The April edition of the Blog Carnival Against Child Abuse is up!
As always it looks like there's a bunch of good stuff to read over there, so go check it out!
Thanks to Psych Central for pointing out a British Journal of Sports Medicine study that shows as little as 20 minutes of physical activity can reduce the levels of anxiety and stress.
I know that I can tell by my stress level if it's ben too long since I've been to the gym or gotten some other exercise. Spending some time working out is a great way to put a long stressful work day behind you, so this study really shows that I think many of us already know to some extent.
So, if you want a head start on dealing with anxiety and stress, go for a walk!
I saw mention of this month's Blog Carnival Against Child Abuse
and this month's host's words about it:
We all know that abuse thrives on secrecy; the purpose of the Blog Carnival Against Child Abuse is to speak openly about the prevalence of such abuse, and its devastating aftermath.
I find this to be very true, but incomplete.
Certainly, there needs to be as much attention drawn to the victims of abuse and the effects of the abuse as we are able to and I absolutely applaud the effort. But the other thing I want this blog, and the community of survivors, to speak openly about is the fact that there is life after the abuse. We are all survivors, we are all in different stages of our healing, but we are healing. We are living lives with all of the ups and downs, struggles and joy, as everyone else.
Being a survivor is a challenge, and healing from childhood abuse is a struggle, don't let anyone kid you about that. What it's not, is a death sentence. There is hope, there is joy, and there is life. It may be a long, rough tunnel, and the light at the end of it may seem dim now but it is there. Survivors need to know that, and they should hear it from us.
There was an excellent post over at Lifehack today called Living Scared, which talked at length about the how and why of fear, and how living with too much fear can be detrimental to our own happiness. I won't go into much detail, go read it for yourself.
The one thing I will say is this. For Survivors, fear is a huge issue. I'd be willing to bet that most of us would list this as the top of all of our struggles. In fact, when I was reading in the post about how many people as so afraid of change, and so comfortable with their life the way it is now, even though it doesn't make them happy, I immediately thought of survivors. We're so desperate for a sense of control, a sense of "normal", that we gladly accept whatever that means. It may not be great, in fact it may not make us happy at all, but we're comfortable with it, and there's something to be said for that.
There is something to be said for that, certainly abuse survivors need a sense of safety, and comfort, but the goal of your healing shouldn't be just that. Trust me, I understand that is a lot of progress, getting to "comfortable" was a huge step up from where I was at one time. But it's not enough. There's more to life than that. There are so many wonderful and exciting things to experience in life, and I want to learn to be less fearful, to have the courage to go out and do great things. I can't do that by accepting things just because it's what I know.
In the end, I didn't work this hard, and come this far, and go through all the crap I went through just to live a boring, unhappy existence. I need to remind myself of this daily, if not hourly! It is so easy for me to simply stick with what I know, instead of seeking out what will bring meaning and happiness to my life. I need to remember that the things I'm fearful of, failing, criticism, or big changes, aren't worse than what I've already survived. I will survive them as well.
With the weather turning toward Spring this week, and the rain holding off until tomorrow, I decided it was high time to get in a little walking to prepare for my commitment to walk the 5k Race for the Cure next month.
Thanks to Gmaps Pedometer I can go back and figure out how far I walked today (2.2 miles) compared to how far the 5k is (slightly over 3.1 miles) and I have a pretty good idea that I should be able to do the walk without too much struggle. (We'll be in DC the first week of May for a few days, after that 3.1 miles should be a breeze!)
Anyway, thanks to Douglas Welch for talking about the idea of a Google Maps mashup that would calculate how far you walked. He talked about it on one of his Live from the Library podcasts, but I honestly don't remember if he talked about Gmaps Pedometer or another service. He inspired me to go to Google for my answer though, and that's what I found. :)
Now, for the important part of this entry. Yes, I'll be walking to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The firm I work for usually puts together a team of employees and family/friends. This year, since a friend of ours had expressed a desire to do the walk, and didn't really have anyone to do it with, when I saw that the firm was paying the entrance fee for any employee plus one family member or friend, I volunteered to go ahead and do the walk with her, so she could part of our team and well it certainly won't hurt my karma any to do a good deed too.
If you wish to help the cause, (And really, why wouldn't you?) or you just know that you're going to delight in the idea that I'm getting up early to walk 5k on a Saturday morning and want to make sure to contribute to causing that to happen, you can donate online here:
https://www.active.com/donate/columbusrftc08/mmcbride68
I'm counting on the readers of both of my blogs to help push me near the top of the donation totals for the firm. After all, it's not like I can hit up my coworkers. :)
We've just started getting the word out, so I'll probably post a reminder again once the day of the race is closer, but you don't have to wait!
Yes, I'll be carrying my camera with me for the walk, weather permitting. So you'll get to share the event with us!
Thanks for your time and consideration!
On April 1, 2000 Angela and I went out on our first date. (Insert your own "fool" joke here) Eight years later, well, here we are. Happily married and enjoying our lives together.
I point that out not so much as a way to point out how very lucky I've been since then (I have), but because eight years ago, I had absolutely no idea this would happen.
You see, sometimes life is like that. One date with the thought of "let's see what happens", turns into 6 years and counting of marriage. You just never know where things will take you in life. That's all the more reason to experience it as much as you are able. The experiences might not end up the same way our date from 8 years ago did, but you'll be better for whatever experiences come your way!