I know without a doubt in this COVID insane world, so many people have so many issues so this is more of a group support thread.
Since Oct 29th
-2 year old had a huge constipation episode that required an ER visit and 2 enemas... he was in pain for a few days until we figured it out
-I had a huge stomach issue that ended up being Gallstones, surgery needed in January, ER trip
-Wife has long COVID issues and also has a bleeding ovarian cyst and may need surgery, also an ER trip
-Our beautiful little Maltese Dog of 8 years got extremely sick over the course of 6 weeks and died in our arms at home, we had to do CPR and we couldn't save him 2 weeks ago. Worst day of my life, we're picking his ashes up today at the Vet
Good things going on now to focus on:
-Son is feeling awesome, doing amazing at school and he's the best thing to happen to my life
-SUNS win streak and generally playing incredible
-Wife is feeling better
-New Diet with the Gallstones issue has me dropping weight nicely and feeling WAY better, Down 25 lbs this month
Hang in there to all going through it. Life’s a balance!
Last edited by Jordan!; 12-07-2021 at 01:49 PM.
The Following 47 Users Say Thank You to Jordan! For This Useful Post:
Really glad you had two lists there. Focus on the good, always focus on the good.
Its incredible what the mind does. Whatever we focus on we perceive of more of. The trick is to stop regurgitating the stories of yesterday or what happened that we don't want to continue. That includes statements we make about our health or health of those close to us, or what hasn't been going right.
I had bad food poisoning and since was wary of eating anything. Was so conscious of it that any time I ate some not so great things I would begin to trick my body with my mind into thinking I was getting sick again and basically create those same symptoms. When I turned my attention away for long enough and relaxed though I realized I was fine. So much is between the ears.
People say life is about balance but it also kind of isn't. Its about where you're looking. You can't look at good and bad aspects at the same time and feel both of them. You're either looking at the positives or the negatives and you're just seeing more and more of whatever direction you're looking. Thats why its so important to shine your mental "flashlight" in the direction of what you want to invite more of into your life. Good health, good friends, happy experiences, fulfilling social connections, the happiness of those around you, etc.
The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to djsFlames For This Useful Post:
Cripes Jordan.......sorry about going through that stuff. Not a lot to add besides what's already been said, good to see you recognize the positives as well, that's really important. Hope the family (including you) continues to feel better.
The Following 7 Users Say Thank You to KootenayFlamesFan For This Useful Post:
Feb 2020 I had a retinal detachment, which I had to be face down for two weeks and then have limited movement and no driving/ work for a month , went back to work for two weeks and was laid off due to COVID.
Dec 2020 my wife gets a blood clot in her leg, my good friend gets diagnosed with colon cancer.
Jan 2021 my wife’s blood clot moved to her lungs.
Feb 2021 my wife is diagnosed with Uterine cancer
Operations … Chemo, Dr. Appointments work is not an option for either of us.
May 2021 my friends cancer is diagnosed as terminal and he has 2 years…
October 2021 my wife rings the bell Cancer free!
October 2021 I get a a great job offer
Dec 2021 my wife returns to work on limited basis .
It’s been a hard road financially, mentally for our family but it sure looks like we are emerging back into the light.
I feel we are very fortunate to come out of this adversity and I hope anyone going through tough times can recover. There were times when things seemed very very dire indeed.
The Following 26 Users Say Thank You to Timbo For This Useful Post:
I'm dealing with a family in crisis I guess. My Mom's dementia is getting worse, my Dad is in denial about it and fighting any kind of help that we try to give him. Us kids are fighting each other as we all try to do what we think is right.
For me, I've lost all my energy, my heart stops whenever I get a call from a family member because either its my Dad throwing another crisis at me, or my sisters picking fights and me having to referee.
I've literally lost all of my energy to do anything.
Right now I don't have much good to say, maybe the Oilers struggling.
__________________
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
The Following 16 Users Say Thank You to CaptainCrunch For This Useful Post:
I'm dealing with a family in crisis I guess. My Mom's dementia is getting worse, my Dad is in denial about it and fighting any kind of help that we try to give him. Us kids are fighting each other as we all try to do what we think is right.
For me, I've lost all my energy, my heart stops whenever I get a call from a family member because either its my Dad throwing another crisis at me, or my sisters picking fights and me having to referee.
I've literally lost all of my energy to do anything.
Right now I don't have much good to say, maybe the Oilers struggling.
