Category: Mindfulness

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Mindfulness

Seasonal Affective Disorder

Feeling S.A.D.?

You’ve switched out your skin barring wardrobe for cable knits and wool. The light of day is getting shorter and the nights are getting longer. The sunny days have made way for cloudy skies. The pool and bbqs have been covered. The fireplaces are stoked and crockpot chili and soups are making their rotation heavily in the family meal plan. It’s warm and cozy inside the house, but something doesn’t feel right inside the mind. You just might be feeling S.A.D., as in Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Seasonal Affective Disorder, what is it?

Seasonal Affective Disorder, or S.A.D. is a type of depression brought on by the change of the seasons. It’s pretty straightforward in it’s name but how exactly does it manifest itself?

Seasonal Affective Disorder can manifest in some of the same ways that depression does:

  • a hard time focusing
  • no longer finding joy in things you love
  • no energy
  • change in appetite
  • feeling down with no pinpoint reason
  • difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much
  • weight loss or weight gain do changes in appetite
  • suicidal feelings
  • excessive eating or consumption of alcohol
  • substance abuse

Now, much like depression Seasonal Affective Disorder’s symptoms don’t manifest in a one size fits all scenario. You could be experiencing one, some, or none of the above.

Dealing

It’s important to mention that we aren’t robots! We are humans that are cornucopian creatures. Our feelings are a collection of the good, the bad, and ugly. It’s just as normal to experience sadness as it is to process joy. However, if you are starting to feel that the bad is out weighing the good, it’s a good idea to talk with a health care professional. It’s difficult for us to know exactly what’s going on especially if it’s something that you have never experienced before.

Journaling is hands down one of the most effective ways to help navigate. It is an excellent tool for many things. Keeping a daily journal in which you document the day’s events with your thoughts and feelings you can create a log that can be referenced by yourself and/or with health care professional. You can track how many day’s you have had low moments, and compare and contrast thoughts and feelings with the life events. Journaling is great way to self reflect and trace out connections, correlations, and patterns.

Soothing the S.A.D.’s

Here are a few ways that you can health sooth mind and spirit;

  • Talk to a counselor, therapist, or other health care professional
  • Get some sun if you can. This of course might be entirely impossible since this predominantly a fall/winter thing but if you gets some rays(protected of course).
  • Get with your people. They say misery loves company, and you know who else loves company? Joy. She loves company too. Sometimes when you feel like you want to be alone that’s the last thing you need. A laugh, a hug, a good cry even, experienced with a loved one is sometimes exactly what we need to get that happy back in our veins. Even if it’s just for a moment, it’s a reprieve non the less.

It’s important to know that there are so many resources out there. Find your resources and your remedy. It’s different for all of us and there are so many ways to get back your joy, and get back to the most positive you.

Categories
Apothecary Mindfulness

Valerian Root May Be The Route To A More Restful Night.

Who among us hasn’t found themselves unable to fall asleep or experienced anxiety?

Valerian is a herb with roots that contain properties said to help aid a variety of nervous ailments including insomnia, anxiety, nervous tension, and even possibly high blood pressure and muscle cramps. From Arabian physicians to Ancient Greek herbalists to the modern day woo woo hippie, Valerian root has long been hyped as a go-to alternative to over the counter and prescription sleep aids.

Valerian can be found in a variety of forms from tincture, powder, capsule, or tea which you can find loose leaf or prepackaged. Be warned though that should you choose to go the loose leaf tea route Valerian root has a very “distinct” smell to it. The Ancient Greeks called it phu and fun fact; phu is the foundation for our modern “pee-yew”. With that being said, we all know scent and taste go hand in hand so you may want to add some other herbs in your steep.

Chamomile is a great partner for Valerian root. Not only due to its lovely floral notes, but Chamomile has also been touted to promote relaxation. Other complimentary herbs you might want to add are lemon balm, lemon grass, lavender, hibiscus, passion flower, rose petal, and of course honey and lemon juice are also tea lovers favorites for flavor.

For a simple Valerian root tea base recipe:

  1. Boil 1 cup of water
  2. Add 1 tablespoon of Valerian root into your tea infuser
  3. Steep for 5-10 minutes in your favorite mug

You can use this base recipe, or, play around with different complimentary herbs that will dazzle your palette and might just get you to dreaming on your pillow. Wether it’s the holidays or every day stresses, Valerian root might just be the stinky best friend, or bed fellow, you have been looking for.

As always this is not medical advice and you should always consult with a medical professional. Do your research before introducing anything into your diet.

Categories
Change Gratitude Mindfulness

New year resolutions for 2024

Are New Year’s goals BS resolutions or real life solutions? Every year people count down those last 10 seconds before the clock hands (those long pointy things that circle the numbers to dictate the hours and minutes on old timey clocks) strike midnight on December 31st. It’s been a tradition to stay up, have a glass of bubbly, watch the ball drop, have a New Year kiss, and welcome the New Year with a new plan for a “new you”. The term “clock hands” has come and gone, but has the time honored tradition of New Year’s resolutions gone out like a baby with the bath water (another old timey saying)?

It was definitely cringe AF to say “New Year New Me” when January 1st 2023 came, and inevitably the terms “cringe” and “AF” will meet the same linguistic fate and be a blip in history like those old clock hands. Certain traditions will inevitably become a moment in time, and as every generation adopts or exiles vocabulary and traditions, where does the idea of New Year’s resolutions stand as we approach New Year 2024? Will this NYE have a same hold on the collective sentient experience? Or, is that too, a thing of yesterday?

