Tag: health

The Little Mermaid Returns

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I’m sorry for the lack of blogging yesterday, I was reading the amazing Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls which I can’t wait to review because it was absolutely incredible. I’ll leave you with that because that’s for another blog completely. I wish I was writing to tell you about a new Ariel film, because that would be one of the best pieces of news this year. The mermaid I’m talking about is me. I don’t have flippers but as a kid I might as well have done. My poor Dad spent hours and hours trying to teach me how to swim on top of the water but I just never liked it. Instead I would race around the bottom of the pool getting as deep as I possibly could. So when I started only swimming under water as well as the singing thing and being obsessed with Ariel my nickname came about. But what does that have to do with today?

Today, something awesome happened. After three months I finally got to go back to the pool. I wasn’t going to initially because it was rainy and a perfect book day but then I remembered how upset I got yesterday about my weight gain and decided I’d try and go for a swim. I was beyond nervous and had these terrified thoughts that I’d end up trapped in the pool because I wouldn’t be able to pull myself out at the end (as you can tell I’m writing this and don’t seem traumatised, I was able to get out). As you can imagine my swimming costume was a little bit more snug than I’d hope but it’s to be expected.

I got in the water and …

‘ the little mermaid animated GIF ‘

Ok, so maybe it was that glamourous but the point is I finally got to swim again! I could only manage 25 minutes instead of my normal hour but I did it and even though I left fairly sore and absolutely exhausted (oh and accidently grabbed someone in the pool…) I just had this huge smile on my face as I left. I felt like my body was working with me for once instead of against me. I may have come home and had to lie down and fall asleep for a few hours but it’s a start. My back isn’t feeling it’s greatest right now but I’m pleased that I got those 25 minutes and even a go in the wave pool (very therapeutic).

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Absolutely exhausted after, but smiling! 

I’m really hoping this is the start of a good week and trying to combat my lows. With a day to myself tomorrow, work Tuesday, another unplanned day Wednesday, band practice Thursday and my sister coming to stay from Friday I’m going to be pretty busy. BUT! Don’t fear about the blog I have a lot of ideas and plans to keep you all entertained. I also want to thank all the great bloggers I’ve been talking to lately, you’re all amazing!

Until tomorrow guys!

I miss fitness! My thoughts on ‘being brave’ and keeping going.

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Now I’ve said before that I’m not a health and fitness fanatic. If there was an option between a healthy snack and something covered in chocolate I’d bite your hand off for the chocolate. I made some healthier choices this year, I walked to uni most days (unless it was a Thursday morning, early starts after a late night are not a good idea), I swam occasionally and for the first time in my life I embraced a sport and did it every week. I’m also stubborn and have a rebellious streak. Normally if someone told me that I wasn’t allowed to ride I’d prove them wrong and get on, going twice as fast. I can’t do that right now.

To say that all this stress hasn’t been easy is an understatement. It’s not in the way that people see it. I keep getting told that I’m brave, that I’m so inspiring. To be honest I find it incredible that people are so sympathetic to me fracturing my spine but 6 years of mental health problems didn’t get any cards or bravery speeches, but that’s another blog post. I mean yeah I suppose to other people they really can’t imagine just getting on with life after breaking a vital part of your body, but do I feel brave? No. I just feel like I’m getting on with it. It’s something I spoke to my parents about the other day after people were told about me and just were amazed. It was nice and they were lovely people but I just said to my parents, wouldn’t everyone just get on with their lives? Apparently not, but I was raised to just battle on through.

So after yesterday’s post it’s clear that I’m still up and down, still getting there. Today a low decided to hit. I think it’s post festival blues, combined with stressing about the future and being tired from my back pain. It was relatively normal stuff and I wasn’t miserable or ‘meh’ all day, it was more when I was alone. I realised that the things I’d normally do when I feel bad, I couldn’t do and it just made me want to curl up under my duvet and cry. I didn’t. I finished the book I started reading last night and spoke to a few friends.

I never realised that exercise was something I’d miss, but then again I suppose you don’t until it’s something that you can’t do. I want to do some sit ups to get rid of a little excess weight, I want to sign up to gym, run around with the kids at work, swim without worrying I won’t be able to get out of the pool. Hell I’d like to be able to have a bath without worrying that I will get stuck!

The one thing I have though is writing, writing this or songs or fiction. I have to get out of the clouded stage before I can write anything but I can feel it lifting more and more as I type this. I am struggling a little bit with my exercise and little walks to clear my head. I suppose it’s one of the biggest challenges to my mental health it’s all the things I’d usually avoid. If I try and search for a positive in all this I suppose I can see that I’ve been there once and even though I’ve spent a good amount of time on my own, I’m currently missing my friends like a limb and I deal with physical pain every day I’m getting through it one day at a time.

I know this is a long blog but I can almost bet anything that someone out there will read this and understand. That someone will understand the both freeing and unnerving feeling that I have to go through this low without my normal strategies. I’m ok though, really. I have a good few days lined up and for once I can remember that these lows don’t last forever.

Thanks for reading guys, as usual I’d love to hear from you. Oh! And thank you to every single one of you following me on twitter, another 100 followers in the past few weeks! It really put a smile on my face!

