The Christmas Blahs....

celeste2u

I have had a December from hell. It seems like this happens every year. Last year my mom had a hip replacement at the same time that my sister gave birth three months early. December is just not my month.

This year has not been as stressful, but I am still dealing with alot of very emotional very stressful things. My ex totally destroyed my daughter's self-confidence over a hair cut. Now, I found out my estranged father is in ICU on his deathbed. I am not sure how to react to this news. Being a very caring person, I want to run to his bedside, but I can not risk letting him back in. Our relationship is very troubled.

I am finding it difficult to continue to work out and eat healthy. I want to lose weight and I want to be healthy. I am finding that my mind and body are not matching up. I want all of these things, but I can not find the energy to do any of it. I can barely keep the laundry done. I am falling apart.

I am in desperate need of encouragement and motivation. Please help.

michelleinpa

Food won't help - totally the truth. In addition, if you turn to food - you will also feel bad that you did on top of all of your other issues. So many of us have "stuff" - I am very sorry you are having a bad time (specially with the daughter/ex issue - i can SO relate). Just try to stay focused on the many blessings you Do have - this is a time of year to truly reflect on the positive. No matter how far you are on your healthy journey - this year - YOU STARTED. Not that it will make all of the "stuff" go away - but it will reinforce your own feelings of strength and accomplishment.

Hug your daughter, let her know that you think she rocks the hair. Let her know that men (sorry guys) can be morons about these sort of things. Then, hug yourself - cause you CAN stay strong and get through this with grace. I can also speak about the estranged father issue - Going to see him in the hospital does not have to equal letting him back in and it might offer you some closure. As a grown woman, you can dictate any terms you like once he has recovered.

jkestens63

I'm sorry to hear about your troubles. We never want bad things in our lives but sometimes they seem harder around the holidays when everything is supposed to be "merry &bright". However, have to try and keep in mind that no matter what we weigh, stressors will always be in our lives so we have to learn how to deal with them. Food didn't cause the problems, so eating is not going to solve them. If you gain 2, 5 or 20 lbs because you didn't follow a path that was good for you, the situations still won't have improved. However, if you stick to a healthy plan of eating right and exercising, that won't solve the problems either but you will probably feel better in general and you won't have made things worse.

I hope this helps and good luck to you and yours.