Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day,
To the Mothers In Heaven,
The Single-Mamas & The Mothers who do their BEST as Mom & Dad. I share my love with each and everyone of you. I'm going to go off line for tomorrow. I miss my Mom each and every day. It's hard to believe that it's almost 5 years. Please, if you are fortunate enough to have a Mom please do not take her time here for granted. Happy Mother's Day from my  to your heart.

Feeling Overwhelmed

There’s no rule that says you have to be a superhero. So much has been written about amazing individuals that achieve the impossible – they juggle full-time jobs, study, run a business, raise children, run a household, coach the national cricket team and write a novel in their spare time. Anyone you read about that does all these things is a rare individual. And they probably forgot to tell you about the six months they spent recovering from all the exertion…

Small amounts of stress can be motivating, however high levels of stress can have the opposite effect. Common symptoms of excess stress include fatigue, feeling overwhelmed, irritability and increased susceptibility to illness.

Are you always rushing to catch up? Do you have an enormous “To Do’ list that seems to grow each day? Poor time management is a common source of anxiety and stress.

If you have trouble getting things done, invest in a time management course to help you prioritise tasks, eliminate unnecessary activities and plan your day effectively. Here are some tips from my book The Art of Calm: Freedom From Stress & Worry to get you started:

Be clear about what you are trying to achieve. Set personal, financial and career goals.

Take time at the beginning or end of each day to plan.

List everything you need to do and the date by which it needs to be completed.
Number each item in order of priority. Your highest priority items will be the ones that help you achieve your long-term goals and ambitions.

Delegate or lose tasks that do not help you achieve your goals and ambitions. Place a value on your time, and eliminate tasks that do not have a positive payback. For example, if you value your time at $25an hour, consider hiring someone at $12 an hour to do your housework.

Do one thing at a time, and see the task through to completion before starting something else. Switching between tasks can be a huge time waster.
Attack the tough top priority jobs first. Most people have a tendency to do all the little tasks first so they can get them out of the way. It is more effective to start with the highest priority task. Ask yourself, “What one task if completed would have the greatest positive impact on achieving my goals?” Try completing this task first.

Handle incoming mail once (and this includes email). Don’t keep putting it aside - make a decision and act on it immediately.
Set time aside each day to work or study without interruption - close the door, turn on your voice mail - do whatever it takes to make sure you can work in peace and quiet.

Don’t take on more than you can handle. If you can’t fit it in, say no.
Plan your personal time, such as playing tennis or catching up with friends. People often think that leisure activities need to be spontaneous but this isn’t true, it can be just as much fun to plan time out.

Plan your errands, client calls and other travel to ensure you make the best use of your time.

I would love to hear from everyone. Please contact me at mmorris358@aol.com

Hypochondriac?

Is it just me? Or do other people worry? Are you a hypochondriac?

Hypochondriac (hī-pō-kon’drē-ak): a person with somatic over-concern, including morbid attention to the details of bodily functioning and exaggeration of any symptoms no matter how insignificant.

A main symptom of hypochondria is the misdiagnosis of any slight ailment. The fear that hypochondria exerts is so great that any small ache or pain is treated as a major illness. The hypochondriac will think that the smallest pain can be attributed to major illness such as cancer or AIDS. In a sense, the hypochondriac believes the worst and usually cannot be dissuaded by contrary expert opinion.

Recurrent visits to the doctor are another sign of hypochondria. The sufferer may also change doctors if the doctor suspects hypochondria. The hypochondriac may begin to fear the doctor due to this diagnosis.

The worries of the hypochondriac can have severe ramifications in daily life. The hypochondriac may spend a lot of time away from work worrying about his or her imagined ill health. Anxiety levels increase due to this incessant worry, and can create other illnesses such as panic attacks and depression.

Many physical symptoms of illness can be triggered by hypochondria. Psycho-somatic symptoms may also be found in the condition. Many hypochondriacs are seriously concerned with their own death due to the condition, and many begin to make preparations for their death.

Another symptom of hypochondria is an obsessive need for information on diseases and illnesses. The hypochondriac will usually not believe the diagnoses of doctors and will try to find his or her own diagnosis of the perceived illness. Hypochondriacs spend a great a deal of the day worrying about and discussing their symptoms.

Hypochondria affects at least 6% of people. Many people believe that bad posture is an explanation for hypochondria. The word hypochondria comes from Greek words meaning "below" and "the ribs

I would love to hear from anyone that feels they may be a hypocohondriac?

Let's Schmooze.

Please email me at mmorris358@aol.com

Positive thinking: Reduce stress, enjoy life more

I have been under more stress this past year and a half than most people. If you are like me....this stress is taking a hard hit on my health.

Is your glass half-empty or half-full? How you answer this age-old question about positive thinking may reflect your outlook on life, your attitude toward yourself, and whether you're optimistic or pessimistic.

In fact, some studies show that these personality traits — optimism and pessimism — can affect many areas of your health and well-being. Positive thinking also is a key part of effective stress management. Positive thinking doesn't mean that you keep your head in the sand and ignore life's less pleasant situations. It just means that you approach the unpleasantness in a more positive and productive way.