Tough times man. Also dealing with similar - amazing how some family members think they’re “managing ok” dealing with the dementia person yet the world is falling apart and they can’t see it nor accept help nor accept change. All you can do is manage yourself and mental health - which means taking personal time, getting outside for fresh air and movement, and if possible some help whether it’s talking with friends or resources. But you are not responsible for their decisions.
The Following User Says Thank You to RichieRich For This Useful Post:
Yep, I'm in the club. I'm truly sorry to read what everyone else has posted. Life can be terribly harsh.
In the past 4 years:
I tore my shoulder and pec up. They didn't heal well and it's affected my neck. Then I was in a fender bender that hurt my neck more. Then I had a finger injury with serious nerve damage to the tip of my index finger of my dominant hand. I had hypersensitization of the nerves and developed a secondary condition. I needed 9-10 months of rehab to get real function back. Then I was diagnosed with a chronic illness. The diagnosis was good because I'd lived with it undiagnosed for 20+ years and opened a world of things to try to help me. The bad part is this bout I've been in for the last couple years is WAY harsher than ever. It's a difficult and confusing illness that you can rarely ever do more than chip away at and learn to manage over several years.
This year:
My family doctor switched my medication and it seems to have caused a disaster. I've basically had an unknown life-crippling neurological disorder since the beginning of May. I get scary neurological stuff happening triggered by all of my senses, especially sounds. I fall down, twitch out, feel like I'm being electrocuted, dizziness, pain, fatigue, insomnia, mood and cognitive dysfunction involuntarily having muscles clenched up as hard as straining at the gym, and difficulty using my hands - all triggered by sounds, lights, cold, touch, but sometimes seemingly randomly appearing. I've been passed out a few times, on the ground involuntarily a few hundred times. I've had 25 or so medical appointments since May with zero help yet, been to the ER twice and scolded by my doctor for not going 2-3 times more. Both ER visits were horrendous experiences that leave me wanting to file complaints.
My family Dr. has been trying to rush me in to a neurologist since July. When some pretty intense stuff happened in mid-August, she re-invigorated the search and worked really hard to get me a referral into a better place. She hoped it would be 4-6 weeks from then. I still haven't gotten a referral, and not for lack of bugging people. I've gone for test scans twice in the clinic where I need to see the specialist, but all they do is keep saying we're waiting on my referral and pass test results back to my family Dr.
I just learned I have degenerative disc disease and a bulged disc that is starting to push on a nerve, and was told my "neck age" is 20 years older than my actual age. I was told I shouldn't play hockey at all, which is probably what I consider the worst part of anything that's happened to me this year. I'd do another year of this torture with my nipples clamped with car battery cables, to an actual live car battery, swimming through the Amazon river bleeding from a thousand cuts, with only Oprah's queefs to breathe from an air tank, listening to Justin Beiber on repeat, if it meant I could play hockey again at some point later without wrecking myself for the rest of life.
I'm on a waitlist to get my nostrils drilled out so I can breathe better.
Recently a friend of my father's passed suddenly. I'd grown up around him a fair bit and it shook me hard when I was in the middle of all this other stuff.
My family finally "gets it" with this latest illness. My relationship of five years didn't survive though. We'd just moved into a new place with higher rent 2 months before we broke up. Now I need to stay here alone and pay almost triple what I did a few months ago because it's quiet and I can't move again. I'm currently working through this mess of stuff with my work, finances, landlords, and the ex all while I'm floundering near the end of an online class I'm taking.
For a month I was basically stranded on a deserted island. A secluded cabin in the city, per se. I watched very little TV or videos to music unless I'm doing my absolute best. (virtually only Flames highlights for weeks). I talk to and video call my family as much as I can, but I'm basically living in a bunker and can't see my sister or nieces and nephew who are usually my therapy. Many days I have to wear a rotating variety of hearing protection inside my own place, but I need to be careful because they can sometimes cause outcomes to be worse. I may have some access to the world around me, but it's also equally shattering to be living in the world around me but completely unable to take part in it. After a month of no girlfriend here to make noise, I'm starting to do noticeably better. I hope this time I'm not still riding a pendulum.
Despite all this stuff I'm actually nearly as happy as I've ever been in life. I've set myself up to be safe and virtually self-reliant living alone. I have lifelines and support in place and I'm not too afraid or proud to use them. I try to go out for walks every day. I'm trying to train my body to walk to the gym daily and then eventually work out. I'm working hard to change careers to work from home.
