Category Archives: Stress Reduction

Blogging for good health!, Stress Reduction, This -n- That

A Time For Reflection, 2022 Is Finally Here!

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Sometime this week, I will dump out the contents of my 2021’s Blessing Jar.

There, strewn across the counter, will be small pieces of paper – each with a notation about a blessing that came my way in the past year.

Random things.

Sometimes it’s a happy touch of unexpected sunshine on my face on a cool fall day. Perhaps the blessing came in meeting someone special.

A blessing can also come from knowing I had been a blessing to someone else.

The process of pausing beside the Blessings Jar occasionally to note recent positives helps to keep me focused on the good – the positive – and on the opportunities to give and receive blessings.

And, wow, what an amazing experience it is to revisit a year’s worth of blessings in one sitting!

The blessings are there all the time – even in challenging and life-changing circumstances. Bad health? How about the nurse who took extra care in helping you? Difficult times at work? Maybe you found a way to overcome obstacles, or maybe you found a better position.

In this time of reflection, my thoughts have been boosted by two authors whose writings crossed my path recently.

One involves the realization there are more years behind me than there are ahead of me. Truly absorbing this reality colors my choices in how I want to spend my limited currency of precious moments. Trivial pursuits/people/conversations, or rehashing things that will never change, only serves to rob my limited resources.

In the words attributed to Antonio Marulli:

“I want to surround myself with people who know how to touch hearts, people who have been taught to grow up with gentle touches of their soul.

Yes, I’m in a hurry, I’m rushing to live with the intensity that only maturity can give.”

The second author, Rachel – who writes as Finding Joy on Facebook, inspired me as she wrote about longing to counsel her former broken self, saying that though the path would be hard, brighter days lay ahead.

I knew brighter days would eventually come to me, while still in the depths of anticipatory grief as a caregiver. I knew the price would be paid of having even harder, gut-wrenching events happen first – thus, making the hope of joy almost shameful.

Creating as much light during the dark-yet-blessed days of caregiving and pushing myself forward through the time of abject grief, I held onto the hope of brighter days ahead.

Now, I can fully write my former shell-shocked self, saying:

Dearest Self-

Your journey is about to get more challenging than you can even imagine, but fear not!

You are blessed with enough strength, faith, family, friends, and seemingly random connections that will pave every step of this journey.

The more you let go, the more will be given to you.

Continue to do your best, be your best, and reach out to the best.

Like a fine piece of metal being hammered into shape, every blow, every challenge will shape you into a more beautiful vessel than you could ever have imagined.

There will be times when you will need to just lean into the suffering, sadness, and challenge.

At other times, you will find the strength to say “Stop” to the downward pull of negativity so that you can push forward – maybe not even knowing why/how/or where you are going – and you’ll be able to feel the sunshine once again on your face.

While you will wrestle with impatience to be whisked through the Valley of Despair, you know fully well that timing is Divine. Delay often means that lessons are yet to be learned.

Each lesson prepares you for success in the next steps you desire.

And that which you desire will be out-shined by the reality of the full manifestation!

May each of our foodtalk4you readers take some moments to reflect on last year’s blessings and know that we can identify with your anxiety, cares, and concerns.

We often resolve one set of issues – only to pick up new ones along the way. But …

Reflection can yield a healthier view with a very comforting perspective.

Have you started your Blessings Jar yet? Read more about this HERE. With link to 3rd post for 2021 re blessings jar and word of the year.

Maybe you, too, could write your former self a letter of encouragement.

In health for the New Year-

Deidre

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Anti-Inflammatory Foods, Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Stress Reduction

Echinacea is The Powerhouse!

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Is your body feeling challenged?

Have you ever crumpled on the couch after a day that has taken a toll on your limited energies only to feel – how shall I describe this – a bit challenged? Maybe there’s a feeling niggling inside that says, “Whoa! I might be sensing something not good starting to happen”?

