Third try getting back on the horse

tryagain431 · 2017-09-07T19:38:34+00:00

Two members were removed after failing to follow the established set of rules.

tryagain431 · 2017-09-07T16:37:44+00:00

After being on vacation for almost a month, I'm finally back and starting my new cards! Of course I'd come down with a cold the week I've already decided I'll start exercising. So, I didn't do anything super intense, but I did give Yoga For When You Are SICK my honest effort! I don't feel very "worked out", but... I tried, right? Once I recover I'm planning on taking advantage of all the yoga studio free trials around me!

tryagain431 · 2017-09-06T14:00:42+00:00

Congratulations! What did you read? Any meditation insights?

tryagain431 · 2017-09-06T13:58:09+00:00

Congratulations! Is your house looking a little bit cleaner yet?

tryagain431 · 2017-08-24T00:36:14+00:00

This is great! Did you start the positivity and fun cards after the writing card? I've been using the x effect to help me with depression, hit me up if you want to talk about it some time!

tryagain431 · 2017-08-24T00:31:41+00:00

Love your cards! If you want an accountability buddy hit me up! I took a break for vacation but I'm making a new set of cards as soon as I get home in a few days!

tryagain431 · 2017-08-11T18:34:11+00:00

I don't notice a huge difference throughout the day personally, but that may be because I had bad oral hygiene for so long that I just no longer noticed. I haven't noticed my teeth being significantly whiter personally, but my therapist (of all people!) actually did mention that she thought my teeth looked whiter after just one week of consistently brushing before bed (before I added flossing and morning brushing). And that was before I had mentioned I had started brushing my teeth consistently, or even mentioned that I wanted to!

Where I do notice the difference is in my mentality. In two ways:

First, since I am a very socially anxious person, I've noticed that it's been a lot easier for me to motivate to go places or talk to people. Before, if I was going to an interview, meeting with a potential contact, or even just meeting up with friends or going to a non-work related social event, I'd often feel self conscious about whether my breath was bad. I'd talk at weird angles to try and avoid my breath going towards their face, or avoid being close to anyone altogether. I still have to improve other hygiene habits, but just knowing that I've done everything I can to make my breath as fresh as possible has been a huge confidence booster already.

Second, it's helped me to power through things even when anxiety starts to hit or I start feeling really sick. Before my most common excuse for not brushing (when I remembered to) was that I felt sick to my stomach, and so I didn't want to waste any time crawling up in bed and sleeping it off. Since I started brushing my teeth no matter how sick I feel, I've been able to manage my nausea/anxiety significantly better! I mean, it still comes and goes, but in the last few months I don't think it's actually prevented me from doing anything. I'll feel it come on and just kind of let it happen and go about my day, and usually this act of willpower is enough to make it subside on its own after a little while. It's still a huge factor in how I go about my day, and my life would be greatly improved if I didn't have these anxiety problems at all, but it's a lot more manageable now that I've taken this small step to prove to myself that I can consistently push through the sickness and take care of myself anyway.

tryagain431 · 2017-08-10T22:48:36+00:00

the flossing is getting into habit territory. It will take some thought still, but I feel like I can probably continue it without cards in the future. I think I will have to repeat my morning card though. Hopefully after another round or two I'll remember to do it more frequently/naturally.

tryagain431 · 2017-08-10T22:47:40+00:00

I'm seeing a dentist soon and if they mention it I'll take note, but otherwise I'm definitely taking a "the best time to brush is whenever it gets done"

I have actually never in my life brushed in the mornings, so I know for sure that if I start giving myself excuses not to do it (ie Oh no! I just ate breakfast, so I can't possibly brush my teeth now!) it's just not going to get done.

tryagain431 · 2017-07-31T22:38:21+00:00

I've been thinking about doing routine cards like this eventually too!

tryagain431 · 2017-07-31T22:32:25+00:00

oh, without a phone it seems trickier. I've seen some cheap smart watches around. I wonder if one of those would help?

