Steps to reduce my potential stressors

So after thinking about the aspects of my life that are stressful in my last post, now it’s time to put possible solutions into practice and trial them! I’ve separated each life issue into issue, discussion and possible solution. Here goes….

Work:

The issue: juggling two jobs every week (total of about 50 hours)

Work can be stressful no matter who we are, with skin problems or not. But one thing I am fortunate for is I am in work which is shift based and I don’t take work home with me (phew!). I like that work stays at work and this applies to both of my job roles. I don’t have long hours, my hours are what they are on my contract with hardly any overtime.

My issue to resolve is my working hours between my two jobs. I enjoy my job but I also enjoy my tutoring hours (and it pays slightly better!!). I’m not in any bad financial situation that I need to be running myself under the mill for to juggle both over the average 37.5 hours a week. It’s an unnecessary stressor in my life. A situation I’m in because I can never choose one option, because I find it hard to say no. Career wise, experience is essential for me hence i cant say no to new opportunities easily, but I need to be realistic.

Solution to try: Since I don’t want to cut my tutoring out completely, cutting my main job to 30 hours a week will allow me to complete 10 tutoring hours a week without filling my free time. Benefits: I get to do both without the stress of working so many hours. I will free up a least 10 hours a week which I can dedicate to “me time” I’m so desperately craving and missing.

Exercise:

The issue: I never stick to a routine or find the motivation to really stick at it.

As one of these people who can eat whatever I want and never gain weight without exercise, I’ve become extremely lazy in regards to exercise. I know that whilst I may look slim on the outside, my insides must be screaming for some attention! Exercise is vital for good health. Knowing this, I feel bad for not doing any exercise and putting it off; I feel that this negative feeling is another unnecessary stressor. This one is so simple: fit exercise into my daily routine. But it never happens!! I fail at it every time I buy a new gym membership, after a few weeks even days at something new I give up and “can’t be bothered”. I feel guilty knowing I should do it but I just don’t. I find any excuse to put it off, “I can do it later”, “it’s a waste of time”, “I don’t need to lose weight”. I feel embarrassed even mentioning my lack of effort in regards to something so Important as I know many people for exercise in so well!

So what do I do? How do I resolve the lazy girl habit I’ve gotten myself into? How do I prioritise something so beneficial? I’ve heard about the positive effects of exercise but here I am still not doing it. I’m one of these awkward people in the gym who isn’t comfortable or confident with the equipment so end up dreading when i have to go. I end up working myself up to just enter the gym let alone actually use it. I feel self conscious, I feel out of my comfort zone and that’s what I need to get past. These feelings surrounding the gym stop me going. I’ve even stopped using the sauna at my gym now.

I want exercise to be something I want to do. Not something I have to do. If I enjoyed it, I know I’d stick at it, but here I am always giving up on the first hurdle. So what’s the solution?

Possible Solutions:

1) Suck it up, enter the gym and get to grips with all of the equipment. Ask a trainer for help so that I know what I’m doing. Work out my own personal routine so that when I go I know what I’m doing each time so I’m not feeling that “lost” feeling.

2) My current gym is mixed and quite busy a lot of the time. A solution could be to check out some new gyms and find one I feel more relaxed in. Then follow through solution 1 to get to grips with it!

3) Cancel the gym membership and instead join classes to attend weekly. Benefits: you pay as you go and if its booked at a certain time, I can put it on my schedule. It’s led by someone so I’m not in charge.

4) Figure out more “alone” exercise methods I can use. Jogging around my local area for cardio, finding a yoga video to do daily when I wake up/ go to sleep. Benefits here would be convenience of not having to travel to get there, I’d be comfortable in my own company. Downside here would be the fact it’s all on me, I’d be in charge and would have to get Into exercise mode at home.

5) Exercise with others: my boyfriend and I used to play badminton together. Doing this weekly would help me to spend time with him and have exercise in place every week. Booking it a week in advance would ensure I have to go.My sister also wants to exercise so perhaps running with her or doing yoga with her at home would motivate me too as well as someone else is relying on me.

So which one do you think I should go for? I feel that maybe I’d prefer the more alone type exercise routines so that I feel comfortable or those with people close to me. But I need to make sure I actually do it. What motivations do you use? this is one I definitely need advice on!!

