If some little thing happens you're not apt to think much of it, right? But what if one little thing after another little thing, after another, and another happens? Do you tend to freak out a bit? You're not alone. At one point I had the following going on in my life:
- A blister on my foot
- An ornery knee
- An altered exercise routine
- A cat with allergies
- A husband with allergies
- Trouble sleeping
- Pesky cravings
None were that challenging to deal with individually, but add them up and, yep, not happy.
But, like it or not, life happens. Sometimes those little things just build up and up and up and you just have to take a breath and back away a bit. You're okay. These frustrating things will pass. LIfe will improve.
So, what did I do to defuse the situation? .
Blister: I went to the doctor--a few times. This wasn't just a tiny bit of skin knocked off the side of my foot. It was a big black blister courtesy of some new shoes. I always wear Band-aids on areas of my feet that are susceptible to blistering for awhile when I'm breaking in new shoes. This time that apparently wasn't enough. The shoes I'd gotten where slightly narrower than my usual pickings, and I paid for it big time. The wound wasn't infected--yet. That developed a bit later, but it began to heal, slowly.
Knee: I used ice and heat on it, plus massage. That worked out well. The pain was pretty much gone by the time I saw the doctor. I'd had knee issues for years, so I wanted to make sure everything was okay. In the past I'd hyperextended it while walking down a steep hill on vacation in Gibraltar. It didn't respond well to physical therapy or surgery, but within a month of starting to workout with a trainer in 2007 (6 years after the injury), I had no pain. I was sold on exercise after that, let me tell ya.
Exercise: At first I backed off from exercise to give my blister time to heal, even though the doctor hadn't suggested limiting my activity. The bandage was a bit thick to start with, so my shoes (the old, ratty ones I had attempted to replace with the narrow ones) felt kind of tight. I didn't want to make things worse. After a little break, I began exercising at home to DVDs. I didn't feel comfortable enough to walk outside. I didn't want to get a few blocks away and have my foot start hurting. Anyway, I'd just gotten to the point where I was walking more freely, when I started having spasms in m knee that traveled down into my lower leg. Lovely. Couched again. I was still able to do upper body exercises, though.
Allergies: We brought the cat to the vet, who put her on children's allergy medication. We have an enclosed outdoor yard for the cats so they can run around in the grass in safety, and the vet said she could go outside UNLESS she got worse by doing so. Well, guess what: She got worse. So she looked at us in misery as if to say, "What did I do wrong?" Poor girl. The allergies are still bothering her. Back to the vet we go. As for Jim, my hubby, he got the worse case of seasonal allergies he's ever gotten this year, and a chest cold on top of that. Over-the-counter medication, a lot of coughing and sneezing, and reminders from me to drink plenty of fluids and get enough sleep--it went on for weeks, but he finally kicked it.
Sleeping: I've been having sleep issues for quite some time due to menopause. It could also be hereditary. I was doing well if I had six hours sleep, that's how bad it was. Some nights I didn't sleep at all--literally. But I finally found the answer--reading. I read from 30 minutes to 2 hours a night--depending on how interesting the book is. The more boring the topic, the faster I go to sleep. Problem solved!
Cravings: I love chocolate. If it's in the house, I hunt it down and eat it. Since hitting menopause, my craving for chocolate has increased 10-fold, I kid you not. It's crazy! I'm a personal trainer, I live a healthy lifestyle, and I enjoy eating healthfully. But with menopause, all bets are off. Luckily this has improved over the last few years. It does get better. In the meantime, I keep healthy snacks available, give myself a bit of chocolate, don't punish myself if I have more chocolate than I should, and use exercise to keep my stress level down.
Do your best to find solutions to those little nuisances that get on your nerves. Some problems might take longer to resolve than others, but work on them bit by bit. It's better than letting them fester unchecked. Good luck!
Do you have an experience of little things adding up that you'd like to share? What did you do to remedy the situation? I'd love to hear from you. Email me at amy@acnlifecoach.com. Thanks!
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