Category Archives: Relax

What do you do after a bad week?

Posted on by
3

The truth is, we all have bad days that can turn into a bad week. Unfortunately, last week was one of the worst weeks I have had in a long time. I was thankful for the week to end, but I am still struggling to forget and let go of all that happened. It is not easy to let go of things, even after you take full responsibility for your actions. Guilt and frustration can be consuming and almost make you feel like you are drowning.

After my fall on Tuesday evening, the week seemed to spiral out of control into nothing positive. The fall was terrifying and I should have done things differently than I did. I knew I was having dizzy spells and should have gone to bed instead of trying to do anything else. I know from past experiences what can happen if I continue to push myself when I feel dizzy and yet, I did not do what would have been logical. I have lived with Multiple Sclerosis and the issues that come along with it for over 20 years, so I know better than to keep pushing when things such as dizziness arise.

Another issue I should have recognized is that I was not allowing myself to get enough sleep. When we are sleep-deprived, things never go well. Our behaviors and way of thinking are compromised, which causes other awful things to occur. I had been pushing myself so much with my new job and allowing myself to be drained by stress and for what? I know that I am still new with this job and learning more daily, so allowing myself to be swallowed up with stress only creates more issues and my health to deteriorate.

Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you are enjoying your weekend, relaxing, and doing what brings you joy. I am using this weekend as a time-out to recuperate and refocus because I know that is what I need. Life is too short to spend it stressed, especially because of a job. I am looking forward to reading your comments and will respond as quickly as I can. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

Advertisement

Thought Filled Sunday

Posted on by
1

It is a gloomy, but peaceful Sunday. I am not sure why, but I feel chilly and still feel drained from last week. Of course, weekends are “supposed” to be a time to recuperate and prepare for the week ahead, which I tried doing. Unfortunately, I still failed to catch up on the sleep loss from last week. I guess once we are sleep deprived and have missed out on many hours of sleep, we cannot ever get those hours back and we are forced to keep going, no matter how exhausted we feel. I know the end of the weekend is near and another long week is getting closer, but there is still time left for our weekend.

I am going to continue to try doing at least one post each day this week and hope to be successful in doing so. There are a couple of topics I am working on right now and hope to have at least one completed today. One crucial thing I will be sharing information about is the importance of mental health. May is Mental Health Awareness Month and I feel this is critical to try to understand this complicated topic. At this time, I only can speak to the fact that the United States has failed miserably in providing care for individuals suffering from mental health issues.

Another topic I will be writing about is the differences between trust and forgiveness. Trust is important and fragile. It can take years to build trust in another person and seconds to break the trust. Once you lose trust in a relationship, there is no guarantee you can trust that person again. If you can work through the lost trust issues and try forming trust again, it takes time and patience. Even when we decide to forgive someone for their wrongdoings and betrayal, that does not mean trust is automatically replenished.

Another topic I would like to write about is the challenges involved in living with a chronic illness without a cure. Sadly, we have genius scientists and doctors around the world, but so many chronic illnesses still do not have a cure. I know this is not 100% true, but in 2022 there seems to be a steady increase in the numbers of illnesses and hardly any headway to curing these illnesses☹.

People should be trying to progress and evolve with the times, but that is not happening. One thing that continues to grow is hatred and mean behavior. When people do not understand the way another person lives, they become scared and decide the way another person is living is wrong and evil. This is a cowardly way to live in the world. It does not matter how another person lives “their” life, as long as they are not causing harm and they are happy, it should not matter or be the business of anyone else!

Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope your weekend has been filled with everything that makes you happy. I have found it can be complicated to find topics to write about that will be intriguing to everyone, but I am trying. Honestly, some things I write about are to help me process issues in my life. I hope you enjoy the last part of your weekend! I look forward to reading your comments and will respond as quickly as I can. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

Sunday, preparing for next week

Posted on by
5

Many people do not understand how changes in the weather affect others because it might not have any negative effects on them. During the winter months, the cold weather causes me to tense my muscles more, which causes additional pain. Then during the warmer months, the heat causes several other problems that are uncomfortable to deal with. It never fails when the weather changes with the seasons my body takes time to adjust. It does not just take a few hours to adjust, it can take weeks to adjust until I begin to feel semi-normal.

