Tag Archives: stress

April 11, 2013 · 10:18 pm

Hockey vs Hormones

Kids are asleep and Jack’s watching the game.

This morning when I changed A3’s diaper, half a pretzel came out of it. How did it get there? Probably A2’s doing. I felt really bad, imagine spending the night with a sharp edged piece of Pretzel in your underwear.pretzel

I’ve had my loved ones worry about me after the last post Face your fears and look inside. There’s nothing to worry about, I think I’m on the right track by being conscious of it all.  It being how I feel, what I think…

We’re all pretty fragile if you think about it. What are emotions? Emotions are a direct result of non-other than chemistry, hormones and neurotransmitters …

“It’s normal, you just had three kids”

Yes it’s normal that my body is out of balance and that it leaves me feeling anxious, and out of my usual self. It might be normal, but I don’t want it. I want to be in control of my own emotions and feelings.

I better learn to do what I need to do before menopause comes along with 5 times more chemical imbalances and makes me go completely insane for good. If you’ve ever felt cranky or moody because of your period cycle, because you’ve been overworked or because of lack of sleep, then you’re in the exact same boat as me, letting your body influence your mood.

Since men naturally don’t experience many drastic hormonal shifts in their life time, they are more stable in this perspective. I look at Jack, and seems like all he needs to relax and unwind is watching a good game of Hockey.

We went to a game last Saturday; it practically felt like a religious gathering.  21 273 people gathered, uniting their thoughts and positive energy towards the same goal and chanting is unison… If Hockey matters to these people as much as is matters to Jack, then it practically is a religion. In the end isn’t it the role of religion to bring beings to peace, tame their worries and bring them closer together?

This is what I was thinking about during the game… then I started staring at the building’s structure and started to worry about its stability and where we should head in case of an emergency…

Do we ever stop worrying?!

All this to say, I am now conscious of the effect of physical life events on my inner self and I want to gain full control of it. I want to be who I am no matter what hormonal phase of my life I’m in, no matter how much sleep I’ve had and no matter how much stress this life throws my way.

How? Not sure yet …

But I’ll find a way.

P.S A great win for our team tonight. Extra yey for me!

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April 8, 2013 · 11:58 am

Face your fears and look inside

“Face your fears” is what I’ve been telling myself lately.

The older I get, the more I get to know myself. Maturing I guess.

Last week, I went out with some girlfriends to see a band play in a bar. Place was packed, probably over 100 people present. After a short chat with the singer of the band, she decided to call me up on stage before they started playing to “Say a few words”. I hadn’t planned anything; I just went up there and winged it. I don’t remember everything that I said; we were in a bar after all and had been drinking. I just know that the first thing I said was “Hi I’m Julie and I have 3 kids!”

Great intro for a rock band!

I continued babbling things… tried to pump the crowd… told the ladies in the audience they should get their bras signed by the band members…

What was I thinking? I don’t know! I was just having fun. When I sat back down some of my friends were looking at me like “What just happened?” and some that have come to know this side of me had a “No surprise here” kind of face. One of them turned to me and told me “Julie, you’re the most fearless woman I know”.

And believe it or not, that comment’s been in my head since then.

I am not fearless; I am the most fearful person I know. I am scared of everything.

It’s easy to let fear guide you. It will guide you towards safety. No risks, no taking chances, no experimenting… is that what we want?

Believe it or not that’s exactly the dilemma I’m living right now. I have fears in me… should I face them? Or just go towards whatever is safer…after all I have 3 kids.

I can’t imagine what you are thinking reading this. You’re probably think I’m a complete nut job. Well lately that’s what I’ve been thinking too. Ever since I gave birth to A3 my mind has changed. Ok, it’s not that it’s changed; it’s as if it’s always been the same but I’m just starting to realize what it’s like.

Maybe 3 kids are what it took to get me to start looking on the inside. I look on the inside and I get scared.

That tells me there’s a lot of work to be done there.

I’ve been stressed out all morning…with all these thoughts in my head. Now that I’m writing it all out, it’s making more sense. I guess this blog does help channel my stress. I know I knew this before, because I’ve mentioned it in a previous post. But it still seems like I just realized it now.Basically, I do feel better now after having written this.

