10 Positive Ways Calm Your Winter Stress

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advice, calming words, chin up, creativity, fun, health and fitness, how to get through, motivation, nature, seasonal depression, Stress, Survival, television

If you’re like me, you go through some real seasonal depression. Over the years, I have found some ways to cope and I am getting much better at it. So I’d like to share my methods with you. Together we can not only get through this, but enjoy winter this year and for years to come!

Yea even you!

Just hear me out!

Take the time to read my  10 fail proof ways to get through the holiday and winter season (Keep in mind, you do have to actually try it for this to work. If you’re willing to be happy, please read on. I’ve got your back) and your life will be drastically improved:

10) When it comes to gift giving: Remember this… It’s only Money. Don’t have enough to give, those who care about you will care about the thoughtfulness you put forth, not how much cash you spent. They will realize money doesn’t matter. It’s friendship and family that people should care about, not a new iPhone 7. It’s love that makes the world go round.

 

9) While trees are dying and birds are migrating, pay attention to the living things that you do have around. Pay attention to animal and nature totems. Look for signs! For instance, I have seen lots of blue birds this week. To the Native American Indians, bluebirds signified happiness and new beginnings! Also, some say that if you see birds frequently, it is (in superstition terms of course) a sign that loved ones are looking down on you from the heavens. Flowers die, birds fly, but love lasts forever. Yes! I know I mentioned love in #10, but love truly can get us through this holiday season. It takes something that positive to make it through! You will persevere!

8) This gift giving season, weather you receive gifts or not, be thankful for what you do have. Don’t think you have much? The fact that you are reading my post lets me know that you at least have access to a phone or a computer. I was recently on my honeymoon in a third world country where they didn’t have wifi or phone reception any where! This year we have had natural disasters, tortured Lakota Indians and protestors, zika virus outbreaks, uproars in politics and with religious views… And we have survived. We are still here and strong! If that doesn’t make you thankful what will?!

7) Number 7.. This is a really important one. I learned this last year due to my amazing friends who forced me out of my comfort zone (guilt is a strong emotion and guilting me worked well). Make sure that you do your very best not to shell up and hide away in your house. It’s so easy to become reclusive when it’s cold outside and it gets dark early. Don’t do it! This plays a large factor in depression. If you don’t have many friends, hang out with the ones that you do have, or go out and join groups or hobbies so that you can make some. Go see your family. Go to concerts… Whatever you have to do! Just don’t stay at home alone for prolonged periods of time. Weather you do it on purpose or not, it can really play a toll on your psyche. And your happiness is precious! You deserve to be jolly this winter season!

6) When Christmas is over, take a deep breath and make time for a nap! Your body and mind will thank you.

5) Find creative and fun ways to stay warm. Try making new winter cocktails or baking new dishes. Don’t have all the ingredients, get creative! For instance; just yesterday, I didn’t have panko bread crumbs for my dinner I was making. So I took some flavored salad crutons that I had (store bought) and mixed them with flower to throw in my food processor. My food processor decided it didn’t work anymore. So I threw it all in a gallon size zip lock bag and stomped on it crushing them. I made the best dinner I have ever made and it was fun!

4) Turn off the television and take up some new hobbies or get better at the hobbies you are already into. Netflix binging (which I am guilty of myself) is often rewarding. But it’s only rewarding for a short period of time. If you get good at a hobby rather than watching someone on the tv who is good at their hobby, you will feel rewarded for life.

3) Lie to yourself. Yea I said it! I’m not saying to be a fake person. I’m saying to fake it till you make it! Now you may have just read that statement once or twice trying to figure out how in the heck it makes sense. Lie to yourself and fake it till you make it but don’t be fake? Hmmm…. What I mean is that you manifest your own destiny. If you want to be something, be it. It may be uncomfortable at first. So you have to convince yourself. I  may not feel happy all the time, but I pretend sometimes whne I’m not. I don’t go overboard and tell people that I have no stress, I’m honest, but HI do make sure to have a positive attitude and outlook because fear gets us nowhere in this world! If you act happy you end up surrounded by happy people and circumstances, thus you end up being more happy! The same thing goes for anything you are trying to manifest. Get it?

