5 Things That I Will Openly Admit

It's not like any of these are truly embarrassing or anything, but why not?  Some of these may sound a little weird to some people.

I know how to crochet - My grandmother taught me.  I only know how to make blankets really.

I have an infatuation with Hello Kitty - I love, love, LOVE Hello freaking Kitty.  I think she is the most adorable thing ever.

I love the smell of gasoline - I swear I'm not on drugs or anything...well, except for the prescribed ones that is.  I really don't know why, but I really do love the smell of gasoline.

I rather have blood drawn from the top of my hand - People think I'm nuts when I tell them that I rather have blood taking from the top of my hand rather than the "normal" spot where your arm bends.  My veins are really hard to find and usually they have to fish for them.  It makes me weak just thinking about it.  Even though the hand hurts worse, I rather have it done there.

I hate coughing in quiet places - I really feel like I'm not alone here.  When I have to cough in quiet places, I feel like I'm disturbing the peace.  Usually when I have to cough in a quiet place, it's not just one or two coughs...it's like I'm having an attack.  I don't want people to think I'm dying or have some contagious disease.

5 Things That I'm Going To Do To Become A Healthier Me

So, as I'm sure you all know from reading my blog, I have some of the worst anxiety ever.  You name it, it causes me anxiety.  Along with that anxiety, comes some really bad habits like not wanting to do anything or eating in excess.  I've always been the type of person where I'm not going to just dip my toes in, I want to go all in when I do something.  Unfortunately, I'm finding out that can't always be the case, especially when you want long-term results.  So each month, I'm going to pick 5 things to work on in order to be a better me and when I feel comfortable enough to move onto something else, I will.  Here are the 5 things that I have chosen for the month of April:

Drink more water -  I'm SO bad at this.  I just don't like to drink much in general, never-mind water.  With that being said, I'm a naturally dehydrated person.  My metabolism might not be as slow if I did drink enough water and phlebotomist might not have as much trouble trying to find my veins.  My goal is to drink twelve, eight ounce glasses of water per day.

Stretch - The physical therapist that I'm working with through workers comp said that my muscles are very short which is most likely due to my lack of mobility and anxiety.  I'm a naturally tense person and he said that stretching will help elongate my muscles.  He said that I could even find myself doing things that I couldn't do before if I stretch. 

Walk at least 20 minutes each day - It may not sound like enough, but I'm going to start walking 20 minutes each day.  It's definitely a start for someone who has lived most of their life immobilized.  I mean, it's not like I don't get up and do anything, but I probably move less than the average person.

Eat in proper portions - This is a difficult one for me.  I love to eat when I want, however much I want.  This is probably one of my biggest, baddest habits.  I really want to work on this.  Last time, when I started counting calories and found out the proper portion size for mac and cheese, I had a nervous break down and was so devastated.

Make at least one meal a healthy one - I didn't develop these bad habits over night and it's going to take time to change these bad habits.  If I can slowly, one by one, change to healthier eating, it will turn into a healthier, good habit.  Doing something is better than doing nothing.

The physical therapists aid told me that I can't change my thoughts or feelings, but I can change my behavior.  It's all on what I want out of life.  It's all mind over matter.  So, here is to a healthier Monday!

Are you doing anything to become a healthier you?

5 Things That Relax Me

After seeing the physical therapist yesterday, we have drawn some better conclusions as to why I'm experiencing swelling in my body and more particularly, we caused my injury.  See, my whole life I've dealt with severe anxiety and depression.  I've always been a very tense person and have never been able to truly relax.  I over analyze everything.  When I say everything, I mean everything.  I get constant migraines and my body is usually always sore.  When I get nervous, upset, or anxious, my skin has a tendency to get very rashy and itchy.  I get stressed out over things that shouldn't even phase me.  With all of this being said, she explained to me that stress, especially a great amount of it, creates an excess of toxins in the body which produces the body to build up with acid and in result, causes swelling which puts pressure on muscles and nerves.  Having all this happen causes weak muscles and pain in the muscles which can cause you to easily get hurt.  So basically, I have to find ways to reduce stress.  My homework for today was to find 5 things that relax me.

Blogging is a great stress reliever for me.  It helps me unload my thoughts and feelings.  When I do that, it makes me feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.  Music helps me to relax, especially when I can relate the lyrics to my life and the sound to my current emotions.  Sometimes through songs, I feel like I'm not alone.  Having my body massaged really makes me feel relaxed.  Most of the time, it even puts me to sleep.  I also like being on the beach.  It's just something about the water, breeze, and smell of the beach that puts my mind to ease and puts me in a tranquil state of mind.  Last, but certainly not least, Simba brings down my stress level.  He is very therapeutic for me emotionally.

What kind of things make you relax?