When things get rough for me, I usually hide away in my house, in front of the TV. I actually don't usually turn to food when I'm VERY upset, but I do sleep and I do a lot of lying around, no exercising and nothing recreational.
I also call up/IM this one particular friend of mine to complain and cry to and he at least listens to me even if he has no real advice to offer; just talking to someone usually helps.
I hope everything works out, especially regarding your and your daughter's health. :hug
Regarding your health insurance -- check into state health insurance; if your finances aren't great and especially for your children, you might be able to get coverage that way.
I had no idea there were programs like that for mammograms and paps. THANK YOU. I am going to sit down today and make phone calls to try and find some finanacial help. I am trying to apply for state medical with a co-pay, but they want to count my husband's income, which I have absolutely no access to at this point. Until we are legally not married this is an issue. But maybe the other programs are not so strict about that and can help me. I appreciate it!
Hugs to you!! I too am going through some difficult times right now and trying to cope without turning to bingeing. I am a yeller too. Which really sucks for those around me. So now I go in my vehicle, drive someplace where no one will see me and sit in my car and yell. Or just go out in our grove and yell at a tree. I make bad jokes about the situation. If I lose my sense of humor I will go insane. this most recent "go round" that I am currently dealing with I continue to tell myself...there are many things I cannot control right now, but one thing I CAN control is what I eat. I also know that bad food choices will add to my stress level which will makes things worse. Another stree relieving "skill" I use ( call it a skill cuz Lord knows it isn't a tallent) is singing....in my car, windows rolled up really loud. Sometimes they are feel good up lifting songs, sometimes the hard rock in your face type stuff. My other secret...and PLEASE don't call the men in the with the white jackets that tie in the back...is I stand in front of a mirror and make faces. Hideous twisted contorted faces. It truely relieve tension in my face and can sometimes even envoke a slight case of the giggles.
Prayer and hugs to you during this difficult time!!
I wanted to share that I was pacing a lot last night, had a lot of nervous energy. Went out and walked a bit and then ended up at a grocery store (bad idea) where I bought 2 favorite binge foods: cheese and ice cream (weird I know). I used to easily polish off an 8-oz block of cheese with crackers, and a whole pint of haagen daaz ice cream as PART of a stress binge. And while I am not happy that I went and got those things, I am glad because I only had 2 ounces of cheese, NO crackers, and a half cup of ice cream.
Now I am throwing them away and getting back to eating properly and dealing with the stress in other ways.
I did find a video last night of the Tapping Technique, Kori. I started doing it (following along with the video) and felt some relief so I sat there and did it for like a half hour before I went to bed. I dunno how it works but it did help me and the overwhelmed feeling is much less this morning. I am making lists and getting back in control.
Lemme just say, out of my 5 kids, 3 have chronic health conditions (from birth) that need visits to specialists several hours away at least once a year, and after awhile it just gets exhausting, especially doing this alone. I LOVE my kids, they are absolutely my LIFE and anytime one of them suffers or has the potential for bad news it throws me. This is not going to end anytime soon so I definitely need a counselor and other, healtheir ways to deal with this.
KateB... good idea on the music. I forgot that I used to play some music when I was angry. It is kindof teenage crazy stuff with a heavy beat... not my usual music... but sometimes if I just blasted it, it had some kind of effect on my nervous system that left me feeling relieved.
I second the music!!! Loud, rockin music (preferably live or in the car alone where I can sing along) always takes me to my happy place, clears my head and feeds my spirit.
There is so much great advice in this thread and sounds like we can all relate to using food as our quick stress escape/avoidance vice of choice.
Counseling and planning/prioritizing are great ways to let it out and gain some control, but it's also good to have a regular way to renew and recharge your batteries or just snap your thinking back into place - find your happy place that calms and soothes you through an escape that replaces food.
Writing, crying, yelling, singing, laughing, tv, movies, trashy novels, games, exercise, yoga, mediatating, certain people, places, solitude - everyone has their own way that works best for them.
Wow, I really needed this thread today. We had some layoffs at work today. Not me, thankfully, but it's scary to have people you've worked with for years suddenly gone. It was the sort of day where I had to work overtime to get everything done but the company doesn't pay overtime, and I had to deal with some pushy, annoying strangers. I got home thinking how nice it would be to have some comfort food. I decided to delay it until after coming here. I read this, with all of these people who have never even met coming together to support each other, and it makes me feel better about the world. I don't know that is especially helpful to you, but I thought I'd express my gratitude. I just listened to the ice cream truck come and go outside, and that feels good.
I don't know how your community is set up, but here the county has some public health money to offer mammograms for free if you qualify. It's been in the newspaper. They also offer mental health services, but I don't know about costs or anything. I've just seen it in the phone book. And the state offers some children's health insurance.
I went through a period of being completely overwhelmed and used a technique that might help you. It helped me to stop with volume binges, although I'm still working on eating in a way that will help me lose weight.
Take a piece of paper and divide it in two. On one side, list everything that worries you. Everything you can think of, from far-out worries ("I'll forget to put on my pants before I leave the house.") to very real worries ("I'll get cancer again.") On the other side of the paper, write one of three things. 1. A practical step you can and will take to deal with this worry this week. It doesn't have to solve it, just take it in a positive direction. Like call to see if you can find a free or reduced mammogram or put a note on the inside of your door that says, "Don't forget the pants." If you choose this option, you are making a decision to take this action this week, so be careful you don't do this too often and make yourself more work than you can accomplish. 2. Decide there is nothing practical you can do to affect this worry. One of mine was that I'll be caught in a random terrorist attack. Admitting that I can't change a situation helped me to accept and make peace with it. 3. Decide there are things you can do, even list those things, but that you aren't going to be able to do them this week and you will deal with that worry later.
Then, make a list of the things you have said you'll do this week to help work on the things that worry you and check them off as you do them. The reason you're doing this is because you're going to seal the full list of worries in an envelope or put it somewhere and not look at it for a week or longer.
If you do this for several weeks, you can see how you're making progress on your worries, especially if you don't look at the old lists for awhile. Or you can see that you have options you're choosing to not exercise. You can "think about that worry later."
I know it helped me to feel more in control, overall. Maybe I'll start doing this again, actually.
Hi Lyn,
Just another idea about health care... You may want to try speaking with the Billing office at your local hospital and ask if you can apply for ... sorry horrible names... but, charity care, or free care... I used to work in a billing office and processed a lot of cases which ended up 'free'. People filled out an application and if they qualified they took care of old bills too... Perhaps as a temporary thing to help... I'm pretty sure certain hospitals cannot 'deny' care to anyone.... always a good contact at a hospital is the 'ombudsman', you should be able to reach 'that person' by asking the main hospital operator.
Thanks again guys. Ufi that is a very good list idea. I like that. I am a list person.
I just want to say it helps SO MUCH to have this place to come every morning, read about all your successes and struggles, and feel not alone. And I care about your struggles too. I know we will get through all our 'stuff.' This is almost like having the sisters I always wanted. Thanks...
I'm so sorry to hear about this. 