Personal time:

The issue: I don’t fit things in that I want to do, even just reading a book because I always get jobs and tasks done first

Firstly, if I cut down my 50 hour working week, this will greatly help this one! It will free up at least 10 hours of my week for me to use on me. My second downfall is I always think I want to read this, or I want to do that but I end up wasting my time instead of putting my free time to good use. I think yes I’m free but I literally couldn’t tell you where my time goes sometimes….

So what to do? I feel that perhaps having one personal activity a day would be great. 30/60 mins to read a book, watching a film or catching up with one of my shows. Just a slot of time I have where I productively have to do something I want to.

Solution: Brainstorm different personal time ideas. Separate the laid back (which involves being at home) and those which require a bit more investment (even simple as going for a massage, going somewhere special for the day). Try to incorporate the activities into my monthly schedule so I have at least one a day. Prioritise these and don’t ditch them for work/ social reasons. Avoid technology during this time to really have time to myself. Technology is something I find I can spend hours using be it my phone or laptop. I end up chatting or surfing the web and an hour can pass and I don’t feel satisfied because its not useful me
Time, it’s wasted. I feel that this will allow me to feel like I’m getting to do what I want to rather than just waste my free time. A feeling I haven’t been feeling recently.

Social life:

Issue: Fitting everyone in, including myself!

So, as many of you will know, having a partner is a big investment. Definitely a worthy investment but one that takes up ones time easily! I like seeing my boyfriend often, I like having someone to turn to, but a balance is vital between him and the rest of my life.

I have 3 siblings and spending quality time with them is important to me but I see it falling to the bottom of my to do lists because we live together…

I have a few best friends and then friends from university/ school I see once in a blue moon. But I like seeing them, catching up and being there for hem and them there for me…

Solution: Make time for the people who matter but ensure I do this around making time for everything else: exercise and me mainly. Ensure my boyfriend doesn’t take up all of my social hours though his company is hard to resist!!

To conclude:

There are other issues I need to work on but I chose these 4 as my priority to deal with first.

I’ve realised a daily planner is vital for me to be able to juggle and balance better, so I’m on the hunt for a good one!! Preferably one I can schedule my hours and also keep a note of things I’d like to fit in if I have spare time on one page so it’s at an easy glance. But having a month planner would be great too so I can see my months overview and what’s ahead.

Now to take the first step towards reducing my life stressors!!….wish me luck!

Stressed, Taking on too much and Useless at successfully prioritising…are my life choices and traits causing my Eczema?

Sometimes, after a stressful week, I sit down and think about how much is going on in my life. I worry, stress, get anxious over so many things- big and small. It can’t be good can it? I feel mentally strained at times, unfulfilled and like I’m taking on too much and think to myself why do I do this to myself? Taking on too much and knowing it doesn’t feel great…it’s stressful and tiring but here I am doing it. To add to it, I know certain traits of mine don’t help – my last minute attitude in regards to getting up, completing a task, meeting a friend where I’m always rushed because I leave it til the last minute and never learn! My over worrying and anxious thoughts, my ability to dwell on things, anger, inability to have a productive day off.

Does this sound familiar, I’d be intrigued to know if any of you share such issues?

I feel like I need to prioritise aspects of my life. Prioritise myself and my health more, but that’s where I get stuck. What do I need to prioritise? What should I prioritise?

I have ambitions, friends, family….but is the way I feel, the way I’m taking on more than I want, feeling like its just getting too much causing my eczema to surface more?

Are my life choices causing my eczema? Causing my eczema to flare?

I’ve found myself asking this quite a lot this week. Is it all worth it? And I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to learn how to prioritise effectively . Feel fulfilled, like I’m doing enough career wise and at the same time enjoying it, worrying less, relaxing.

To give you a bit more about me:

- I have a full time job and tutor part time and do about 50 hours a week (since the new year)

- I never feel like I have “me” time , time to breathe, read a book, take up a hobby…frustrates me but I’m still not solving it

- I live with my family (siblings and parents)

- I’m in a relationship

- I have a few different set of friends (makes seeing them hard as can’t be done at once!)