Currently, the temperatures change daily, and this is not easy for me. Last week there were a few days when the temperatures were mild but rainy. Rain causes increased pain issues, but I can deal with them for the most part. On other days the temperatures were extremely uncomfortable because it was too hot. Unfortunately, next week several days the temperature is going to be pushing 90 degrees, which is far too hot for April.

I have learned how to tolerate different weather better since being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis over 20 years ago. I will not say it is easy but decided to not let the weather and the MS control my life. I know life is short and feel strongly we must learn to adjust when things get difficult so we can enjoy life to the fullest.

Do you begin to feel different during the different seasons? If you do, how do you manage? Unfortunately, it is only April and we have not entered summer yet. There is no preparing for the ridiculously hot weather, but I will do my best to not be outside in the hot weather. Like I have done previously when I need to leave the house, I will start my vehicle ahead of time, so it has time to cool down before I drive. I already have dizzy spells randomly, but when I am overheated the dizziness is much more intense.

This weekend I have tried to rest and recuperate from last week as much as possible. I can admit that I have not gotten as much sleep as I would have liked, but I did try. Next week is going to be busy and possibly more exhausting than last week was. I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow afternoon and will need to miss a few hours of work but will be making the time up. I am also planning to work two hours of overtime each day.

Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you were able to enjoy your weekend. Thankfully, the weekend is not over yet and we have a few hours left to rest or do anything else we desire. I look forward to reading your comments and will respond to all comments as quickly as I can. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

Relaxing Saturday

Posted on by
4

On Saturday afternoons, we do not have to be tied down by work, chained to a desk in front of a computer, and can be doing anything we want, within reason anyway. Most people want to be out of the house and enjoy the spring weather because we have been trapped inside all week long, which is an unpleasant feeling. The sun is shining, and the birds are singing, what is not to love? There is so much to appreciate about the beauty nature offers all of us and we should try connecting with nature as much as we can.

What do you enjoy most about the spring weather and nature? The flowers are blooming creating beautiful atmospheres but that comes along with miserable allergies. The beauty makes the allergy issues worth it😊 or they do for me! Of course, I have allergies year-round, so the springtime weather is not any worst than the rest of the year. I wake up every morning with my sinuses in out-of-control pain, but there is not much a steaming hot shower cannot fix.

Even though I have been trapped at home all week working in our combined home office, I have no interest in doing anything today because the past two weeks have been extremely exhausting. Unfortunately, even though I could have slept in today, I was still up early. My internal alarm clock never fails to wake me at the same time daily. I wish there was a way to turn it off, but at least I am always awake before the sound of an annoying alarm clock😊.

Considering it is the weekend, I wanted to write and read more than I have been able to during this past week. I think it has a lot to do with feeling overly fatigued because I was not able to think of anything interesting or important to write about. I guess there is always tomorrow because the weekend is not over yet😊. Next week, my favorite author, James Patterson has a new book being released. It is the 22nd book in his The Women’s Murder Club series and I have no doubt it will be fantastic. James Patterson is after all and master with storytelling, and I think has a brilliant mind.

Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you are enjoying the weekend and doing what brings you the most joy! Many people think of Sunday as a day for rest, but I think of Saturday as a day of rest and Sunday to get things done around the house. I look forward to reading your comments and promise to respond to all of them as quickly as I can. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

Finally Friday and time to let go

Posted on by
1

Thankfully, it is finally Friday. This week has felt long, and I never thought it would end. How has your week been? To say the week has been stressful is an understatement, which has only caused my normal pain to increase drastically. I am hoping for a restful, calm, and relaxing weekend because this pain needs to lessen. Originally, I was told my work hours were 9:00 AM -5:00 PM with a 30-minute lunch. I learned on Tuesday that was inaccurate and I am to work 9:00 AM -5:30 PM with a 30-minute lunch, which is better because that will be 40 hours.

