Got2Gab.com

I realize now that when I originally decided to start up this site, I wanted to integrate useful information about various subjects, advice, tips as well as a good dose of blogging, into my daily articles.

Somewhere along the way, I lost my way.  But, I really want to do my utmost to include more blogging in my entries.  I don’t want to focus on doing them daily, since I don’t believe my life is so important that you’d want to read about what I do every second of every day, and I would also like to keep some measure of privacy for myself and my family, but I just want to give an occasional blog entry and see where it goes from there.

Yesterday was spent as a marathon of days. I spent most of the day making phone calls, cooking, cleaning, and packing things.  As some of you may already know, we are in the process of packing up and moving out of state.

My husband was also extremely busy trying to do a lot of things as well, and did accomplish a lot, might I add.

Moving out of state was a mutual decision really, I suppose that both my husband and I get somewhat itchy when we’re in one place for too long. Especially if we feel that the place we are living in, is not offering what we need anymore. We’ve been from city to city, state to state, and each time we moved it was for a very good reason. This time is no different.

We want to have our son grow up in a family atmosphere. We want him to have aunts and uncles and grandparents and all these things. For now, only my Mom lives in this state and she sees us about 5-6 times a year for a few days at a time, here and there. It surely isn’t enough to keep us in this state. She could always fly over to us, in the future, for a longer period of time, and spend just the same amount of time with us.

So, back to what I was saying earlier.  We’ve been packing, and getting rid of extras, so last week I e-mailed everyone I knew in our area to get our furniture, if they needed it, and we are still waiting for people to pick things up.

It is quite frustrating, because although Iwant to benefit those friends around me, part of me is still frustrated that I’m endlessly waiting for those people who want things, but haven’t come to get it yet.

At some point, the salvation army or goodwill will be called, to come and pick up the big items. At that point, I believe that a lot of stress will fly out the door because I’m very interested in getting rid of all the large items, then I think the small little personal items, will be easier to deal with.  For some reason, I think that will give me a lot of relief and I won’t be as stressed.

But, here I am.  I woke up after only 4-5 hours of sleep and made enough noise (while getting up) to wake my son, so I had to bring him to our big green monster of a futon, and he’s currently asleep beside me.

So, for now, I’ll finish this post and see if I can get a bite to eat before thinking about possibly falling back into bed. It’s still super early here, around 7 am.

So,  I guess the packing will have to wait until later…

It’s inevitable that every person will have to move at some point during their lifetimes. But, it doesn’t make it any easier to know this fact.

Most people absolutely loathe moving and the packing, trashing, and donating of items, that starts prior to that. I am one of those people.  I don’t mind up and moving, in fact I am somewhat of a nomad moving from region to region without much qualms about it. Last time we calculated how many times I’ve moved in my lifetime, it came in somewhere between 20-25 times.  We lost count, somewhere in there. But, when it comes to packing, I absolutely hate it.

The un-packing, on the other hand, is joyful, fun, and a good ending to something you’ve started.  But, packing is usually done with some measure of anxiety.

The packing itself may not be causing the anxiety, but the things that go along with it, usually are. The fact that most people are on a deadline and must leave by a certain date, the fact that you must keep well documented lists of things that need to be done before the move, and wrack your brain constantly to be certain that you’re doing everything you were supposed to do, before leaving, as well as scrubbing and cleaning the place you are leaving once you are done with all the other details.

I guess the best part of packing in the moving process, is reaching the final destination.  For that reason, and only that reason, packing is somewhat tolerable.

But, I have found that if you’re packing while alone it’s much harder to stay on task, but when you have someone else to speak with and work with, it becomes much more enjoyable and you sort of forget what it is that you are doing.

Another good tip is to pack one room at a time. If you’re all over the apartment, house, or what have you, the whole house is turned upside down in order to pack things. But, if you start in one room, get rid of extras, then pack up what you need, and keep those things in the same room, then shut the door once that room is completed, that’s one less thing on your mind. Continue to do the same from room to room until all your packing is complete and you’re done.

Once all that is complete, and you’ve finished all there is to do, treat yourself to something that you love, in order to reward yourself for a good job on completeing this task that was a huge pain to do, but well worth the effort.

Sometimes in everyone’s life, it seems like nothing is going right.  When you’ve been dealing with problems for a long amount of time, it seems as if it’ll never end.  But, keeping a level head is an important thing to do at this time.  When you freak out and lose it, falling apart at the seams, it may help you get your anxiety out, but it really doesn’t help the overall outcome towards the better .

When things are going wrong, it’s important to re-evaluate your life and see what you need to do in order to change what’s happening in your life. I’ve mentioned keeping lists of goals, in previous posts.  But, at this time, you need to make up an immediate list of things that need to be accomplished, right now, to change things for the better and continue being proactive.

Making a jump towards these immediate goals takes courage, but you need to step it up, if you wish for things to change.  Because the worst thing you could do, would be to sit back and tell yourself- Well, I guess whatever’s meant to happen will happen.