At the beginning of last year, the warrior in me was re-awoken. Since then, through fighting so damn hard to stay self-reliant and not give up on life, I've rediscovered my real self, my real potential, and I'm happy who this has made me. I have plenty of reason to be happy, to have hope for the future, and to just keep going.
The E=NG threads are truly part of my therapeutic regime. You how they say "things could always be worse". All I do is remind myself "It could be worse, you could be living in Edmonton!" or "You could have been born and grown up there and be brainwashed into being an Oilers fan!" See, my life's not so bad! E=NG!
The Following 11 Users Say Thank You to Stampede2TheCup For This Useful Post:
Can only express my sympathies to those dealing with tough times really at anytime in their life. I can express that through my 32 years I’ve and my immediate family have experienced our fair share of hardship and struggles and really don’t want to iterate just how vile life can seem. My mom through it all has always said to us ‘what you think about you bring about’ so think positive and it will all be ok. For her to have that mindset seeing everything that she’s been through and our dad has been through is incredible and inspiring. It breaks my heart to personally know and have seen what some truly good people have to go through and I’m thankful that I’ve had my brothers and my parents as my closest friends through this crazy thing called life.
Diamonds are only made through the harshest of processes though my friends so those who are hurting, those who have gone through tough things in life, those who are looking for hope; Know that the grit is what makes us us and that the hard times teach us to appreciate what’s good and hold it that much dearer to our hearts.
Through all the tough views of life presented to us and to our closest loved ones my bros and I have created a discography spanning 7 albums and countless songs. We are working on a new 30 song effort as we speak and already have plans laid out for the following album… and all this art is born from not only the great joys in our lives but the adverse times that challenge us in ways only hard times could.
Our song ‘Hey There Mama’ is the first track off of ‘What Is Love’ My brother wrote this song in 5 minutes waiting on a couch we were moving up from the first floor to the third floor along with everything else after discovering we were living above a literal ####hole… a story for another day but man you have to love Vancouver living! Anyways the song was written 8 years prior to us being able to record and release it but it generally has always stayed the same. It’s dedicated to moms and dads and really to the circle of life and I dedicate it now to all those who are going through a tough ebb right now. Good flows will come and life is a balance!
I'm dealing with a family in crisis I guess. My Mom's dementia is getting worse, my Dad is in denial about it and fighting any kind of help that we try to give him. Us kids are fighting each other as we all try to do what we think is right.
For me, I've lost all my energy, my heart stops whenever I get a call from a family member because either its my Dad throwing another crisis at me, or my sisters picking fights and me having to referee.
I've literally lost all of my energy to do anything.
Right now I don't have much good to say, maybe the Oilers struggling.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RichieRich
Tough times man. Also dealing with similar - amazing how some family members think they’re “managing ok” dealing with the dementia person yet the world is falling apart and they can’t see it nor accept help nor accept change. All you can do is manage yourself and mental health - which means taking personal time, getting outside for fresh air and movement, and if possible some help whether it’s talking with friends or resources. But you are not responsible for their decisions.
I'm sorry to hear this to both of you. This sort of denialism seems very similar to how people around me have fallen badly into denialism when my health challenges have been at their worst. I think it's basically like anxiety that becomes a mental blockage, and gets worse when pressure is applied. They may rationalize or seem to consciously have decided irrational things. But it's really that their subconscious can't deal with the reality. I've repeatedly had people shocked over things happening when I was yelling at them over and over warning what was going to happen.
How to help someone with something like massive anxiety when they're in a stressful situation, but need to take steps to deal with things that they don't want to? I don't know if I have a good answer. Maybe preparation. Like trying to set up fail-proof contingencies as much as is humanly possible, for both of them. To give ample space and time to acknowledging how hard it must be for the healthier partner, and asking what you can do for them. I really don't know if I have any good answers. But I sure think I've had some cracks at solving this same puzzle myself.
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Stampede2TheCup For This Useful Post:
Emotionally for some people it’s easier to keep dealing IN THE MOMENT rather than look to the future and plan accordingly. Just some do it better and some just can’t handle that. Often the difference is emotional intelligence, or being able to put aside emotion/anxiety long enough to consider options and solutions.
It’s like preparing a will - basically preparing for your own death, or incapacitation, figuring out who could or should be executor, and who gets what. So many people cannot deal with that emotional avalanche. When it comes to dementia who wants to think they’ll have to deal with it someday? (Either themself or a family member).