- I have long term career ambitions of becoming a psychologist and trust me I find myself asking is it worth it as its so competitive but want it. (Hence the tutoring as I feel more experiences will help)

- I’m in the process of applying for jobs and masters because I feel I need to move forward in my career

- I stress about 5 years from now now? Will I be where I want to be? Will I be happily married? Successful in my career?

- I have a gym membership which is going to waste because I can’t find the time/ energy to use it.

- I wish I had more time!!

- I don’t have great time management. I’m one of these rushed, I’m going to be late people (and no I don’t ever learn!!)

Now here’s my question….

What do I do?

How do I fit it all in? How do I choose what to let go of?

Current Thoughts and my Plan of Action

- To get onto a masters course as soon as. This will allow me to know my plan for the next year and feel like I’m getting somewhere as I feel in a rut career wise ATM after no success at better jobs which is why I think I work two jobs to compensate….. This will allow me to cut down my work hours but obviously fill it with study but feel a sense of relief in the sense I’m moving forward (I hope)

- Does the gym membership need to be cancelled and I find alternatives which are more easily fitted in? (I.e. yoga DVDs? Jogs?) any thoughts or suggestions?

- Would a daily hour planner help me to organise my time better? Fit in friends/ boyfriend? Me time? Family time?

- Should I cut down my work hours? I know I should but point 1 expresses my worries over this.

So to conclude…

This is a bit of a random post but I wonder if other eczema sufferers like you feel like your digging your own hole but don’t know how to prioritise, solve the mental struggle of taking on too much?

I wonder if my personal traits and choices have led my skin to where it is? What do you think?

Argan Oil for my eczema, Rosehip for scars and new oils to purchase

So my oils arrived earlier this week.

They came in 100ml bottles and I have now been using argan oil for 5 days on my face, neck and arms where the eczema has formed a rough, dry layer which I can’t budge! The skin has become rough, somewhat swollen and darker in colour compared to my natural Asian skin tone. The main areas affected are my upper lip, eyebrows cheeks, jaw and all of my neck!! My neck is a dark colour.

I did make a blend of argan and coconut oil but I found that the coconut is too greasy for me to apply in the morning before work. It doesn’t sink in without getting into my hair and greasy hair is not a good look!

Argan Oil

The argan oil does have a subtle smell which I didn’t like at first but it doesn’t linger in my opinion. It is easy to apply (watch how much you pour out into your hand as it is quite expensive at around £10 per 100ml). I apply straight after my shower directly to my affected areas. The oil helps to relieve my dryness (if I don’t have to go out straight away I apply extra to my face and neck and wait for it to sink in to quench my skins thirst better). Usually my neck is so unbelievably itchy after a shower and when it’s flared, but surprisingly I haven’t found it has aggravated me at all. I find that the argan oil has helped to keep the flare up at bay. My skin is flaky and rough but it doesn’t appear to be flaring more than this or spreading. I don’t want to exfoliate as I don’t want to irritate my skin as of yet so dryness is my worst enemy right now! Flakes are not a good look but my skin isn’t stopping me from sleeping and isn’t itchy with the Argan oil. Itching is one of my utmost dreads about eczema as you don’t want to it h but the urge is so strong so I would recommend this oil for keeping itching at a real minimum. A lot of the redness has left my eczema, the dryness remains and out of the two I think dryness is the lesser of two evils so I would highly recommend it!! It soothes and I reapply during the day. Though it hasn’t miraculously rid of my eczema, it has soothed it and allowed me to sleep which is such a relief!! I’m keen to see the affect over another week. My eczema has not worsened since using it and though dry at times, is not irritable like usual.

In addition, I have applied this oil to my stomach which is sometimes dry but not flared at all, the Argan has made it so smooth an soft I’d recommend for bouts of normal dry skin!

I would keep in mind that I have also been taking 20000iu of vitamin d3 daily, one turmeric capsule and have been cleansing the skin in the shower with Oilatum bath ointment. I will continue with all of this and update in a week!

Rosehip Oil

In addition, my legs aren’t flared at the moment but they do show the scars of my eczema over the years. The Rosehip oil I purchased had been applied day and night and I will continue to see the changes over a longer period of time. The important thing when applying oil I think is to not over apply, I used to over apply and the over greasy nature of it began to annoy me. Now I apply minimally, massaging in smaller circles to allow it to absorb. On my eczema areas which are more dry I apply a second layer or like I mentioned earlier may leave it to absorb itself if I have time!

