Month: December 2017

Here I Go Again

As I write this, today is the last day before I begin doing Optifast again.  Where I live, there is a weight loss clinic that offers two similar programs – Optitrim, for those wanting to lose less weight, and Optifast, for those wanting to lose a larger amount of weight.  My husband and I did Optifast about 3 years ago and had very good success with it.  I lost over 80 pounds, and we got engaged shortly after we completed the program.  After a year, we were still doing well, got married, and then I got pregnant pretty quickly after that.  For me, that was the beginning of regaining all of what I had lost plus more.  Sure, some of it could be attributed to the pregnancy, but now I have a toddler and the weight is still there.  For me, it is time to get back on track, so Optifast is what I have decided to do.

Optifast is medically supervised, but it comes with some definite caloric restrictions.  I’m honestly nervous about how it will go this time around.  Will I be able to lose the weight again?  Can I be as successful?  Will I be able to do it with a toddler around who is eating normal food?  My husband may also do it again, but he is not going to start just yet, so will I be able to watch him eat?  I know it is going to be a lot different than 3 years ago, and I know I am going to have to have a lot more willpower.  But, I know I have to try.  I know I need to lose some weight and get healthier again.  There are so many important reasons to do it, and I am looking to those reasons to get me through.

So, we’ll see how it goes.  To me, getting started is usually the hardest part, so hopefully by the time I post this things will be right on track.  Here’s to getting healthier again!

Down Time

As I write this entry, we are the beginning of a short work week, well, at least for me.  I only have to work three days, and then I get a four day weekend for the Thanksgiving holiday.  It hasn’t always been this way.  When I worked in hospital pharmacy, I frequently worked a lot of holidays and weekends, and a four day weekend was pretty rare.  I’m still not too hung up on whether I would have to work the holiday or not, but what I wouldn’t want to give up is the consecutive number of days off in a row.  I mean, four days in a row?  It’s a beautiful thing that my recent Monday through Friday day jobs have given me when Thanksgiving rolls around.

That being said, what I am really looking forward to is having some additional down time.  Ahhh, that elusive time to decompress and relax.  My hope is that in those four days I will get to do some really laid back activities – watch some TV (which I do little of these days), take a nap, watch a movie, have decent and lengthy conversations with people, do something creative, play a game or two (even though I am very picky on what that is), slowly enjoy a glass of wine…I’m sure I could go on.  Now, I do have a toddler, so that list might have to be modified a bit, but hopefully some of that down time includes my little one relaxing as well.  Also, I have worked really hard to clear my calendar as much as possible for this long weekend.  There are a few things to do, but for the most part it is optional.

How about you?  Are you getting a long weekend soon?  If so, how do you plan to unwind?  My hope is that everyone has chances for down time throughout the year, but especially around the holidays.

Leadership

I have recently received the honor of being elected as president of a state board that works on issues related to mental illness.  This will be for 2018, and I am looking forward to collaborating with many people to help with education, support, and advocacy around mental illness.  The great news is that there is a lot of momentum and passion, and I can’t wait to see what progress we make in the coming year.

That being said, I am now a formalized “leader”.  What exactly does it mean to be a leader?  What exactly is leadership in the first place?  There are definitions out here, but I think leadership is defined by each individual.  To me, leadership is about setting an example and creating a vision.  It is about speaking up and asking questions.  Essentially, to me, everyone is a leader, whether it is a formalized position or not.  In my book, anyone who tries to persuade or guide or work with anyone is a leader.  And, I think it is safe to say that most of us fit that activity.

Broad definitions aside, I am spending some more time reflecting on my formalized role.  What exactly do I envision for the organization?  What examples do I want to set?  How do I want to speak out more for mental health issues?  How can I make more connections so I can ask more questions and work on more solutions?  There is a lot of work to be done, and my hope is that by reflecting on these questions I will be better able to lead in the next year.

How about you?  In what ways (formal or informal) are you a leader?  What does being a leader mean to you?  How can you better exemplify what you think it means to be a leader?  I think these are some great questions to consider as you reflect on how you are a leader.