5 Confessions of all workaholics and how to beat them!

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Workaholic is a word that sums me up whether I like it or not, be it in my job, my course, my hobbies I work damn hard and sometimes forget that I’m not supposed to be working 24/7, non stop. I notice this more when I get told to stop tidying and just sit down doing something I like rather than cleaning or organising or doing extra reading. So I decided to write another one of those lovely lists but, well, a helpful one (I hope).

1. I over organise.

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No word of a lie my calendar is always jam packed, when it isn’t I feel a little odd. I try and over schedule my entire life. So after having something on every single night of the week ( any paying for it a little bit), I realised that this is one of my workaholic traits.

How I beat it: 

Making sure that if I’m planning everything I leave myself time to relax or do what I want. Of course right now with my spine I don’t have much of a choice, but I have learnt the value of rest. If you know you’re going to be busy make sure you also have some relaxation time planned too, even an hour or two. Trust me it’ll make you happier and healthier!

2.  I put a lot of pressure on myself! 

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I am a perfectionist. In uni, in work and in a lot of other things. Now I don’t have a pushy family, they’re happy when I’m happy. It’s me who puts pressure on myself to be the best of the best, get constant firsts and good results at work. Although it’s good to aim high, sometimes it’s absolutely exhausting!

How I beat it: 

This is possibly one of the hardest things to beat. It’s taking me a long time to accept that I don’t have to be perfect all the time, that getting a 66 instead of a 70 isn’t terrible. That not working every single shift at work doesn’t make me a bad worker. This goes hand in hand with planning me time so that I can accept and be happy with who I am.

3. I drive my friends/family/boyfriend crazy with things that aren’t happening for months.

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‘But these books have to be read in the next 6 months’- really NOT an issue

How I beat it: It’s good to have a plan but now I have a laptop I focus on the month ahead, not 6 months ahead and try and take it a little bit at a time without worrying about things to come. I write a to do list for the week and focus on that instead of whats happening in 3 weeks time.

4. Not sleeping enough 

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Not having enough time to sleep is a bad move! It will effect my mood, my appetite, the way I am around other people. All in all a lack of sleep is one of the worst things for me.

How I beat it: PRIORITISE! Make sure I know what needs to be done and what can wait until the next day. Also asking for help doesn’t show weakness it shows strength. When I really can’t cope and know in advance there is usually the option for an extension at uni and my bosses are there to talk to if I’m struggling and need support.

5. Not eating properly

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This happens to a lot of people I know. Personally I get so into a project or piece of work that I keep going and going until I physically have to stop. One of my first open days for work, I kept putting off my lunch break because I was enjoying the day so much one of the older girls pulled me aside and reminded me I needed to eat, no matter how exciting this all is.

How I beat it: If you’re in an office, make lunch plans with someone else in the office. If you’re at home maybe set an alarm on your phone. I’m the worst at forgetting to eat if I’m absorbed in something but these usually work! Another thing is have regular smaller snacks, sunflower seeds are one of my favourites or a good old chocolate bar. Remember your body is your machine! Treat it well because you’re going to need it to succeed in whatever you want to do!

As always I love to hear from you guys! So fellow workaholics, what are your confessions and have you found a way to stop/get around them? Let me know!

Should an NHS fee be introduced for all non UK residents?

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I was born in 1994, my birth (like my sister and all my cousins) was in an NHS hospital meaning luckily our healthcare came out of our taxes and mothers would not be charged for giving birth in a clean and professional environment. It came to my attention today that many other women can travel to the UK to avoid paying in their own countries. Some people would argue that women can go into labour early and I understand that part it’s not a fault of the women if they go into unexpected labour! However there is a much more sinister side to this, I found out today that anyone can come to the UK and receive free medical treatment. There are a lot of people who are travelling to the UK to gain access to our healthcare system while unfortunately we are paying the price.

In latest news the British government are proposing that in order to enter the UK you must pay at least £200 towards healthcare costs. In my opinion I do not feel this is enough, £200 is not a lot in the case of many treatments and appointments. When you can see the strain that the NHS is under at the moment I wonder why this hasn’t been done long ago. To travel to other countries from the UK you must have travel insurance and to move to countries like the USA or Australia health checks and travel insurance. I cannot even begin to understand why we are not stronger on this! We can’t simply keep giving to everyone else and watch our country crumble around us. It is not only healthcare we are far too free in many ways, benefits for example are another problem.  Some people are calling this racist but I don’t see it that way, people should come here either with money or job prospects just as we are expected to when visiting/moving other countries. 

For once I think this government has a point (and I am not a fan at all normally). There has also been a call for NHS ID cards, also not a bad idea (although I may lose one because I am hopeless with cards). It has also been made clear that in the case of emergencies people will not be simply turned away they will be treated (STI’s will also be treated to stop any infections) so it is not unreasonable. I feel that this could be a good idea, we should not try and stop people from moving into the UK. Some of our greatest doctors,nurses,lawyers etc are from other countries and some of our brightest students, however we must be as strong other countries in this situation. 

 

I need to point out that in this blog is all my own opinions. 

Thanks for reading! 🙂