Some people have the ability to center themselves and work on their inner self. Others need something to shake them and wake them up to start doing so. And most will go on with life never making this realization…

I think I’m being woken up right now.

It’s taken a lot for me to even start thinking about these things… a lot has happened to me in the past 5 years and now I’m finally learning about life.

All these thoughts running through my head ever since A3.I’ve thought it to be many things; maybe they are symptoms of baby blues? Maybe the baby blues combined with the winter blues? Maybe I’m a bit depressed? Maybe these hormones are making me crazy? Maybe I’m becoming a soft bipolar?

Or maybe this life is over whelming and I just need to calm down and learn to relax.

“You need to take good care of yourself, so you can take care of others.” They say, and they are right.

It’s more than taking care of my body and mind….

I need to take care of my soul.

P.s If you think I’ve lost my marbles…wait till you find out what I googled today. (Well one person already knows, and it’s not Jack)

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March 27, 2013 · 11:58 am

No more excuses!

Time has come for me to make changes in my current daily life. I don’t eat enough, I stress too much, I am insomniac, partly because of the kids but mostly because of my thoughts that don’t stop and keep me awake all through the night! I’m in such lack of sleep that I have a constant shake in my hands and my left eye is twitching, not any kind of twitch, a really strong one…it looks like I’m winking at everybody and everything. This needs to stop, before I get new problems…wink wink

“What are you stressing about?”

Everything!

I’ve realized that I’ve been stressing for the past 4 months ever since A3’s been born. It’s time for me to take back control of my health. I want to be healthy, and take care of my family for a long long time.

I’ve learned quit a bit about myself lately. I thought of myself as a laid back, no stress, take it as it comes, go with the flow kind of person. And I was, but not lately.  Lately I’m always thinking and I’m always worried. I have to relax and learn to take things as they come, like I use to.

Sometimes I think that I was wiser when I was younger. The older I get the more the hormones and the stress get to me. I can’t let them win!

Today, is day one of Operation get the real Julie back. 

Lately I’ve been over thinking things, I don’t know how yet, but this must stop. I guess admitting I have a problem is the first step? I’ve been skipping meals, ever since A3’s been born I’ve gone full days without anything to eat… and then I wonder why my breast milk supply ended.

No more excuses! Yes I have 3 kids but it was my choice and I can’t use them as an excuse to not be healthy! ( Well, not really by choice…by luck…if you know what I mean)

3 meals a day from now on!

Spring is here, I need to get out and get moving.

And for the over thinking and anxiety… maybe I should pick up meditation?  I’ve tried it a few times, at home with an online video… a bit scary at first for an over imaginative mind like mine, but definitely effective.

Now that I’ve put this action plan out in public, I can’t go back on my word. (Hopefully)

And just maybe, after all of this…I’ll have the energy to keep my house organized. But that’s a long shot!

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February 17, 2013 · 9:39 pm

Beating the Sunday Night Blues

It’s now Sunday evening and the A1 and A2 are asleep. A3 is barely 3 months old so she alternates between sleep and wake periods throughout the day and same for the nights.

Weekends here are just so chaotic that I must say, and don’t hate me for it, thank goodness for Monday!

The best part of being on maternity leave (or not working) is not having that weird sensation in your stomach on Sunday night. You know what I mean? Like a light tickle in your abdomen that leaves you a bit nauseous and aware of your heart rate.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you’re lucky.

A good way to get rid of that feeling is to implement something enjoyable to your Monday morning and focus on that thought on Sunday evening. Like a Mocha Choco Moko Latte express or something. I dunno, I just made that up…

Another way, is to break up your day in your mind and think of all the things you need to do separately (take the bus, meeting, presentation, class).  For each part ask yourself “Is this what’s stressing me?”  This will help you either pinpoint the exact cause for that feeling, or better yet, you’ll realize that nothing about Monday is stressing you and the feeling will just disappear.  I usually go through this thought process while lying in bed or in the shower.

I’m not an expert, but this is what worked for me.

Let me know if it works for you.

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