Does anyone else have Heart Failure here?

springlering62

The advertising agencies do a stellar job in telling all of us we are not enough, all the time. I think all of us are brainwashed with this BS. Is this absolute truth? Of course not! Why wouldn't we be enough? It does not make sense to me.

I read an article by a millennial yesterday talking about how much anxiety social media caused her, from worry about lines in her face, to “mewing” (good lord. Look it up.) to subscribing to creams, red light masks, stickers that list the forehead, special workout programs for every single individual part of her face, the list just went on and on.

I was appalled.

She was really unloading, and seemed so utterly invested in it.

I’m so tired of hearing about Martha Stewart’s bathing suit cover, analysis of who’s had the latest work done, Pamela Anderson not wearing makeup (day-um! I haven’t worn it in years. No one celebrates ME), Kim Kardashian heroically riding a bad-foot scooter in a dress that plunges below the handlebars and stiletto heels.

And that’s just the Apple News headlines. I’m about to cancel the subscription. I only got it for the magazines I liked. Seems so much less wasteful than a shipping a paper one, but I find myself mesmerized by this crap and never get to the mags section-except on a plane.

If you block one “news” outlet, it shows up in another. It’s like whack-a-mole. I subscribe to the news FOR the news, dangit!

Sorry to vent in your thread.

Yes we ARE enough!!!!!! I’m so sick of having other people flung in my face. Do more! Spend more! Spanx this! Skims that! Hair restoration oil for you! Spray paint you face! Don’t spray paint your face! Sheer tits blouses! Barrel jeans! Skinny jeans! Mom jeans! But act fast, they’re selling out because JLo or Katie whatshername wore them!

Who ARE these people who are clamoring for this?

We’ve entered an era of quivering, cowering insecurity, and everyone is waving their open palm in our face.

kiteflyer105

Sometimes the news cracks me up. I wonder who cares about so and so's every move. I don't. Even CNN is more entertainment news now; that is disappointing. Sigh.

All the companies are predatory capitalism at best. We have to think critically what is best for us, our wallet, and financial future.

springlering62- Your post made me laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. I hope you celebrate yourself daily.

I remember being a teenager obsessed with make up and the fashion magazines. My mom told me to get over myself when I told her I had wrinkles at age 18! I would study make-up techniques and turn the Victoria's Secrets catalog upside down to look at how the make up was applied.

Now, I sincerely gag over how some of these influencers are walking advertisements over items we don't need to live a quality life. Most of it is overconsumption.

I thought this was important to share...Being in shape is far more crucial for a long, healthy life than being slim.

That’s the conclusion of the largest, most comprehensive study yet of the relationship between aerobic fitness, body mass index and longevity. A review and analysis of reams of earlier research, it found that being out of shape doubled or tripled the risk of dying prematurely, whatever someone’s age or body mass index.

On the other hand, if someone had obesity but was aerobically fit, he or she was about half as likely to die young as someone whose weight was normal but their aerobic fitness low.

“This tells us that it’s much more important, all things considered, to focus on the fitness aspect” of health and longevity “rather than the fatness aspect,” said Siddhartha Angadi, an exercise physiologist at the University of Virginia and the study’s senior author.

The study, published in November in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, adds to the growing research that people can be healthy and live long at any weight if they are also active and fit.

That message may be especially timely now, as New Year’s resolutions are in full swing, since the findings suggest even a little exercise could be enough to improve our fitness and drop our mortality risk, whether we gained pounds in the last year or not.

kiteflyer105

This post is not about weight loss, yet it is about releasing a different type of mental weight, stress, and anxiety, Recovery is in many areas. I am picking up the pieces of my life from the heart failure. Eventually releasing my extra belongings will assist me in weight loss. I won't feel so heavy and weighed down.

In my downsizing process, I am unpacking my belongings from a move in 2023. I have really started to gain momentum and earn the progress of decluttering. This feels good. I am looking at it as a maturing process. I want to get rid of the mental clutter in my mind. Peace, calmness, and relief is what I am focusing on and striving for.... Unfortunately, it has been a process to get to this point. I was not prepared emotionally for the vast range of emotions to feel. I backed off a bit to process my emotions and start again.

Now, I know why on "Hoarders" they don't want to release the excessive amount of belongings. Starting this process is incredibly hard yet doable. I am encouraging the lurkers to get at it. Lol. Anyone can do this. Sure, certain parts of it absolutely do suck. It is nothing we can't overcome. I am feeling more positive about it, since I worked through a lot of my overwhelm and anxiety about releasing 90% of it.

I think my intentions are also to be kinder to mother earth without overconsumption anymore. I use to have a horrid shopping addiction to fill some sort of void inside myself. I realize I don't need that anymore to feel whole.

I watched a video about our US trash dumps. It was disgusting to see how we all contribute to it.

I am disturbed about the amount of brainwashing to buy the commercials are responsible for...every holiday is about decorating. They already have items out for Valentine's Day and St. Patty's Day, just non-stop consumerism in a capitalistic society.

It is very strange, when I was in my shopping compulsion, I was too into the shopping cycle, or close to it to see the reality of it all. Wow. What a wake-up call!