Now that it is finally Friday, we need to let go of the frustrations and negativity the week caused so we can enjoy the short weekend. Our lives do not always end up the way we thought it would, so we need to try enjoying the life we were given. We are only given one chance at life and no matter how challenging it gets, this life is a blessing. I hope you were able to see the meaning in the quote I shared with y’all today and it provides you with hope for the future.

Do you have any plans for your weekend? The only plans I have for the weekend are to do nothing and relax because this week has left me exhausted. There were a few days I was so overly stress and frustrated I had no appetite at all. I know the ways to stay healthy are to eat a well-balanced diet and get plenty of sleep, which is what I intend to do next week.

Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you had a good week and it was not full of stress. I hope you have a safe and enjoyable weekend. I look forward to reading your comments and will respond to all of them as quickly as I can. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

Let It Go Friday

Posted on by
1

Congratulations y’all, we survived another week! How was your week? The weeks can feel long, draining, and exhausting so I am ready for the weekend. This was my first week back working after being unemployed for three months and I am glad that I am working, but I am worn out. I knew my last job very well because I had been in that industry for six years and I know I will learn this new job and be good at it as well. Good things take time and patience, which I lack patience, and am trying to learn that as well😊!

Friday is a good day to let go of anything negative that occurred during the week, so we can enjoy the short weekend ahead. We have to deal with the stress from the week for five LONG days and only have two short days to relax and do what makes us happy. We should never hold onto things from the week that brings us down or make us feel sad. I hope the quote I am sharing with y’all today will help you learn to let things go and be free from the negative things in life. I think we would all be surprised to see how freeing it is to let go of what brings us down and causes negative emotions.

Now that the weekend is almost here, do you have any plans? I am sure you will not be surprised to know that I do not have anything exciting planned. I want to go through my closet and decide what to donate. I also plan to go through the house to see if there is anything not in use that can be donated. I guess I think if it is not in use and has not been for a while, we are not using it and someone else might benefit from it. I also want to clean the house because I think it looks like a mess. Of course, I will also not be getting up to an alarm clock and hopefully, I will be able to sleep in a little. Another thing I have to do is let my back heal because I lifted something a little too heavy the other day and it has been hurting worse than normal since.

Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you enjoyed what I have shared and the quote helps you let go of any negative feelings caused by the past week. Anything that you do have planned for the weekend, I hope it brings you a lot of joy and you do so safely. I look forward to reading your comments and I will respond as quickly as I can. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

Good News, Finally!

Posted on by
2

Hello and welcome to Saturday! Hopefully, you will have a nice, relaxing, and safe weekend! There are so many challenging and disturbing things happening in the world today and unfortunately, many of these challenges feel like they will not end. Ukraine is still under siege, but the people are staying as strong as they can. I admire the Ukrainian people’s determination and their President’s strong will to stand for his country. We all need a leader that has hope, loyalty, faith, and strength in the country they represent. I know I have said this in all of my posts recently, but please continue to pray for those in Ukraine because they need as many prayers and hope as we can offer.

After several days of being stressed about getting the medication needed to prevent my Multiple Sclerosis from progressing, I finally heard from the Gilenya Go Program yesterday morning. I was terrified I was going to be forced to go without the Gilenya for an extended period, but thankfully I am going to be receiving it on Wednesday. Missing three days of this medication will not cause too many issues, so my stress levels have decreased somewhat. I am fully aware of how bad stress is for everyone, but it causes me to experience unwanted relapses.

What do you have planned for the weekend? As always, I do not have anything super exciting planned, but I will be working on the essay for the writing contest and the short story I have been working on. I also have a few posts that I want to finish before the weekend is over. I am wanting to finish the book I have been reading by one of my favorite authors, James Patterson. I find James Patterson’s writing to be inspiring and amazing. If you were able to meet one author, would you want to meet? I think it would be amazing to meet and chat with James Patterson because I would love to understand where his thoughts and processes come from.

