Tips for dealing with stress?

[FriendlyGeek]

I'm relatively new here and haven't posted much really, but this thread just jumped out to me and I had to log in and comment because in my opinion, and I have some experience of mental health problems, @Colin_T has made two excellent suggestions - getting some counselling and also Lego!

I have had counselling myself and I can tell you it did me a world of good. Just being able to talk to someone openly about anything at all is such a stress relief. I know people say talk to family and friends which of course is good advice, but it is much easier to talk to an outsider, someone who isn't involved at all in your life. Sometimes you hold back from being completely honest to save peoples feelings but with counselling you can literally just pour anything out and it's fine. It may also help your wife too if she would be interested.

And Lego......well......I love the stuff!! (and I'm a woman in my 40's lol) you can pour all the pieces out, start sorting and building and before you know it, hours have passed without you even noticing. My only problem with Lego is that it costs too much

 

[Valkyrie_Lips]

I would absolutely love to go out on long walks and in nature but the problem then is leaving amy in for long periods which isn’t great. I’ve tried meditation and just felt silly haha maybe I’ll try again

Nothing silly about medication in my opinion. The trick is finding one that works for your symptoms since they aren't all created equal. It took me a few tries to finally find a med that helped me, but boy the difference is night and day.

 

[AmyKieran]

I'm relatively new here and haven't posted much really, but this thread just jumped out to me and I had to log in and comment because in my opinion, and I have some experience of mental health problems, @Colin_T has made two excellent suggestions - getting some counselling and also Lego!

I have had counselling myself and I can tell you it did me a world of good. Just being able to talk to someone openly about anything at all is such a stress relief. I know people say talk to family and friends which of course is good advice, but it is much easier to talk to an outsider, someone who isn't involved at all in your life. Sometimes you hold back from being completely honest to save peoples feelings but with counselling you can literally just pour anything out and it's fine. It may also help your wife too if she would be interested.

And Lego......well......I love the stuff!! (and I'm a woman in my 40's lol) you can pour all the pieces out, start sorting and building and before you know it, hours have passed without you even noticing. My only problem with Lego is that it costs too much

I might invest in some Lego haha build a fish tank with it

That’s a joke obviously haha but I might buy some

 

[AmyKieran]

Nothing silly about medication in my opinion. The trick is finding one that works for your symptoms since they aren't all created equal. It took me a few tries to finally find a med that helped me, but boy the difference is night and day.

No nothing is silly about meditation at all that’s not what I meant.

I just felt silly doing it, it was way out of the ordinary for me. Perhaps I gave up too early and if I tried for longer, I might not feel so silly

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Messing with flirt poles? I dunno about that one.

While the name is silly, the suggestion is serious. Kieran has said he has two dogs, and can't leave the home long for long walks. Dogs that are cooped up without enough exercise can become another stressor, and having had to learn many "brain games" to help keep a very smart dog occupied, I know the value of teaching tricks and playing games that wear them out mentally too. Mine got plenty of physical exercise too, but a collie x can run for eight hours a day and only become fitter, you can't wear them out just through physical exercise. But mental exercise where they have to think and work, wears them out a much as physical exercise does. It also happens to be fun, if you enjoy your dogs company anyway, and can be done in your own back yard so he doesn't have to be far from his wife.

So yeah, silly name, but a real suggestion with real benefits for both people and pets.

 

[Valkyrie_Lips]

No nothing is silly about meditation at all that’s not what I meant.

I just felt silly doing it, it was way out of the ordinary for me. Perhaps I gave up too early and if I tried for longer, I might not feel so silly

Ohh! I misunderstood. I see, I felt the same way once upon a time until I noticed a huge difference in my overall mood and functioning. It's definitely a personal choice and not for everyone but I strongly believe that medications can be hugely beneficial. Especially when meds are taken while doing therapy or used with other coping skills. Depending on the issue and what kind of meds you took sometimes they can take weeks to fully work because they need time to accumulate in your system and balance out certain neurotransmitters.

