Why does life have to get in the way?

KnitOrMiss

Anyone else notice that just about the time we hit a good stride in whatever the heck we're working on that life tosses something in our way?

Maybe an appliance goes out.
Maybe we need a new tire.
Maybe we realize we have a ton of food we can't eat.
Job change.
Job loss.
Relationship troubles.
Financial Troubles.
Another health issue
Struggles with kids - health, development, maturity, attitude, whatever
Weight gain without explanation (or hell, with it for that matter)
Death in the family
Etc.
Etc.
Etc.

It always seems that as I finally get my act pulled together in one tiny area, at least three others fall apart! I'm trying to keep the faith, but sometimes it is hard. How do you manage to keep sane?

C

maoribadger

I take happy pills...

KnitOrMiss

LMFAO - Happy pills is what my guy calls my birth control pills - because if I keep taking them, we're both happy... LOL

I was on antidepressants and antipsychotics off and on over the years while doctors tried to identify my mental malfunctions. I'm off them now and have been for a number of years. I do find my mental levels far more stable eating this way, but I don't have underlying chemical (verified) conditions, either.

carimiller7391

I, like Lise, take happy pills. To keep me sane, I just keep plugging along....one meal, one minute, one day at a time. If I consider that the DUMB METAL BOX hasn't budged in over 2 weeks, I'd get frustrated and graze all day long. So I keep tracking my weight daily, but not pay all that much attention to the numbers on that DUMB METAL BOX. I feel better than I have in ages, getting compliments, more energy and great labs. I'm doing what I know I need to do to get the weight off. I'm still having troubles here and there, but logging my food, makes it easier to see the hicups in progress. Where I need to reel myself in, and where I can let myself go some.

KnitOrMiss

DMB, I love that, @carimiller7391‌ . I'm totally stealing that... But too, I find that weighing daily removes the obsession for me (I know that for some, it is the exact opposite), because I can see that some of the trends are seemingly random (just things we don't understand) and only look at the bigger picture!

NorahCait

Seriously, though, it feels like I'm always juggling all these balls, and I'll be doing okay for a little while, but then another ball gets added and I drop a bunch of the others. I often think of this comic: http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/06/this-is-why-ill-never-be-adult.html

I also take happy pills, but they just manage to keep me mostly functional. When it comes to keeping all those balls in the air, at this point, I've just accepted that I max out at a certain level, and every now and then, something has to drop off for a bit. I try to be conscious of the fact that I'm making a choice about what falls off and remind myself that by not picking it back up, I'm continuing to make that choice every time I pass up the opportunity to restart it. I think in some ways, that makes it easier for me to pick things up eventually, because I'm not necessarily making the choice to be perfect always forever, but I'm just choosing to do it that moment, and I can either keep making that choice or choose differently as needed.

Maybe not the BEST strategy, but it's working okay for me at the moment. A big problem I have is beating myself up about things, so this strategy keeps me from doing that a little bit.

(Coming back to MFP, for example, is something that I chose to do today. I've been choosing to step back on this for a while because I've been busy with family/school/work/wedding things, but I miss this part of my life and it makes me feel better, so I'm here today).

KnitOrMiss

@NorahCait I LOVE that flowchart! That sums it up completely.

That its a great strategy! We all have those things/moments.... I'm going to try to incorporate this more...

And sometimes MFP is the only thing that keeps me sane! MFP is my happy pill. LOL