Thank you for stopping by my site today. I hope you enjoyed what I have shared, and I look forward to reading your comments. I promise to respond to all comments as quickly as I can. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

How to keep your mind sharp

Posted on by
7

It is extremely important for everyone to maintain a clear and sharp mind. I think it can be easy to do, but it takes a little extra work on our parts daily. Research suggests that challenging our brain with both new and challenging activities can build new brain cells and enhance connections between them. This can protect us from cognitive deterioration and memory loss later in life. Other benefits are reduction of stress, promoting abilities to recall information faster, and help to feel more engaged with life in general.

The following suggestions are just a few ways to accomplish keeping our brains sharp and clear.

Discover a new favorite Podcast

Since 2004, Podcasts have become increasingly more popular. There are hundreds of thousands that of mentally stimulating and thought-provoking podcasts available. Anything you are intrigued by there is a podcast for you. Amazing podcasts about music, world news, cultures, storytelling, investigation, conversational, monologue, and anything else that peaks your interests.

Become social

Open new horizons for your social comfort zone. Open an account with Meetup.com. This allows you to do something you enjoy with others with similar minds. What are somethings you enjoy? Arts and crafts? Reading? Cooking? Designing? There are meetups for literally anything you can think of. This is a fantastic way to meet people in your area and have an opportunity to engage in challenging and stimulating conversations with those outside your typical social circle. These conversations can be an in-person event or virtually, whichever you are most comfortable with. With COVID still lurking around, I would prefer virtual, but once we are past COVID, it would be a great way to have a few new friends.

Maintain a journal or blog

When we keep a journal or a blog, it works the logical, mental, and creative parts of the brain. These also allow us to work through our emotions without fears of negative judgements.

Go out on an adventure

This does not mean we must travel the world, even though that would be amazing! What this could mean is going to a new side of town you have not seen before or taking a drive to see new site of a nearby city. If we make a new habit to explore new and exciting things and places, this will be adventurous. It will also stimulate our brain and satisfy our curiosity.

Get out your reading list

If you already have a favorite author, you can look up their latest books. You can also look at the New York Times Bestsellers list and pick you top three favorites. Challenge yourself to read them in a specific amount of time. You may want to consider joining a book club, as this will give you a chance to discuss a book with others that read the same book. You can be provided insights you did not see before.

Discover a new hobby

What are a few things you wish you knew how to do? Maybe you wanted to learn how to play the piano, know how to write in calligraphy, be able to meditate or needlepoint. Why wait and why not start today? Hobbies have been proven to help avoid depression and increase brain power. Studies show people of any age that have a hobby maintain healthy communication passages to the brain and promote clear thinking and a sharper memory.

Learn a new language

Learning a new language has been made much easier with programs like https://www.rosettastone.com/ and https://www.duolingo.com/. These provide you with a tutor and can be done virtually. When we learn a new language, we are offered a challenge and a way to learn about new cultures. You can sign up for Verbaling so you can practice you new skill with a tutor or native speaker.

Remember to relax

It is important to take full advantage of calm moments. Set aside time for yourself during the day to do nothing but relax. Do whatever it takes and know everyone finds relaxation in different ways. Your brain will thank you for quiet and peaceful moments.

I hope the information in this post was helpful for you and provides you with the ways needed to keep your mind sharp! If you know any other ways to do this, I do encourage you to share because they may be helpful for others. The good news about today is that we survived Monday and we have the strength to get through the rest of this week!

Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope your week is going well and you are continuing to stay safe. The days can be overwhelming, but please always try to pace yourself and take breaks as you need them. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

My Week Long Absence

Posted on by
7

Happy weekend y’all! I hope you had a great week, and your weekend is going fantastic. I was a little absent from blogging last week because I was trying to get the essay that I entered into a contest perfected and submitted. Thankfully, with the help of my “editor” help, that being my husband, mother, mother-in-law, and my mother’s boyfriend, I was able to get the essay entered on my birthday. I can admit that I was being overly critical of my writing abilities and almost changed my mind several times. However, I know if I had changed my mind, I would have regretted it because I would always wonder what would have happened and that would have tormented my mind. We should always try new things because we do not know what exciting new opportunities might avail. I have always thought the only way we can truly fail in life is if we give up or just do not try.