Eczema irritations to work on:

My problems as I mentioned are the roughness and flakiness, so I have now purchased vitamin e oil, carrot seed and comfrey root to help with the eczema and really nourish my skin. Perhaps making a blend with the argan will help? These oils together will hopefully help to really nourish my skin, reduce roughness, even the skin tone and soothe the eczema. I have put an order in today so lets wait and see!!

Any one else have any reviews of oils to share?? How do you guys use coconut oil without it being so overly greasy? Any oils you’d recommend for rough skin?

Waiting for delivery: Argan, Kukui and Rosehip oil.

So after some more research regarding oils and their benefits, I decided that these three would be next on my list to trial!!

There are so many oils (like unbelievable amounts) so starting here is just the beginning! Every oil has its own benefits and there are so many to choose from that I thought I had to cut it down!

I also purchased coconut oil but I read somewhere about trying to use nut free oils just in case of sensitivity to nuts and realised that this is so true!! Nuts tend to leave me with an itchy throat and so I’ve thought that maybe sensitivity in that sense could also occur through using nut products on my skin as well!

My plan is to use argan as my base oil and add smaller amounts of the other two oils which have great skin benefits too. I have some essential oils including roman chamomile and sandalwood which I could also add to my blends to aid repair and moisture.

Before I did this, I just wanted to see if anyone has made their own oil blends or used the oils I have mentioned? I’d love to hear some feedback as I’m new to this!

New Year’s Resolutions anyone?

I came across this over New Years and wanted to share it as I thought it has some really good points to try and live more positively, as a negative person I thought it only fitting!

With eczema, we should try to reduce any other stresses as much as possible and enjoy life. So, here’s to a positive and happy (and hopefully eczema free!) 2013.

💞Handbook 2013💞

👉HEALTH👈

🔹Drink plenty of water.☑

🔹Eat Breakfast like a king,
Lunch like a prince &
Dinner like a beggar.☑

🔹Live with the 3 E’s–
Energy,
Enthusiasm &
Empathy.☑

🔹Make time to pray.☑

🔹Play more games.☑

🔹Read more books than you did
in 2012.☑

🔹Sit in silence for at least 10
minutes each day.☑

🔹Sleep for 7 hours.☑

🔹Take a 10-30 minutes walk
daily And while you walk,
Smile.☑

➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰

👉PERSONALITY👈
🔹Don’t over do. Keep your
limits.☑

🔹Don’t take urself so seriously.
No one else does.☑

🔹Don’t waste your precious
energy on gossip.☑

🔹Dream more while you are
awake.☑

🔹Envy is a waste of time. You
already have all you need.☑

🔹Forget issues of the past.
Don’t remind your partner with
his/her mistakes of the past.
That will ruin your present
Happiness.☑

🔹Life is too short to waste time
hating anyone. Don’t hate
others.☑

🔹Make peace with your past so
it won’t spoil the present.☑

🔹No one is in charge of your
happiness except you.☑

🔹Smile and laugh more.☑

🔹You don’t have to win every
argument,Agree to disagree.☑

➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰

👉SOCIETY👈

🔹Call your family often.☑

🔹Each day give something good
to others.☑

🔹Forgive everyone for
everything.☑

🔹Spend time with people over
the age of 70 & under the age
of 6.☑

🔹Try to make at least three
people smile each day.☑

🔹What other people think of you
is none of your business.☑

➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰➰

👉LIFE👈

🔹Do the right thing!☑

🔹GOD heals everything.☑

🔹However good or bad a
situation is, it will change.☑

🔹No matter how you feel,
Get up,
Dress up and
Show up. The best is yet to
come.☑

🔹When awake in the morning
thank GOD for it.☑

🔹Your Inner most is always
happy. So, be happy. ☑

➰➰➰➰➰➰➰

2012 Summary: Happy new year!

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 43,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 10 Film Festivals

Click here to see the complete report.

Next Cream to trial….Udderly Smooth Extra Care cream with Urea (unscented)

I randomly came across this cream on amazon as I was browsing. The reviews seem really positive and it’s not the most expensive thing to buy at £8.29 (at time of purchase December 2012) for 227g to try out!