So, instead of being proactive we often see a gradual slide. Too often something happens and quick decisions must be made that leave everyone hurting. So better to deal with something “a little too early” than “a little too late”. For some of us here we are dealing with the latter, and not by choice.
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to RichieRich For This Useful Post:
I'm sorry to hear this to both of you. This sort of denialism seems very similar to how people around me have fallen badly into denialism when my health challenges have been at their worst. I think it's basically like anxiety that becomes a mental blockage, and gets worse when pressure is applied. They may rationalize or seem to consciously have decided irrational things. But it's really that their subconscious can't deal with the reality. I've repeatedly had people shocked over things happening when I was yelling at them over and over warning what was going to happen.
How to help someone with something like massive anxiety when they're in a stressful situation, but need to take steps to deal with things that they don't want to? I don't know if I have a good answer. Maybe preparation. Like trying to set up fail-proof contingencies as much as is humanly possible, for both of them. To give ample space and time to acknowledging how hard it must be for the healthier partner, and asking what you can do for them. I really don't know if I have any good answers. But I sure think I've had some cracks at solving this same puzzle myself.
Btw… hope you have figured out some solutions and coping mechanisms that work both short and long term? Dealing with high anxiety people is very difficult and it’s hard to know what is “right” in the moment or “good enough”.
The Following User Says Thank You to RichieRich For This Useful Post:
Btw… hope you have figured out some solutions and coping mechanisms that work both short and long term? Dealing with high anxiety people is very difficult and it’s hard to know what is “right” in the moment or “good enough”.
Yup, I've become a master alchemist of my own body and it's self-care. I have some long-term and short term solutions. I learned long ago not to rely on our medical system for any ailment that is persistent.
I've also found a lot of general coping mechanisms. You've mentioned some this thread.
MY TOP TIPS GENERAL TIPS FOR ANYONE STRUGGLING
Focus on what you can control, one step at a time.
If life has dumped a turd on you, it doesn't help to sit and wallow in it. You don't have to suppress your emotions to work on solutions quickly. You can often simultaneously work through the emotions while you find a way to get out from under it. When it's incredibly hard to get started, start with the smallest possible step you can. That's the only way to climb the mountain you're facing.
Take care of yourself
Two parts to this:
- Take full responsibility for solving what ails you, no matter how you got there. Nobody is going to save you but yourself. It doesn't matter how hard or unfair it is. The sooner you can set aside any self-pity, the better you'll be able to improve your situation.
- There's nothing more important than our most basic needs of diet, exercise and sleep. Keeping good healthy patterns both helps us through stress and helps us our body's natural ability to cope and heal.
Talking to loved ones/Counselling/Support groups
Talk to your loved ones but be sure the talking is healthy for both of you and the relationship. If you don't want a bunch of suggestions for help and just want to vent, communicate that as soon as possible. Realize many great and loving people can only handle so much and also have trouble putting themselves in others' shoes. Try not to take things personally if someone isn't getting it and just enjoy their company.
Drop the dang stigma about counselling. If you're 30 over over, it's virtually certain you could benefit from counselling. The world is harsh for most people, and our modern world puts more pressures on us than ever. You don't have to wait until you're completely messed up. I'm so glad I proactively pursued this before my newest health issues hit me this year.
There are loads of FB support groups out there for different things, and they can be extremely helpful. I'd imagine there are even support groups for people dealing with loved ones' illnesses.
Do things that give you joy
Anything that can help you unplug and be happy for a short time will give you great benefit. Drop the "can't" and find substitutions. If you only a tiny bit of time, fine, but find something that works and do it!
Emotional Journaling
"Write a letter and burn it" type of idea. It helps to sort out the storm of emotions we have swirling inside. Be brutally honest. I do my emotional journaling through voice memos on my phone. If it feels hard to approach by directly aiming for your emotions, just do life update entries, like a morning check-in and evening check-in. I call my cell phone "Wilson" because I'm so often talking to it.
Breathing exercises.
Simply controlling our breathing can massively help stress, sleep, and have a myriad of other benefits. Slower, deeper breathing has a positive physiological effect of helping switch your body from fight or flight mode to rest and digest mode. Through my illnesses I actually have excess stress/fight or flight signals being fired constantly on top of typical stress.
If people knew how powerful breathwork can be even right when you start with it, a heck of a lot more people would do it. You don't have to study for years as a mountaintop yogi or monk to get great benefits. You don't need a bunch of time. 5-15 minutes can help a lot, especially once you learn it a little bit.
