My health has kind of gone on a downhill slide over the last couple of years. Since I don’t have insurance, I couldn’t tell you if anything major is going on, but I am rundown and exhausted all of the time. I go through periods where I have no appetite, and periods where I have more headaches than normal. I also have a lot of muscle and joint aches as well. But I am in my mid-fifties, so I’m not exactly young.

My weight has remained stable, not going up or down over the last couple of years. This could be considered both good and bad, as I’m overweight and technically considered obese. But that seems to tell me that there’s nothing major happening, as most major illnesses come with weight loss.

I’ve discussed my mental health a lot, so we know that’s all over the place at times. This can account for some of the stuff I’m dealing with, so it may just be that simple, who knows.

Right now I have the added stress of everything that’s happening in this country, and it’s a lot. I try to step away from time to time to give myself a little break, but it’s following me into my dreams now. I am having vivid dreams about resistance and authoritarian rulers.

So I’m trying to make some healthier choices to keep myself going. Here they are:

• I’m trying to sleep at least 8 hours each day (I won’t say night because my sleep cycle is all over the place and half the time I sleep during the day). I seem to feel best when I get around 9 hours.
• I’m eating something within a couple of hours of waking. I’ve never been a big breakfast person, but even something small helps
• I’m staying off social media during the middle parts of the day. I check in the morning and then in the evening, but am not scrolling all day long any more.
• I’m reading books for fun
• I’m watching favorite shows for comfort and laughter
• I’m staying on top of things that I need to do around the house
• I am finding pen pals to talk to
• I am getting up and moving around throughout the day

There are other things I would like to do, but am not able to currently, like taking a multivitamin. But what I am doing should help me survive for a bit longer…