercising for anybody who is obese can be a difficult and emotional thing, I know a fair few obese people who simply don't want to exercise partly because they are scared of failing in terms of weight loss and partly because if they were to go to some local gyms in my area they are likely to get abuse shouted at them, which I always find infuriating... Why discourage somebody from going to the gym to improve their health when that is what a gym is for?! However, for people with a genetic obesity disease often they can put far too much pressure on themselves to work harder and lose the weight which as I've mentioned in many previous posts, with certain genetic obesity conditions it doesn't matter how much exercise you do the weight just won't drop off like the average person, so this can result in these people injuring themselves or putting too much stress on their bodies. I mean I'm not an exception I've spent hours doing stupid exercises trying to 'drop the belly fat' and lose 4 stones in a month' with crunches and such but it never works. 

Eventually when I got to 18 I realised that because of my disabilities the exercises that I was trying to do were harming my body and making me worser overall, I was trying to exercise to lose the weight rather than to be healthy and that was when I knew I had to change my mindset. The thing is if you exercise to lose weight you're not looking at the big picture, you're only looking at the outside and surface of your body, if you start to think that the reason you're exercising is to get healthier, to be more flexible and fit then you can open your mind to different exercise and routines that are out there and develop something particularly appropriate for you and your body. Getting fit on the inside might help the outside but in all honestly being overweight doesn't mean you're unhealthy, I have friends who cannot walk up the stairs without becoming breathless that are smaller than average sizes and have no medical problems like asthma, then I have obese friends who can walk a mile easily and not break a big sweat. 

I'm going to make a list now of things that I did once I had a change in outlook towards exercise, hopefully it will give some insight into how I managed to develop and exercise routine that is appropriate for me. 

• I wrote down what I was looking for with exercise, I wasn't looking to lose lots of weight just to become fitter and healthier.
• I did a lot of research on what kinds of exercises fit the criteria of what I wanted. Happily I found that Yoga was something that would improve my flexibility, muscle tone and wasn't too strenuous for my body. 
• I took up Yoga and took classes once every week, I started to see a small improvement in areas such as better sleep, my body didn't feel as tense which was a much needed improvement. Yoga has now become part of my daily routine as have some particular stretches; I don't want to do too much exercise as it is extremely painful for my legs and back when I over do it but I do enough to maintain the level of health I have now so my disabilities don't get any worse. 
• I made small lifestyle changes, years ago, rather than parking in the closest bays to shops I would park as far away as I could so i would have to walk father which for a time genuinely did help me, however since my weight gain has not levelled out and I have put more on I am not able to do that anymore, walking in limited for me however I would highly recumbent it for those of you who are able to. 
• Swimming was also a wonderful exercise for me as it tightened up muscles in my body around the stomach area making me feel better about myself, however swimming is also great as you can use it to relax your muscles and just gently bob along! No exercise has to be very exerting as I mentioned. 
• Due to a faulty hypothalamus I overheat and dehydrate extremely quickly so I always make sure I am hydrated and I ensure I take all medication with me such as my inhalers, my pain medication and I make sure I either exercise with someone else or I take my phone so if anything goes wrong I have a way of contacting people to get help. 

I would also recommend that before you exercise, particularly if you have a genetic obesity disorder that you go to your doctor and find out if there is any support from professionals or practitioners who could help you develop your own exercise routine, sometimes if you do it alone you may be a little over enthusiastic and end up damaging yourself. Always remember as well when you are trying to get yourself into exercise, for whatever reason, you won't see results straight away. A cliché as it sounds Rome wasn't built in a day and the fact that you are trying at all is an achievement you should be proud of.

Thank you all for reading and hopefully get the next post out within the next few days!

Have a wonderful Sunday, bye for now!

Xo

New Years Resolutions 2015!

So, it's finally arrived, the last day of 2014 and the anticipation of the forthcoming year (big words, I know right?)I thought I would post my resolutions. Anywho, I'm positive there'll be countless posts on this throughout the day on other people's blogs but I thought I would make my own little contribution to that; so here's my 2015 New Years Resolutions.

• Eat/Cook Better - I'm no different to the majority of people out there, I enjoy my food and I always eat more than I should at Christmas time but in 2015 I'd like to make an effort to eat at home more often rather than grabbing something from a shop or - eek- a takeaway when I'm too busy or running late. It's really important to eat as healthy as possible particularly as you get older and I haven't been the healthiest of individuals this year, well in the last 6th months at the very least. So, hopefully I'll learn to cook some healthy new recipes.

• Exercise More - This is really important to me as keeping health as I get older isn't just important for health it's becoming very clear that I'll have to have a significant amount of physical stamina if I'm to pursue the career I would like; midwifery. I'm not one of these people who sits idle most of the time, I exercise at home and I walk whenever I can rather than using my car however I'd just like to give my fitness level a little boost so I'm going to do about an extra 30 minutes of exercise per day and build up the time spent over a few months; I'm planning on holding myself accountable via this blog and posting about my fitness routines and plans in the very near future. 

• Find an Outlet for Stress - I'm a stress head. There's absolutely no denying it anymore. Stress gets to me far too easily and it's hard for me to wind down once I've reached that level of mania, this year I'm making a point to make sure I find an outlet for all of my stress to keep myself calm and relaxed rather than manic and uptight. I have a good few ideas of how to wind down after being so stressed, those being cross stitch, knitting, reading or writing. Hopefully I'll find something that suits me down to the ground. 

• Make Time for Blogging -  I adore blogging so as my fourth and final New Years Resolution I want to make it a priority to find time to post as often as absolutely possible, it may be difficult to post everyday for obvious reasons but I'd love to make time to post every second day and more often if I can. This blog is very important to me and I appreciate all those who read on a regular basis.

• Leave My Comfort Zone - This is pretty important to me, I've always been really shy and introvert but since starting college I've been much more confident. However, I still have difficulty leaving my comfort zone therefore I am going to work hard at leaving my comfort some whenever possible. Maybe through volunteering, travelling alone (I hate that) or even making a talent show audition. If I'm feeling really brave I may even try for X-Factor... unlikely but it's worth a try. 

• UPDATE: Learn a New Language: For about 10 years now I've wanted to learn a new language, literally any new language and when I was around 11 I discovered how much I love the German language and Irish Gaelic so I'm making it a priority to learn one of these two languages, I'll probably start with German as it seems much easier... if Imanage to learn two words in these languages I'll be happy. I may even move on to trying to perfect my English first haha!

So, there you have it. My new years resolutions have been made and I have to say it will be a miracle if i manage to stick to two of these, never mind four.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all! Do you have any New Years Resolutions? Please let me know I'd love to hear from you.

Love Katherine. X