Hello!! So for a solid month I felt like I was completely slacking not only on Pacer, but on Duolingo, too. I was feeling super unmotivated and depressed and, damnit, I just didn’t feel like doing anything. But, now that I’m back to my normal, chipper, go getter self, it was time to get back on the horse and start making some progress again.
I’ve recently began working on my advanced French and beginner Spanish again and, I’ve got to tell you, it feels great. The mental exercise that I get from spending time with my languages daily makes me wonder why I ever stopped practicing in the first place, because I feel so good afterwards. In fact, it has motivated me to start practicing sign language again, which I took a hiatus from after having difficulty finding folks to practice with. Regardless of regular use or not, knowing a plethora of languages is an amazing skill to have, and I want to keep sharpening those skills on the daily.
I was halfway nervous to start practicing my languages again after a depression break, because I was worried that I had lost all of my knowledge in one short month. But, like riding a bike, I was able to pick up right where I left off and have since been enjoying every second of it. I’m proud that I didn’t let my anxiety about forgetting my skills get the best of me in regards to whether I should bother practicing again or not. And, even if I did forget anything, the worst that could happen is that I relearn something – and what’s the harm in that?
I’m getting back to feeling great mentally and physically after a rough past month and I am ready to continue making daily progress again just like in the good old days! đ
Are you learning a new language right now? Who else utilizes Duolingo? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
A study found that 63% of female participants identified their weight as the key factor in how they felt about themselves. Despite the rise of positive body awareness, such as Ashley Grahamâs #BeautyBeyondSize, thousands of women feel the anxiety to keep up with celebrities and social media. The good news, is that there is never a âbetter timeâ to start loving and taking care of yourself than right now. Hereâs how you can learn to overcome insecurities and love yourself:
Make Healthy Changes:
What better way to boost self-confidence than to achieve long-term goals. Rather than setting impossible goals such as âlosing 20 pounds in a weekâ or âachieving a tiny waist in three monthsâ, aim to start a new fitness routine and incorporate organic foods into your diet. When you eat right and exercise on a regular basis, your hormones will slowly fall into balance and help you to feel your best.
Consider A Makeover:
While a proper diet and fitness routine can help you lose the unwanted weight, thousands of women still struggle with extra baggage. Despite the âtabooâ of plastic surgery, 17.5 million procedures were performed in 2017 alone, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. If youâre tempted to get liposuction or a tummy tuck to reduce loose skin, youâre not the only one. In fact, nearly 2 million individuals opted for immense services like boob jobs, liposuction, and rhinoplasty. So, whether it is a total âMommy Makeoverâ or a simple lip injection, your plastic surgeon will guide you and address the most common body issues.
Of course, any kind of plastic surgery is not a decision that should be made lightly. There is always going to be a risk when you go under the knife. Before you schedule any consultations with a surgeon, it is highly recommended to read their reviews online. For example, enter a search for “liposuction cardiff” (or your local area) to see if former patients were happy with their results.
Always remember that there is nothing wrong with wanting to improve your appearance and using plastic surgery to do so. This is a topic that will always be somewhat taboo but if you feel confident about your choice then other peopleâs opinions are meaningless. The most important thing you can do is find an excellent surgeon to help you in the safest way possible so donât be afraid to shop around. Enter a search for âplastic surgery houstonâ (or your local area) and schedule consultations with as many practitioners as you need to find the best fit for you.
Dealing with the Root of the Problem:
We all have our moments of highs and lows, but whatâs important is that we see beauty in many shapes and sizes. So, to help you focus on dealing with what makes you feel insecure, you must first look at what triggers those emotions. Here are some ways to discover more about your interests, insecurities, desires, and most of all, yourself:
Writing a blog or your own personal journal about what you love about your body.
Stand in front of the mirror and look at yourself in a positive way. Like really look at yourself and voice out your favorite attributes.
Seek support from counselors, family, and friends to help you battle the insecurities and solve the underlying issue.