Well, that may be true, but do we know what’s meant to happen?  No. So, we need to try our very best to hold it together, figure out what immediate action needs to be done right away, and go for it.  If you’ve already reached an all-time low, you shouldn’t chance sinking down any further, because I doubt that there is any further down that you can go, if you’ve already reached the bottom.

Just remember everyone goes through these rough patches during their lifetimes, and if you are going through a rough patch, you need to count on your friends and family to help support you through this and don’t forget to return the favor, once your rough patch has ended and they in turn are going through a rough patch.

Life is not smooth sailing all the time, there are quite a few storms in the sea.  So, be prepared for what’s to come ’round the bend and don’t fret when things aren’t going exactly as you would like them to.  Just keep working on changing things, and keep this thought at the back of your mind, at some point things have just got to get better.

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 18% of adults, according to leading specialists in anxiety treatment.

Thankfully most people don’t have to deal with this issue.  But, for the thousands of people who have to deal with it on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, it can become very overwhelming. It can be like a dark cloud that follows you around, rendering you unable to do even the most mundane tasks.

The main symptom of a panic attack is an overwhelming feeling of fear or anxiety, along with physical reactions. An attack starts suddenly and usually lasts from 5 to 20 minutes but may last even longer, up to a few hours. You feel most anxious about 10 minutes into the attack. It is possible to have one panic attack after another in waves for an extended period of time, and it can seem like one continuous attack. But if you have continuous symptoms that do not go away within an hour, you probably are not having a panic attack and you should seek immediate medical care.

Symptoms of a panic attack may include:

• Rapid breathing (hyperventilation), shortness of breath, or feeling “smothered”
• A pounding or racing heart or an irregular heartbeat
• Chest pain
• Lightheadedness
• Sweating
• A choking feeling
• Nausea or an upset stomach
• Dizziness, shaking, or trembling
• Numbness or tingling
• Chills or hot flashes
• Fear that you are going to die, lose control, or “go crazy”
• Feelings of being detached from yourself or from reality

Panic attacks can begin with a stressful event or appear without cause. They also can be associated with medications, such as heart medications, and medical conditions, such as an overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism).

Panic attacks may begin without a trigger or can be linked to certain situations, such as being in large crowds of people in restaurants or stadiums. Sometimes just the anticipation of being in a certain situation can cause severe anxiety. People who experience panic attacks often learn to avoid situations that they fear will trigger a panic attack or situations where they will not be able to escape easily if an attack occurs. If this pattern of avoidance and anxiety is severe, it can become agoraphobia.

The symptoms of a panic attack can be similar to those of a heart attack. Many people seek emergency medical treatment for a panic attack for this reason. If you have chest pain and other symptoms of a heart attack, get immediate medical treatment. For more information, see the topic Chest Pain.

Panic attacks are not common in children or younger teens. But children who have panic disorder or panic attacks often have other symptoms in addition to those listed above. They may be overly afraid of common objects such as bugs, or worry excessively about monsters or about going to bed alone. They also may refuse to go to school or become unusually upset when they are separated from a parent.

Not everyone who experiences panic attacks develops panic disorder. A person is diagnosed with panic disorder if he or she has at least two unexpected panic attacks along with fear or worry about having another panic attack and avoiding situations that may trigger it.

Many of those who suffer from Panic attacks suffer from it from time to time and aren’t limited by it. While yet others can be affected in a more adverse way, such as was mentioned above.

Either way, if you’ve suffered from it, known someone who has suffered from it, or have seen someone act somewhat odd and you weren’t sure what that was about, now you have a little more information that you can add to your mental rolodex on the illness called Panic disorder.

*some excerpts were taken from WEBMD.com*

If you’re an avid Oprah Winfrey watcher (talk show), you know that she often has a famous Dr. called Dr. Oz on her show.  He’s a prestigious cardiologist who has written several books about health issues.

He mentioned, not that long ago, that they recently did a study and in that study they fed several volunteers in a control group 11 pounds of fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts a day, along with plenty of water. These patients all had some degree of high blood pressure, cholesterol, and some were battling obesity.

After 10 days on this restrictive diet, the results were (on average):

• a 10 pound loss per patient
• a 25% reduction of cholesterol
• a 10% reduction of blood pressure
• better colon health (bowel movements came easier)
• and better overall health

So, if you’re looking to improve your weight, tell yourself that starving yourself has never been and never will be a proper option to lose the excess pounds or make yourself healthier.

The best bet is to exercise about 30 minutes to 1 hour, daily, drink 64 ounces of cold water a day (cold because it causes your body to burn calories in order to heat up the food to body temperature), and a healthy diet of fresh fruits, nuts and vegetables to keep everything running properly.  In no time you should see the results.

If you’re thinking that all that fresh produce in a day will wreak havoc on your pocket book, remember this- eating healthier now will help you to keep off medications and keep out of doctor’s offices due to illness.  The money you spend on the produce per month, would have just been diverted and spent in the future if you’re health were to decline.

Is it worth it? Absolutely~! So, give it a try!  You may have to modify your diet a little, depending on your own personal health issues, but if you try to keep as close to this diet as you can for optimum health.