Open Challenge, The Happiness Advantage Starting April 1st

[The Albatross]

I think you covered all the bases Anni. You've done a fine job of keeping up with all 5 parts of the challenge! :tup:

 

[ms spock]

1. I am tremendously grateful that I got the results that there are no changes in my breasts from last year. I am grateful for my tough week as I have seen so much area for improvement and for emotional regulation and how I can take more responsibility for my life. I can kind of see how I can do that as well and I am immensely grateful for these insights. I am grateful that I am dissociating less and a bit fearful of feeling the feelings coming my way, but grateful that I feel like I can begin to manage that better.

2. I did really well in managing the sloppy practice of the people who did my tests. I was able to calmly and politely ring up and question the situation. So that was a real positive. Despite having a pretty crappy and stressful week I did fill in my online job application form and I am so grateful that I was able to do this.

3. Exercise - No
4. Meditation - No
5. A random act of kindness - Yes

 

[Eleanor]

Did my meditation while at acupuncture.
Random act of kindness - shared a churro with the neighbors!

Exercise... not so much, unless the acupuncture counts, which I can't think why it would. Shoot.
That's 4 for 5 for me today. I hate it when I have to take my own advice.:grumpy:

 

[GreenFrog2]

DAY 5: was a really hard day for me. I was really busy at work so ended up thinking about all these things rather than writing them down. I was happy enough with that as when I got home I was so tired to move off the couch. All in al I think that Day 5 was a "kind of" did it day for me and that's OK.

DAY 6: My neighbors had a party last night and I did not get to sleep until 2 am thanks to the noise. I was so strung out,and only got 4 hours of sleep. When I woke I thought that I was headed for a deep pit of depression but I was able to alternate between meditation and napping which managed to keep me on a pretty even keel for another 4 hours.

When I finally got up I felt that I had done a great job in keeping my emotions in a manageable place - very proud of myself. (Although when I went to do some grocery shopping I ended up crying in the car - think that traffic was just a bit to much....)

1. Write down three new things you are grateful for each day:
I am incredibly grateful that I have been able to use my meditation and CBT to keep myself on a even keel despite being extremely tired - this bodes well for the future.
I am grateful that I was able to recognize how tired I was yesterday and to refrain from pushing myself to do anything more.
I am grateful that we are such a great group of people, willing to challenge ourselves into good health.

2. Journal about a positive experience experience in the last 24 hours.
I think that my notes above will cover this one for today - I really am impressed that I was able to use meditation and CBT so effectively in such a difficult circumstance as waking after not enough sleep can lead me into a really dark place and I managed is very will this morning.

3. Exercise
Check

4. Meditation
Check - with and without a guided tape.

5. A random act of kindness
I am sending as much loving kindness to everyone here, hoping that each of us can find some peace today and take some pleasure from this challenge - I think we are all doing really well - thanks for being here.

 

[anni]

That was REALLY lovely, Green Frog, thank you! There's ' mindfullness ' written all the heck all over your day, which is the one thing I've always, always had to work on. My fear stuff has turned into an avoidance impulse over the years which is so automatic I frequently do not realize I'm engaged in it, there are entire days where I'm in this wierd fog in my head which is TOUGH to break. You addressing your discomfort the way you do right NOW is just plain incredibly healthy, thought you should know ( although you sound extremely self aware, possibly do not require the input from the bunny in the group. Bunny = avoider = runner. ).

20 years out, what happens is that when you DO need to break free of this stupid fog, the internal confusion is SO great there's just no forward movement to be made. The fog is more comfortable. It's HUGELY harder to fix these broken electrical connections, or at least run new ones, having done it the wrong way so many years ago and for SO many years. I think my point is, thanks also for a super, super example of sticking with a plain old 'Day in the Life', you never know who is out there reading these posts, you know? It's also why I'd like step forward on what happens when you don't use the PTSD electrical tape, allow the drift. Now, I truly did not know any better mostly, was making do plus had no chance to settle and heal sometimes. It was nobody's fault, although I do think various therapists were full of cr*p claiming to have expertise in trauma when they had zero.

Anyway, although this is far too long, it's still not off topic. This challenge is a mindfulness excercize in capitol letters, even if the dyslexia ( that word just took 7 tries an still looks fishy, as does 'fishy' and a ton of other words this morning ) doesn't like it. ( ah HA, I knew there was an 's' in d o e s n t, makes me insane when my head won't let me write letters! NO idea why it's so awful today, if this post looks like it was written by someone translating a foreign language, please excuse. ) You did REALLY well, as has everyone, for real!

I have a question. Is anyone else having a dreadful time with their act of kindness, saying out loud they did something nice for someone else? It's giving me the willies, and I KNOW it's the zero ego thing, just is awfully hard.

 

[The Albatross]

Hey Anni, see if it normalizes or if it really ramps up stress past the point, switch to the private conversation to that part and see if you can do that component in a smaller group?

Know what you mean about the broken electrical connections. I had the habit a long time ago and restarted 5 minutes of waking backwards and on the recumbant bicycle I started peddling backwards. I was out of the habit and it was not very graceful or easy.

 

[Changing4Best]

Re: EXERCISE: Let us not forget to exercise our BRAINS! Do crosswords, play Scrabble, balance your checkbook without a calculator... don't let your brain turn into jelly by the time you reach the age of 60 or even 50. "If you don't use it, you lose it!"

 

[The Albatross]

Good thought Shelia, I challenged myself to learn and do Sudoku with some online tutorials. It took me a while and in my book I'm stuck on the medium difficulty ones. I have yet to get the more difficult ones.

 

[The Albatross]

Day 6:

1. I am grateful that I learned what I was up against so far as "co-occurring behaviors" by direct personal experiences in recovery for alcohol. It made it easier when I got my PTSD diagnosis.

I am grateful that my headache is gone without taking non steroidal anti inflammatories.

I am grateful that my work schedule came in and I don't have to ask for any changes for the coming week.

2. A positive experience I had in the last 24 hours: During the treadmill exercise, I still have an athletic heart. My heart rate dropped as it should with the sustained effort even though I hadn't been able to exercise since the knee injury last May. I had no swelling or discomfort. I don't have my former stamina, but I still have an athletic reaction to exercise.

3. Exercise: blank til I update

4. Meditation: blank til I update

5. Random act of kindness: Washed a client's dog bedding and vaccummed more than just the common areas.

 

[Whitneys story]

@Everyone, I am so elated reading all the positive highlights occurring!

I am thankful I can do some posting from my phone. Today is my day to lock the doors and play from the computer.

After I do some shopping which I so deserve.

@Ms Spock, We must be neighbors. Your gal sounds just like mine. Long ago I set boundaries and rules. Mine has all the tools. I gave her 30 days to find a professional. She has overstayed her time with me. Tough love time. She has worse issues than her son who is getting help. I don't want to be a part of her snap. She is not capable of dealing with him. He is 4 and can knock me down like a feather. I choose in my best interest. Some people really don't want help. They want others to do it for them. JMHO :hug: Whitney

 

[Mercy]

Had a horrible night Thursday- so day 5 was a blurr dozing, napping.But I did some moving forward on the challenge. I'm going to put the two days together 5 + 6 on the private space. I am so encouraged by all the movement y'all are making beyond your comfort z0nes

 

[The Albatross]

Day 6:

Exercise: went for a walk and mopped two floors and vacuumed

Meditation: Possible Fail... three shifts and I couldn't quiet my mind down. I'm exhausted now but will try it after dinner. Hopefully I won't fall asleep. I really have to do this in the morning.