The biggest change I have made is not buying something every day, Now that seems so unnecessary. My no buy January is going fairly well. I caught a nasty cold.

I was very upset when I had two shoe boxes of medicine that had all expired. This is a friendly reminder to check your medicine.

My office is finally very clean and 2 desks are spotless momentarily, ha ha. I feel so much better without all the excess. I feel light, airy, and free. If you have clutter, I encourage you to tackle it.






Truthfully, I am not exercising with a cold. After it is over, I will get back at it. Downsizing has enough physicality in it. I just want to breathe normally again.

Good luck all. Hope your January is going well.

springlering62

I know what you mean about feeling lighter when things are gone.

When I was sorting, digitally saving and tossing the giant mountains of paper and old photos on the snow day, I ran across a pile of letters I got from the dog back in the day.

I know where the rest of them are.

I’m planning to organize and scan them by date, write a forward, and print them in a book for the grandkid(s). I looked it up and you can self publish a large book (350 pages) for about $50 a copy. That’s well worth it to me.

My dad was a brilliant, funny writer. The dog had adventures, advice, jokes and more to share. I got a letter nearly every week for years. Maybe I’ll have a surprise bestseller lol.

I am pleased to start going to drawers and closets and finding them mostly empty.

I’ve started having nightmares about my collection, though, the one that takes up utility room, a quarter of the garage, a huge closet, and many cupboards and drawers. I don’t know how to get rid of it, and am emotionally attached to it. It was a large part of my life- like you say @kiteflyer105 , it was part shopping addiction, part gambling (slipping in a winning bid at the very last second, I was expert at that), competitiveness (to have the “best collection in the world”)), part sheer acquisitiveness and greed. I’d like to keep about a dozen favorite pieces, and find someone to take the rest.

I’ve got to get over the “sunk cost” mentality. What I sold back in the day paid for what I kept. It’s worth some money, but I have not got the time nor the patience to sell the thousands of pieces individually. A museum wants to cherry pick it, but I’d selfishly like it kept together. Although I know in my heart, anyone I give it to will cherry pick and sell the rest. Maybe I’ll contact the museum again.

It’s no longer a joy. It’s a burden and weight around my neck. Hahaha. That’s so appropriate.

kiteflyer105

It is horrifying when you go to resell your belongings what others will pay for them. I am at the point where I want to donate where someone can get use out of them. I don't have the time or the patience to try to sell it on Facebook Marketplace or Ebay.

I know many people quit their exercise/ diet programs in the first 3 weeks of January. I remember at the gym the first 3 weeks was crowded, then nothing.

I refuse to quit on myself. Learning to produce positive results in rebuilding my body has been interesting. I found a college indoor track that I can walk around for free once I feel better. I'm leery joining the gym with all sorts of viruses around, not everyone cleans the machines. I think I contacting this virus from pumping gas and not sanitizing afterwards. I always wipe off my shopping cart.

It takes perseverance in adversity. Learning to do it when I don't want to is key for results. Hope everyone else is meeting their goals. I can't believe January is almost over with. I set quarterly goals to meet. I know consistency is hard for most people, at least at times it is for me. Keep it up warriors. Fight for it. You won't regret it.

kiteflyer105

Hello. This cause is near and dear to my heart. Pun intended. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States.

https://www.awarenessdays.com/awareness-days-calendar/heart-month-in-the-usa-2025/#:~:text=What is Heart Month 2025,that support cardiovascular well-being.


This February is Heart Month 2025. On this Friday, 2/7/25, is Go Red Day a month-long initiative focused on heart health and cardiovascular disease prevention. It aims to educate individuals about the importance of maintaining a healthy heart and making lifestyle choices that support cardiovascular well-being.

The best way to prevent CVD is to maintain a healthy lifestyle:
Quit smoking
Eat a heart-healthy diet
Exercise regularly
Manage blood pressure and cholesterol levels
Lose weight if overweight or obese
Get regular medical check-ups

I have been slowly building my resilience. Moving more, just having a "normal" routine is somewhat harder than I thought to build. My sleep is getting more regular. That is a win. My nasal infection is over with. We had a snowy January, so I am ready to get back to it.

This week: I bought different types of primrose (red, fuchsia, and yellow) to put around the purple violets. It livens up the room for sure and makes it more cheery. In the Daisies, we will be earning the courage and bravery badge (a red badge). The ladies will decorate sugar cookies, frost them, and have a choice of many sprinkles Valentine's colors. I will teach them about how fear is meant to move through us, not stay. We will learn a meditation and read the book, "Giraffes Can't Dance" a book by Giles Andreae. Then on Friday we do a dance to the song "Happy" by Pharell. It should be a reminder to celebrate life.

When I was dealing with my Heart Failure at it's worse so far, I thought," I am going to die, and there is so much I didn't do." I want to encourage everyone to attack your bucket list.

Take action even when motivation or confidence wanes or just isn't there at all. I wasted a lot of my life waiting for the motivation to come. Most of the time, it did not. For me, it is motivation is fleeting.

I am taking a break from this board to deal with my mental health; I will be back in the Spring.

Happy Valentine's Day and take good care of yourselves. Peace.