While our language may be ever evolving, our wants and desires seem to remain the same come the New Year. For decades the top 2 leaders on the board of New Year resolutions have been to have better control over our bodies and our wallets. While most of us have often placed the longing for betterment in the areas of diet and finances as priority at this time of year, it would seem that happiness is joining those ideals with some serious competitive spirit. They do seem inexplicably intertwined after all. Who among us hasn’t had the thought that if we met a certain physical or fiscal goal that we would suddenly be happy.? Sure, being fit and financially sound could bring feelings of happiness, but figures don’t last forever. Happieness, much like our weight and wallet, are constantly in a fluid state. You nurture your body and your wallet, and your happiness is no different. Here are our top 4 ideas to start nurturing your happiness in 2024.

— Number 1

Journaling

Journaling is such a great way to organize your thoughts and emotions. Sometimes when you allow yourself the ability to speak freely you can confront your thoughts and feelings in a safe place. You’re also documenting your journey which allows you not only to reflect in the moment but also later down the road. It gives you the opportunity to look back at how far you have come and to recognize if you are stuck and how to plan a course of action.

— Number 2

Talk

This could be to a friend or a professional depending on where you are and what is going on in your own personal situation. While some of us need to recharge alone and don’t need to talk ALL the time, fostering communication and connection can do the spirit wonders.

— Number 3

Diet and exercise

Diet and exercise – Yes this is a cliche, but we all know that it can be beneficial when the goal’s intention is health over appearance. We all want to look good, but you can jump the shark when you focus on the vehicles paint job and not the engine performance. Exercise could be anything from yoga to learning a TikTok dance. Not everyone wants to (or can) run or do dead lifts. Move to the best of your ability. Find something that works that is active… whatever works for YOU. Sometimes even a simple stroll can change your headspace. Diet and exercise will not solve everything but it can propel you into a more positive headspace.

— Number 4

Meditation

Meditation – Cliche #2. Meditation doesn’t always mean sitting pretzel legged with your hands on your lap, palms to the sky. It could be sitting in the shower letting the water rain on you in silence for a few minutes. It could be laying your head down on your desk. Meditation is taking time however it works for you to just be still.

We all seek to be the best version of ourselves. We are constantly evaluating and taking inventory of our own personal and spiritual stock/crypto/currency. Much like slang (do we still call the evolution of words that?) the root or meaning of something remains the same even if we call it something different. We are all individuals who are doing things on our own terms and in our own way. Maybe your New Year is actually YOUR new year… like your birthday. Maybe your new year is tomorrow or maybe even today. Whatever defines YOUR New Year’s resolutions, there is so much power in setting a date, stating what your goals are, and defining how YOU want to change or accomplish them. It doesn’t have to be January 1st of 2024. Wether it’s January 1st, your birthday, or even tomorrow, your new year or New Year resolutions can start now.

Categories
Mindfulness

4 way stops and intrusive thoughts

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Have you ever gotten into your car to go to work and wanted to drive anywhere else but there? There’s been many times that I have. A little over a year ago I started working a second job in hopes that my husband I would relocate to a small town about 30 minutes from where I grew up. Over time things started to crack in this imaginary foundation of the imaginary house we had began building in my head. Things were fine at first and I found great pleasure in starting something new. The days at this new job began to drag and drip with stress. The drives there became painful. About 4 months, whenever I got to the 4 way stop 10 miles from job I had this voice in my head say “just turn left”. Straight ahead was where I was working, but left, that would take me home to my parents. I never did listen to the voice but what I did start listening to were YouTube videos on topics ranging from “when to quit your job” to “how to find your own happiness”. The thoughts would waver between stress and strategy. I left that job today. I wish that I had something more interesting to say of how it happened, that I could tell you I listened to that voice and just turned left… but it wasn’t that epic. There was a work group chat that really got me going and I had finally lost it. I lost my top. All that vitriol and anger about the things that I despised and found to be unjust, all the things that I had been bottling up about the job came spitting out my fingertips in spite of my better judgement. I had hit my breaking point last night. The idea of going in today, even though I knew I still could, didn’t feel right. I laid in bed this morning having barely slept with a thunderstorm of anxiety swirling around in the pit of my stomach. And there was a fear. A fear of “what now?”. I didn’t need the job as I have a nearly 2 decade career already but as naturally anxious person I feel unsettled. To calm my fear I started searching for something else to do for work. I felt the immediate need to fill the two days that would now be free. And then it dawned on me… “why are you in a rush to fill that time with something that will not serve you”? I’ve always desired to be a writer and spend time learning how to heal these uncontrollable anxieties and fears( like the ones that were trying to convince to find another job that I did not need). So that’s what brought me here. Like so many others I have spent my entire life being my own worst enemy, and I don’t want to do that anymore. I want to spend my life now learning how to be MY OWN BEST REMEDY. I had no idea where to start with new life project but I knew if I didn’t just do it I mostly would just dream about it instead of taking action. This is me taking action. I have nothing else even ready to publish on this site other than this very blog entry but I’m just going to post it and go live and build it as I go. I hope that if this find you, you’re a kindred spirit seeking to redirect your trajectory, even if you don’t have the full path laid out just yet. I’m grabbing my first stone and I’m laying my path; left.

xoxo

Writer’s note: I said I love write at no point did I say I was pro 😉