Unplug……

I have been debating this for a while but I think it’s time for a little social media unplug for me. There have been a few things of late that have caused me to realise I spend too much time head down on my phone. I spend hours looking into everyone else’s lives or reading rubbish, watching videos or shopping online for things I do not need!! I want to get out of the habit of reaching for my phone when I am bored.

Some days I feel that I am living my life through others and some days this makes me feel worse not better. Of course, it makes me happy seeing what people are up to but sometimes it also makes me sad. The realisation of what I am missing out on and feeling not quite enough in myself because of the illness, and knock on impact of this.

I am getting drawn into things I don’t want to be involved in, and getting cross at things that shouldn’t be on my radar. It is all of my own making. No one is making me pick up my phone but it is a habit and I sorely need to break it.

As an experiment this week I set a time limit on my social media and much to my dismay was reaching it by lunchtime.  The internet is great for a lot of things but because I spend so much of my time sitting around doing treatment it is easy to just pick up the phone and pass the time.

So, I have taken the decision to break the cycle, go cold turkey and start investing my time in things that will make me feel better. There is nothing wrong with the odd dip into social media, but my usage had tipped beyond that. I was looking at other people’s lives rather than investing in my own. I had slowed down with my reading, writing and even doing the small jobs I can do, to just sit and stare and it hasn’t been making me happy.

As someone who has been given the gift of time to literally sit still for 3 hours plus hooked up to a machine every day (see I am putting a positive spin on it), I want to try and use it in a better way.

Social media chat aside I have had a quiet time of late. I have been battling with overwhelming tiredness and haven’t been able to quite pull myself together. As a result, I have had to press pause on a lot of other stuff whilst I have rested.

I haven’t felt unwell just massively weary and sleeping much more. Which is quite an achievement given how much I sleep anyway. Thankfully, I seem to be coming out the other side of it and although there have been no other symptoms I wonder if I was just fighting something off which I seem to have been able to do (touch wood!).

As a result of the tiredness and knock on effect this had on me physically, I’m re-focusing on my overall well-being and building my strength. What I eat, to fuel my body correctly but not overeating, but also keeping my energy levels up. It’s a fine balance, and I have not got to grips with it yet but I am trying to be make better decisions in the hope it will help overall.

I have learned to listen to my body in terms of spoon/ energy level management so this is my next focus. I have sourced some more holistic treatments that can potentially help with symptoms and effects of this illness and will of course report back on anything I find of use!

We have a big family holiday booked in a few weeks and I cannot wait to get off that plane and feel the sunshine hit my face. A week of relaxing and spending time with loved ones. This unplugging is coming at a good time. I want to spend my time focusing on making memories we can all reminisce about for years to come!

I will bid you a farewell for this instalment, a few days following this blog being published I will be going cold turkey!! Not sure how long it will be for, might be a month or more, might only be a few weeks. Rest assured I will be back all guns blazing and hopefully feeling re-energised.

As ever, thanks for reading and support and until next time……