If you can learn to take very slow and deep breaths, then you have a tool you can use ANYWHERE AND ANYTIME throughout your day. Even if you are busy, you can do conscious breathing while you're doing whatever else you need to.
I was in excruciating pain and discomfort for my 45 mins of MRIs and the tech said I was very still compared to most people. My physiotherapist said she'd barely be able to touch me if I were most people, but instead she thinks she may have done the more aggressive and painful stuff to me in the first few sessions out of anyone she's ever treated. (Shockwave, dry needling, "manual work" - starts with the foreplay of hands but often ends with fricken' elbows.) I pushed through it and got fixed faster. There's no way in heck I'd have been able to these things, nor be in as good of a place as I am without my breathing practice.
Breathwork is an amazing treatment for stress, and I find holding my breath is a good stress test. I've held my breath for over 3 minutes (during deep breathing exercises), can exhale continuously for 90 seconds, and I've slowed down to one breath a minute for 15+ minutes. The better you can get at this stuff, the better coping and general well-being tools you'll have.
Below are some good exercises to start with. I often like to lay down even if they say not to, as this sends relaxation signals to your body.
If you don't like the idea of guided sessions, try laying down and listening to some relaxing music you like, take deep and slow breaths. You can let thoughts wander but try to focus on your breathing as much as possible.
The Following 6 Users Say Thank You to Stampede2TheCup For This Useful Post:
Btw… hope you have figured out some solutions and coping mechanisms that work both short and long term? Dealing with high anxiety people is very difficult and it’s hard to know what is “right” in the moment or “good enough”.
Yup, it's incredibly difficult to deal with people who have anxiety and/or can't cope with stress well in times of crisis. They often have these thought patterns programmed for decades or lifetimes. Any attempt to help creates stress. They don't want help because they don't even want to acknowledge the problem. Their patterns are natural human tendencies so maybe this hasn't even become an issue until a crisis later in life. One way or another, it's fear crippling them, plain and simple.
It's a heck of a lot to unravel even without an immediate crisis. The best thing I can suggest is approaching the hardest things when someone is doing their best. Maybe after a walk or shower or maybe they have a best time of day. Or maybe just when they seem to be doing well you go a bit further. In your case, maybe talk about what is happening now framed as a hypothetical for the future. It's a longshot but the lack of immediacy may allow them to actually look at the problem. I don't know if there are cookie cutter solutions. There are things you can do to help, but when people are closed-minded it often has as much affect as peeing on a glacier to melt it.
Oh and for your situation, there are probably some great Facebook support groups. You don't even have to post. They'll be full of great tips and strategies from people who have gone through the same. It could be very be very therapeutic for you just knowing how many others are going through similar things.
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Stampede2TheCup For This Useful Post:
I know without a doubt in this COVID insane world, so many people have so many issues so this is more of a group support thread.
Since Oct 29th
-2 year old had a huge constipation episode that required an ER visit and 2 enemas... he was in pain for a few days until we figured it out
-I had a huge stomach issue that ended up being Gallstones, surgery needed in January, ER trip
-Wife has long COVID issues and also has a bleeding ovarian cyst and may need surgery, also an ER trip
-Our beautiful little Maltese Dog of 8 years got extremely sick over the course of 6 weeks and died in our arms at home, we had to do CPR and we couldn't save him 2 weeks ago. Worst day of my life, we're picking his ashes up today at the Vet
Good things going on now to focus on:
-Son is feeling awesome, doing amazing at school and he's the best thing to happen to my life
-SUNS win streak and generally playing incredible
-Wife is feeling better
-New Diet with the Gallstones issue has me dropping weight nicely and feeling WAY better, Down 25 lbs this month
Hang in there to all going through it. Life’s a balance!
Thanks for having the courage to create this thread. It's admirable that you've found positives and know how to use them!
The Following User Says Thank You to Stampede2TheCup For This Useful Post:
Yup, I've become a master alchemist of my own body and it's self-care. I have some long-term and short term solutions. I learned long ago not to rely on our medical system for any ailment that is persistent.
I've also found a lot of general coping mechanisms. You've mentioned some this thread.
MY TOP TIPS GENERAL TIPS FOR ANYONE STRUGGLING
Focus on what you can control, one step at a time.