Learn how to put positive thinking into action in your own life, and reap the benefits.

Identifying negative thinking
Some common forms of negative self-talk include:

Filtering. You magnify the negative aspects of a situation and filter out all of the positive ones. For example, say you had a great day at work. You completed your tasks ahead of time and were complimented for doing a speedy and thorough job. But you forgot one minor step. That evening, you focus only on your oversight and forget about the compliments you received.

Personalizing. When something bad occurs, you automatically blame yourself. For example, you hear that an evening out with friends is canceled, and you assume that the change in plans is because no one wanted to be around you.

Catastrophizing. You automatically anticipate the worst. You refuse to go out with friends for fear that you'll make a fool of yourself. Or one change in your daily routine leads you to think the entire day will be a disaster.

Polarizing. You see things only as either good or bad, black or white. There is no middle ground. You feel that you have to be perfect or that you're a total failure.

Focusing on positive thinking
Because your self-talk is mainly negative doesn't mean you're doomed to an unhappy or unhealthy life. You can learn to turn negative thinking into positive thinking. The process is simple, but it takes time and practice — you're creating a new habit, after all.

Here are some ways to think and behave in a more positive way:

Check yourself. Periodically during the day, stop and evaluate what you're thinking. If you find that your thoughts are mainly negative, try to find a way to put a positive spin on them.

Be open to humor. Give yourself permission to smile or laugh, especially during difficult times. Seek humor in everyday happenings. When you can laugh at life, you feel less stressed.

Follow a healthy lifestyle. Exercise at least three times a week to positively affect mood and reduce stress. Follow a healthy diet to fuel your mind and body. And learn to manage stress.

Surround yourself with positive people. Make sure those in your life are positive, supportive people you can depend on to give helpful advice and feedback. Negative people, those who believe they have no power over their lives, may increase your stress level and may make you doubt your ability to manage stress in healthy ways.

Practice positive self-talk. Start by following one simple rule: Don't say anything to yourself that you wouldn't say to anyone else. Be gentle and encouraging with yourself. If a negative thought enters your mind, evaluate it rationally and respond with affirmations of what is good about yourself.

As always, I would love to hear from all of you...What Do You Want To Schmooze About?

Please email me at mmorris358@aol.com

Please DO NOT Place Family In Nursing Homes

In a nursing home in West Bloomfield, MI, my mother was waiting, and waiting, for an aide to answer her call bell and help her to the bathroom. She is only in the rehab part but it's still just a nursing home.

They don't care. They are really busy and hey have a lot of residents here. You’ll have to wait your turn.” is said on an hourly basis.

Nursing home staff and family members tangle — how could it be otherwise? Family members, doing something no one ever really wants to do, grapple with stress, guilt and raw emotion as they turn daily care for a loved one over to strangers. And virtually all nursing homes are chronically short-staffed, with too few aides and nurses scurrying to help too many residents, who are more impaired and suffer higher rates of dementia than their peers a couple of decades ago. Even staffers who want to provide warm, personal attention rarely have the time.

Nursing homes Do NOT Care about your loved ones...IF you care about your family member you will NOT place them in a nursing home.

As always, I would love to hear from all of you...What Do You Want To Schmooze About?

Please contact me at mmorris358@aol.com

All Nursing Homes Are Just Nursing Homes

Our parents are getting older, sometimes we are able to care for them and sometimes we have to depend on others.

I would NEVER put even my worst enemy in a nursing home to help a family member. It is very important to avoid nursing homes that will only give the basic standard of care to your love ones.

I have NOTHING nice to say about any nursing home. I have checked out a lot of nursing homes in the area and needless to say...ALL nursing homes are JUST nursing homes.

If you think money can buy your loved one into a great nursing home...NO such thing. They do NOT care about any one....

I would love to hear your thoughts, opinions on nursing homes.

As always, I would love to hear from all of you...What Do You Want To Schmooze About?

Please contact me at mmorris358@aol.com

When Did Our Parents Turn Old?

Watching our parents turn older or becoming ill is one of the hardest things we have to go through.

In your eyes you want to always see your parents, young, active and alert, unfortunately that won’t happen. As time go on they will get older or sick with something and need you more than ever.

Start facing that situation right now and not when it's to late. As you get older, you start realizing they are getting older and they are coming to a place in their life that more and more each day they will need you.

Once you realize this, this is the time to start preparing your life to take care of your parents for as long as you possible can. That’s the one thing all of us want to do is to provide for the people we love, when they can’t provide for themselves.

Taking care of your parents will make you feel good and if you have children, it will be a good for them to learn how important it is for family to take care of family.

I have an ex brother that turned his back on my parents and has NOT done anything to help....but yet has had NO problem causing identity theft on my parents. Be wise and keep an eye on this when your parents become older.

As always, I would love to hear from all of you...What Do You Want To Schmooze About?

Please contact me at mmorris358@aol.com