The reality is that no amount of diet, weight loss, or even plastic surgery can fix poor body image and low self-esteem. Those who struggle with negative body image must discover the underlying issues and learn how it is influencing the way that they feel about themselves.
Changing the way you look may seem like a tangible way to alter what you disliked about your body. But, the only way to heal from low self-confidence is to address the issues and face them head-on. Only then can you truly learn how to overcome your insecurities and love yourself.
Hello everyone and happy Thursday! This past month has been a total and complete shit show and, needless to say, my activity level has been pretty low. All of my motivation to make big gains on my pedometer app has essentially flown out the window, and I’ve been having a hard time peeling my depressed self off of the couch. So, my stats for the month are definitely not the best. đŚ
Total Steps: 959,262
Calories Burned: 23,591
Hours Walked: 148
Miles Walked: 315
And, to make matters worse, my activity level dropped from being ninety percent more active than the people using Pacer to a whopping forty-three percent. Whomp freaking whomp.
Now that I realize how low I let my movement get during my depression stupor, I am SO ready to get back on the horse and keep going until I start making good progress again. It’s going to be difficult, because I’ve been feeling so sluggish lately. But, once I get started, it will go back to being easier to get my 10,000 steps in no time. So, here we go!
How do you get yourself back on the horse after a stint with depression? What motivates you? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
In recent years, awareness of anxiety has come to the forefront. Aside from making you nervous, a full-blown case of anxiety can leave you on edge and unable to calm down. It feels as though youâre about to face something frightening every second of the day, and it can leave you on the brink of breaking.
If this sounds familiar, you should speak to your doctor and seek treatment which helps you to get on top of this. But, we aren’t focusing on treatment today. Instead, weâre going to address something few anxiety sufferers speak about: the fact that symptoms often get worse in the evenings.
In many ways, this seems strange. Surely anxiety should abate when you get home and let loose? But, often, the situation worsens once you get home. In many ways, this could be because youâre no longer distracted by work. As such, youâll feel the full effects of the condition. But, this is also, in part, down to how we spend our evenings – so weâre going to look at a few every day habits which can make matters worse:
The Television Trap:
While television usage has dropped in recent years, many of us still put the box on the moment that we get home. Itâs a comfort, and it helps a lot of us to relax. But, what you might not realize is that television can also boost anxiety in some ways. Even if you avoid anxiety-inducing programs, advertisements fill us with worries about what we donât have. They also lead to comparisons with those on screen. On top of which, television eats time like nothing else. It could leave you feeling as though your eveningâs over before itâs begun.
So, for at least a few hours, turn the TV off. Rely, instead, on board games like Scrabble. These still take complete concentration but without comparison. You can even avoid disputes by using tools like this word.tips word finder to check anything youâre unsure of. If that doesnât appeal, you could always turn to hobbies like reading or coloring to see you through. The chances are, that youâll feel much better after an evening of doing these.
Many of us also make the mistake of overthinking our days once we get home. And, we still wonder why we have anxiety-induced headaches by the end of the night. In truth, you should avoid thinking about work during your evenings. Draw a line under the day with a quick walk around the block or even a meditation session to ease your mind. Then, turn your attention to something else every time work crosses your mind. Getting this distance could work wonders for helping you to relax. Bear in mind that it may take longer to adjust to than you expect. After all, youâve spent years thinking about work all evening, every evening. But, if you focus your attention here, you could soon find that your mind is much calmer when you need it to be.
Helloooo! I hope that all of you are having a wonderful weekend so far. As you can tell by the title of this post, this will be my Final Therapy Update until I choose to go again. I was definitely on the fence about going to my appointment this week, and I ended up canceling it.
I just feel tired of going over the same things week in and week out, and I almost feel like being in therapy gave me an excuse to engage in risky behaviors like binge eating or drinking, because I could just talk about it at my next appointment. My therapy sessions were very helpful to a point, but I felt like the metaphorical wall had been hit, and none of the advice that I was getting was anything that I felt like I could utilize.
This is not to say that I didn’t like my therapist at all, because I really did. But, I also felt like she was trying to force a belief system on me that I was not comfortable with, and didn’t seem to have any other advice but that. Although I could totally research things on my own, I did expect to gain some new insights during therapy and, after a while, I just wasn’t any more.
If a mental rough patch comes up, I do plan on returning again so that I have a safe place to communicate my feelings. But, for now, I am taking my medication daily and seeing what I can do on my own to start improving things for myself.
Has there been a time when therapy has been helpful for you? What are some of your mental health struggles? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Hello! This past year has definitely been a struggle as far as my weight goes. As a recovering bulimic and a lover of binge eating, my weight jumped to a number that I was not happy with this year. My life has been extremely stressful, and binge eating did bring me a lot of comfort when I did it – but, the weight that I gained was totally not worth those before bed snacking sessions.
As someone who is recovering from an eating disorder, I had to *gasp* try and shed this weight the healthy way. And, let me tell you, it was a real bitch at first. From self harming to purging, my ways of feeling good were a quick fix. And, we all know that that isn’t what weight loss is in the slightest if you want to do it the right way!
I knew that I was making slow and steady progress as I attempted to complete 10,000 steps per day and work on my portion sizes during meals. But, I didn’t realize how much progress until I finally gained the courage to get on the scale, which is my worst enemy. I stepped on, took a deep breath, and was so happy to see that I lost twelve pounds!
I may not be loosing weight as quickly as I would like, but that doesn’t undermine my accomplishment any less! I am really proud of myself for actually doing this the “right” way for once in my life – totally self harm free. I am hoping that I can lose another ten pounds to get back to my normal weight in the next few months. But, for now, I am super happy with my progress so far!
Pacer Stats:
Days Active: 73
Steps Taken: 604,994
Calories Burned: 15,000
Active Hours: 93
Miles Walked: 200
(And, this is pre-written so the above stats are slightly higher!)
Who else uses a pedometer to help keep them active? What are your methods for losing weight? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Hi everyone and welcome to another week here on lifewithlilred! As many of you have shown an interest in my therapy journey, here is an update. Meh, it’s going so so. I feel like I have hit the metaphorical wall where nothing seems helpful and I’m running out of things to talk about. And, I’m getting frustrated with rehashing the same shit just worded differently all of the time.
I’ve actually been playing around with the idea of not going after the few appointments left that I have scheduled. But, I feel like that’s a bad idea. Maybe once every two weeks would be a bit better. I don’t know, it’s just becoming more of an annoyance than anything, and I feel like I’m getting even more pissed off by my weekly visits.
Obviously, there’s still a bunch of stuff in the ol’ mental health department that I need to work on, but I just feel kind of burnt out. Like I’m so micro-focused on it that it’s making me even more depressed, anxious, and just all around angry. I feel like I need a break. I guess that will just be something to chat about during this week’s session, amIright?!
Who else has felt similarly to the above during their time in therapy? How did you deal with it? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Hiii everyone and happy weekend! Ugh, I don’t know about any of you guys, but I have been feeling so blah lately. I am in the process of getting over a flu/cold thingie that lingered on with me for a week and am now just trying to get myself back up to snuff. I had hot and cold flashes, a sore throat, a cold from hell, body aches, and – to top it off – I was on my period for part of it! Could it get any worse?!
During this agonizing week, I had a really hard time keeping up with my 10,000 steps per day walking regimen because I was so weak. And, now, after a week of feeling sluggish with some movement here and there when I was up to it, I am left feeling so blah about everything. The way my body looks, how I’m still feeling the effects of the sniffles from this blasted cold, and my severe lack of energy. Could it get any worse?!
I know that these feelings will pass, and I have been trying really hard to get myself back on track with my walking. But, I am having a hard time shaking away the post sickness blues, even with the lovely weather that Ohio is finally having. It’s been a lot of going through the motions for the past week, and feeling self conscious the entire time, so I am definitely looking forward to feeling back to normal soon so that I can start enjoying my days again.
