anxiety

Week 4 – Friday Fitness and Weight Loss Update

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I’ve just reached the end of my first full 4 weeks on my fitness and weight loss journey! I’m proud to still be writing these updates, and it’s my intention to continue to do so, no matter what my weekly results. Those following these e-mails have seen me consistently lose weight since I started this. Well, this week (or at least half of it), I encountered some challenges that I didn’t have (or barely had) in weeks 1-3. Below find this week’s results, as well as some reflections that I’m sure many of you can relate to. Continue reading →

Seemingly small trigger, but big panic

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panic scream

I have had issues with anxiety and panic attacks at various times of my life. It either comes with my bipolar disorder at times, or is a separate mental health issue. My panic attacks can be brought on by what may seem like nothing, or at least seemingly small triggers. And panic attacks can easily breed more frequent attacks. Scientists believe this may be part of the “kindling effect”. The kindling effect (originally applied to epilepsy, but now also applied to bipolar disorder, addictions, and even other mental health issues) is where with each episode of the illness, later episodes become more likely and more severe.  It can sometimes be difficult to finally break the cycle of kindling. Continue reading →

From Easy Bake Oven to eternity

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From Easy Bake Oven to eternity collage

Julia Child sums up what I’ve learned over the years about cooking, that “The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.”  I can relate to that, especially now. Continue reading →

Not everything is a symptom (speaking to myself and others)

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via Daily Prompt: Symptom

magnifying-glass-1607160__340

This is about misjudging symptoms of many sorts.

I think it is common with some illnesses to often think everything you feel is a symptom of the illness. I can see that with people who have heart disease, perhaps thinking that innocent heart burn is a symptom of their heart disease. In the case of bipolar disorder, many people with bipolar disorder having a burst of energy or even an especially good day wonder “Am I getting manic?” Perhaps sometimes it is an early warning sign, but other times it’s just within the normal range of experience. Continue reading →