Lessons From Overwhelm. My Life Is Pretty Awesome Right Now!

The signs were there but, I laughed them off. How often we do that! We feel a certain way and dismiss it, because life goes on right! Be it, that time you were out shopping, with a deep sorrow in your heart, that you bought the sweets you’ve been eyeing just to feel better. Or that time you felt agitated, simply because the person across the way would not sit still. Even though your logical mind says it doesn’t matter, you feel tense.

Our bodies give signals all the time to keep us on track. So many of us don’t know how to listen. I’ve been evolving this skill for years and still get swept away by my lack of body awareness when life gets busy.

For me it began a few months ago with moments of agitation including one in tesco where a sign with a ghost that said ‘boo’ (pretty cute actually) had me thinking oh ‘F off’). Bizarre reaction right, well I did what many people do and laughed it off as I told it as a funny pms story. Well, that body signal showed up again and then again, except with such a deep intensity I no longer felt in control. It went on and on for weeks and even though I’m out the other end with a clear logical perspective and plan of action it takes time to settle these things so it may be about to begin again but this time with the gift of awareness.

If, you too have times where you feel devastated over what feels like nothing, or perhaps you want to let go of what that person said as you know it was not in ill fate but you can’t let it go here is what I learned from my recent bout of it and what I’m doing to help the next one be a bit easier.

PAUSE

When the feelings pop up take some time to pause! (if in the supermarket like I was you can do it when getting home but maybe put the frozen food away first ;-)). Put away the phone and laptop! Take time to reflect in the way that suits you – journal,listening to classical music on the radio, chanting… Each of us need different tactics but we are the same in that our lives require intentional pauses because we get so swept up in all that life expects of us.

ROOT CAUSE

Depending on what shows up for you, you can create your plan of action. An example of a root cause is overwhelm. For me, I realised I had overstreched myself over the last months. Although I was powering on fine I thought, actually, I was overwhelmed. It had sent my hormones wild, thus, I was feeling so deeply and if I didn’t get on top of things I would keep spiraling.

I just recalled how much I struggle to be brief so I’m going to try to improve.

AM I MEETING MY 5 BASIC NEEDS:

Sleep

Hydration

Stress Management

Nutrition

Exercise.

Add fun to that equation, even better!

MAKE A PLAN

I lacked consistent stress management and exercise. Find movement and a form of meditation I enjoy and start again. (If you need help with building that habit read my blog How to build healthy habits: https://wordpress.com/posts/positivelyeventful.wordpress.com I choose a 30 days of yoga challenge and pilates and do both every morning

PRIORITISE YOU

Even if my decision means I do not start pc work until noon, health comes first. Even if that person needs me to do that favour, I replenish my stock first.

CANCEL SOME PLANS

If being overwhelmed is part of your struggle, it is time to determine what is truely important to you and then write a couple of emails to let people know at this time you will not be going ahead with your other plans and without guilt. Give your energy to what is in your top 3 priorities.

THE PAYOFF 🙂

I paused. I reflected. I realised my root cause (overwhelm). I made a plan. I started filling my cup back up. I quit projects that weren’t serving me. I found joy in what I was doing again and could not believe it when I realised that I was literally living my dharma, my dream life.

I am organising a charity fundraiser wellness event for my friend’s animal sanctuary with some amazing inspiring speakers.

I am giving a presentation for The Vegan Society to activist’s about how they can organise a vegan sustainable event.

I am working in a health shop helping people feel their best.

I am organising groups of volunteers to go help out at a local animal sanctuary.

Wow! Wow! Wow!

I almost missed how cool my life was because I was having dark harmful thoughts due to not listening to my body’s cues. Our bodies are wise and there to guide it. Give yourself that space!

I love you Angel!!!! Angel lives at Heartstone Sanctuary and one of the beings we are fundraising for.

Favourite Quotes for a Good Life

PROCRASTINATION

“When you’re stuck in a paralyzing thought loop of indecision, stop thinking and start doing. Make a move, no matter how tiny.” – Marie Forleo, Everything is Figureoutable

Starting with this blog post was a good move 😉 Once you feel inspired to take a tiny action in your own life’s journey, save this somewhere so you can come back to the resources.