If life has dumped a turd on you, it doesn't help to sit and wallow in it. You don't have to suppress your emotions to work on solutions quickly. You can often simultaneously work through the emotions while you find a way to get out from under it. When it's incredibly hard to get started, start with the smallest possible step you can. That's the only way to climb the mountain you're facing.
Take care of yourself
Two parts to this:
- Take full responsibility for solving what ails you, no matter how you got there. Nobody is going to save you but yourself. It doesn't matter how hard or unfair it is. The sooner you can set aside any self-pity, the better you'll be able to improve your situation.
- There's nothing more important than our most basic needs of diet, exercise and sleep. Keeping good healthy patterns both helps us through stress and helps us our body's natural ability to cope and heal.
Talking to loved ones/Counselling/Support groups
Talk to your loved ones but be sure the talking is healthy for both of you and the relationship. If you don't want a bunch of suggestions for help and just want to vent, communicate that as soon as possible. Realize many great and loving people can only handle so much and also have trouble putting themselves in others' shoes. Try not to take things personally if someone isn't getting it and just enjoy their company.
Drop the dang stigma about counselling. If you're 30 over over, it's virtually certain you could benefit from counselling. The world is harsh for most people, and our modern world puts more pressures on us than ever. You don't have to wait until you're completely messed up. I'm so glad I proactively pursued this before my newest health issues hit me this year.
There are loads of FB support groups out there for different things, and they can be extremely helpful. I'd imagine there are even support groups for people dealing with loved ones' illnesses.
Do things that give you joy
Anything that can help you unplug and be happy for a short time will give you great benefit. Drop the "can't" and find substitutions. If you only a tiny bit of time, fine, but find something that works and do it!
Emotional Journaling
"Write a letter and burn it" type of idea. It helps to sort out the storm of emotions we have swirling inside. Be brutally honest. I do my emotional journaling through voice memos on my phone. If it feels hard to approach by directly aiming for your emotions, just do life update entries, like a morning check-in and evening check-in. I call my cell phone "Wilson" because I'm so often talking to it.
Breathing exercises.
Simply controlling our breathing can massively help stress, sleep, and have a myriad of other benefits. Slower, deeper breathing has a positive physiological effect of helping switch your body from fight or flight mode to rest and digest mode. Through my illnesses I actually have excess stress/fight or flight signals being fired constantly on top of typical stress.
If people knew how powerful breathwork can be even right when you start with it, a heck of a lot more people would do it. You don't have to study for years as a mountaintop yogi or monk to get great benefits. You don't need a bunch of time. 5-15 minutes can help a lot, especially once you learn it a little bit.
If you can learn to take very slow and deep breaths, then you have a tool you can use ANYWHERE AND ANYTIME throughout your day. Even if you are busy, you can do conscious breathing while you're doing whatever else you need to.
I was in excruciating pain and discomfort for my 45 mins of MRIs and the tech said I was very still compared to most people. My physiotherapist said she'd barely be able to touch me if I were most people, but instead she thinks she may have done the more aggressive and painful stuff to me in the first few sessions out of anyone she's ever treated. (Shockwave, dry needling, "manual work" - starts with the foreplay of hands but often ends with fricken' elbows.) I pushed through it and got fixed faster. There's no way in heck I'd have been able to these things, nor be in as good of a place as I am without my breathing practice.
Breathwork is an amazing treatment for stress, and I find holding my breath is a good stress test. I've held my breath for over 3 minutes (during deep breathing exercises), can exhale continuously for 90 seconds, and I've slowed down to one breath a minute for 15+ minutes. The better you can get at this stuff, the better coping and general well-being tools you'll have.
Below are some good exercises to start with. I often like to lay down even if they say not to, as this sends relaxation signals to your body.
If you don't like the idea of guided sessions, try laying down and listening to some relaxing music you like, take deep and slow breaths. You can let thoughts wander but try to focus on your breathing as much as possible.
Glad to hear you've discovered this to help you out. I would also highly recommend "Breath" by James Nestor for those interested in breathwork.
The Following User Says Thank You to D as in David For This Useful Post:
A good reminder that we're all just people in the end, no matter how much we disagree or crap on each other here from time to time.
I'm going to drink a Mike's Hard Lemonade with your name on it, Jordan! Well, I probably won't, but it's the thought that counts. I hope everyone's "good" list gets longer.
The Following User Says Thank You to Bill Bumface For This Useful Post:
Has anyone had a particularly hard time lately??
2 weeks ago. Worst day of my life, we're picking his ashes up today at the Vet
thats awesome
