The Lighter Side of: Feeling Down

Everyone feels down at some point in their lives. Whether it is a lost opportunity, a failure of some kind, heartbreak, weather, medication, illness, or for no real reason at all, feeling down is simply a part of life.

It can come on suddenly with no warning, or it can arise because of a specific situation or circumstance. No matter what the reason, sometimes we just need to feel down and allow ourselves time to feel sad - even if there is no good reason for it. Feeling sad can actually be cathartic. If we bottle everything up then we risk that feeling bubbling to the surface at an inopportune moment. If we take the time - at the time - to feel exactly the way we are feeling without scrutinizing those feelings, we are much more inclined to 'get over it' more quickly.

The Lighter Side of feeling down is one of the most uplifting moments in someone's life: cuddles from pets, spouses, hugs from friends, or indulging in comfort food or beloved activities.
Our two dogs always know when I am feeling down. They are more chill, they cling to me, and all they want to do is cuddle all day.
I'm definitely not mad about it.
Puppy cuddles always make me feel just a little bit better. It is amazing how intuitive our pets can become.
Couple that with some hugs from my hubby, some comfort food, a fun tv show and then a good book, and you have this nice and uplifting day. A day that began sad suddenly becomes a day of gratefulness.

Distraction

In an earlier post I laid out my top 5 ways to cope with pain without medication. The most important one, in my opinion, is distraction.
Distraction is at the root of every coping mechanism - including medication.
We distract our minds by staying busy, by focusing on other things, by using medication to numb the senses or mask the pain, we distract our cells from attacking one specific area by giving them something else to attack or by increasing adrenaline to invoke the fight or flight response. We can distract ourselves from pain in various ways - thank goodness.

Today was a tough one, primarily due to wind and pressure changes. Not only have I been feeling pretty awful lately, plus likely developing the cold that my husband has, but my chronic migraines hit me HARD today.
The moment I woke up, I knew it was going to be a trying day. 
Of course, I attempted every one of my coping strategies, along with appropriate medication, but it just did not seem to make much of a difference. I got some fresh air, I tried to do a little bit of stretching (but failed miserably), I slept the day away, I had all of the lights off and stayed off of my phone as much as I could.
By early evening, nothing had really changed. I was still vomiting, I had no real appetite, and I felt (and looked) like the walking dead.

So what did I have to lose?

I needed to eat and I desperately needed a distraction.

So, unsure if it would work or worsen my symptoms, Rj and I decided to play a board game and have some snacks. I cut up some apple pieces and made myself a mini cheese board. I had goat cheese, wheat thins, sour cherry spread, and fresh apples. Something I could keep snacking on without feeling like I was just eating junk (we often have chocolates or junk food while we play games together). While it's not perfect, it was a healthier meal overall and it kept my mind fully occupied on both the game and the food.
Simple tasks, like having to spread cheese onto a cracker and trying to get the perfect proportions is enough to give a nice distraction. Add in Risk with invasions and armies and trying to beat the Lannisters for once, and then Boggle - searching for as many words as possible within 3 minutes - and you have decently effective coping strategies. 

Board games like Risk followed by Super Boggle were enough to help me get through the evening. The pain did not subside, of course, and I still felt nauseated, but all of this helped me ignore it enough so that the night was enjoyable instead of just being painful.

We then ended the evening with puppy cuddles.
A bad health day does not mean that the entire day is bad. It can be difficult and can even induce crying just from pain throughout the day, but I would still count this as a good day.
Fancy that.

Dog's Day

Rest days always include this handsome fella.
With a bum neck (from a random morning neck crack) I am taking a break from yoga until it is all healed up, and after a super busy weekend, today is another rest day. So was yesterday.
Over the weekend we had some people over for a food party and games night - mostly focusing on food and Jackbox Games - followed by a trip to see the Zoo Lights with my wheelchair. Very busy. A lot in one weekend. So it's safe to say that the bed has been very warm since.
Pets and cuddles and just lying down. Resting.
But every rest day is filled with puppy-cuddles. Which is a positive in itself - and cuddling with Dex makes me feel better and forget that I am doing nothing productive for anyone but myself.

It's a dog's day.
I'll take it.

My Best Friend Decker-The-Dog

You know, today has been a pretty good day. This week has been a little difficult..  I'm not feeling horrendous, but my sleep has been really sporadic and restless, my intestines have been retaliating against me every day, and overall I'm just not feeling up-to-par... BUT I have had some improved energy levels at random points during the day and I have been able to do a little more stretching this week as well as putting together a new list of daily goals to try and follow.

But no matter what - NO MATTER WHAT - if I have any playtime with my puppy, he immediately uplifts my mood. If all I can do is sit or lie in bed and play with his paws, that's all he needs for his tail to go berserk, and that is all that I need to forget (for a little while) how sick I feel.
With fun and growling and giggling and full-on belly laughs, the fun we have can change my outlook on the day in an instant.

I finally got some pretty decent video of our cherished daily playtime. It may not seem like much, but just a few minutes of this every single day helps me in immeasurable ways.

If you want to see video, check out my Instagram page.

Always Cuddle Time

Decker and I have a daily routine.
When RJ leaves the house, Dex jumps up onto the bed and we get to nap together. He cuddles up to me as we sleep for a while or watch tv - he even watches with me.
He endures my incessant need to take selfies and show everybody on Instagram how handsome he is and that he is SUCH a good boy.

He is so patient.

Then I feed him at specific intervals, and I'll throw the ball for him outside (in the snow right now). I sit on the edge of the deck in the Winter or on our wooden bench in the Summer and he fetches the tennis ball and runs it back to me (most days anyways). He drops it in my hand or at my feet. We play for a few minutes and then go back inside. Sometimes we will play tug-o-war in the house and even on the bed, and basically we are just best buds.
He is my best puppy buddy.
Ever.

Plus, the sicker I am, the cuddlier he gets.
At least most of the time. Sometimes he just gets mad that I am so boring.

The Lighter Side of Medicine - daily puppy cuddles.