Wine'ing Momma

More Wine...Less Whine!

You are here: Home / Archives for Health & Fitness

5 Ways to Not Be an Asshole Toward People Dealing With Mental Illness

by 16 Comments

Image illustrated by Brian D’Cruz Hypno Plus

Did you know that Mental Health Awareness month has been observed each year during the month of May since 1949?  I don’t ever recall there being a time growing up that mental health was discussed as openly until I became an adult. I’m glad that more people are wanting to get help but there are still so many that feel isolated or ashamed about their mental illness.

If you’ve been with me for a while you know I typically discuss my love for all things related to natural hair, my crazy ass kids and wine.  Literally those are the three top things that I feel represent who I am as a person.  But for the last year and a half I’ve also focused on a lot of things outside of my blog.  That would be dealing with mental illness.

For the last three years I’ve been working as a Crisis Consultant for a suicide hotline.  While it is probably one of the most stressful jobs I’ve had, it is also one of the most rewarding!  The majority of my jobs since I graduated from college have dealt with mental illness in one way or another but not as intimately as this one.

I’ve been trying to figure out the best way for a while now to address some of the issues that come up when I’m talking with callers.  I like to just cut to the chase when I’m talking with people on the phone so I figured that would also translate to how I wanted to discuss this on my blog as well.  The only way I figured that would work was if I gave some tips on how to treat people that are dealing with mental illness.   [Read more…]

5 Tips to Getting Back on Track After a Fitness Break

by 14 Comments

 
A lot of people like to wait until the new year to get their ish together and work on health and fitness goals.  There’s no better time like the present so why not get your butt in gear and start now so that by this time next month you’ll be ahead of the game.
 
You know that saying about summer bodies are made in the winter…well they weren’t lying! You may be thinking its entirely too cold to even thinking about wearing a bikini or that cute dress next summer but before you know it you’ll look up and be like I spent all winter living like a sloth and now I’m paying for it.  We all know that eating right and exercising are what you are supposed to do, but sometimes you just get in a rut and then it’s “Oh I’ll get back on track tomorrow” or “I won’t eat that again”.  Well the time has come and it means no more excuses.  So if you’re like me, meaning human, then you can still get back on track!
[Read more…]

5 Ways to Cope with Depression During the Holidays

by 1 Comment

When a lot of us think of December we think about all of the celebrations that happen during the month.  A few of these are Christmas, Hanukkah and Ramadan.   Many people equate these holidays with joy and a time of being with family and loved ones.  But for many this time of year can trigger sadness and increased depression.  There is an expectation for everyone to want to spread good cheer and give more than they receive.  There are a lot of factors that can cause these feelings of hopelessness and depression:

  • SAD – Seasonal Affective Disorder can happen year round but typically affects those during the fall and winter months.  The shorter days and colder months tend to just zap all of your energy and can increase depression.  The “winter blues” are real and shouldn’t be dismissed or taken lightly.  A lot of times treatment can include light therapy, medication or counseling.  Since I work overnights I feel like I get about an hour of sunlight a day!  Light therapy has made a huge difference in my mood.
  • Finances – A lot of times you might get caught up trying to keep up with The Joneses and you want to make sure your kids or family have everything they want.  But the stress of not being able to provide if finances are tight can make you feel like you’re letting people down.
  • Stress – Trying to make sure you’ve got the perfect gifts, house is ready for family, dinner for 20 is taken care of…that’s a lot of crap to deal with!
  • People Pleaser – Putting yourself last and making sure everyone else’s needs are met can also wear you down.

[Read more…]

Hickies Take the Work Out of Having to Tie Your Laces!

by Leave a Comment

*I was provided with several pairs of Hickies for review and this post contains affiliate links.  I will use money made toward my travel fund.* 🙂

Most of the time if I’m not wearing a slip-on shoe then I’m wearing my Nike’s.  And not until I received Hickies did I realize how much I treat my Nike’s like slip-ons!  But now I can switch out my laces for a pair of hot pink Hickies  and not even worry about having to tie and untie my laces.  No I don’t run, cycle or do anything remotely athletic but who wants to waste precious time worrying about shoelaces.  Ain’t nobody got time for that!

When I wear laces with these shoes I typically leave this one of the eyelets empty.  With the Hickies I only needed to use 4 for each shoe.  After wearing them for a little while I ended up trying one of the other ways to lace them and the fit was much better.  Takes a little bit of trial and error in the beginning before you figure out which is the best lacing system for you.  And no matter whether you have a wide or narrow foot, you can lace them up to suit your personal needs.  Each pair of laces come with a handy guide to show you different ways to make them tighter or looser.  Also if you have long fingernails you’re gonna end up cussing trying to pull the Hickies through.  Luckily (or not luckily) I had to cut one of my thumb nails down pretty low so it made it a lot easier to pull them through the eyelet.  

[Read more…]

Root Touch Up USFamilyGuide.com