How do you keep positive about your life?

allergictodiets

I hate my life at the moment. Sitting home with a cold that won't bugger off. Now my DD got it as well. The neighbour next door is renovating so one can't rest because of the constant hammering and drilling ( it's been 3 months now like that with a short pause over Xmas ). I'm tired and cranky. I have troubles concentrating at work again. My endo found a nodule during the last check, she says it is "cold", but I'm scared of what the future may bring. I have tried meditating in the past but couldn't sit still. Yoga helps sometimes but I find it hard to find time for it ( in order not to gain weight I have to exercise a lot anyway ). What do you do to unwind??

RedBec7

I'm very interested in any answers to this question too. I'm not too happy with life right now either. I hit bottom over and over again and then pick myself up and try to regroup. But I'm really tired of living life this way. I'm at the mercy of my thyroid hormones and don't seem to have any control over them.
My doctor's latest suggestions were to meditate and avoid stress. Avoiding stress is not possible. Meditating and yoga just make me angry as I can't relax and shut off my brain. Work is a challenge with the brain fog and memory issues (really bad lately). I just wish I could stay in bed all the time.

mcamping

My doctor has me meditating as well. I can never find the time, so he suggested that I start a gratitude journal. Each day I have to sit down and write for about 20 minutes about one thing that makes me happy for the day. It helps to shut down the negative emotions for a while and forget about all the symptoms for a few minutes.

lindsey1979

I find guided meditation helpful -- you can find some that you can record and put on your phone. Or Oprah does a few good programs with Deepak Chopra. They tend to be 10-20 mins long and I find that much easier to follow than silent, mindfulness meditation.

I also find a gratitude practice really helpful -- writing down something I'm grateful every day really helps me shift my perspective when things are challenging in my life.

Lastly, for exercise, I personally like long walks and hikes. I love being outside and I happen to live in a rather pretty area (NorCal wine country) so even walks in the neighborhood are rather scenic. Just being out among the trees and sunshine -- even if a quick 20 min walk at lunch -- really seems to help my mood (in addition to any endorphins released from the exercise). I also have a treadmill desk at work and the extra movement seems to help a lot.

lindsey1979

I'll also add in baths when I have time, especially if I light one of my favorite scented candles, grab a favorite book and add magnesium salts to the water -- very, very relaxing and helps me replenish my stores of magnesium as I seem to always be deficient without supplementation (through salts or oral pills).

Fuzzipeg

I empathise with the building works. The council gave next door 12 months for the scaffolding when raising their roof it took 13 to see it gone. We had hammers and the like going well into the night as well as the rain run off because the slope was our way.

You could try a good massage. Before the "stupid stuff", salicylate sensitivity with chemical additions took over my life, back when I could go into our local town I used to visit a Chinese Doctor, she was brilliant. I felt as if I could sleep for a week when I left her office. I need to be brave and try to get back even with my masks. I read this morning, "life with chemical sensitivity is stressful, and the worst thing for it is laundry product because some of the ingredients are on dangerous chemical lists!!!! Thank you "thinkbeforeyoustink"

You could try vit c and vit d they may help.
Hope you feel better soon.

allergictodiets

Thanks everyone. I am going to see whether I can find a guided meditation that suits me - maybe it will help my brain shut up for a moment :-) A gratitude journal is a great idea as well - I am often just too concentrated on the negative things that happen in my life.

chiccam

Friends, positive perspective, pushing forward!!!
Been dealing with this too and reaching out to friends can help. It may be walking/running with a group of like-minded individuals or a book club. Make it something that you get up and get ready to do.
Staying in bed gets way too easy when we're hurting but usually has long term negative affects.
Meditation helps but that's super hard when you're down already. I just fall asleep .
Staying away from negative health information is a huge. If that's all we're focusing on no wonder why we feel like crap.