ConfidenceCoalition.Org
Today, I pledge to be more confident in myself and my abilities.
I will be forgiving and generous to myself and others. I will embrace my unique beauty and do my best to ignore the stereotypes portrayed in the media. I will encourage those around me to focus on their true beauty.
I will not attempt to sabotage anyone else’s self-confidence. I will not participate in any forms of physical or emotional abuse including bullying, cyberbullying, gossiping, hazing, exclusion, humiliation and coercion. I will treat others as I would want to be treated.
I will have the confidence to stand up for myself and others. I will not let peer pressure lead me to forgo my values. I will respect myself enough to say “NO” to people and situations that are unhealthy to my well-being. I will not stay in an abusive relationship. I will not pressure others to participate in behaviors that go against their values.
By joining with others, I will make the world a better place for all women and girls. I will encourage confidence in myself, my friends, my family and others.
My Baking Soda Miracle!
WARNING: With all types of remedies there are always some risks if not taken properly, this is just my experience with Baking Soda.
Baking soda is fast becoming one of my most favorite household products. Why do you ask? Well not only does it sit in my refrigerator and freezer to keep away food smells, but over the last couple of years it has become invaluable in my attempt to treat health problems with home remedies.
1st - I am a women who inevitably gets urinary tract infections (UTIs). The first time I got one, I went to the doctor as I had blood in my urine and received a Rx for antibiotics. Well, as time passed and I continued to get UTIs (about 2 or 3 times a year), I kept going to my doctor for antibiotics. I became worried that my continued use of antibiotics would result in a resistance to them. So, I began attempting to curb off UTIs by chugging cranberry juice when I felt one coming on. Although this helped sometimes, it did not always and I was back resorting to antibiotics.
It turns out that while in London for a summer, I discovered they have OTC medicine for UTIs (which was good because I could not afford a doctors appointment there). I picked up several packets and they worked like a charm. Luckily I brought a couple of packets home with me to the States. Unfortunately I could not find any similar products when I got back. So, I searched the internet once again for home remedies and what amazing home remedy do I find? A baking soda cocktail: mix 1/2 tsp of baking soda & vitamin C powder in glass of water and drink (the vitamin C gives it a little flavor and helps keep the acid / alkaline balanced in the body).
All I have to say is thank god I found this solution because every time I have used it (for about 2 years now) I have prevented UTIs from developing further and have forgone the use of antibiotics. Which by the way was crucial as I seem to have developed an allergic reaction to many antibiotics (go me).
2nd - The last couple of nights I have not been able to sleep due to heartburn. Yes that lovely constant feeling like you have to burp & the burning sensation in your throat/chest. I keep forgetting to by some OTC meds (antacids) as I usually don't get heartburn for very long. Tonight it was just too much, so I hopped on the great world wide web looking for a home remedy which I actually had in my house to solve my problem. And wouldn't you know, it calls for baking soda once again. As I've been writing this I have steadily been drinking down the baking soda and I can already feel a reduction in the burning sensation (although still there). So far so good and I am fast becoming a baking soda convert!
So my conclusions: before running to your doctors to get another overpriced & symptom directed treatment, look for home remedies and ways in which you can prevent these occurrences by making changes in your daily living. Would it not be nice to prevent these things before occurring especially in this health care crisis?
The Flu Season is Here! Surveillance on Facebook
Day 1
So this past Sunday I was suddenly struck sick with flu like symptoms. At first I thought I just had bronchitis because I woke up with a sore throat and a massive headache. I then tried to get out of bed and realized how weak I was. I decided to spend the day in bed, medicate & hydrate, hoping I'd head off this sickness. Later that evening I realized I had a fever as I went from freezing cold to hot sweats and my body felt like it had been hit by a semi-truck.
On this day, I took both Ibuprofen, an expectorant, echinacea and lots of water.
Day 2
I woke up with a minor headache and my sore throat was still there. I was still a bit clammy and sweaty, although my body was not as fatigue. I called my big brother and had him deliver some chicken noodle soup & vitamin C packets which are added to water. I continued medicating myself with Ibuprofen, the expectorant, echinacea and now the Vitamin C.
In the afternoon my fever began to rise and I realized it still had not broke. According to what I have researched one is contagious with the flu 24 hours before symptoms start and 24 hours after the fever breaks without medicine. So, I continue to take my meds, sleep and watch tv. By night fall, I'm coughing less, my sore throat is better, but now my nose is congested.
I'm writing this because in between watching tv, and sleeping, I've been checking on my facebook account and was amazed to find so many people reporting fever & sickness on their status. I realized in my area, flu season hath hittith’ the fan.
I have to admit, I've never been aware of flu season until I have gotten older and realized the amount of stress I put myself under. I have to say, I am a true believer that stress greatly impacts a persons ability to fight off sickness. When I am healthy both physically and mentally, I rarely if ever get sick and the opposite is true when I'm unhealthy both physically and mentally.
My advice: the best way to prevent sickness is to take care of yourself both physically, mentally and emotionally.
Long Time ...
So, I know I've been gone a while, but I have been dealing with some traumas in my life. No nothing life shattering or life threatening, but emotional trauma's just the same which has led me into a depressive funk. I am now just starting to come out of the two week depressive period. One of the added things about this depression is my ability to sleep has been severely compromised. I have dealt with PTSD & depression for over 10 years now in one form or another, with brief periods of respite in between events. One of the major indicators of stress and depression for me is my inability to sleep at night even with prescribed meds (i.e., ambien). As a result, I had developed several tools in order to combat this when I am at my worst & it took my several years to perfect it. It's a combination of meditation, self guided imagery, self hypnosis or even reading homework to fall asleep. So far it's not working this time around, so I'm going for the writing it down to help get it out and off my mind tool.
Yet even now, the words are failing me. I began this post in order to write down my problems / struggles and now there's just nothing, silence. What the heck? Maybe I'm not yet ready to discuss it as of yet, or maybe I really don't know where the problems are stemming from. Back to the drawing board with self reflection. Yeesh.
Well peace all and hope you are doing well. I'm still here just struggling a bit, but I will get through it, as always.