ANXIETY

”…the biggest prison is in your own mind, and in your pocket you already hold the key: the willingness to risk; the willingness to release yourself from judgement and reclaim your innocence, accepting and loving yourself for who you really are–human, imperfect, and whole.” – Edith Eger, The Choice, Embrace the Possible

FUN

”Fun is your birthright” – Sahara Rose, Highest Self Podcast

https://iamsahararose.com/single-post/2021/06/30/highest-self-podcast-376-fun-is-your-birthright-with-sahara-rose/

FEAR

“Dearest Fear: Creativity and I are about to go on a road trip together. I understand you’ll be joining us, because you always do. I acknowledge that you believe you have an important job to do in my life, and that you take your job seriously.

Happiness Challenge :-)

I’ve created a new challenge for us to do together! If you have been feeling blah physically, emotionally or maybe even both, take this challenge with me! A different focus each day, repeated for 4 weeks to fill us with more joy, energy and health. Let’s do this!

TAKE NOTE..

#moanfree_mondays

#trysomethingnew_tuesdays

#werkout_wednesdays

#turnoffyourphone_thursdays

#fulfilment_fridays

#shutoffsocialmedia_saturdays

#seekstillness_sundays

THE HOW? THE WHY?

#moanfree_mondays because when we moan we put all our attention on the things that don’t feel good in our lives leaving us with nothing but negativity and missing out on all that is good. If you catch yourself moaning, flip it and say or write down what you are grateful for or simply say stop! No time for moaning today, too busy seeking joy.

#trysomethingnew_tuesdays meaning you can try anything at all as long as it is a new experience for you! Perhaps it is something super adventurous such as a twerking class or learning a sentence in Russian. Maybe you’ll watch a foreign film, call a friend you have not spoken to in a long time or go mad and order a pink latte. Document it for more fun. One month = 4 opportunities to try something new.

#werkout_wednesdays as we know how good it makes us feel. Working out regularly can be tough but it has the capacity to change our lives for the better so let us choose to have fun with it. You could go for a beach run, attend an outdoor yoga class, try a pilates class on YouTube, do 500 jumping jacks or perhaps you would enjoy a virtual dance class. So much choice out there.

#turnoffyourphone_thursdays as you bet if you are not feeling great, that most likely your phone is making you feel worse, with it’s addictive nature and tiny bright screen. I get so many tension headaches and often put my phone down feeling sadder than when I picked it up. Let’s take back our power and turn it off for the day or even on airplane mode and in the drawer if we are not able to completely switch it off.

#fulfilment_fridays What fills you up? Is it being in nature, lost in a fiction novel, a trip to the cinema, hanging out with an animal companion, volunteering, making a donation or a night in over a meal with a friend? Well now is your chance! Make it happen. You deserve it!

#shutoffsocialmedia_saturdays because we all know the impact social media has on our life-force. Even with all it’s benefits and most of us feeling as though we need it in the modern world, it does not mean we need it 7 days a week. Now that it is Saturday it is time to deactivate the apps or maybe even wifi and stick to plain calls and texts. Like the good ol days!

#seekstillness_sundays when we’ll commit to spending more time in stillness. Whether relaxing on a picnic blanket, meditating at church or at home with candles, listening to an album start to finish without distractions or even dancing around your room, without performing, just feeling the music. Choose to be in a setting that helps your mind and body connect as one, whatever can bring you some peace.

Are you going to join me? If so live me a resounding ‘YES’ in the comments. I am stronger when I have you by my side!

I’ll be using my instagram @positivelyeventful to share some of the things I get up to! I welcome you to also by using the # relevant to your day or even send me a DM with what you get up to 🙂

See you there!

Emma XO

Imperfectly Positive

I vow to share the ups and the downs, openly and authentically.

I vow to keep showing up for myself and for you! Expect a blog every Monday morning.

I vow to always show up with an open mind, knowing we learn together and continuously.

In this blog you’ll find talk about life as an event manager; what I’ve learned from the things that worked out perfectly as well as the mistakes that became valuable lessons. Also, life as a virtual college student and my passion for nurturing sustainability and diversity in the events industry. A dream of mine is to be part of an events team where compassion is the #1 priority; in all of our decisions, what we choose to share and how we do things.

As health and wellbeing are an essential part of life and business, you’ll find my journey to healing primary dysmennorea [painful periods and pms] and my gut health [diagnosed with sibo – methane dominant summer 2020]. Of course mental health chats too – essential!

This blog will also include insights from people I admire!

Excited to take this journey with you.

Here is where you can get access to our events:

https://www.eventbrite.ie/o/positively-eventful-15837206819

The Good, The Great and The Awesome

Is it the same for you that everything always starts happening at the same time? You could be applying for opportunities for a year and hear nothing back, then, all of a sudden you are hella busy or having to choose which opportunity to take. That is me currently, super grateful.

THE GOOD

Starting with some housekeeping. From improved gut health due to finding the right supplements for my SIBO/IMO/IBS giving me capacity to live a normal life and eating diverse plant foods in abundance again, simply fabulous. The journey is not over but I am happy as SIBO is not holding me back or keeping me broke.

My 3rd out of 4 college projects is almost ready for submission and it has taught me so much the last 3 months including appreciating my team player qualities to effective leadership, radical acceptance and more truths about the realities of the events industry.

Picture was drawn and gifted to me at one of my events by the talented artist Lou Malaisé in Cork, Ireland.

Reminded of how lucky I am to look and feel like I do. That may sound so arrogant but it does not stem from arrogance. I have spent the last few years showering myself in acts and words of love as I wasted so many years doing the opposite as did most people I speak with so we all have a lot of making up to do. Yet, still there are times we can slip back to the habit of harsh self criticism. My inner self talk persisted daily about the darkness of my eyes, most likely due to poor sleep quality, overuse of screens and SIBO. Then, there I was looking in the mirror as I heard the words of a loved one repeat in my mind of how there are people out there who would love to have a face like mine with healthy skin which snapped me out of it. We all have parts of ourselves that others desire for themselves and we all have insecurities and that is normal but not if we treat ourselves without kindness. We can not stop the inner voice, only how we respond to it.

THE GREAT

It’s official! I am Irish. Tá sé oifigiúil. Is Éireannach mé.

Not because I speak Irish, I wish! My Irish citizenship came in the post after 2 years with the cutest letter I may add. Now let’s be honest my soul was Irish all along as even though I was born in Birmingham, yes a brummie that still says flannel, not facecloth; I moved to Ireland in 1995, aged 5 and my friends at 9 trained me out of my brummie accent and into the way of the kingdom, being County Kerry in the South West of Ireland. To this day though my accent isn’t distinct as it’s a mix of Kerry, Cork, Birmingham and the US thanks to all those tv hours as a teen.

Have you ever thanked the person who sorts your recycling?

Last month’s consistency showed that it was coming to the end of summer as I went from a post every Monday to 2 posts in 6 weeks. In that time I visited my boyfriend’s family in Italy, climbed Ireland’s highest mountain and learned lots of lessons from life’s happening such as college projects, seeking an internship and even from a visit to my local recycling centre. Here are some of those insights and reflections.

The Vacation

This was my first trip with my gut condition SIBO, think IBS for those who do not know SIBO. I was pretty intimidated at the idea of what I’ll eat and how to get by. I can tell you it was a game changer. For the first time ever, I treated my trip as a health retreat rather than non stop overindulgence (usually carry biscuits with me everywhere). I worked out everyday, mostly for 30 minutes, I ate as much local organic fruit as possible, I avoided the pastry shops and the sweet treats isle in the supermarket and stuck to the odd dessert when out for a meal. I also had very few coffees with those I did have being mostly decaf and all these changes alone converted my perspective to what a trip is about. Typically I get a face full of spots and gain a bit of weight in the weeks there but this time I did not and came home healthier and have been pretty awesome at life since.

I worked out every day for a month

If you have been wanting to work out, start now… as in right now!! Stand up and do 50 jumping jacks, or 10 if 50 is too intense or try 10 pushups if you need a low impact exercise. You got this!

Well.. How do you feel now?

Accomplished? Energised? Happy?

Sometimes exercise is as simple as doing a few lunges as you walk to the bathroom or stepping up and down on your tippytoes while waiting for the kettle to work those calf muscles.

I can tell you that after just 1 month of daily intentional movement, I feel all 3 emotions mentioned above as well as healthier mentally, physically and spiritually. After all, it is an essential need of all humans and supports our other essential needs such as improving our sleep quality, increasing our desire to stay hydrated as well as aiding our digestion and appetite.

Here is what I did!

First Video Blog aka Vlog :-)

So the happiness challenge has finally come to a close. I started writing my experience about it and my life updates and then thought..wait a minute..why don’t I just tell you about it.

Hope it is ok to mix writing and video. Let me know your thoughts and how you got on with finishing this challenge! 🙂

Emma XO

Friendship Shouldn’t Be Hard Work – Story Time

Photo: Beautiful happy group of friends in India who shared their joy with me in a photo, taken in 2012! I hope they are still great friends!

Day 22 of our happiness challenge today and I’m feeling great. How are you getting on? The changes that are serving me the most are working out, meditating/breathwork/mindfulness, staying off social media for the most part, using my phone far less, expressing gratitude, being outside as much as possible, sitting under trees and grounding by having bare foot on the earth, practicing accepting myself as I am, releasing some expectations I put on myself and choosing to trust in the process of my life.

One week to go and since we already hit the 21 day mark it should be easy peasy 😉 You got this! Today’s blog is a bit difference as I reflected on a life lesson I want to share with you. Let me know your thoughts in the comments and if you have had an experience of your own please share with me how you learned it 🙂

Happiness Challenge 🙂

Here is the challenge if you want to join us for the final week.

Lesson: Do not waste any of your life defending your character. You know who you are and your intentions. Those who are meant to be in your life do too and won’t be making you jump through hoops to prove yourself. Call you out on your BS yes, but question who you are, nope.

How I learned it (Story Time): I once had a group of friends for over a decade of my life and the first time a situation like this arose, I was about 13, one of the girls who I spent most of my time with made up lies about my character and she successfully told our whole group of friends, boys and girls, to ignore me and that they did, completely ending their friendship with me, some for months, after knowing me already for about 3-4 years. I went out of my way be accepted again, even making mix tapes of the latest hits, remember those 😉

Happiness Challenge Lessons

Week 1 is over and we are back!! Back to #moanfree_mondays. I thought it best to repeat the practices for 1 month as they say 21 days to set the habit. If true that means the practices should flow with fluidity and ease that extra week.

So far I can say I am loving it!! It is bringing me more happiness for sure and that others are doing it with me and benefiting is simply fabulous.

FAVOURITE LESSON: Do not overcomplicate your life by thinking so much about what you are meant to be doing, who you are, what life is all about. Choose to focus on being present so you get to experience each precious moment. The past is over and the future is made up of choices/actions we make moment to moment.

Want to join us this week? Check out the challenge here:

Happiness Challenge 🙂

Share with me what you get up to by using the daily hashtags on instagram as I’d love to see 🙂

Here are some of the lessons and benefits from my week 1!

#moanfree_mondays

This day actually brought me much joy.

• Before getting out of bed I sat up and reflected on the many things I was grateful for.
• Then, I posted the happiness challenge and within 20 minutes I moaned twice in my mind as I hit my leg off my shoe rack and the other about a dirty pan. I turned both around with gratitudes. I was there laughing away to myself how it had only been 20 minutes.

Turns out the rest of the day no moans came out of me! 🙂 Moaning came back later in the week when my SIBO flared up. I’ll be working on that this week as moaning does not bring me joy. My hot water bottle, relaxation and nice chats does.

SIBO-C THE HEALING PROCESS

GET DIAGNOSED

Find a person who is super familiar with treating SIBO, be it a naturopath, nutritionist, gastroenterology, GP, dietitian, gut health clinic specialist to work with you. Ensure you trust them and that they listen to and respect you. Determine with them what tests you need to do and they will help you understand the results.

DETERMINE ROOT CAUSE

This step is necessary to stop relapsing. I believe my root cause was dysmotility, caused by painkillers (solpadiene or solpadol – a form of opioid) I took every month for period cramps. Then, having an extremely stressful time at work for months which brought symptoms fully into effect.

FOLLOW PROTOCOL

Once you have your test results back, it is time to get a treatment protocol from your SIBO specialist. For me I had a mix of digestive enzymes, supplements for stomach acid and antimicrobials as well as some dietary suggestions like no sugar or processed food and avoid gluten as much as possible just in case I have leaky gut.

DIET

Follow whatever diet suits you but remember the obvious, sugar is terrible for you, processed food is not good for you (especially when your gut is compromised) and avoidance of other things will depend on your situation, such as gluten. I stayed away from it most of the time enjoying buckwheat and rice alternatives. If you have other things show up in your tests you may be recommended more dietary changes such as if you are having issues with histamines or oxalates.

Do not worry about people on the internet saying eat this, eat that as most are only managing their symptoms, not healing. Cutting out fibre or full food groups will not heal you, it will only keep symptoms down and we want to heal not just manage symptoms. Try find a variety of foods that make you feel good as feeling good even some of the time will bring down that stress which is necessary. At the start try gentle recipes like stewed apples with cinnamon, making broth, I’ll attach recipe below and cook your veggies so they are very soft perhaps in a blended soup.

FASTING

Try to keep 4 hours, at least 3, between meals to give your small intestine a chance to digest and not be overloaded. Do not eat in the evenings. Try have your last meal no later than 7.30pm.