Whether we are experiencing good stress – called eustress – or bad stress, the toll on the body is often the same.

Factor in our increased holiday activities, and there’s a recipe for being more susceptible to colds, flu, and the like – not to mention COVID.

Elderberry

Whenever I am feeling overly tired, challenged, or have that niggling feeling, my go-to is echinacea or elderberry.

The coneflowers of the echinacea plant may grace your garden with their stunning beauty and variety of color options. It’s long been used by Native Americans for its medicinal properties when taken internally or used on the skin to treat wounds.

Before you dive into using any form of echinacea, please check out THIS POST for vital information about precautions, interactions, and dosing. All medicines started out in nature – just because we can get them over the counter does not mean we should casually use them on our own.

Echinacea

Echinacea as an anti-inflammatory agent helps to support proper immune function. Its antioxidants bolster our immune response. It is not a treatment for COVID.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) indicates that many studies have been done on echinacea’s use with the common cold and other respiratory tract infections. This is what I am trying to ward off or lessen when I turn to echinacea.

I have also discovered elderberry syrup can be helpful in boosting my immune response, so I have added it to my ward-off-getting-sick arsenal by either preparing a cup of tea with one dropperful of an echinacea or elderberry containing extract OR by chewing up five Nature’s Way Esberitox Chewable Tabs.

This is anecdotal evidence, but when coupled with a smart approach that includes –

Respecting my body’s messages to slow down

Getting adequate sleep

Eating real food with no additives

Maintaining modest exercise

Then I can successfully keep the wolf on the other side of the door, and can wake up with stable energies and no more niggling feelings of impending badness.

Taking a couple days of down time to catch up and recharge before continuing our vacation explorations – this time in the mountains –

In health –

Deidre

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Blogging for good health!, Exercise, Habit Building, Stress Reduction

A Holiday Challenge

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We are all familiar with the dietary temptations of this holiday season – starting with Halloween and culminating with New Year’s … or the Super Bowl … or maybe Valentine’s Day.

That’s at least four months of over-the-top sweets, fat, and decadent beverages. I’m letting St. Patrick’s Day slide because it features corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes – well, there is the beer.

I have compounded my personal challenge of not going crazy with holiday food by also being on the road visiting family for Thanksgiving and then vacationing for over two weeks. Yikes!

There is no way I want to re-lose those 25 pounds I lost over 6 months on Noom. No, siree!

My companion and I have met the challenge, not through denial and lack of participation in the local culinary and beverage scene, but by sharing a generous app or meal, doing lots of tourist-y walking to take in the magnificent views, and in eating at least one meal prepared in our micro kitchen each day.

A few bananas, apples, and a jar of peanut butter go a long way to save money and calories on breakfast. Using the microwave in our lodgings, I’ve added bowls of steel cut oats to the morning menu.

The one day, so far, which we each had our own meal, leftovers were kept and enjoyed the next night.

This approach to holiday/vacation eating seems to be working. My slacks are still quite comfortable to wear and there are no bulges.

Yet, we have marveled at the divine wonderfulness of our shared bowl of oyster “stew” – which looked like an oyster version of she-crab soup – as we tried not to audibly sigh with too much delight.

How are you managing your holiday eating? It does take some pre-planning and commitment, for sure, but blood sugars and waist sizes can be maintained.

Enjoy the holiday decorations

In health-

Deidre

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Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Stress Reduction, This -n- That

Great Expectations Ahead

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Can you feel the rise of expectations during the holidays – especially since it’s our first fully-vaccinated and “boosted” holiday season since 2019?

We have GREAT EXPECTATIONS!

It’s a hallmark version of life we may long for, but the reality of changing circumstances may give us something less than what we had envisioned.

Should we feel like failures? Maybe we’ll just let the holiday season slip right on past and pretend it never happened.

Every religious holiday I can think of is centered around the theme of love – giving it, receiving it, revering the gift of love, and being inspired by it. Most secular and national holidays recognize love and gratitude in some way.

