Holiday Stress Tips

The holiday season is right around the corner and for some people the stress is too. There is a great article by the APA, it reminds us that stress leads to the unhealthy behavior. My favorite part:

“Take care of yourself — Taking care of yourself during the holiday season helps to keep your mind and body primed to deal with stress. Pay attention to your own needs and feelings. Engage in holiday activities that you enjoy and find relaxing. Exercise regularly. Eat healthy. Make sure you get enough rest and sleep.”

Taking care of yourself is key. Don’t forget to give yourself a moment to do your Egoscue workout, you will thank yourself later for it!! Happy Holidays!

Read the Whole Article : Holiday Stress Tips

[Via http://palmbeachegoscue.wordpress.com]

Draw Close to God

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. (James 5: 7 & 8 NIV)

In serving those with Chronic Pain through ministry I have noticed that this is the time of year that so many get depressed and down. The holidays are are fast approaching us. Money may be short. Memories from the past that are painful may be haunting, or some have relationships with family or friends that are in dire trouble.

Where does one turn to in a world such as we live in today? With the economy the way it is and the news broadcasting sadness, crime and the lack of peace… one may have the tendency to be down and feel a lack of hope.

Dear friends our hope is in the Lord. When we draw nigh unto the Lord He has promised us in His Word that He will draw nigh unto us. We must resist those things that fill our minds with trouble and turmoil because we know they are not of God.

Leave God’s Word sitting near your favorite chair and every time you feel a negative thought of lack or fear… pick up your Bible and let it speak to your heart. God will speak to you through His precious Word. He will comfort you and give you peace in times that are troubling, and through your physical and emotional pain.

Let us look forward to the days and holidays ahead, being thankful that we have a God that loves us and cares for us, a God that will never leave or forsake us.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pastor Nancy Dittert (Founder of Fibro/Chronic Pain Support Group Ministry) lives in a Berm home in rural central Iowa with her husband & soul mate Patrick. Nancy lives with severe Fibromyalgia, Absence Seizures and Neuropathy. She is still actively involved as a Christian freelance writer and works full time in Chronic Pain Ministry through the Internet. Write Nancy at… nancierose@msn.com and visit her Chronic Pain Web Site at… http://Fibromyalgiahelp.homestead.com/index.html

it's ironic: invisible disease, invisible people & social networking

i found out i had fibromyalgia over a year ago… i started reading books and attempting to learn as much as possible, yet after a year has passed, i feel like i was not taking in as much information in as i should. in the last four weeks, i have learned more than in the entire year, not by books or doctors, but by social networking.

my name is “my foggy brain” and i am a fibromite. i have the “invisible disease” noone wants to believe and noone can see. the strange thing is, social media, by definition is “the unseen”. it is virtual. it is facebook… it is twitter… it is blogging. so i remain “invisible”. i remain invisible by choice. i admit i am new to this. i have only been doing the fibro twitter and blog thing for a month so maybe there is a time when people get together. i’m not sure if i’d be up to doing that… i mean by definition, we are a group of people who don’t travel well. i can’t fly and can’t see a time when that would be a good idea. i can’t ride in a car more than 45 minutes without major pain. soooooo where and how would a “tweet up” happen? don’t get me wrong here… i was just sitting here and found it ironic. invisible disease/ invisible people.

i have been doing the social networking thing for a long while now, i have two twitter accounts (probably not such a great idea for someone who can barely finish a sentence… but i digress). i have an account just dedicated to my fibro friends and it is the best thing i could have ever done. very focused, provides me great information and the people… the people are GREAT! the level of support that the people provide to each other is so nice… i would have never thought it would be so nice. it is like a 24/7 support group. i totally underestimated the value of twitter in this respect. i am kept completely up to date on the latest and greatest news, medications, therapies, etc. AND provided wonderful support… AWESOME!

with my blog… i love the comments. it’s nice to know i’m not alone. i have been reading other people’s blogs and it’s been inspiring… so many people are suffering from fibromyalgia and feel alone and many don’t have a lot of support. it’s hard to read, i want to reach out and jump through my laptop and help. this condition is so tough… it affects people in so many different ways…  the worst part about it to me is that it seems to affect people who in the earlier years were HIGH HIGH HIGH performers. people who went out of their way to help others and were always  doing too much and basically burned out their bodies. now when they need help, they don’t have a support system. just doesn’t make sense.

what do you think?

btw… if you want to follow me… i am @myfoggybrain

thanks for reading! stay cool!