Suicide Survivor Day

As I write this entry, we are getting closer to Thanksgiving.  This means that we are also close to another date that has taken on a new meaning in my life over the last 5 or so years.  That day is International Survivors of Suicide Day, which is always held on the Saturday before Thanksgiving.  The name of the day pretty much gives away the fact that it is a day for survivors of suicide to remember the victims of suicide.  Sadly, this is a day that is being observed by more and more people every year.

While for a few years I actually attended scheduled events for the day, over the last few years I have not done so.  But, regardless, it is yet another reminder of what my family has lost.  Although not the only one I have lost, I definitely think about my dad the most on this day.

What I have really been thinking about lately with my dad is all of the earthly things he has not been here for.  I have been saddened thinking about how my dad would have loved spending time with my husband.  In fact, I joke that I would have had to talk to my dad about making sure I had time to spend with my husband!  I feel that my dad would have had him shooting, hunting, and fishing all of the time.  Then, with my son, I can’t even imagine.  He would be at our house all of the time and would want nothing more than to hang out with his grandson.  I get sad thinking of how fun it would have been to see them together.

And so, the loss of my dad (or the loss of anyone) is not really a one time event.  It is something that continues to bring you loss at different times and in different ways.  International Survivors of Suicide Day is another reminder of that loss, but it is also a way to help give some meaning to it.  So, if you are survivor of suicide I encourage you to look into this day and find out more.

Cryotherapy

Not too long ago, my husband and I participated in a silent auction.  One of the items up for auction was some free cryotherapy sessions, and we put a bid on that item because it sounded interesting.  We won the sessions, and now we have finally had the chance to try it out.

To begin, cryotherapy is essentially “cold therapy”.  Very cold temperature exposure is used for potential therapeutic benefits, and although I don’t know much about the entire area, I know that there are different types of cold therapy out there.  For example, I have heard about people taking really cold showers or immersing themselves in ice water baths.  And, while some of that sounds horrible to me, what we did was different.

Our session was pretty short compared to other therapeutic sessions.  While massages, acupuncture, and so on might take 30 to 90 minutes, our cryotherapy sessions were 2 minutes.  Our understanding was that the maximum you could work up to was 3 minutes, and after the session I could see why that was the case.  Basically, we stood in a tank (our heads were above it) while cold air surrounded us.  And it was cold – not painful, but it really took my breath away several times.  And, as I discuss this I want to mention that there are many contraindications for this therapy, so it certainly is not for everyone.  Also, even if you are ok to try it it may not be of interest to you.

My husband and I are going to try it again, but I don’t know if I will do any more after that.  I feel pretty wimpy about cold, so even with such a short exposure I’m not sure how often I would want to do it.  However, I encourage everyone to at least learn about cryotherapy and see if it might be beneficial for you.

Simplifying

Much earlier in the year I wrote about organizing.  In that writing I discussed how each month of the year we were going to pick a few rooms to focus on, so by the end of the year we had at least went through everything once.  So far, that is going ok, but I am feeling that sometimes I am just going through the motions.  Am I missing something that would make organizing more purposeful?

Then, I began to think about it.  Organizing is not the same thing as paring down or getting rid of things.  You can have a ton of stuff, and you can have it organized very well so it is easy to get to and is nicely stored for safe keeping.  But, until you start eliminating things, or processes, or unnecessary steps, you are not simplifying.  So, a question you have to ask yourself is this:  is my purpose to organize what I have, simplify what I have, or both?

Another word that sometimes gets thrown into this topic is minimalism.  Like the word implies, it is an idea that you live with less things, less activities, and so on.  Minimalism can include simplifying, but if you simplify something it doesn’t have to mean you are a minimalist.

So, after having these thoughts I realized that I am organizing most rooms but I am not getting rid of anything.  Organizing can be a good thing, but ultimately I would love to be able to get rid of things that we don’t need.  I think that we have tried to do that when we are going through rooms, but it doesn’t seem to happen very much.  I am hoping that as we move forward we can focus on eliminating stuff, and then organizing what remains.  To me, that would make for a more efficient use of our time and resources.