Halloween may be the exception, however; but it does highlight a love of candy, having fun, and all things pumpkin.

So, are all the Hallmark accoutrements of over-the-top decorations, festivals, and parades just so much window dressing?

Like the famous Wendy’s commercial of old which asked, “Where’s the beef,” we might be asking, where’s the love?

Our social calendar may look a little empty due to infirmity, circumstances, moving, or a host of other reasons. There may be a little less to work with this year.

But it’s not the window dressings  we remember or hold in our hearts – it’s the love and how we felt.

The memories that last are the songs our hearts were singing at the time – love songs of joy, warmth, and care.

The theme of changing expectations to focus on the love – instead of the window dressings – is reverberating more and more with many of us.

Gathering a few of the many decorations from my home of over 40 years to my nascent home in another town, I kept repeating my new mantra of “expectations” to adjust what environment I wanted to create and WHY I felt it was important.

I did not need the full Hallmark effect. What I needed was the LOVE.

May we not lament the things and experiences we do not have.

More than ever, we need to rejoice in the loving relationships we are nurturing. Strengthening the loving bonds may look a bit different again this year, but the resulting full hearts will forever be warmed by something that endures, crossing distance, time, and space.

With love and appreciation for each foodtalk4you subscriber –

Deidre

#RAISEcaregiving (ACL’s official tag for RAISE activities)
#CaregivingInCrisis (CAN’s 2020 observance)
#NFCMonth (Annual observance hashtag)
#FamilyCaregiver (A larger conversation on family caregiving) 
#Caregivers (Broadest conversation around caregiving)
Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Stress Reduction, This -n- That

The Power Of A Word

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Harnessing Power

We talk a lot about nurturing others: Encouraging our children and grandchildren saying, “You can do this,” “I believe in you,” “You have all the skills for success,” and the like.

Are we doing this for ourselves?

Or is our inner conversation more like, “Well, that was dumb,” “I knew you’d fail trying that,” or, “You’re not smart enough/thin enough/fast enough/rich enough/young enough/old enough to succeed”?

We’ve explored self-talk before on foodtalk4you, and readers continue to print out their copies of affirmations offered on our home page. Those affirmations, which have helped me in the past, are more faith-based and perhaps – more generalized.

As I study the writings of Louise Hay and Jennifer Teske, I have come to appreciate a different sort of affirmation that speaks to my inner self – the very core of my self-worth and abilities.

Letting the words of these affirmations by Hay wash over and filter through me, I am being transformed and empowered from the inside out.

I’ve come to learn, the subconscious mind accepts things at face value – much like we did when as babies and children. We accepted the things we experienced and were told were true. Those early messages of love and acceptance – or mistrust, lack of love, and self-doubt – became our view of the world and the blueprint for self-talk throughout life.

Louise Hay takes the listener through paired statements aimed at addressing the way the subconscious mind thinks. More than, “I am good enough, just as I am,” which the subconscious may reject as a false belief from early experiences. Her tandem affirmations also include, “You are good enough just as you are,” which is aimed at leaving an acceptable truth in the subconscious.

Listening to such affirmations feeds the non-judgmental and accepting subconscious mind. There are times when the inner self needs a boost of self-worth messages.

When was the last time you believed that you are worthwhile and deserved to be happy? Or that you were loveable because you exist?

Even if we have been behaving in ways that are unlovable, reminding ourselves that deep inside we are loveable, can inspire a change in attitude and action.

What if you were to internalize the message: I experience love wherever I go/ You experience love wherever you go? Perhaps you would come to greet each day in expectancy of positive experiences and love. With such an outlook, you would find love wherever you go.

I am at peace within/ You are at peace within. Enjoy a non-puffed-up boost in self-worth and being grounded by listening to such inspired affirmations.

Leave your thoughts and comments with me by clicking on the comments link at the top. If you found this post helpful, please use the MORE button below for sharing options.