See the review for yourself here:

Amazon Udderly Smooth

I received it in the post today and took some photos for you to see the product at the end of this post.

You can see that it is a simple white cream ( similar to original e45 in my eyes for a comparison). It is more a liquid than solid and easy to apply.

It contains urea and I have found that Eucerin products containing this have tended to be positive for me so this was worth a try.

Thoughts after my first application:

Okay so on my legs, stomach and arms, it went on smoothly and I didn’t feel any stinging, but when I’ve applied it to my neck it has stung slightly at the nape of my neck and on my jaw line. I have just exfoliated my face and neck in the shower so this stinging may be due to that. After a few minutes it settled but I can feel a minor sting. Nothing to cause me to immediately want to take it off, but an uncomfortable sting nonetheless. Most likely this is application onto open skin but this could be a problem as itching and eczema definitely leads to open skin! Ill keep going with it though and update you!

Hope this has helped for now, I will continue to use only this for my body and update in a week’s time.

Any of you guys ever tried this? You thoughts and views are welcome!

Wheatgrass: Day 7

So I’ve been drinking a cup of wheatgrass juice every morning for the past week.

How to make the juice

I brought a powdered form of wheatgrass so what I do is pour 2/3 boiling water 1/3 cold water into a mug and add a teaspoon of wheatgrass and stir.

Be wary of adding too much as the consistency can be too thick.

What does it taste like?

I was fearing the worst for the this one! Thinking I’d be able to taste grass loads! But when drank warm/hot straight after making it I can’t really taste it? I drink herbal teas though and am used to the taste so maybe that’s why? Let me know what you think but I find that it’s fine, just a hot drink in the morning.

I then wait about 20/30 minutes before eating/ drinking anything else to allow it to be digested alone.

So any changes this week?

Firstly, my skin has been extremely flared this week. My face has been puffy and red, dry as well; my neck has been a dark off colour, so rough to the touch, so itchy and cracked at the creases and sore to move. The patch of darker, red skin goes down past my collar then suddenly stops making the flare even more prominent.

As you know, eczema can make sleep hard. This week my sleeping has been so broken, I’ve felt tired all week. Trying not to itch at night is also frustrating…so in general my mood has dropped and my eczema has been bad. I’m not sure if this was the best timeto trial wheatgrass, but I wanted to review it.

Most importantly, it doesn’t really interfere with my life at all! It’s so easy to make before work and the 20/30 mins before and after food isn’t that hard to follow. You just have to plan your routine a bit better. For example, ill drink it before I shower in the morning which then allows for the 30mins to ensue whilst I’m showering and getting ready. This lets me eat before I leave!

I have not seem any great changes as of yet but it’s hard to judge. I also recently (and I regret to say this but I
felt i had to) began to use a steroid ointment so this has obviously reduced my ability to review wheatgrass.

I feel that it is something that should be reviewed on a longer term basis though as it detoxifies and this may take time, so I will continue it for months to come and update. And then the effects of the steroids won’t be there long term to invalidate the effects.

Has anyone else tried wheatgrass?

New Eczema Care Routine to come shortly!

My routine is now half of what it used to be and I have moved forward with the other half through trial and error and finding things not to be as beneficial as i would have hoped. I’m currently compiling my new routine for you guys and hopefully you can share yours too, so we can see how we deal with this on a day to day basis.

Any tips are always welcome!

Vitamin D3 for eczema?

So a few of you have sent me comments regarding the use of vitamin d3 in helping to improve your eczema condition. The comments have been remarkably positive hence I have decided to try it out next. Hopefully can’t be a coincidence right!

Firstly, I always find that getting sunlight really improves my eczema, one of the natural things which really helps to ease it (especially weeping!!). When I go abroad on holiday (i live in the united kingdom so good weather is hit and miss!), spending the week in the sun reduces my eczema extensively. So taking a supplement when I can’t get enough benefits from the actual sun sounds positive, right?

I am putting an order in today for soft gel capsules as many of you have mentioned you take. I’m not sure of the amount of units to take so will be doing research into this, but a heads up to show you what my next trial is!!

Please leave your thoughts, views and experiences with vitamin d3.