The Power of Positivity

debrasue said:

Good for you, Anna - you got this!!!

Click to expand...

Absolutely me! Rofl

I bought some summer bulbs and tubers today and instead of leaving it till later to plant them I got on with it and got them all planted this afternoon

Hopefully the rewards will be nice

debrasue said:

I'll bet they'll look amazing, and hopefully you'll post some pictures of them to spread the joy when they bloom!

Click to expand...

Spring bulbs planted just after we moved in have come out

We heart you too Debra xx

Went for a quick walk this afternoon... saw a chap tidying his front garden. First time I'd seen him.
Shouted across that I lovdd his hellebores.
He asked if I wanted some.
So an hour later I returned with him with loads of hellebores and snowdrops and miscanthus!
Did a swop for a saracocca that he had never heard of or smelt.

Met someone totally new and a lovely chap just from admiring his garden and being brave enough to say so.

Some lovely people.. gardeners and dog walkers are always the friendliest of people!!

I am so grateful for being bold enough to say hello and give admiration to others!!

Hi @Contralto

I'm not sure I can do the subject of mindfulness justice in a few words, but I'll try. It's hard to explain because the exercises involve changing the way we look at the world in order to focus on what's happening right now. We naturally think about the past and all the things that are going to happen in the future: we often give little attention to the present moment.

It's noticeable when we do focus on the present, perhaps when we're so busy on one task that we shut everything else out (don't hear people talking, the phone ringing immediately or whatever). It's what sports people try to achieve when they talk about "being in the zone".

What's this to do with pain? Firstly, we have to let go of why we're ill, what caused it, what we could/should have done to avoid it, why we didn't deserve it etc - that's all in the past. Secondly, we have to ignore the future: how our illness may get worse, pain may increase, treatments may fail, complications may develop - all things that may/may not occur. Our focus has to be on this moment in time (which could include pain right now).

I've found the audio tracks from the book/course on the web on SoundCloud.com - search for "Mindfulness for health". Here's the link to the first one "The body scan" to give you an example: https://m.soundcloud.com/r-tamuranovait/mindfulness-for-health-the-2

This should help you relax and make you aware of your body, but it won't help your pain. This next one "Compassionate acceptance" is designed to help you accept your pain with kindness and compassion: https://m.soundcloud.com/r-tamuranovait/mindfulness-for-health-the-5

Other exercises are as simple as making a drink of tea/coffee as you normally do, but actually pay attention to what you do, during each step of the process. Something so simple that we do everyday on auto-pilot means we normally think about other things, so this time, focus on the making the drink only. Assuming you're using a kettle, watch it simmer then, boil; watch the steam begin to rise from the spout and see if it makes patterns in the air.

Another exercise to get you to focus is simply to sit outside and watch the clouds go by. It's hard not to daydream as our minds naturally want to wander.

The course teaches that you can control your mind AND your mind can control your pain (to an extent), and it details the science to support this. Basically, my understanding is that with chronic pain we get stuck in a "feedback loop" where the inflammation or whatever generates pain signals to our brain; our brain responds to the pain, but whereas a cut or a burn will eventually recover, the chronic inflammation etc keeps signalling more pain. Our brain eventually comes to expect this chronic pain and this expectation makes it worse than the original pain. You can train your mind to focus on the pain and effectively "turn it down" (but not turn it off).

I was sceptical, but it has helped me.

For clarity: I have no links to the book's authors: there are hundreds of books on mindfulness, this was recommended to me and it's specifically for pain relief.

At hotel and relaxed...

Positivity:
1st time long distance of 40 miles by self.
1st time in 18 months I have now got some courage to go to two important appointments by myself.
Mobiles!! Hubby will ring me at 4am and 6am to do my jabs!! !!
Hotel brilliant. Had 2 gorgeous walks around the grounds today.
Bath in hotel was wonderful scalding hot water!!

Feeling calm and brought my 2017 positive journal to do tonight to keep me occupied.

4 hospital appts this week.
One down, two tomorrow and my final one back here with hubby on Friday.

Positive... I am the first at my hosputal to get a Guardian Connect Sensor at my afternoon apot tomorrow!!!

Everything so far is +++!!!

Mindfulness is definitely positive focus with self and life!!

And it works!!

Well done @donnellysdogs! After achieving all of that the next few days will be a breeze You are in our thoughts today

@donnellysdogs Have a lovely time in your hotel and I hope your hospital appointments go well.

All went well!

Positive is that I managed everything by myself!!

I now am the official first patient to have the new Guardian Connect CGM from my hospital! All connected up and its going to make my life so much better.

It was also a lovely hotel. The best...

That is good news S What's going to be your next challenge?

Well done @donnellysdogs

Today I was feeling fit and well, the sun was shining, I'm able to finish work early, so I took my dog for a long walk (by my standards): I felt it did it us both good!

I'm celebrating lower BGs again after two days of intense effort, upped my exercise - walked 8.5 miles on one of my afternoon walks then for 4 miles on second afternoon. Fasted yesterday, one bowl of clear soup plus water and tea - voila! fbg 4.9 today and dropping bgs yesterday. I think that I've found a solution for the days that I can't eat low carb. I know from past years that meds aren't the answer for my type 2 and not anywhere as effective as diet so, hurrah! I feel positive about dealing with the IBD alongside my type 2 again. And I'm meeting my best friend for coffee today also. Yaay!
Happy Thursday everyone