  • #RAISEcaregiving (ACL’s official tag for RAISE activities)
  • #CaregivingInCrisis (CAN’s 2020 observance)
  • #NFCMonth (Annual observance hashtag)
  • #FamilyCaregiver (A larger conversation on family caregiving) 
  • #Caregivers (Broadest conversation around caregiving)

In health-

Deidre

Blogging for good health!, Stress Reduction, This -n- That

November Is National Caregivers Month!

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Honoring Caregivers … I’ve come to call it Soul Work.

Caregivers do a lot of it. The grieving do it. Those suffering from the PTSD of having been a caregiver do it.

Guess, we all do it at most any stage of living on this beautiful blue orb.

It’s the process of figuring things out, releasing past hurt and pain, to take ahold of the present moment.

We cannot grab the life we are living today if our hands are full of stuff from the past – so, yes, we all do soul work.

This month, we recognize family caregivers who are juggling a mind-numbing amount of mental, physical, and emotional issues each day.

The last two years have been a challenge – at best – for most of us, and simply brutal for caregivers of loved ones.

Caregiving is isolating enough without the added constraints of a global pandemic. To go through those years that I did previously, but in the present time? No thanks.

So, what do we do to help the caregivers in our community?

  • Send them a card every so often.
  • Call them.
  • Get vaccinated and masked so you can more safely visit them and their loved one.
  • Offer your vaccinated and masked self as a fill-in so they can step out of the house for a bit of exercise or for an errand.
  • Offer to do some chores so they do not have to.
  • Drop off a meal so they do not have to cook.
  • Help them contact their local Area Agency on Aging in the United States to make sure they have the resources they need.

This month, I have lowered the price of my book, Toolkit for Caregivers, to make it even more affordable to those who are caring for loved ones. It is a great gift to a caregiver to show them support when you can’t be there.

Please reach out to a caregiver near you to offer a lifeline. Every little act and deed go a long way to keep their heads above the raging sea that threatens to drown them.

In health-

Deidre

  • #RAISEcaregiving (ACL’s official tag for RAISE activities)
  • #CaregivingInCrisis (CAN’s 2020 observance)
  • #NFCMonth (Annual observance hashtag)
  • #FamilyCaregiver (A larger conversation on family caregiving) 
  • #Caregivers (Broadest conversation around caregiving)

The MORE button below will let you share this post with your friends. It’s also an excellent time to start gift purchases for the coming holidays. Why not go to this link HERE and get copies of my books for your friends and loved ones.

Blogging for good health!, Exercise, Stress Reduction

Creative Movement

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Pizza and Pipes, Santa Clara, CA

It all started with a nice, big pizza. I lived in Sacramento at the time and had the high metabolism of youth.

Ah, those were the days …

There was a new place in town called Pizza and Pipes. Not the smoking kind of pipes, but those associated with a BIG pipe organ. Yes, there was a massive pipe organ inside, with a zillion pipes placed around the walls to surround the patrons with sound.

Pipes from the massive organ

Dining there was a memorable experience that culminated each night in the organist playing, J. S. Bach’s, Toccata and Fugue in D Minor.

Oh, my!

He let all the stops out, and our pepperoni vibrated in jubilation!

Fast forward to present day, when I am seeking inspiring ways to change my exercise routine; pizza is a rare – now gluten free – treat, and I have learned about the benefits of creative movement.

That’s right. Creative movement. When you let the music speak through your body; inspiring original motions prompted by the tempo, lilt, and quality of the sounds.

Maestro Grant Llewellyn

Maestro Grant Llewellyn’s Enchantment of the Elves, mentioned in a previous post, is a gentle pre-coffee wake up for movement and stretch.

Later in the day, however, Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor has long been a favorite for a full body workout.

Standing in the kitchen, it’s so easy to be carried away through bends, stretches, dips, squats, kickbacks, arm circles, and other movements that fit what this genius music is telling me.