Helping Everyone

Lately I have been feeling overwhelmed by all of the issues in our world.  Things like homelessness, human trafficking, illiteracy, hunger, domestic abuse, child abuse, and many others make me very upset, and a lot of times I don’t know where to begin.  I am sure I don’t even know all of the issues out there.  How am I supposed to be of service in this world when there is so much work to be done?  What are the most important one(s) to focus on?  What kind of impact can I have?

I think it is really easy to get paralyzed by this – there are so many causes that I want to help, but I can’t help them all.  I am trying really hard to focus on a few areas, namely mental health, but even then I get distracted by everything else that is in our world.  However, this afternoon I had an insight that has really made me feel better about being able to help a wide variety of people.

The insight was that if I really thought about it, mental health touches every person in the world.  As a result, by working on mental health, I am also touching issues such as homelessness, human trafficking, illiteracy, hunger, domestic abuse, child abuse, and so on.  Ultimately, all of these issues are interrelated, so I actually do get a chance to help with them all.  I realize that it might sound highly idealistic, but this has given me a lot of comfort as I try to be of service in the world.  Overall, I feel that by helping with one issue you are more than likely helping with them all.  So, all of us should be proud of how we serve others.  We are truly making a difference in many small and big ways.

Holidays

As I write this entry, it is the beginning of November.  Halloween has just happened, and the next major holiday for most of us is Thanksgiving.  However, the Hallmark Channel started playing non-stop Christmas movies on October 27th (October 27th!) and radio stations are also playing Christmas music.  I had a friend tell me that grocery stores were putting out Christmas candy on Halloween, probably because the main Trick or Treat night in the area was on October 30th.  To me, every year it seems that people want to start celebrating Christmas earlier and earlier, and honestly, it drives me nuts.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  I love the fact that we celebrate Christmas and Jesus’s birth.  That is a really big deal for us as Christians.  However, Christmas is a day.  And, a Christmas season is ok, but how long does that really need to be?  I tend to not get in the spirit until after Thanksgiving, and honestly even that may be too long.  I suppose it is an individual choice as too how long and how often you celebrate certain things, but the question must be asked:  if you celebrate Christmas for over 2 months, how special can it be?

And, another important question if you live in the United States – what about Thanksgiving?  I am certainly biased here, as Thanksgiving may be my favorite holiday.  But this frenzy for Christmas overshadows what to me is a beautiful holiday.  Taking the time to actually reflect on life and think about what you are thankful for?  Yes, please!  We should probably have multiple Thanksgivings every year!  Of course, this is where a gratitude practice can come in, but hopefully at least once a year people are thinking about what might be going well for them.

So, I challenge everyone to slow down and not rush into Christmas.  Whenever you want to jump into it, it will be there.  Don’t forget to enjoy things that are happening now and not in a few months.

Witch Hunt

I am writing this entry right around Halloween, so it seems fitting that I should talk about the “witch hunt”.  In our trip to the Northeast a few weeks ago we made a stop in Salem, Massachusetts, which most people have heard about because of the Salem Witch Trials in 1692.  Although the town is now basically a suburb of Boston, it was definitely doing its best to promote its history, especially during the month of October.  Unfortunately, this well-known history is rather sad, considering around 20 to 25 people lost their lives because of the trials.

Ever since we have been in Salem I have been thinking a lot about the trials and about witch hunting in general.  I have read about witch hunting through thousands of years, and I am saddened but also incredibly intrigued about why they happened.  There are, of course, many theories out there – changes in the religious, political, or economic climate at the time, questions about mental illness in the parties involved, and a need for control by certain individuals are just a few of the ideas put out for consideration.

All of these theories are interesting, but to me the mental illness question stands out because of my interest in it.  Were any of the people accused of witchcraft mentally ill?  Were any of the victims and/or accusers of witchcraft mentally ill?  Of course, it is hard to look back and understand how it would have felt to live in those times, but part of me thinks that some of these witch hunts involved some type of mental illness that was not understood at the time.  Of course, today we use “witch hunt” for a lot of things, and unfortunately some people still suffer as a result of them.  Are the mentally ill still targeted and/or a part of the accusations?  My guess is yes, and we need to better understand why and how it happens.  In general, it would be amazing to get rid of all types of “witch hunts”, but I especially would like to make sure that a person’s mental well-being is taken into consideration of the events at hand.