 

[FriendlyGeek]

I might invest in some Lego haha build a fish tank with it

That’s a joke obviously haha but I might buy some

Like this you mean? Honestly, take a look at their website if it's something that might interest you, they have a massive selection of different kits

It's a personal thing though like anything I suppose, my hubby couldn't think of anything worse than doing Lego where as I love it

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Ohh! I misunderstood. I see, I felt the same way once upon a time until I noticed a huge difference in my overall mood and functioning. It's definitely a personal choice and not for everyone but I strongly believe that medications can be hugely beneficial. Especially when meds are taken while doing therapy or used with other coping skills. Depending on the issue and what kind of meds you took sometimes they can take weeks to fully work because they need time to accumulate in your system and balance out certain neurotransmitters.

You guys are still talking at cross purposes... Amykieran is talking about mediTation, you're talking about mediCation

 

[Valkyrie_Lips]

You guys are still talking at cross purposes... Amykieran is talking about mediTation, you're talking about mediCation

OH wow I need a coffee. My bad

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

OH wow I need a coffee. My bad

Coffee sounds good! Think I'll join you there!

 

[Back in the fold]

There is no answer. Everybody has their de - stressing thing and to hear people talk most are not effective. Quiet. That's the best first step. Quiet and solitude. But really ? I don't know. I have a son-in-law who likes liquor way too much and this causes me much anxiety and I wish I could calm that anxiety somehow.

 

[Slaphppy7]

 

[Colin_T]

Amy can’t do much exercise at all because of her heart and lung. She gets out of breath walking up the stairs lol

She may not be able to do much exercise but she really needs to try and do some each day. If she doesn't, her heart will slowly waste away and her lungs will have more trouble using the oxygen in the air.

Unless her doctor has specifically said no exercise, she should be trying to do some. Even if she can sit on the bike for a couple of minutes and just pedal slowly. Have the bike on the lowest easiest setting and she can just pedal slowly. Build it up a bit each week and try to get her heart and lungs working again. She probably won't fully recover but even getting her lungs functioning at 50% would make a difference to both of your lives.

She also needs to build muscle mass in her legs and arms so her body functions normally. Old people and a lot of cancer patients die due to lack of muscle mass. Their muscles don't get used and slowly waste away. Then their body just doesn't function properly because there is not enough muscle to use food they eat, metabolise the medications they take, and there is insufficient muscle to circulate blood properly. Yes the heart circulates the blood, but the muscles help to store blood and other fluids and moving helps build up blood pressure to push the fluids around the body and into the organs where it's needed.

 

[Colin_T]

I would absolutely love to go out on long walks and in nature but the problem then is leaving amy in for long periods which isn’t great. I’ve tried meditation and just felt silly haha maybe I’ll try again

Can you get a wheelchair to push Amy around in?
She could walk a tiny bit and then wheel the rest. It would get you both outside for a bit and the sunlight might help.

If neither of you get outside into the sun much, you might want to take vitamin D capsules. Low vitamin D levels don't help anyone and people have more health issues if they are low on vitamin D.

You can get your doctor to do a vitamin D test and buy capsules from any supermarket or chemist. Take a few each day to try and get your levels up. I take them here in Australia to keep my levels up and we have some of the most intense sunlight in the world. So unless you spend a bit of time outside, it might be something to talk to your GP about. Amy should make sure she has high vitamin D levels to help her recovery.

 

[AmyKieran]

Can you get a wheelchair to push Amy around in?
She could walk a tiny bit and then wheel the rest. It would get you both outside for a bit and the sunlight might help.

If neither of you get outside into the sun much, you might want to take vitamin D capsules. Low vitamin D levels don't help anyone and people have more health issues if they are low on vitamin D.

You can get your doctor to do a vitamin D test and buy capsules from any supermarket or chemist. Take a few each day to try and get your levels up. I take them here in Australia to keep my levels up and we have some of the most intense sunlight in the world. So unless you spend a bit of time outside, it might be something to talk to your GP about. Amy should make sure she has high vitamin D levels to help her recovery.

She recently had a vitamin d test and was deficient so she’s now in vitamin D tablets. Yes I know I’ll try and get her out even a few days a week to start to walk the dogs