Maestro Grant Llewellyn’s Enchantment of the Elves

When a larger space is available, I can use my gymnastic-inspired tool to keep ribbons suspended and moving through the air as Bach’s melody rises and falls.

Now, that’s an aerobics workout that will challenge you.

Constructing these ribbons was enjoyable for me and could become a fun family activity for you. Follow these steps to create colorful ribbons suitable for exercise.

Exercise Ribbons

Supplies

  • Doweling that feels comfortable in the hand – I used one with a 5/8-inch diameter. Doweling is available in craft and hardware stores.
  • Sandpaper
  • Craft paint
  • Eye screws
  • 5-foot lengths of 1 1/2-inch ribbon

Method

  • Saw doweling into 6-inch lengths
  • Sand all surfaces of each length
  • Paint all surfaces using craft paint – two or three coats of paint may be needed, lightly sanding between coats
  • Screw in an eye screw into the center of one end – one on each piece
  • Tie on about 5 feet of colorful ribbon
  • Head out to the backyard to jam with your music.

Get your heart rate up; increase your ease of motion and let your spirit soar. A pair of these would make a thoughtful, affordable, and helpful gift.

In health through movement-

Deidre

#RAISEcaregiving (ACL’s official tag for RAISE activities)

#CaregivingInCrisis (CAN’s 2020 observance)

#NFCMonth (Annual observance hashtag)

#FamilyCaregiver (A larger conversation on family caregiving) 

#Caregivers (Broadest conversation around caregiving)

The MORE button below will let you share this post with your friends. It’s also an excellent time to start gift purchases for the coming holidays. Why not go to this link HERE and get copies of my books for your friends and loved ones.

Blogging for good health!, Stress Reduction, This -n- That

Zentangles

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Trick or Treat?

Welcome to the world of tangling! In this world, you will doodle your way through Cantebrands, Auras, Dexes, Dewdrops, Hollibaughs, Poufs, and my two favorites, Dingblatz and Dingsplatz creations!

Are you feeling like a wizard costume is needed? These terms I’m learning about sound like a Halloween story or something from Hogwarts.

Costumes are optional for this world of organized doodling that I recently discovered through my friend, Mary, who shared her first foray into this art form:

This method provides the soothing mental and emotional benefits obtained through creating easy artwork, by taking all those thoughts and emotions darting around our brains and replacing them with learning how to use simple steps for creating elaborate drawings.

I’ve shared my story here, and in my book, Toolkit for Caregivers, about how using adult coloring books helped ground my jumbled thoughts and emotions during the challenging years of caregiving at home.

This artform may be even easier and more portable than adult coloring because the required supplies are small and few:

Tortillons
  • Super fine-tipped pen
  • Graphite pencil
  • White graphite pencil
  • Tortillons for blending
  • Small squares/pieces of drawing paper

These supplies can be conveniently tucked into a simple zip bag and taken wherever you go – as opposed to my array of 100 colored markers and full-sized coloring books previously used.

Besides, how cool is it to use a “tortillon”?

After googling Zentangle, I landed on a one-stop-site that has enough information and how-to videos to last me a long time: HERE. Video #023 guided me along a restful journey to complete my first drawing:

I will tweak the kind of paper I use, perhaps – it’s no big deal – and I am looking for a brighter, white pencil to increase the depth of field and general sparkle.

This is a thoroughly satisfying and absorbing experience for all ages, and the therapeutic aspects of this activity did not disappoint.

Whether you desire an escape from stress, or are looking for something better than another reality show on TV, entering the world of Zentangles falls into the realm of TREAT at Halloween or anytime.

Please share your Zentangles with us through comments and share this post with your friends by using the MORE button below.

In health-

Deidre

Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Stress Reduction

Mindful Eating

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Yeah, yeah, yeah – mindful this and mindful that … give me a “mindful” break.

Ever thought that?