The contest I entered was a personal essay, which I wrote about when I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Of course, it was a challenging time in my life, but I do think all that transpired during that time has made me a stronger person. There is a part of me that wishes I did not have to endure this diagnosis, but at the same time, it could have been far worse. Thankfully, the form of MS I have is not the worst case, but it does entail hard times that I continue to fight through. Unfortunately, I have to wait until late December to know the results and if my essay was a winner or not!

Life is not easy, and we are all faced with different challenges, but it is how we adapt and handle these challenges that let us know our true strengths. Life takes a strong will to survive and overcome the challenges in our path. I will always keep the promise I made to myself and my late grandfather close to my heart and that was that I would NEVER surrender to the MS and would continue the fight until I will the war going on in my body. Of course, there are times when it gets almost unbearable because the pain is out of control, but if I stopped fighting what kind of person would I be?

Throughout my forty years on this planet, (I just turned 40 on September 30th) I have dealt with various situations that could have broken me. I decided as a little girl to not allow the evil in my path to destroy my happiness. So many times, during my life, people have done their best to tear me down and make me feel like I was not worth anything, but those were the evil people that do not deserve the satisfaction of defeating me.

I am sharing all this with y’all, so you know that no matter what you go through in life you are not alone. It is crucial to NEVER allow anyone to make you feel you are worthless because that is so far from the truth. I think most people that prey on those they think are weak have demons within them that they have not faced or overcome, which I think is sad. Seriously, what kind of monster would prey on a child or a woman? I think the answer is a weak and pathetic individual that needs to seek help so they can face their demons and be better people. It is not only men that can behave this way because there are women that have the same kind of demon within them. The agonizing truth is mental health is a tragic situation and it is not being handled in the best way. It is possible if mental health was being treated properly, maybe the world would be better than it is now.

Thank you for visiting my site today. I hope you have enjoyed what I have shared, and it resonates with you. Everyone around the world needs to learn to accept others for who they are and help when it is feasible. I look forward to reading your comments, which I will respond to as quickly as I can. I hope the rest of your week is spent relaxing and safe! Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa

Tranquil Tuesday

Posted on by
3

We made it through one day of the week already and only have four to go before the weekend returns! How was your Monday this week? My day was pretty busy, but nothing I cannot handle. I think y’all know this, but I love it when my workday is busy because it makes the day go by so much faster. Unfortunately, rainy days do cause me to experience more headaches and pain, which is why the weekend was painful for me. The one thing I will never be able to say is the area I live in is experiencing a drought because it rains way too often for that to happen. The great thing about all of us is, we are strong and can handle anything life throws our way!

Of course, our days might come with stress and that is not always easy to deal with. I am trying to learn how to handle stress differently and better. I am slowly learning that sometimes we just need to let go of the stress we are feeling and know that everything is going to happen the way it is supposed to. The reason I decided to use this quote today is that the moment we learn how to fight stress is when we will be able to live a better and healthier life. I am sure you have heard many times before that stress is a silent killer, well if you also have MS or any other autoimmune disorder or health issue, stress aggravates this and makes life even more difficult than it has to be. Life is already challenging enough and stress can be avoided.

Stress is a common issue with so many people. Do you have certain ways that help you deal with stress and if so, what helps you most? I have learned that if I view a situation as something I have no power to change, there is no point worrying about it. Some battles in life that are worth the fight and then many that are not worth our precious time. Maybe that is a negative way to view things, but in my mind it makes sense. I use this way of thinking to avoid arguments as well and it works. Most things are not worth the time it takes to stress about it because stress will not fix the problem, but it will create more problems in the long run. We might feel stressed about health, money, family, or other issue, but does that do anything positive?

Thank you for visiting my site today! I always appreciate your continued support and great thoughts. I sincerely hope your week is going well and you are continuing to stay safe. During the continued troubled times for the pandemic and other issues going on around the world, we need to stay positive, show compassion for others, and try the best we can to encourage our friends and families, especially when talking about the vaccine. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa