Episode 072 – What do you do when you feel terrible?

Hello! I’m your host, Lorraine Stone, and on today’s episode I’m asking what do you do when you feel terrible and talking about noticing your habits you default to when you’re not feeling great, learn how to pause, and work out what it is you really need so you can rule your day and not let it rule you.

Some days I just feel terrible. You know when you wake up and get the feeling that it’s going to be one of those days? I wake up thinking that the day is going to be really tough, I’ll never get everything done, and if I’m really in the wrong frame of mind I’ll start throwing in a ton of crappy thoughts about my illness too.

One poisonous thought just leads to another, and then another, and before you know it…

In the early days of my illness, back when I thought I had no control over it, I’d shut down. I used to think that I needed anything for some quick energy, and I’d turn to sugar and caffeine. As if crappy food was going to be the answer.

But, I have learned that all it did was lead me on to a really crappy day, and more crappy days to follow. The upset tum, the leg spasms, headaches, brain fog, dizziness, chest pains, the list goes on, are all exacerbated by two things – a lack of movement and/or an increase in processed sugary foods.

When we’re having a rough illness day, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that this moment you’re in is not going to last forever unless you choose to let it. 

As with all things new that take time, such as weight loss, learning to run, learning a new language, choosing to take control of your health and stop letting it define you can cause you to lose motivation or interest when the newness wears off, or because, like everything else, you have to put in some effort and you don’t want to, and you find yourself seeking the next new thing because you think that will work quicker for you. Problem is, unless you know how to deal with this coming up, you’ll be back at the exact same spot seeking the next silver bullet before you know it.

When you sit in overwhelm or confusion you are not doing anything to move forward. You are thinking plenty, but there are no actions. Overwhelm especially will come from a fib we tell ourselves about how we are too busy or there’s too much to do. Think about it, when you’re overwhelmed are you doing anything? Or just thinking about the things you need to do? Convinced that you don’t know where to start. 

I do this by writing lists and putting things into a diary that I very rarely complete because they’re not the things that really need doing just the things I think need doing when I’m feeling overwhelmed, or they’re too big a task and before you know it I’ve fallen behind and I feel worse for not getting things done I said to myself I would do.

Be curious about how and why.

This is what the 24hr rule is all about. To deal with the overwhelm and confusion and laziness of it all. As with everything I coach, it’s simple. But I will never promise you that it will be easy. You have to choose your hard. 

You know that old saying “how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time”. It’s the same. Recovery is a marathon, not a sprint. When I’m training for a marathon it would be so easy to let myself fall down the rabbit hole of how far 26.2 miles is, that I’m not ready, it’ll take me hours and hours to complete etc, when I should be thinking about how far I have to run this week. Because this week builds into next week, which builds into the week after, and as you slowly week by week work through your plan, you build up stamina and endurance to be able to complete those 26.2 miles when it arrives in a few months from now.
Within the next 24 hours you choose one small thing to do to move forward and stop thinking about everything that needs to be done. 

Focus on what is right in front of you. For some ideas on a few simple things, and remember I said simple, not easy…

Take a shower and/or put on decent clothes. 

It’s so tempting and so easy to let your physical appearance mirror your emotions, but then what happens when you catch sight of your reflection? You feel more crappy than you did to begin with. 

Eat something healthy. 

Ideally the first meal of the day. The earlier in the day, the more likely you are to keep making healthier choices throughout the day.

Get outside.

Even if only with the window open for a few minutes with the sun on your face. The fresh air is a real mood booster. A change of scenery can work wonders for me to get myself out of my head.

Show up anyway. 

Ultimately, pretty much most days you have to keep going anyway. So instead choose that a less-than-great mood is no excuse to quit and choose to get on with it anyway. Your thoughts and emotions are a choice.

So, as I say, be curious about how and why.

If you enjoyed this podcast, if something resonated with you, I want you to know we cover this in detail in my SHIFT to Alignment programme. I can teach you the tools that I learned and adapted to get my life back after an abusive marriage and then diagnosis of a chronic health condition, to now be living life on my terms, my way.

To find out more you can you can email me or you can find me on Instagram, I’ve put a link to both in the shownotes. I can’t wait to see your journey.

Thanks for listening, and remember – you are worth it, and you get to choose.

Have a lovely day.