Has anyone else been dealing with the blahs lately? How do you combat the post sickness blues? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah
Is stress starting to get you down? Long-term stress can have lots of negative effects â it can damage your sleep quality, create achy muscles, make your skin more reactive to spots and rashes, raise your blood pressure, and bring on serious conditions such as heart disease and strokes. Taking steps to reduce stress could save your mind and body. Here are seven ways to counteract stress:
Take a hot bath:
Nothing beats a hot bath for helping you to relax. The hot water is great for your skin and can help your muscles relax, whilst pumping your body with feel good endorphins that help to rid it of the stress hormone cortisol. Itâs the best way to unwind after a stressful day.
Get more sleep:
A lack of sleep could lead to stress, which could be affecting your sleep, creating a vicious cycle. Going to bed earlier and catching up on sleep could help you to break this cycle and destress. If youâre finding it difficult to get to sleep, consider changing your bedtime activities â staring at bright screens or eating lots of food can make it harder for us to get to sleep, so quit these activities an hour before bed. You may also be able to up the comfort of your bedroom with better bedding, sleep-inducing scents, and black out blinds.
Listen to music:
Listening to music that you like can release endorphins that can help you to overcome stress. Studies have found that calmer music and classical are most effective at combating stress, however, louder music may appeal to some people â itâs all a matter of taste.
Exercise:
Physical exercise also releases endorphins that can combat stress. It doesnât matter what activity you do, so long as it helps to get your blood pumping, igniting those feel good hormones and flushing out the cortisol. This could be a long workout at the end of the day or a short five minute burst of HIIT when you donât have the time.
Book a holiday:
A holiday in the sun could be just what you need to get away from the causes of your stress. Hotels like the Fairfield Inn & Suites in Villahermosa could offer the spa treatment you need on a budget. Cut yourself off from work if you need to or take a weekend away without the kids and get some much needed R&R.
Have a digital detox:
Much of our stress nowadays is technology based, whether itâs work emails or social media pressures or simply the strain of having to stare at a screen all day. There are many resorts and hotels that are now being marketed for this purpose such as these retreats at Itâs Time To Log Off. Take a digital detox and watch your stress dwindle away.
Try meditating:
Meditation is also great for reducing stress and can be something that you can do at any time throughout the day. Finding some time to yourself, closing your eyes and freeing your mind of the things worrying you can help you to gain better perspective and reduce your cortisol levels.
Stress sucks. Take a deep breath, get yourself in the zone, and reduce your stress levels with the above tips.
One of the best things about life is being able to put ourselves first. Sure, it is always good to help others and ensure that our actions arenât negatively affecting the people around us, but at the end of the day, we need to live our lives so that they benefit us and place us at number one. By making sure we do what is right for us and making decisions that will benefit us and our life, we can then start to truly love ourselves and feel good about our life choices.
However, loving ourselves isn’t always as easy as it should be. Thatâs because it can sometimes be easier to find reasons to hate ourselves and put ourselves down. More often than not, this causes low self-esteem and poor self-confidence. Low self-esteem can have many negative effects, especially on our mental health. If we suffer with it for long periods of time, it can transform into anxiety disorders.
If you are suffering from low self-esteem, then you will no doubt be busy trying to find a solution to all of these negative feelings. Most experts believe that the best way to deal with any self doubts is to find the cause of them and tackle them head on. So, this begs the question: what are the causes of low self-esteem? Here are some of the most common ones and what you can do about them.
Bad relationships can be the cause of a lot of grief and heartache. Unfortunately, they can also often lead directly to feelings of self-doubt and low confidence. Not only that, though, but it can also cause issues with trust. When we enter into a relationship with someone, we put all of our trust into them. When they abuse this trust, we can often feel worthless and like our trust means nothing. However, that is very much not the case. The best thing that you can do in this situation, is to get out of the toxic relationship as soon as you can.