With visions of people in a lotus position – “ohhhming” – all day, I frankly didn’t used to understand what mindful really was.

A little enlightenment – pun intended – helped me appreciate how “mindful” has supplanted so many other words:

My Noom experience since February of this year has lead me to more than just a 20 pound loss in weight; it has opened up a world of understanding and mindfulness in countless aspects of my life.

With holiday and special event eating temptations already calling to us like sirens from the deep, a reminder about the whys and wherefores of eating could do us all some good.

Fuel Eating

According to Noom, there are four kinds of eating:

Fuel Eating – When we are seeking food that will “do my body good.” Think clean protein, veggies, fruit, high fiber starch – without added fats and sugars.

Joy Eating – When foods delight our palate and soul. For many of us, this kind of food has become very different from foods that will, “do our body good.”  Sure, it might be great to eliminate such eating, but realistically, it’s going to happen. Just make sure it’s not more than 10% of our consumption.

Fog Eating

Fog Eating – This is mindless grazing and munching on whatever is around. This can be easily controlled and modified by eliminating candy dishes, junk food cupboards, and replacing what is available with healthier alternatives. Asking ourselves why we are eating – being mindful – may reveal a lack of hunger (fuel needs) so we can remove ourselves to do another activity while we’re fogging-out. Think a walk to the mailbox, playing with the dog, or taking a few minutes to move and stretch.

Storm Eating

Storm Eating – Results from a psychological response to a situation, or from food denial. Think eating to excess, knowing you are doing it, and then beating yourself up about it later. I have found that eating a consistent diet of fuel foods, coupled with mindful and measured joy foods on occasion, help lower any desire to this, “I don’t care, I’ve been good too long and I deserve to go off the deep end,” kind of eating altogether.

So, WHY are you eating and what can you DO about it?

Being mindful-

Deidre

Blogging for good health!, Habit Building, Stress Reduction

Plan Ahead …

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If you’ve ever done lettering, created a greeting card, made a poster, or anything that requires planning prior to execution, then you’ll appreciate the this well-known poster.

That’s what I’m doing right now. Planning ahead. Writing posts for Foodtalk4you several weeks in advance. Why? Because of superb efficiency? I wish.

I am struggling, even now, with a limited bandwidth. Each of us has a finite amount of energy… bandwidth … focus. Yes, there is a limit as to how many plates we can keep spinning up in the air at one time.

First, I am in Grandma heaven! Even before I get to hold my new granddaughter and marvel at her every breath, movement, and glance. I am floating on cloud nine! As I write this, it’s hard to focus, and it’s been less than a day since her birth. Of course, that was a few days ago now.

Second, I must stay in one piece as I drive to see her and return home. My cloud nine brain needs to concentrate on the Interstate.

Third, relationships need time and attention.

Fourth and fifth, I want to focus on revisions and additions to both Toolkit for Wellness and Toolkit for Caregivers – which is going to require massive concentration and commitment.  

That leaves the sixth, learning the ins and out of putting both books in an audio format.

So, dear readers, let me ask you a few questions as I ‘plan ahead’: What wellness issues would you like to see amplified, changed, or addressed in a future version of Toolkit for Wellness?

If you have experienced an improvement in your health/wellness status from ideas you have implemented after reading Toolkit for Wellness, would you be willing to share?

The revised Toolkit for Caregivers will have expanded discussions about caregiver emotions, keys for resilience, how to transition away from caregiving when your loved one improves, and grief after caregiving. What other topics about general caregiver issues, (not specific to a particular disease), would you like to see?

Would you be willing to share any helpfulness that Toolkit for Caregivers has given you or to someone you have given the book to?

Please leave your thoughts, comments, and suggestions with me at deidre@toolkitsforhealth.com. Thank you so much!

In health-

Deidre

Shhhhhh! Baby’s sleeping ….

As always, please click on the MORE button below to discover all the options to share this helpful article. And to my dear readers in Poland, feel free to translate and share with your friends!