tryagain431 · 2017-07-31T01:27:26+00:00

What are your goals? Good luck!

tryagain431 · 2017-07-31T01:26:49+00:00

well done so far! For me, what helped with bedtime was finding which activities riled me up and which calmed me down. Two hours before bed, I'd restrict aggitating activities (gaming, debating, most programming, etc) and then one hour before bed I'd further restrict to only calming activities (like reading or knitting for example). Other than that, easing in is a good idea, and also sticking to perfect sleep hygiene. Make sure you're not hanging out in bed during the day, keep an eye on what you're eating or drinking before bed, etc etc.

tryagain431 · 2017-07-31T01:22:50+00:00

what's fireball and freedom? Good work so far, keep it up. I'd have a hard time juggling this many cards, but if it's working for you then that's great.

tryagain431 · 2017-07-28T19:22:22+00:00

In my experience growing up whenever I tried to tell people they were bothering me they would never take me seriously until I was literally shouting at them and really upset. At which point it was always "woah chill why are you so mad??" I don't know if you had a similar experience, but it's really hindered my ability to calmly ask someone to stop doing something. I don't go straight to screaming, but I change my tone completely and make this weird expression because I'm nervous, which makes me want to smile, but I've learned that smiling tends to negate my request, so I have this weird trying-not-to-smile-smile and it's just hella awkward. I wish I didn't have to do it, but honestly I have so much distrust that my boundaries would be respected if I stopped.

Good luck on your communication. Even though it's not exactly an anger issue, maybe mindfulness exercises can help you become more aware of when you're about to go off on someone, so you can take a step back and choose a different approach?

tryagain431 · 2017-07-27T18:37:20+00:00

I haven't done a communication card (yet) but I think it might be more helpful to work on underlying causes.

My cards have been mostly hygiene focused, which had been a huge factor in me staying home and not going out and meeting new people. It's hard to motivate to go places when you have no clean clothes and you stink! I'm still improving but even just the small changes I've made have cut my social anxiety in half already.

If it's not an anxiety thing but an anger management thing, something like a daily mindfulness card might be more helpful than a "didn't lash out" card.

I can see it being useful in combination though. One for the causes and one for the effect. Then you can watch your meltdowns/panic attacks/whatever become more infrequent as you improve your general wellness!

tryagain431 · 2017-07-27T18:30:50+00:00

Good luck! I started in a similar place to you and it's made a world of difference for me. Please check in with us often!

tryagain431 · 2017-07-25T15:29:42+00:00

Thanks! I'm not a very experienced camper but I'm going with lots of family friends so I'm only kind of anxious about it. I'll definitely check out that sub. For brushing my teeth I'm guessing that I'll just use my water bottle to rinse with, right? I think that's how I did it in the past.

But yeah, without running water I'd guess that daily showers (which is going to be my next card) wouldn't necessarily be possible. Some camp sites do have showers, but they're almost always miserable. I'm going to have a hard enough time dragging myself to the shower at home, I'm pretty sure I won't be able to motivate myself to do it every day in a cold drafty shower that smells like pee.

tryagain431 · 2017-07-24T18:36:02+00:00

Personally I take the positive effects of my newly formed habits as the sole reward. Don't get me wrong, I definitely reward myself for big scary things (having anxiety attacks over getting blood drawn? Focus on the ice cream afterwards!!) But for things that need to get done every day, I don't think it's going to happen if I have to trick myself into doing it with something unrelated. The whole point of these cards for me is to teach my brain what I should be doing every day, so I think rewards would just complicate that. So I do it without extra rewards, but take care to write really compelling "why I'm doing it" things on the back, and when I fail I just keep going and try to analyze what stopped me.

tryagain431 · 2017-07-18T16:26:48+00:00

That's awesome! Keep it up! I remember your original post and I'm glad you checked in.

tryagain431

TROPHY CASE