Brain Dead

That's pretty much how I'm feeling right now. Brain dead. I feel absolutely no impetus to do anything. So, since I'm home today, that's pretty much what I'm doing. My cold is feeling a bit better. More in my nose than anywhere else at this point. Thank goodness.

I flared at my sweetie a little while ago. Went right off the handle. He was great about it, and while I had reason to be irritated, I didn't need to react the way I did. It wasn't fair. Bless him, he had the courage to sit next to me and eat his lunch. It was a menopause moment, I'm relatively certain. Once I'd calmed down, I realized how silly I was being and did what he'd asked me to do.

I found an interesting webpage on menopause. Body and Health at Canada.com. Pretty good overview. Talks about alternative ways of dealing with the various symptoms. Except mood swings. Darnit.

I'm pretty sure I've had some hot flashes recently. Felt hot, broke out into a sweat, and felt cold at the same time. It was weird. And I've been throwing off the covers in bed at night. I know this because at some point, I wake up cold and pull them back over myself. Now that the events of last week are over, I can get into a routine again. Start a Tai Chi class, get to the gym more regularly, start my dance class again. Perhaps I'll start drinking a calming herbal tea in the evenings. And get more information on Mindful Meditation.

Actually, I teach a form of this at the course I teach for The Arthritis Society, so I've got a good start on it. As I understand Mindful Meditation, it involves being fully present in the moment. The version we talk about in the course involves tensing and relaxing various muscle groups in a progression from the toes to the top of your head, while doing deep relaxation breathing. Tense as you inhale, relax as you exhale and allow the tension to leave.

I like the meditation as described in this article on the Shambalah Sun website. It keeps the focus on the breathing, and you are actively focussing on the breathing. And this article in The Globe & Mail discusses a couple of studies that have been done that show that mindfulness meditation can help people who are recovering from depression stave off another bout of depression. There's a course taught to patients in recovery at CAMH (the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto). Actually, I've tried doing the form I teach when I go to bed at night. I keep falling asleep before I'm done. So, I think I'd better find another time of day. If it helps me combat mood swings and hot flashes, not to mention calming my alpha wave activity during sleep, it's a good thing.