2) Take care of your health. I’m not telling you not to splurge on your diet on occasion or rest when needed. I’m not telling you you have to become a body builder and a spokes person for Dr. Oz. But I am telling you this, take care of yourself. It’s hard when it’s cold out to have the energy to take proper vitamins, to be active, to not gorge on alchohol and sweets… But when you are getting out of hand on something, try and slow it down and treat yourself right. Because it is so easy to get sick during the winter (I get sick every winter!) I don’t want that for you all!

1. And finally! Numero uno! Read my blog! If you need someone to talk to, reach out to me. I’m here for you. Thank you for  being a friend.

I hope you liked what you read! Stay warm happy healthy and stress free! Stay calm. We are all in this winter together.

Sincerely,

Someone who gets seasonal depression. I’ve got your back.

via Daily Prompt: Calm

Do you plan on having any kids?!

Tags

adoption, advice, babies, baby, decisions, folly, monkey, must go, owning a monkey, waiting to have kids, What to do

My husband and I are young. Well we are not kids, but we are just at the opportune age where everyone is constantly asking us if we plan on having children. Keep in mind, we just got married and people don’t realize how often (almost daily) we are asked this. If I’m seen holding someone else’s child I get comments like “That looks so natural on you!” Like I need one for an accessory or something. It’s tough. The answer to the question is, I don’t know. If it were the 40’s or 50’s, absolutely yes. But the world today is tough and the thought of raising a child in it (especially without having a wealthy as all get out income) scares the bejeesus out of us! One minute, we are ogling over a cute kid. And the next, we hear a kid throwing a temper tantrum in the middle of a grocery store that needs spanked and we say “Nope! We are not having kids!” Sure at times I feel, my kid would never act up. But the truth is, you can’t pre determine how your child’s temperament will be when it’s born! It just happens and you have to mold them into the right type of person. That’s scary. The world sucks right now! There is too much corruption. But at the same time, it’s hard to say no to the idea. I always thought I’d have kids. Now, I just don’t know. After years of trying to decide yes or no… I still am in limbo on the issue. I may never be able to decide until it’s too late or it happens on accident (which is highly unlikely when on birth control). What’s a girl to do? What are we to do about this? We just.. don’t know.

 

Apparently if you are under 40 and haven’t had children, you get asked this a lot. Thanks for pointing out that I’m at a child bearing age people! We both know that the biological clock is ticking! There is a wealth of information out there that tells us this. We both had sex ed when we were younger and we both paid attention. We both want to make the right decision. But if we are not sure yet, I don’t think that we should be rushing into it.

I love kids. And it’s the absolute cutest thing ever watching him around children. He is great with them. We are both kids at heart. But we are also young enough with few enough ties to possibly be able to travel more. We want to see the world, go to concerts, be in concerts, and go on journeys! It’s hard enough to afford that and make time for it as it is. Let alone if we add a child.

 

But what if we wait until it’s too late? That’s the question.

We hate where we live and are only here because our family members rely on us so much. But is that fair? Would it be selfish to move away? If we have a child, we may never get to leave this place. We already feel stuck here as it is. If we have a kid, my family is the type that will guilt us to our death about leaving and taking their grandbabies etc away from them. That’s just how they are. They expect us to want to stay as our civic duty I guess.

I just want to have a baby, skip the whole awkward raising and growing up part, and then have grandchildren to tell stories of my travels to! Perhaps we should get a monkey (an adopted and rescued one, I’m not ok with trading endangered animals and taking them from their habitat) now so we don’t have to put it through college and then just adopt an 18 year old when we are elderly. Yep. we are lost on this issue and don’t know what to do.

So I’ll ask this again, are we in folly for waiting or are we doing the right thing?

Thanks for reading!

 

 

via Daily Prompt: Folly