Even if you still love your partner, it is important that you remove yourself from the relationship so that your confidence and mental health isn’t damaged any further. Just keep on telling yourself that you deserve someone who truly loves you and wonât throw your trust back in your face. Donât forget that this toxicity doesnât only apply to romantic relationships. Friendships can often turn bad. If you think that your friends are bringing you down and causing you self-esteem problems, it could be a good idea to move on from them.
Some people struggle with their body image, and they find that their poor body confidence ends up dragging down their self-confidence as a whole. If this sounds like your main problem, then it is worth trying to change how you see yourself and working on improving your body confidence. There are a few things that you can do which will help this. First of all, you should stop comparing your body to others. We are all made differently, so there are bound to be lots of different shapes out there. And there isn’t a perfect or ideal one – that is just something that the media came up with to try and sell more gossip magazines!
As well as not comparing yourself to others, you should also ignore what the media has to say about body shapes and sizes. They only print what they do to sell more copies of magazines and newspapers, and get more clicks on their sites! One other way that you can give your body image a boost is to surround yourself with people who love you for who you are and who will fill you with confidence. If you find that the people who you hang out with are trying to get you to change the way you look or the clothes you wear, they arenât doing you any good and they certainly arenât your friends.
You arenât born with self-confidence issues. Sometimes, they come and go throughout life. Some women find that even if they were super confident throughout their twenties and thirties, once they hit middle age, they lose all of their self-esteem. And that is largely due to the aging process. No one wants to get older. Not only that, but many people find it hard to deal with the physical changes that their body undergoes as they start to grow old. So, thereâs no wonder that many people try to hide the tell-tale signs of aging, such as under eye lines and crowâs feet. If you find that you are feeling down about getting old, you might find that changing your mindset to a more positive one really helps improve your feelings and helps you come to terms with aging.
We all make mistakes as we go through life, but some of those mistakes seem to haunt us for longer than others. Having this guilt hang around our heads constantly can get us down and will eventually lead to very poor self-esteem. If at all possible, you need to shake away the guilt. One way around these negative feelings is to try and think of all of the positive things that came from making these mistakes. For instance, perhaps a particular mistake actually opened up some doors for you in your life and were able to bring you more opportunities. Plus, it is important to remember that mistakes can be learned from and help you grow and develop as a better person. Iâm sure that some good came from your mistakes. Focus on this positivity and forget about the guilty feelings!
What weighs you down? Most of us carry around stuff that we no longer need. Typically, people hold on to feelings of fear, guilt, worry, disappointments or regrets. Maybe we hold on https://t.co/WZcwqvJRSR#Therapypic.twitter.com/GCf8QvOona
Another problem that most people have to deal with is a self-imposed one. The majority of us set ourselves targets and goals in life to stay as productive and motivated as possible. Then, when we achieve them, we can feel proud and successful. However, it is very important that when you do think about our life goals and targets, that they arenât too big and unachievable. Otherwise, they will be impossible for you to reach, and you will end up extremely frustrated and unfulfilled in the process.
As a result, you may end up thinking that you are not really good enough. Eventually, those thoughts will lead to poor self-confidence and self-esteem. So, the best way to tackle this is to prevent these thoughts in the first place. Rather than setting yourself goals that are exceptionally high, you should consider reducing them to make them more achievable. That way, you can feel good when you work towards them rather than beating yourself up every time you fail.
Sometimes people go through traumatic life experiences and, even though they are able to make a full recovery, they are often left plagued by low self-esteem. The best way around this is to sign up for some therapy sessions. During each session, you will be able to speak to a therapist about your ordeal, and they will help you come to terms with any PTSD or resulting self-confidence issues.
Living life with low self esteem is no way to live life. Begin to tackle your issues and watch yourself blossom!
Smile!
#byebye
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Always try and make the best of the aging process!
Bullseye!
